Santa Fe Chicken Chili (Gluten Free Goddess)

Good morning!  Long time no post. 

I don't have gluten issues, to my knowledge, but a coworker does and she raved about this to me.  So, last week I decided to give it a try.  It's very easy, and I wonder if it would be even easier if you baked the yam ahead of time - easier cutting.  I liked it a lot and the yam is a nice touch.  Don't forget to get FIRE ROASTED tomatoes, not regular diced tomatoes.

I have to wonder though - isn't chili pretty much gluten free anyway?

http://glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com/2006/01/santa-fe-chicken-chili.html

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You can easily make this recipe in your favorite slow cooker or Crock Pot, following manufacturer's instructions for chili or soup using cooked (canned) beans. Add the cooked chicken and lime juice near the end of cooking time, to keep it tender and fresh tasting. Vegans take note: make this vegan with your favorite veggie "sausage" or crumbled "burger" instead of chicken.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium sweet onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-1 teaspoon ground cumin, to taste
1/4-1 teaspoon ground cayenne or chipotle pepper, to taste
1 sweet potato, peeled, diced
2 15-oz. cans pinto or white beans, rinsed, drained
1 28-oz. can Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes, with juice
8-oz. (1 cup) chopped roasted green chilies- mild or hot
2 cups chicken broth, more if needed
1 tablespoon balsamic or apple cider vinegar
A small drizzle of agave
2 heaping cups cooked chicken pieces- hand torn looks nice
Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

Instructions:

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and warm the olive oil; cook the onions until they are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and spices and stir for a minute.

Add the diced sweet potato, beans, tomatoes, green chiles, broth, balsamic vinegar, and agave. Stir gently to combine it all.

Bring it to a simmer and lower the heat; cover and cook the chili for 30 minutes or so until the sweet potatoes are tender. Add a touch more liquid if you need to. Add the cooked chicken and some lime juice.

Taste test and adjust the seasonings - more heat? More lime? A tad more sweetness? Good chili has a balance of these flavors.

Warm through and serve when you are ready.

If the chili thickens too much thin it with broth; if the chili becomes too thin cook it longer with the lid off to reduce the liquid.

 

Kinda Sorta Tom Ka Gai

My friend Mellen emailed me this recipe and I made it last night.  Sooo easy - hardly any chopping at all.  Her recipe is first and I included my changes below it.  It turned out really well and seems more like soup than a thick sauce. 

1 poached chicken breast, shredded
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small onion, sliced thin
1.5 cups chicken broth
1 can (or a bit less) coconut milk (NOT the sweetened kind - made that mistake once!)
1 stalk lemon grass, tender, chopped fine
1 can Thai red curry (could use any kind)
1Tablespoon fish sauce
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
Juice of 1 lime
Cilantro for garnish. Chopped peanuts if you like, too.

Sautée the onion and pepper, then dump everything in and stir it well and simmer for 1/2 hour or so. Serve over rice or rice noodles.

What I changed:

I put three chicken breasts in a huge skillet with a fair bit of olive oil and steamed it in there for 30 minutes.  I took them out and put them in a covered container. 

I used an entire red bell pepper.
I used maybe 2 cups of chicken broth.
I used half a small jar of Thai red curry paste.
I forgot to buy cilantro.
I remembered to buy peanuts but forgot to use them as a garnish.
I cut one breast into tiny pieces and threw it back in the soup mixture for the 30 minute simmer.  It was lost in all that liquid, I could easily have used two or three breasts.

Excellent soup over rice.  The only thing missing to make it actual Tom Ka Gai appears to be ginger. 

Cuban Black Bean Stew (Martha Stewart)

Martha Stewart helped me cook tonight - and bonus, this qualifies as vegan.

This is fantastic!  Do not forget the cider vinegar, it's vital.  You can smell it a mile away.  I didn't use oregano.  I squeezed lime into my bowl of "stew", and crumbled lime tortilla chips on top.  I intended to use avocados but the one I bought was too hard.  There were no squishy ones, alas.  Maybe by this wkd it will be ready to slice on top. 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
• 2 cans (19 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Garnishes (optional): lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and sliced radishes

Directions

1. Prepare rice according to package instructions. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Add beans, broth, vinegar, and oregano. Cook, mashing some beans with the back of a spoon, until slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Fluff rice with a fork. Serve beans over rice, with garnishes, if desired.

http://www.marthastewart.com/337366/cuban-black-bean-stew-with-rice

Lime Posset - and I now own ramekins!

Has it really been 3 months since I last cooked something new?  Or just since I sat my sorry lazy butt down to add to my impoverished food blog?  May 8, and here it's practically August.  Wow. 

May was interesting, to say the least.  We were supposed to leave for Italy and Switzerland on May 21.  Instead, just days beforehand, I was told I was to have emergency eye surgery (Ahmed Valve - implant) and so there went the trip.  We postponed until early July.  Not only was I out of commission for a little while, I wasn't exactly in the mood for being disciplined or creative.  Once I recuperated it was yet again with all the trip preparations for the early July trip.  We spent two delightful (but very hot, in Italy) weeks abroad - and I'm still pining for Switzerland...  Now I'm back and this weekend I'll have two new things. 

Today was a productive day, food wise.  I hit up the famer's market in Leesburg and dropped 85 bucks just like that (50 was on 3 bottles of wine - but still, ouch).  The raspberries are thus very local.  Various baked goods, some more fruit, and heavenly honey-yogurt from a local dairy.  Additionally I later bought ramekins, a spring form round cake pan, and a whisk.  I have never had a whisk nor ramekins before.  I'm moving up in the world. 

Lime Posset isn't exactly a meal?  Well sod it all, I don't care.  It has heavy cream (dairy), it has lime juice and raspberries (fruit).  I would say this dessert is well on its way to covering the food triangle.  The lime juice will prevent scurvy, too, so that's good. 

Many thanks to Mym for introducing this new word to my vocabulary.  I had never heard of this before.  She gave me the recipe but I also found it online and adapted it a little bit because her recipe uses the metric system.

Roughly:

1.5 cups heavy whipping cream
.5 cups sugar
3 T lime juice
Raspberries for garnish.

Bring cream and cup sugar to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Boil 3 minutes, stirring constantly, adjusting heat as needed to prevent mixture from boiling over. Remove from heat. Stir in lime juice and cool 10 minutes. Stir mixture again and divide among four ramekins. Cover and chill possets until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.  Garnish with raspberries.  A sprig of mint is a nice touch as well. 

Verdict:  sinful.  I may have used a little more sugar than is needed so the next time I will be a little less liberal with the sugar. 


Even the ramekins are lime green!

(NUMBER SEVENTEEN in 2010)

Five Easy Pieces II

Part two of Five Easy Pieces - but can I keep up the pace until I am through?  It's easy on the weekends, and especially when I've got kitty-watch detail both days (I took them in to the vet for their annual vaccinations which means staying home to watch them for a few hours afterwards - one at a time).

Today for lunch was another easy-peasy "salad".  Also taken from the NYTimes Minimalist Mark Bittman, this recipe is a peanut sauce intended to be tossed with cold noodles.  Here are most of the assembled ingredients:

Here is the recipe:

87. Cold not-sesame noodles: Combine about a half-cup peanut butter with a tablespoon soy sauce and enough coconut milk to make the mixture creamy (about a half cup), along with garlic and chili flakes in a blender or food processor. Toss sauce with cooked and cooled noodles, a load of mint, Thai basil, and/or cilantro, and lime juice. Shredded cucumber and carrots optional.

I used chili oil from the Asian food aisle as I could not find chili flakes anywhere.  Trust me, this oil will get the point across.  I wish I had bought carrots.  I've got cilantro for the topping.

The verdict:  VERY creamy sauce.  The coconut milk really helps to un-stick the peanut butter.  That said, the peanut butter was still clearly very dominant even with the other strong ingredients.  I think it could use a tad more chili oil and soy sauce.  The cilantro was a nice touch.  I have enough leftovers for at least 3 other meals I would say.

Here are photos of my kitties who keep me on the straight and narrow:

(NUMBER TWELVE in 2010)