White Chicken Chili

It must be winter. I was trying to decide what to make for lunch. Looking at my fridge, I realized I still had a lot of chicken leftover. Since the Cowboys/ Green Bay game was on early this afternoon, I decided something football appropriate would be good. I've never made white chicken chili before, but I thought it sounded good. Of course, I only had 2 cans of Cannellini beans, so I had to use pintos for the third, but I threw everything in the Crockpot and crossed my fingers. Of course, my corn craving was still hanging around, so after polling on FB, I added that. Then I couldn't get the seasoning right. So, back to FB and in the end, I finally got it worked out. I really like this stuff and now I know how to make it.

 White Chicken Chili

•  1 medium onion, diced
•  3 cloves garlic, minced
•  1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cans Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
•  1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
•  4 caps shredded chicken
•  2 (4-oz) cans green chilies
•  2 Tbsp ground cumin
•  1 tsp oregano
•  1/4 tsp cayenne
•  2 tsp smoked paprika
•  salt & pepper, to taste
• Sharp cheddar, for garnish

Heat olive oil in large skillet.  Cook onions and garlic until onion is translucent.  Add to Crockpot.  Add remaining ingredients, except cheese.   Cover and cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours. Adjust seasoning.  Serve topped with cheddar, if desired.

Stuffed Poblanos

I have spent several days trying to figure out what to stuff my poblano peppers with this week.  This experience is brand new all around for me this week.  I have never roasted whole peppers before and thus, have never stuffed them before.  I went back and forth on the method of roasting.  I knew that fire was out because I have an electric range.  When I asked for tips on using the broiler, it was suggested to me that I should use an iron skillet and I considered it for about 20 minutes.  Then I remembered that I have 4 very loud and sensitive fire alarms in this house and decided against it.  Once they start going off, it takes me about a half hour to get them all turned off again.  So, not my idea of fun this time.  That left me back with using the broiler.  I researched it and saw an equal number of recipes which used oil to those which did not.  So, I decided to try it without.

Then there was the task of deciding what to fill them with.  Yes, I know, chiles rellenos traditionally are filled simply with monterey jack cheese.  However, I had such a supply of meat in my refrigerator, I decided I should choose from one of them.  The choices were chicken taco meat with corn and black beans, pulled pork or ground beef.  I really needed to use the ground beef (or at least cook it up), so I did that while I continued to decide what to fill the peppers with.  Then I figured, what the heck, let's take that meat, add corn and Rotel and fill the peppers with that.  So, here is what I did:

Beef and Corn Stuffed Poblanos

• 5 poblano peppers*
• 1 lb ground round
• 1 1/2 cups fresh sweet corn*
• 1 (10.5 oz) can Rotel tomatoes with peppers
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chile pepper
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 cup sharp cheddar, divided
• 1 cup Monterey jack, divided
• 1 1/2 cups homemade heirloom tomato sauce

Turn on broiler.  Wash and dry the poblano peppers.  Place peppers onto a foil-lined baking sheet and place about 6" from broiler.  Broil about 5 minutes per side (three sides), turning each 5 minutes, until the skin is blackened and bubbly.  Place cooked peppers into a Ziploc bag and seal; let stand for 15 minutes.  Open bag and let peppers cool until you can handle them.  Once cooled, pinch the skin and pull, the skin should easily pull away from the flesh.  Set peppers aside.

Meanwhile, cook beef in a large skillet over medium heat until no pink remains.  Add the corn, tomatoes, cumin and chile pepper and cook for an additional 15 minutes.  Turn off heat and cool for 30 minutes.  If peppers are ready, add bread crumbs and half of the cheeses; mix well.

To assemble, hold one pepper in your hand and stuff with the meat mixture.  Make sure you push down into tip of pepper and stuff as full as you can.  Place the peppers in crock of your slow-cooker.  There will be filling remaining.  Mix heirloom tomato sauce into the remaining filling and then spoon over the stuffed peppers.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.  Then turn heat to HIGH, sprinkle with remaining cheese, cover and cook until cheese is melted.

Picture of finished recipe is coming!
*CSA ingredients

Taco Time!

I had been trying to figure out something different to use the corn in and wasn't quite in the mood for chicken tortilla soup (this is a default for me).  I decided to try making chicken taco filling in the crockpot.  It helps that they had chicken thighs on sale in the grocery store this weekend.  I do love cooking with chicken thighs.  I made some homemade salsa with some of the fresh tomatoes and jalapenos from the CSA and that is the base of the mixture.  Add some black beans and fresh corn and I think it's going to be a tasty mix!

Crockpot Chicken Taco Filling

• 4 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin and fat removed
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup fresh salsa* (tomatoes, jalapenos, green pepers)
• 1 tsp Cajun spice
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic*, minced
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups fresh corn kernals*
• 1/2 Tbsp lime juice

Place chicken in crockpot and pour water and salsa over the chicken.  Next, add the spices, garlic, black beans, corn and lime juice.  Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.  The chicken should shredd very easily.  Remove the bones and thoroughly shred the chicken.  Serve in tortillas with your favorite taco toppings.

*CSA ingredients

Spanish Rice Soup

There are certain vegetables that you get in surplus every year from your CSA.  As you can imagine, zucchini and summer squash are a couple.  What surprises me about our CSA is that there hasn't been an excess of greens.  We have had the greens attached to root vegetables (which is just fine with me if it means beet greens), however, other than some random kale, this CSA doesn't seem to go in for the greens.  I will say that I am grateful for that because, as much as I have grown to like greens, after a while, you run out of ideas. This year, it appears that the squash and zucchini will be the vegetable that I run out of ideas for.

To use up some of the squash, as well as fresh green beans and peas, that I received, I decided to make a chicken vegetable soup.  Yes, I do cheat and buy rotisserie chicken to use in things like this.  For the price, you can't beat pre-cooked whole chickens!  However, when the soup cooked, it was nice but not very hearty.  I figured I would take a look at my past stash and see what I could add to thicken it up.  I ran across a package of Lipton Spanish Rice and decided, hmmm, this might be nice.  Thus, Spanish rice soup was born.  Very hearty and tasty, I think I will have to freeze some of this because a small amount is enough to fill me up!

Spanish Rice Soup

• 1 small green zucchini*
• 1 small yellow zucchini*
• 1 small crookneck squash*
• 1/2 cup shelled fresh peas*
• 1 1/2 cup green beans, snapped*
• 4 cans tomatoes with basil & oregano
• 2 cans water
• 3 cups shredded rotisserie chicken
• 1 package Lipton Spanish Rice

Wash vegetables and drain.  Cut ends off squashes, cut in half lengthwise, then slice into 1/4 inch pieces.  Shell the peas and snap the beans into 1 inch pieces.  Place all the vegetables, tomatoes (undrained), water and chicken into crock of slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 1 hour and then reduce to LOW and cook 6-8 hours or until vegetables are cooked.  Turn cooker back to HIGH.  Add rice mix and cook for about 40 minutes or until rice is cooked.

*CSA ingredients

Nutrition (1 cup):
Calories, 190
Fat, 2.3g
Cholesterol, 15mg
Carbs, 34g
Protein, 9g

Chicken in the Crockpot

I love 2 things; the chickens we get from the CSA and cooking them in the Crockpot! The farmers' Market at Case started up  2 weeks ago and I've been picking up fresh herbs from them. So this time, I placed some fresh thyme and fresh chives into the cavity before cooking and it turned out so yummy!

 Thyme and Chive Crockpot Chicken

• 1 farm-raised chicken*
•  5 sprigs fresh thyme
•  1 small bunch fresh Chives
•  salt and pepper

 Thoroughly dry the chicken inside and out. Place thyme and chives into cavity and place chicken, upside-down, into the Crockpot. Season with salt and pepper. Cook covered for 8 hours on low.

 Note: When done, I remove meat and return skin and bones to the crockpot with water to make stock. cook overnight, then remove bones and cook for rest of day. Cool; remove fat. Pour into ice cubed trays to freeze for later use.

* CSA ingredients

Chicken

As you've probably noticed, I am partial to cooking my chickens in the crockpot. I like doing this for a several reasons: 1) it always comes out beautifully moist. 2) It's very hands off. I can put it in the crockpot and go on about my day. 3) I can then take the cooking juices and bones and make chicken stock.

I decided to do a different set of seasonings with this chicken.  For some reason, I am all about Italian seasonings this weekend.  I do have to admit, my apartment did smell wonderful when I got back from the movie, so I at least chose a nice fragrant combination.

Crockpot chicken

• 4-5 lb free-range chicken*
• Paprika
• Dried chives
• Italian blend seasoning

Remove neck and giblets from cavity. Dry chicken, inside and out. Place upside-down in the crock and season liberally with paprika, chives and Italian seasoning. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hour or until a thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh reads 160.

Chicken Stock

Remove chicken from crockpot and cool. Strip meat from bones and return the bones to the crockpot. Add carrots*, onion* and celery (large chunks) to crockpot and enough water to fill. Cook several hour. Then strain stock and store.

*CSA ingredients

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Chicken

I do love to get whole chickens from my CSA. If you've never gotten a whole free-range chicken before, I suggest you give one a try. You will never go back to grocery store chickens again. As always, I cooked this chicken in the crockpot and am now making chicken stock with the skin and bones. I found a recipe that had a great blend of spices.

 Sticky Chicken in Crockpot
 Adapted from: www.newlyweds.blog.com/2008/09/26/sticky-chicken-in-crock-pot 

• 2 tsp salt
•  1 tsp cayenne pepper
•  2 tsp Paprika
•  2 tsp garlic powder
•  1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
•  1 tsp fresh ground pepper
•  1 large roasting chicken*
•  1 large onion*, chopped

 In a small bowl combine seasonings.

 Remove giblets from chicken , clean cavity well and pat dry with a paper towel.

 Rub the spice mixture into the chicken , both inside and out, making sure it is evenly distributed and down deep into the skin.

 Add onions to bottom of crock and chicken cavity.

 Place chicken breast-side down in Crockpot. Cover and cook 8-10 hours on Low.

 To make stock:

 Remove chicken from Crockpot and cool. Remove meat from bones and return skin and bones to Crockpot. Add 8 cups water, cover and cook 8-10 hours on Low. Cool, strain, and freeze for later use.

*CSA ingredients

Boston Butt

It is patently obvious that we are into the winter CSA. In the first week, we received a 5 lb Boston Butt.  This week, we received a whole free-range chicken, 1 1/2 lbs chorizo and 1 lb of ground beef.  We definitely get our money's worth with all the meat that we receive in the winter.  I used my crockpot to roast my Boston Butt this past week and have been using the pulled pork to make sandwiches, etc all week.  Roasting in a crockpot is so easy:

Slow-cooker Roast Boston Butt

• 1 5lb bone-in Boston Butt (also known as pork shoulder)*
• salt & pepper, to taste

Season roast with salt and pepper to taste.  Place in crock of your slow-cooker and cook on LOW 8-10 hours.  The meat should easily fall apart with a fork.  Remove crock from slow cooker and allow to cool until the roast can be handled with bare hands.  Using two forks, pull the meat apart.  

Some ideas for using your pulled pork include making bbq sandwhiches, making a pork ragu with your favorite tomato sauce, pork omelets, the list could go on and on.  I made bbq pork sandwiches using a barbeque sauce that we received during the summer CSA from Clark Pope catering company.  But you can use your favorite sauce or make one from scratch!

 

Zucchini and tomatoes

Last week, I ended up with a lot of tomatoes, zucchini and summer squash.  I needed a quick way to use some of it up and thought; "Why not put it in the crockpot?".  My husband had also brought me a pound of ground buffalo when he came down to visit last weekend.  For some reason, we were not able to find time to cook it up, and it needed to be cooked, so that will be my protein.  Since I am part Italian, I tend to default to a basil/oregano based sauce, but I would imagine you could season this any way you prefer.

Slow Cooker Buffalo Garden Vegetable Sauce

• 1 lb ground buffalo
• 1 lg cloves garlic, minced*
• 3 lg tomatoes*
• 2 small summer squash*
• 1 med zucchini*
• 1 (11.5 oz) can low-sodium V8
• 1.5 tbsp dried basil (you may use fresh, I just didn't have any)
• 1 tsp dried oregano (this may be fresh too)
• salt & pepper to taste

Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Add garlic and buffalo; saute until buffalo is no longer pink; drain.  Wash squash and tomatoes.  Cut each squash in half legthwise and then slice into 1/4 inch slices; place in crock.  Cut each tomato in half and then into thin wedges; add to crock.  Pour buffalo and garlic over the vegetables.  Sprinkle with basil and oregano.  Pour V8 over entire mixture.  Cover and cook 6-8 hours on LOW.  Adjust seasoning and serve over pasta (not included in calories below). Makes about 8 servings.

This is served over garlic-chive pasta* from Ohio City Pasta Company.

*CSA ingredients

Calories         122.8
Total fat             6.6g
  Sat fat              2.8g
  Poly fat            0.4g
  Mono fat         2.5g
Cholesterol      35.3mg
Sodium            58.9mg
Potassium      449.5mg
Total Carbs       4.6g
  Dietary fiber    1.2g
  Sugars             2.3g
Protein             11.1g