A Nice Warm Bowl Of Chicken Chili Soup For The Soul

I love Chili. Maybe it's a Texas thing. But, I love it, year round even. I decided to branch out a little and make a chicken chili this time. I usually use ground beef or ground turkey for a hearty chili. I've heard of chicken chili but honestly...it didn't really strike my fancy until, I saw a nice looking recipe in one of my South Beach Cookbooks. I changed one little thing and it turned out so yummy! It made enough to feed an army. So, I was able to freeze the left over (even after  I took some for my lunch the next day) to have next week. I need to get better at making a lot one night and freezing the rest for the following week. That would save me so much time and I am certain I would love myself for it later. Yeah, note to self...do that more often. Anyhoo, without further ado...

White Chipotle Chicken Chili

2 tablespoons evoo

3 medium onions, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2.5 lbs boneless, skinless, chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes (yeah, I don't get that technical, just chop it up and don't mind the measurement, it will be JUST fine.

1 tablespoon chipotle Chile powder (I used my Santa Fe School of Cooking red Chile powder)

4 teaspoons ground cumin

salt to taste

3 19oz cans of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

3 cups lower sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup fat free half and half

1/2 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese (I used the most fantastic Vermont white cheddar from Trader Joe's)

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions, stir, and cook until soften, about 4-5 minutes.Push the onions to the side of the pan and add the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken with the Chile powder, cumin, and salt. Cook, stirring, until most of the chicken is opaque on the outside, 5 to 6 minutes.

Stir in 3 cups of beans and 2 cups of chicken broth. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Partially cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. 

Meanwhile, is a food processor, combine the remaining beans and remaining 1 cup of broth. Process until a smooth puree.

Stir in the bean puree and half and half into the soup. Divide the soup among 4 bowls and serve hot sprinkled with cheese and cilantro. I also topped with a lime wedge.

Cheers!

Oh, P.S, I promise to start posting some crafty yarnie things soon. My hands have been full with my little pup. Somehow, I don't think she is going to allow me to spin yarn. But I am going to give it the old college try. I have been wanting to spin, I feel the urge, it will happen soon!

Time Warp In The Bookstore

I'm not sure what I was thinking. I did my grocery shopping first and then stopped by the bookstore to "run in and run out". I was going to make it a quick trip. I knew which book I wanted and the general area of where it was located. Of course, when I got to the craft section, I was overwhelmed with all the books. It was like the shelves of fantastic crafting books went on for miles. Sewing, knitting, bookmaking, soap making, crafty business starting, embroidery, crocheting, quilting, paper making and the list goes on. I think I was in there for an hour looking at books, meanwhile, my groceries were melting in the car. I justified it by telling myself that it is rather chilly outside and the groceries will be fine. I think I could have stayed in there for at least another hour or even longer. I found so many great books and ended up with a different book than I went in there for in the first place.

I have added even more books to my list:

Chicks With Sticks- can't go wrong with your everyday knitting book!

Stencil Me In- I almost got this one. There are fantastic stencil patterns included. WONDERFUL book, I will certainly go back soon and get this one.

Handmade Nation- O.K., well I almost got this one too. I decided not to because I wanted to see the film first before I got the book, not sure why because I will probably go back and get the book before I see the film. This lady goes all over the U.S to film a documentary on crafty people. The crafty people she features in her movie are in this book. It is really fantastic. She has a blog...which makes it even more fantastic and goes along with my theme of the weekend, books and blogs. Check it out!

Indie Publishing: How to design and produce your own book- hey sis, I am thinking that we both need this book. You study up in the mountains and I will study up in the city...we will collaborate and make our own crafty book to blog about! Deal???

Simply Sublime Bags- a girl can NEVER have too many bags and there are sure a lot of cute ones in this book!

Simple Sewing- there are a lot of very sweet sewing projects in this book and the pictures are fabulous.

I also checked out Anna Maria Horner's book Seams To Me. I just about cried because the colors and pictures in this book are breathtaking! I love her.

The Domino Book of Decorating was just brilliant...I was tempted to purchase it but I settled for the magazine since mine has not come in the mail yet.

So, I ended up with the Domino magazine (as mentioned above) and The Crafter's Companion. I decided on The Crafter's Companion because (go figure) it kept with the theme of my weekend (I am such a cheese ball). It is a book about crafty people with links to their websites/blogs! Gotta love it! If Jeff were home he would be laughing at me. :-)

Well I am off to make cornbread and chili for my guests who will be arriving in about an hour! Im sooooo excited!

**So, moral of the day....go book shopping first, then go get your groceries.***

Winter Wonder Land?

Well, this is Texas folks....and it is snowing...in March. Normally Spring is starting to set in and it is nice and sunny. The naked lady bulbs in my garden were even beginning to bloom. The daffodils were already in full bloom. My lavender and aloe were also starting to bounce back from the winter. But, I can't say that I am surprised really. There is that saying we have here, "Don't like the weather, then just wait a minute". Okay so, on Monday it was like 75 degrees. Then on Tuesday we had snow...just a nice light snow, nothing big. Wednesday..in the 60's and sunny. Today...first we start with rain in the 40's and end up in the low 30's by mid afternoon (and the temperature just keeps dropping) with snow and huge sleet like I have never seen before. Then we ended up with snow the size of a quarter and that just does not happen here. It was nice because I got to leave work early and will probably go in late because the roads will be icy and slippery in the morning. Now, I am going to cozy up with some hot cocoa, watch the food network, and do a little embroidery.

These are, not so great shots, of the snow. This past weekend was so nice that I got birdseed for the birds but, as you can tell there is not a bird in sight. They are too cold!

Maybe I will make some chili tonight for dinner, that sounds warm and yummy!

Cheers and stay warm!!! :-)

Wonderful Things

This time of year I can always think of wonderful things. Well, actually, throughout the year I can pretty much always think of wonderful things but there is just something about this time of year I love. I love the change in the weather and watching the leaves fall on the ground. I love to wear coats and my hand knitted scarfs. I love to watch Vickie Howell on Knitty Gritty to learn new things that I can make for gifts. I love to drink hot chocolate with marshmallows. I love to sit on the couch in my P.J's and knit. I love to lay in bed all warm under the covers on Saturday mornings and watch the Food Network...thank you Paula Deen for all your festive holiday cooking! I love receiving my fall and winter editions of Cottage Living and Cooking Light magazines in the mail.

I really could just keep going but I won't :-)

I think I am going to make homemade marshmallows on Saturday. I have always wanted to do this but just have never really gotten around to it. I love the marshmallows from Williams Sonoma...oops, there I go again with things I love. I better stop talking about Williams Sonoma because I am likely to never stop! However, there is something so fluffy and wonderful about those gigantic square marshmallows. They look like little clouds floating on a river of Chocolate. You just really cannot beat that!


Wouldn't the marshmallows make cute Christmas gifts? Maybe for the co-workers. We will see. I may just eat them all myself!

I lied, I am going to keep going. You know what else I love this time of year? Chili! Maybe it is the Texas in me but I do love Chili! So...on that note, all you non-Texans...I leave you with my Chili recipe!

1 small onion chopped

1/2 green bell pepper chopped

1-2lbs ground beef or turkey

1 can diced green chilies and tomato's

1 can black beans

1 can red kidney beans

1 8oz. can tomato paste

Cumin

Chili powder

fajita seasoning

In a large pot cook onion and bell pepper for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Add ground meat. Cook until meat is almost done. Add can of diced green chilies and tomato's, black beans, kidney beans, and tomato paste. Stir together. Cook on medium to high heat for about 5 minutes then reduce. Add cumin to taste and fajita seasoning to taste. Add a TON of chili powder. Stir and let simmer for another 5-10 minutes. Scoop in to bowls and top with monterrey jack cheese.

Serve with whole wheat tortilla chips.

To make the chips...too easy! Cut up about 4 or 5 whole wheat tortillas into small triangles. brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Broil until golden brown!

Cheers and Happy Wonderful Things!