White Bean Chicken Chili

White Bean Chicken Chili

(Dairy Free, Gluten Free)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/3 cup cassava flour (Here is where I get mine from, Otto's Naturals)

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 can coconut milk

2 cups chicken broth

2 cups frozen corn

1 - 15 ounce cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups boneless chicken, cut into small pieces

1 - 4 ounce can chopped green chilies 

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro

In a dutch oven heat olive oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic.  Cook until onions are tender.  Stir in flour, salt and chili powder, mix well.  Add milk and chicken broth, stir until thickened slightly.  Use a whisk to help break up the flour and to make it creamy.  Add remaining ingredients except cilantro.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Taste and to check for flavor and add more salt as necessary.  Stir in cilantro and serve.

Chicken Asparagus Quiche

I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do with the leftover roast chicken from the other night.  I didn't want to go with the same old, same old tried and true chicken pot pie.  I decided to do a quiche.  You can pretty much make quiche with any ingredients as long as you have the basics.  Here is what I did:

Use about 2 cups chicken that has been cut into bite size pieces.  I cheated and used a pre-made pie crust. I get these crusts from the local co-op which are made with quality organic ingredients.  These crusts are great if you want to make something and don't want to take the time and make your own pie crust.

I thawed out a bag of frozen asparagus, dried it off and laid several pieces into the bottom of the pie crust (I left the asparagus whole), add the chicken on top of that, add about 1-1/2 cups of grated cheese (I used a mix of white sharp cheddar, mild cheddar and parmesan).  Beat together 6 eggs and 1-1/2 cups of heavy cream, beat in a little salt and pepper.   Pour mixture over the asparagus, chicken and cheese.  Make sure that you have your pie crust sitting on a cookie sheet lined with foil (this helps in case the quiche decides to run over).  Mine did run over a little bit.  Bake in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until it is set and a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Rice Noodles with Chicken and Mushrooms

I had some chicken breasts that I wanted to cook for tonight's dinner.  Sometimes I do not have a plan for the rest of dinner until the last minute and then I throw something together.   Tonight was one of those nights.  I had a box of rice noodles in the pantry so I decided this was where I wanted to go with dinner.  On the box was a recipe.  I used the recipe but varied it slightly based on what I had available.  I think however that the next time I make this I will add some vegetables.  I think vegetables would add color as well as some great taste.

Here is what I did:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 of a large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
12 ounces of chicken breast, cut up into bite size pieces (If you have more chicken than this the recipe can handle it)
1 bag of frozen mushrooms, thawed and drained (I keep a bag of mushrooms in the freezer so that I can have mushrooms anytime - the kind I use has a variety of mushrooms in the bag)
1 - 8 ounce package of rice noodles (soak noodles in hot water for 10 minutes while you are cooking everything else)

For the Sauce:
3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons chicken broth
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon tamari

Heat oil in a wok or heavy skillet over medium high heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook until golden.  Add chicken and stir fry until chicken is cooked, then add mushrooms.  Remove from heat and stir fry for another 1 to 2 minutes.  Combine ingredients for sauce.  Add sauce, noodles to cooked chicken and mix well.  Garnish with cilantro (I only had dried cilantro so I used it) and lime wedges.

Chicken Manhattan

I found this recipe in a "365 Ways to Cook Chicken " Cookbook years ago.  It is a great recipe and tonight I adapted it to what I had available.

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 boneless chicken breasts, pounded to about 1/4 inch thickness
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
4 slices Swiss cheese (the recipe calls for provolone cheese, but I had Swiss available)
1/4 cup dry white wine (I used a chardonnay from King Family Vineyards in Virgina)

Place bread crumbs and egg in separate shallow dishes.  Dip chicken in egg' then dredge in bread crumbs to coat.  In a large pan, heat oil  over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook about 4 minutes on each side.  Remove chicken to a platter, cover and keep warm.  In pan, add butter and melt over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic, saute until beginning to soften about 2 minutes.  Add spinach and nutmeg.  Mix well and cook until heated through.  Add chicken back to pan, top with spinach mixture.  Arrange cheese slices on top.  Add wine and cover.  Cook about 5 minutes until cheese is melted and chicken is tender.

Use the extra amount of spinach as the side for this dish. 

To this I added a small side salad of lettuce, tomato, carrots and a small sprinkling of blue cheese.  I used a dressing of extra virgin olive oil and a little balsamic vinegar.

Chicken Salad

Really wanted something simple and easy for dinner tonight so I decided to make a salad.

I sprinkled chicken breasts with some fresh ground pepper and a little bit of a chicken seasoning rub.
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried oregano

Sauteed the chicken until it was done.  Sliced it and added it to a bed of green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, salad beans (combination of kidney beans and garbanzo beans), carrots, blue cheese crumbles and half of an avocado.

Served with a mixture of olive oil and red wine vinegar.

Chicken Pot Pie (Chicken Leftovers Day 2)

Tonight's dinner will be a homemade chicken pot pie.

I made a homemade pie crust with a top and bottom.  I love the crust on the bottom of a pot pie!  To this I added all the leftover chicken (cut up), 2 fresh carrots (chopped), a couple of new red potatoes (I peeled and chopped them), some frozen peas that were thawed, the leftover gravy from last night, small amount of onion, tarragon, and basil.  I placed the top crust on and it is ready to be baked.

I made this ahead of time so that after work and running errands it can just be popped into the oven and baked for about 30 to 45 minutes (until the crust is nice and brown).

The pot pie ready to be baked.  I will add an egg wash to the crust so that it get a nice crispy crust on it.  

Homemade Chicken Stock

I kept everything from the chicken I baked on Monday.  I put all the bones and carcass into a crock pot.  To it I added a couple of cut up carrots and an onion that I cut into wedges (I would add celery to this as well, but I am allergic).   I also added some fresh oregano, fresh basil, dried tarragon, and a bay leaf.  Also included in this is the herbs that I put inside the chicken when I baked it.  Add water to almost full and a little bit of vinegar and let cook.  It will take a couple of days for the broth to cook down.  I want the liquid to cook down by half of what was in there.  

Once it is done, I will strain it and pour it into pint and quart mason jars.  I put them into the refrigerator to settle, once settled I skim the fat that has floated to the top.  I then put them into the freezer. You will then have stock anytime you need it.

The chicken parts, vegetable, and herbs in crock pot

The only down side is that your house will smell like cooking chicken for the next couple of days.  Of course this can be good or bad (depending on how hungry you are at the time).

Waffles Chicken and Gravy (Chicken Leftovers Day 1)

I know the sound of this title "Waffles Chicken and Gravy" may sound strange to some of you but this is something that I enjoyed growing up.  The leftover chicken and gravy would be used along with homemade waffles.

I didn't make gravy last night when I cooked the chicken.  I make my own stock from the chicken carcass and then freeze it.  So I pulled some pre-made chicken stock out of the freezer to make my gravy tonight.

The waffles are just a simple waffle recipe that you can pull from any cookbook.  We took some of the chicken leftovers from last night to go along with the waffles and gravy.

Herb Roasted Whole Chicken

I decided to do a whole chicken tonight in the oven.

The chicken is a pastured chicken which is what we only use.  Pastured chicken is so much better than store bought chicken.  There are no antibiotics, hormones, and can roam around in a field.  The feed these chickens are given to supplement their diet comes from a non-GMO grain that is specially grown for the farm.

I had some fresh thyme that a friend gave me (I love the herbs my friend gives me).

I also used a Chicken Herb Rub that came out of the cookbook "The Grassfed Gourmet".  The recipe is great on chicken, whether it is whole or just parts.

Here is the recipe:
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons dried oregano

All you need to do is rub it all over the chicken.  I also drizzled a little olive oil over the chicken.

The chicken all ready to go into the oven

Along with dinner I did a small salad, which had lettuce, tomato, cucumber, mushrooms and a little blue cheese with a homemade Italian dressing.

I also did fresh carrots that I steamed.  After they came out of the steamer I added a little butter and a little bit of honey.

Carrots in the steamer

I also cooked a brown basmati rice to go along with everything.

The cooked chicken

The finished plate