I’ve had chili on the mind lately. Its such a good hearty comfort food for a cold day. The end of winter is quickly approaching as we steady into 60 degree weather. I was flipping through my copy of The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger and saw this recipe. And I knew I wanted to make this. Its definitely different than my usual go-to Texas Style Chili recipe. I love the use of the chipotle chiles in this recipe, rather than the typical chili powder. They had a great flavor and bit of kick. The original recipe calls for 1 chile but we use two. If I were making a batch solely for hubby, I know that he would love it if I packed 3 in there but I know 3 is more than I’d care for. Start with 1 to play it safe and see what you think but two is our magic number.

Oh and don’t you just love the color? I love that this hearty and filling Chili but packs in a few extra veggies. Definitely give this one a try while its still cool outside!

Confetti Chili

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 (28-oz) can no-salt-added crushed tomatoes, with their juices
2 cups low-sodium beef or vegetable broth
1-3 canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce, seeded and minced, plus 2 teaspoons of the sauce
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 (15.5-oz) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
1 (15.5-oz) can kidney beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups corn kernels
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

I first blogged my chili recipe two years ago. It took months of developing a recipe that I thought was just right. I still love my Chili recipe and it still remains unchanged. Hubby loves it a lot too, which is saying a lot cause nothing is as good as his dad’s chili, as he used to say. The first time I tried making chili, he gave me shifty eyes like, why are you trying? He declared that it was good though. Second time I ever made chili, he was still gave me the shifty eye look though. Like you’re still gonna try to make chili? Luckily, he’s stopped giving me the shifty eye look. I’ve made a winner of a chili recipe that even hubby requests. That’s a winner in my book!

I frequently buy pre-cubed ‘stew’ meat from the butcher which is whatever cuts they give you, so you can use whatever cut of steak that you’d like. Just keep in mind that the less tender cuts will probably need to be cooked longer to get nice and tender. I also say 1-2 cups of broth in this recipe which is quite a big range. But I’ve found that sometimes I only need a single cup and other times I need more, depending upon how my meat cooks up or just how much juice is in the tomatoes, or how long it simmers on the stove. I’d recommend starting with a cup of broth. After all, we’re making chili not soup. And go from there to get the consistency you’d like.

And so there’s the great debate… should chili have beans or not? Personally, I don’t have much of a preference. I know… that’s probably a crime in and of itself. But I didn’t grow up eating chili. The first time I recall eating a bowl of chili was late in high school so really, I don’t think of either way as the “right” way. When I make a pot of chili, I typically add beans for nutritional purposes and to get more out of the chili Don’t hate, I’m still a Texan. But you can make this recipe however you like, with or without. I’ve made it both ways and its tasty both ways. So, you do what you want (of course)! When I do use beans, I typically use 1 can of kidney beans & 1 can of pinto beans. I buy an organic brand that is unseasoned. I’ve found that there’s enough flavoring in the chili to not have to add anything else for the extra cans except a little more salt & pepper.

I hope you’ll try this recipe out, we think its a winner!

Texas Chili (or not)

2 pounds chuck roast, cubed
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes (with or without green chiles)
1-2 fresh roasted green chiles, seeds removed & diced (or a 4 oz can green chiles)*
1-2 c beef broth
1 large onion, diced
3-4 large gloves garlic, minced
2 heaping Tbsp ancho chili powder
2 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp paprika
Salt & Black pepper to taste
2 (15 oz) cans beans, drained (optional!!)

In a large dutch oven, add beef. Season liberally with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Stir occasionally, until just browned. Over medium heat, add onions & garlic and saute, stirring occasionally until softened and aromatic, 7-9 minutes. Add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, diced tomatoes, green chiles and beef broth. Bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 hours, or longer (add broth as needed). If desired, add drained beans and allow to simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Season with salt & pepper as desired. Serve hot.

* For canned green chiles, we prefer Hatch brand roasted green chiles. If you can’t find canned green chiles, substitute the canned tomatoes with a variety that has chiles in them such as Rotel

I love this time of year. Fall is so wonderful. We usually don’t have “fall” in Texas. I joke that we have summer and not-summer. And that’s usually about right. This year though, the weather has been fabulous overall in October/November thus far. We’ve had our windows open almost daily for weeks!  Its so wonderful!!

I set out last week to whip up something quick and easy that was comfort food inspired… chicken pot pie soup! We loved it so much the first time, I made it again 3 days later… and then again! You know you have a winner on your hands when you eat it over and over again after the first success. This one definitely goes into our favorites.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

1-2 Tbsp butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 carrots, diced
1 lb potatoes (peeled), small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked diced/shredded chicken (I  use rotisserie chicken from the grocery store)
1 cup frozen petite peas
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/4 cup milk (I typically use skim milk and sub ~2 Tbsp of skim with half and half )
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
salt & black pepper to taste

Add butter to large pot. Add diced carrots & onions. Saute until carrots are softened and onions are translucent. Add minced garlic and saute until fragrent. Add chicken broth, cooked chicken, white pepper & paprika. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium-low. When potatoes are fork tender, add milk & frozen peas. Simmer 5-10 minutes. Season with salt & black pepper as desired. Be generous with both. Serve hot.

So back to the series, Jill likes to say that she’s no domestic goddess when it comes to the kitchen. But I think we all have a little domestic goddess in us. So we decided, we’d create a little challenge. I’d develop the recipe and she’s going to try to reproduce the same results. So this week’s challenge will be to make homemade wonton soup. The reason I chose wonton soup is that they’re easy to make. Its rather inexpensive if you already keep asian staples in your pantry, and they’re easily freezeable.

All you need to do to freeze them, is put them in the freezer on a baking sheet lined with wax paper until they are firm (about 1 hour). Then transfer them to a freezer bag (freezing them individually prevents them from freezing as a massive clump). The cooking method will be the same, no need to defrost them. Just drop them into the broth frozen. The cooking time will be longer but they will cook perfectly!

Jill has this week to attempt the challenge. She’ll blog about her results and her experience on Friday. I encourage you to pop over there and check it out! I’m curious to see if these are kid friendly. I liked them as a kid, but I’m half Chinese! I’m guessing the little man will just eat the wontons not the actual soup but if you were going to serve the soup to a child, I’d probably omit the white pepper in the broth and just sprinkle some into my bowl. (Need a little help with folding the wonton? Check out this link with lots of different options with photos. Want to save time? Triangles will do! )

Oh, and I like to make a double batch of these since they are so easy to freeze. By doubling the recipe, it yields 8 servings which is 4 meals for this little family of 2 which is great!

Not in the mood for soup? Deep fry these babies… yum! I can’t help you with instructions for that though cause I’ve never deep fried anything… but I can tell you they’d be tasty!

Wonton Soup with Baby Bok Choy

For Wontons:
1/2 lb ground pork
1-2 scallion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 tsp rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1/2 tsp Asian sesame oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground white pepper
~30 wonton wrappers, thawed if frozen
1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1/4 cup cool water (cornstarch slurry)

For Soup:
2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
1/2 pound baby bok choy, leaves separated and washed well
1/2 tsp white pepper
salt as desired

Stir together pork, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, salt, and white pepper in a bowl in 1 direction with your hand until just combined (do not overwork, or filling will be tough).

Put 1 wonton wrapper on a work surface (keep remaining wrappers covered with damp cloth). Spoon a teaspoon of filling in center of square, then brush cornstarch slurry around edges. Lift 2 opposite corners together to form a triangle and enclose filling, pressing edges firmly around mound of filling to eliminate air pockets and seal. Moisten opposite corners of long side. Curl moistened corners toward each other, overlapping one on top of the other, and carefully press corners together to seal. Make more wontons in same manner.

Fill a medium sized pot with 6 cups of chicken broth. Reserve remaining 2 cups of broth. Bring broth to a boil over medium-high heat. Add wontons and stir lightly to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  When the broth begins to boil again, add 1 cup of broth. When water begins to boil again, add remaining cup of broth and bok choy. When the broth boils for the final time, the wontons & bok choy should be done. Serve hot.

Source: Adapted from Gourmet, 2004.

I hope you enjoy this one as much as our families do! Its the perfect dish for fall! What are your favorite soup recipes?? I’m always on the look-out for new soup ideas since its such a cost effective way to feed a crowd!

White Bean Chicken Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
1 sweet onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 lb ground chicken breast*
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (4oz.) cans Hatch green chile peppers, diced (or 5-6 fresh mild peppers)
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
2  (14.5 oz) cans great Northern beans, undrained
1/2 cup half & half or heavy cream

In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the ground chicken, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium when thoroughly browned. Drain excess grease if there is any, leaving approximately 1 Tbsp of grease (or add olive oil if none).  Add the onions and garlic and saute for 10 minutes, or until onions are tender. Add the chicken broth, green chile peppers, cumin, white pepper and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and add the beans & half-and-half. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until heated thoroughly.

*Shortcut Method: Alternatively, you can use 2 cups of prepared diced/shredded chicken. Begin directions by sauteing onions & garlic, then add shredded chicken and continue as instructed.

If you prefer a thicker stew, after you’ve sauteed the diced veggies. Add a couple Tablespoons of flour to the diced veggies, just before adding white wine.

Chicken & Dumplings

1 Tbsp olive oil
2.5-3 lbs. bone-in split chicken breasts (2-3)
8 cups of water
2 medium onions
5 whole carrots
7 stalks celery
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 c white wine
3/4 c petite frozen peas
1/2 tsp thyme
salt & pepper

Dumplings
2 c all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1 c milk, warm
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Rinse and pat dry chicken. Season with salt in pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large dutch oven. Add chicken and cook until golden on both sides, approximately 10 minutes per side. Cut the following into quarters and add to chicken: 1 onion, 3 stalks celery, 2 carrots.  Add 8 cups of water. Cover dutch oven and reduce heat to medium-low. Allow to simmer for 1 hour. Add 2-3 bay leaves. Simmer 30-40 minutes.

Remove chicken from pot and set aside. Strain solids from broth and reserve broth. Discard solids. When cool enough to touch, remove chicken skin & shred chicken. Discard bones.

Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add one onion (diced), 4 stalks of celery (diced), and 3 carrots (diced). Saute until soft approximately 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup white wine allowing to cook down. Add the chicken back to the pot. Return 5-6 cups of the strained broth to the pot. Return pot to a rolling boil.

Combine all dumpling ingredients in a bowl and stir until combined. Set aside. Add thyme to stew and season with salt & pepper. Stir in peas.

Gather dumpling dough into golf-ball sized portions, dropping into the stew leaving 1/4 – 1/2 inch between them. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until dumplings have doubled in size, approximately 15 minutes.

Short-cut Chicken & Dumplings

Starting with paragraph three above (sauteing diced veggies), use store bought broth or stock and 4 cups of chopped rotisserie chicken.

its time to announce a winner for our blogoversary giveaway. I’m giving away a copy of the Williams-Sonoma Holiday Entertaining cookbook. Its perfect for thanksgiving and Christmas party planning. It has ideas for centerpieces, menus, and its filled with beautiful photos! I used the Random Number generator to pick one of my lucky readers:

So… our lucky winner is Clara of iheartcuppycakes! Clara you should have an email from me, so get me your information and I’ll get your cookbook in the mail! Thanks to all my readers for participating and making my first giveaway a success!

That was a lot of fun but its time to talk food! I am getting SO excited about Thanksgiving! This is our first time to host and I just can’t wait. I’ve been working on a menu and I’ll be trying a few recipes out next week. I absolutely can’t wait! The weather here in Texas hasn’t exactly been that cool lately. Its definitely not summer but its not as cool as you’d hope for November! I hope we get another cold front soon! Despite that, I’ve been fixing lots of great fall favorites like soup!

I’ve been trying to figure out a veggie soup for awhile that hubby and I would both like that was hearty enough to be a meal. Its hard to do since hubby is very muchly a meat and potatoes man and he isn’t really a fan of green veggies so I have some limitations. And I’m not gonna lie, he didn’t love the spinach in this recipe so when I fix it again for just the two of us, I’ll scale it back for him but I quite loved the spinach in this soup! Although I do think zucchini would be a great substitute. Anyway, I plan on making this many more times this winter. Hope you enjoy!

Vegetable Minestrone

2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
2-3 ribs of celery, chopped
3 medium sized carrots, sliced
1 cup corn
4 c vegetable broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 cup baby spinach, chopped
1 medium russet potatoes, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
2 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and add onions and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent. Add celery and carrots (add corn at this step if using frozen), saute for 2-3 minutes to soften veggies. Add broth, diced tomatoes with juice, drained kidney beans, corn, spinach, potatoes, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30-40 minutes. Season with kosher salt and pepper as desired.

Anyway, being in cooler weather for a week and coming home to stores that have out the fall and Halloween stuff gave me a craving for fall. Fall = soup! I think they’re trying to torture us in Texas. Yes Halloween and fall are wonderful, but don’t taunt us. We’re no where close to cooler weather! Anyway – just for fun, here’s a photo from our vacation and thus the reason for my craving for soup:

Despite the 100+ degree weather, I couldn’t resist making some soup. Corn chowder seemed like an obvious summer choice but I wanted to make something new and decided on Pasta Fagioli, something I tried for the first time at a restaurant about a month ago. I’ve actually seen quite a few recipes for this on the blogosphere lately which is probably why it was on my mind.

Pasta Fagioli, meaning “pasta and beans” originated as a peasant dish. The base is generally made of olive oil, garlic, minced onion, and spices, along with stewed tomatoes or tomato paste. Or traditionally in home recipes, leftover marinara sauce. And actually, some variations don’t contain tomato at all. With all that in mind, I figure there is no “right” way to make pasta fagioli; it is a peasant dish after all which means you use what you have on hand. Want to add more veggies? Throw in some carrots and zucchini. Don’t have ground beef? Try Italian sausage like Chelle did, or use pancetta and/or proscuitto as seen in this Giada recipe. The possibilities are endless!

Pasta Fagioli

1 pound ground beef
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 large stalks celery, thinly sliced
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 – 1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
64 oz low-sodium beef broth
16 oz tomato sauce
2 Tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried oregano
kosher salt & pepper, to taste
6 oz small dry pasta of choice

In a large stockpot over medium high heat, brown the ground beef, crumbling it as it cooks. Once brown, remove beef from pot with a slotted spoon and discard any grease that remains in the pot.

Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the same pot and add the onion, garlic, and celery, and saute over medium heat until vegetables are soft.. Add ground beef back to the pot, add undrained can of diced tomatoes, and crushed red pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add the beans, beef broth, tomato sauce and all of the remaining seasonings. Stir well. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Add pasta and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve hot.

I was a little anxious because hubby is picky about corn. When we met he didn’t even eat corn because he thought the sweetness threw an entire meal out of balance, and I could smell the sweetness of this corn as I grilled it. I knew it was going to be delicious. And I was pleasantly surprised to see hubby gobble down two large bowls along with his sandwich for dinner! It was good!

I normally don’t post a recipe without a photo but the camera was dead and it was tasty so I wanted to share. Hopefully I can update soon with a photo. Enjoy!

Grilled Corn Chowder

3 pieces bacon, diced
1 cup diced onion
1/3 cup celery, finely chopped
4 ears of corn, grilled & removed from the cob
1 medium russet potato
32 oz. chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup half & half
1/8 tsp cayenne powder
1/2 cup cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Cook bacon in a wide 6- to 8-quart heavy pot over medium heat, stirring frequently, until crisp, about 5 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain, then add onion, & celery to bacon fat and cook, stirring, until onion is softened, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes and coat them with the bacon fat. Add corn and saute for ~1 minute.

Add broth, bay leaf, and cayenne powder. Bring to a boil. Simmer 25-30 minutes. Pluck out bay leaf. Taste. Add salt & pepper as desired. Remove 2 cups of soup from pot and puree until smooth using blender. Add pureed portion back to pot.

Add half and half. Heat over medium 3-5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup cheese. Garnish with bacon pieces.

Makes 4-6 Servings.

Egg Drop Soup

1 quart chicken broth, divided
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
2 green onions
salt & white pepper to taste
1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Reserve 3/4 cup of chicken broth, and pour the rest into a large saucepan. Stir the salt, ginger and green onions into the saucepan, and bring to a rolling boil. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the remaining broth and cornstarch until smooth. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the eggs and egg yolk together using a fork. Drizzle egg a little at a time from the fork into the boiling broth mixture. Egg should cook immediately. Once the eggs have been dropped, stir in the cornstarch mixture gradually until the soup is the desired consistency.