White and black bean chicken chili

It's gray and rainy out and chili sounded good, especially since we probably won't have many more cold days ahead of us for a few months.  I found a recipe for white bean chicken chili on Pinterest, and decided to use that as a base line, but to throw my own concoction together.

Unfortunately, I was tossing everything in as if I really were "concocting" a potion, so some of my measurements are guesses.  Whoops.

Ingredients:

1/2 Yellow onion chopped

2 Cloves garlic pressed or diced finely

1 Tbsp diced canned jalapeños OR 1 small fresh jalapeño diced

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 14.5oz Cans chicken broth

1 14.5oz Can navy beans rinsed

1 14.5oz Can white beans rinsed

1 14.5oz Can black beans rinsed

1  4oz Can diced green chilis

1 Rotisserie Chicken 

1/2 Cup salsa verde

2 Tsp Chili powder

2 Tsp Cumin

1/4 Cup fresh cilantro

To garnish:

1 Avocado

Fresh cilantro

Sour Cream

Let's Cook!

1.  Place olive oil in pan and turn to medium on stove.  Add onion, garlic and jalapeños.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add to crockpot and turn crockpot heat to high.

2.  Add the broth, beans, green chills, and salsa verde and mix.

3.  Pull the white meat off of the chicken in bite size pieces and add to the crockpot.   For more chicken, add the dark meat as well.  I save the remaining dark meat for other meals such as quesadillas, or a quick topper on salad.

4.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Bring to a boil and turn to low until ready to serve, or keep on high heat if it is not at a rapid boil.

5.  Garnish with avocado, fresh cilantro and sour cream! 

Bon Appetit! 

~Alex~

Pinterest Win-Mississippi Roast

Many of us are hooked on Pinterest.  There's something fun about sharing ideas, having a way to "pin" them to a digital board for future referral, and find inspiration in other people's creations.  

I've tried MANY Pinterest ideas, as most of us have, and found that some were a complete win and others a fail.  I've decided to share my "wins" and how I altered some of them to create something slightly different.  

This first WIN is a Mississippi roast.  I was drawn to the recipe because of the few ingredients, the fact that it was a convenient crockpot meal, and like most of my food pins…it looked delicious at the time, and sounded great for fall weather!

Following the link from Pinterest, the roast was on Table For Two's blog.  

Find the complete recipe here, and let her know how it turns out!!

Mississippi Roast-Table For Two

The only thing I did differently, was the cut of meat that I used.  I couldn't find a 3 pound chuck roast, so I used a 2.15 pound rump roast.  It turned out delicious, with a lot of extra juices in the crock pot.  I served this over mashed potatoes and drizzled the extra juices over as gravy.

My version!

Thanks Table For Two for sharing such a delicious, and easy meal!

Hearty Veggie Soup

I'm posting this recipe at the request of Jessica and a few other friends.  Like my protein pancakes, this recipe was tossed together to use up some groceries before leaving town.  I didn't keep track of how much of each spice/seasoning I used, I will do my best to estimate.  BUT, your taste buds can do the measuring too ;-)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Small potatoes
3 Garlic cloves
1/2 Yellow onion, diced
1 Cup diced carrots
2 Cans chicken broth (or veggie! I used Swanson's 100% natural)
1 Can black beans
1 Can (or small frozen bag) of mixed veggies
1 Can V8 veggie juice
1 Small can tomato sauce
2 Roma tomatoes
~ 1/2 Tsp Garlic powder
~ 1/2 Tsp Onion powder
~ 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
~ 1 Tbsp Sugar
~ 1 Tsp Dried basil
~ 1 Tsp Dried thyme
~ 1 Tsp Dried oregano
Salt & Pepper to taste


Let's Cook!

1.  Wash and peel potatoes.  Cut into small cubes.  Bring pot of water to boil and add potatoes.  Cook until they are ALMOST cooked through all the way, this will depend on the size of your pieces.  Check with a fork!

2.  Drain potatoes and add to crockpot with chicken broth.  Turn crockpot on to low while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

3.  In a sauté pan add olive oil, garlic, onions and carrots.  Cook until carrots are almost cooked through but still have a bit of crunch.  Add this mixture to the crockpot, stirring ingredients together.

4.  Rinse black beans and add to crockpot.  Add mixed veggies, tomato juice and tomato sauce. Mix ingredients.

5.  Cut the tomatoes into pieces, size doesn't matter it's your preference. Add to crockpot.

6.  Add last 9 ingredients, the spices and seasonings.  Stir together, cover and let sit at low for 2 hours.  Check flavor and add more spices/seasonings if you wish.  Let sit on low for at least another 2 hours.  Enjoy!

**This makes about 12 cups of soup.  I portion it out into mason jars, let cool and freeze. This makes for a great fall meal, or easy lunch to go!