Quick Fix: White Chicken Chili

I can't believe I didn't post this recipe years ago, it's one of our absolute favorite, go-to soups.  I've made it twice this week alone.  It's ideal for a quick dinner one a week night and it's equally great for casual entertaining.

This White Chicken Chili has a slight kick to it and is full of the flavors I love - I include plenty of smokey cumin, coriander, chili powder and lime - just to name a few.

The thing about soups that make them perfect for week night meals is that you can make almost any type of soup in about 30 minutes (French Onion soup and Baked Potato soup are the two exceptions that spring to mind at the moment).  You just throw your base ingredients into the pot and you slice, dice or chop them up, saute them and add stock.  You can easily scale a recipe up or down - have a couple extra guest for dinner? Just add a couple more cups of stock.  Dinner for 2 tonight, use only 4 cups stock.  Voila - what could be easier?  Or more satisfying?




I made a video of this recipe too, here it is:

...and here's the recipe.

White Chicken Chili

1 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 onion, chopped (or 1 tbls minced onion)
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 can green chiles, drained
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
6-8 Cups chicken stock
Juice of 1 lime (add the zest too, if you like)
1 tbls Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder (or one small clove garlic, minced)
1/4 tsp coriander, ground
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat olive oil in a large soup pot or 3 qt dutch oven.  Add chicken and top chicken with the spices. Stir to coat chicken, then let chicken cook until lightly browned on one side.  Add onions (if you decide to use fresh garlic, add it now too), stir and cook until chicken is lightly browned on 2nd side and onions are translucent.  Add peppers and green chiles, stir in and cook for a couple more minutes. Stir in beans and stock.  Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Top soup with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream and green onions and enjoy.

Ciao!

Quick Fix: Queso Fundido

I made this version of Queso Fundido on May 4.  Yep, I was a day early, I just couldn't seem to get my Cinco de Mayo on soon enough, so I made Tex Mex at home a couple nights in a row!

I posted pictures of the finished and garnished Queso Fundido online and received a couple of requests for a video, so here it is, request honored:

This version is a bit different than the one I posted years ago it's got a lot less ingredients and you can whip it up in a jiffy for unexpected company or a quick and easy appetizer after a long day.  The video shows a full batch, but you can easily reduce the amount of servings - just go ahead and cook up all of your Chorizo and onion, place only what you need in an oven safe dish or a small cast-iron skillet, top it with your choice of cheese and bake as directed.  You can store the extra chorizo in the fridge and make more another day or freeze it for use in casseroles, soups, etc.

Play with this recipe! If you'd like to add bell pepper or hot peppers, throw them in with the onions. You can squeeze some lime in before you add the cheese too - I really like to squeeze it on top right before I eat it.  Can't find Chorizo where you are, use your favorite Italian sausage or a spicy breakfast sausage.  Use your favorite cheeses - one that melts really well and one that is tangy or sharp is really nice.  If you like it creamier, add a little cream cheese too.  Have fun and until next time - Ciao!

Queso Fundido

16 oz Bulk Chorizo Sausage
1/2 Medium Onion, chopped
8 oz Queso Quesadilla
8 oz Pepper Jack
1 handful Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1 handful Ripe Olives, chopped (optional)
Sour Cream to taste (optional)
1 Lime, cut into wedges and served on the side (optional)









This Queso Fundido is a bit different than

Gourmet at Home: Olive Tapenade

We love olives.  We do.  Because we love olives we almost always have a variety of them on hand in the fridge.  Recently, I was checking out the specialty items in the deli at my local grocery store and I noticed some Tapenade - it came in what might have been a 4 or 6 ounce jar - and they were charging $4.99 a jar!  I was both appalled at the price and reminded how easy it is to make yourself.  So I decided to show you how too.



There's really no recipe needed, just use 2 or 3 of your favorite types of olives, chop them up and serve with crackers or bread and your favorite cheeses, charcuterie and fruit or nuts and you have the perfect summer picnic, easy light dinner or cocktail party platter.  Check it out:

Ciao!

Quick Fix: Spaghetti with Lemon Garlic Shrimp

Today's recipe is not only a Quick Fix, it's also what I call a Friday Night Fix - and it's one of my favorite things to make when I find myself home alone on a Friday night when Steven's playing poker with the guys.  It's comforting, satisfying and super quick to make.  It's great hot or cold too so it's a multi-seasonal dish.  Grill the shrimp outdoors in the summer, if you like!  You can make this dish start to finish in just a little more time than it takes to boil the water and cook the pasta.

This is a very versatile recipe.  You can easily use more pasta and shrimp to prepare more servings and it would be a lovely addition for a small dinner party - reduce the portions and serve it as a first course to keep it simple and affordable.  Steven doesn't really care to eat shrimp, so if I make it when he's home, I simply put half of the pasta in a dish for him and top it with a bit more Extra Virgin Olive Oil, some fresh cracked pepper and some Parmesan cheese - delicious!

Spaghetti with Lemon Garlic Shrimp

serves 1-2

4 oz Spaghetti

8 oz EZ Peel Shrimp (I like a lot of shrimp)

1 Lemon

1 Clove Garlic

1 TBLS Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Ciao!

Quick Fix: Salmon in Parchment

Welcome to Quick Fix, a series of posts and videos I'll be sharing for recipes that are quick and easy to make.  For this first installment, I'm sharing Salmon in Parchment.  This is not only a quick and easy way to bake salmon, but it's also very reliable and my favorite way to prepare fish indoors. The fish always comes out tender, flaky and full of flavor.

Here's the video so you can follow along if you like:

And here's the instructions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For this recipe you'll need:
sheet pan
parchment
salmon filet (or any other fish)
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
dill
salt

Place a sheet of parchment on the sheet pan - making sure to tear off a big enough piece to enclose the salmon in.  Place salmon on parchment and season liberally with salt.  Slice lemon and place slices on top of salmon.  Sprinkle with dill and garlic.

Fold parchment around salmon, forming a pouch.  Bake 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.  It should easily flake away when checked with a fork.

I hope you'll tune in and try this method. I'd love to hear how you make it your own!