Southwestern Chicken Chili

Oh dear. It's been a year since I've posted my last recipe. Many good recipes have collected in the meantime! This one is delicious (as usual) - Not sure that the picture does it much justice, but this Southwest Chicken Chili is amazing. I so love it, especially since it's so fully of veggies and lots of other goodies! So filling, and so tasty. So yum. And now especially since the snow is starting, it's perfect to warm you up on a chilly day!

Southwestern Chicken Chili

Adapted slightly from Best of Bridge

Serves 8-10

5 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves

3 Tbsp chili powder (use all of it)

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

3 Tbsp coriander

salt & pepper to taste (I use at least a tsp of pepper, and 1/2 tsp or less of salt)

4 carrots, chopped into bite-sized pieces

3 stalks celery, chopped

28 oz can diced tomatoes

7 oz can diced green chiles

3 Tbsp tomato paste

2 Tbsp lime juice

1 tsp sugar

12 oz can kernel corn

14 oz can white kidney beans

14 oz can garbanzo beans (chick peas)

1 bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces. In a dutch oven or large pot, brown the chicken in the oil.

2. Add onions and saute until soft. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.

3. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, coriander, salt and pepper to the mixture, and cook and stir for about 3 minutes.

4. Add carrots, celery, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, green chiles, lime juice and sugar to the mix. Bring to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for one hour.

5. After the chili has simmered for an hour, add the corn, kidney beans, chick peas and bell pepper, and simmer for about 30 minutes more.

Serve with a fresh bun, or just if you want to be simple a couple of pieces of bread! Enjoy!

Mikyn's Chicken Pot Pie

Mmmm, comfort food. Sitting here, thinking about it, I actually wondered to myself how chicken pot pie became a comfort food? Seriously, I don't think I ever remember eating it growing up - and if we did, I think it was rare. In any case, they are pretty much a staple in our house now, especially now that I've starting to make my own. They are a HUGE hit around here - we all love them. Normally, I make my own pastry crusts and everything, but this week I thought I'd try something a bit different by using a cheese-filled biscuit topping... not only was it a success in that it tasted really good, but by eliminating the pastry, it cuts out a lot of the extra calories normally found in pot pies. Calories aside, it's yum. Comfort food, yum.

Chicken Pot Pie
Mikyn's Kitchen
Serves 8 mini pot-pies or 1 large 9x11 pie

2-3 cups chicken broth
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 small potatoes, chopped (I used russet potatoes)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup roasted chicken, cut into bite-size pieces (or more if desired)
Sprinkle of marjoram
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup flour
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

1) Boil carrots, celery, onion and potatoes in chicken broth. Add marjoram and bay leaf; Season with salt and pepper. Once cooked, reserve chicken broth and set veggies aside.

2) Make a basic white sauce with butter, flour and milk. It will be very thick; add the reserved chicken broth to the white sauce to thin to desired thickness, making sure to keep it fairly thick. You want it to be a gravy consistency.

3) Add the peas, chicken, and reserved cooked vegetables to the gravy sauce, stirring gently.

4) Fill individual ramekins (or pot pie shells) with the vegetable/gravy mixture, and top with biscuit topping. I used this one, but instead of the raisins, use about a 1/4 cup of grated cheese. Bake at 425F for 12-14 minutes.

If you want to freeze the pot pies for future use, I recommend allowing the sauce to cool first, and then fill either your raw pie shells (or top with uncooked biscuit topping), and stick straight into the freezer to bake later. It's comfort food at it's best.

End of Soup Week: Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

So, I decided one day that it was time to venture out from my corn chowders and chicken noodle soups, and like usual wanted something quick and simple. You know when co-workers start saying to you "how's the corn chowder?" before they even see what soup I'm eating that particular day, that it's time to vary it a little bit! Well, I had seen this recipe a couple of months back on the Picky-Palate, and not only did it look delicious, but I knew I wanted to try it right away - especially since I happened to have all of the ingredients on hand. I think its both the wild rice and the spinach in this soup that make it so tasty. Since I freeze all of my soups to enjoy later on for work lunches, I just leave the spinach out when I freeze it, then add it to the soup once it's reheated.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
Source: Picky-Palate
Serves 6

1 onion, chopped
4 carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups homemade chicken broth
1 can Cream of chicken soup
1 can Cheddar cheese soup
3/4 cup milk (I used soy milk)
2 cups roasted chicken breast, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 cup cooked wild rice
Salt and pepper to taste
Spinach, shredded into smaller pieces (For a whole pot of soup about 4 cups; for individual soup about 1/2 handful per bowl)

1. In a large pot, saute onions and carrots over medium heat until soft (about 5-7 minutes). Add garlic, and cook stirring constantly for another 60 seconds or so.

2. Add chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, cheddar cheese soup, milk, chicken, salt and pepper. Bring soup to a boil. Once heated through, remove from heat and stir in the spinach. Serve immediately ~ enjoy!

Soup Week: Roasted Chicken and Barley Soup

Since I had a lot of time on my hands this past winter, and wanted something else to do whenever I had the energy to do it, I thought making homemade chicken noodle soup would be a good start. It was pleasantly simple to make, and was an excellent comfort food on top of that. I've never been a fan of the packaged or canned chicken soups out there, and now I'll never go back. The soup is so delicious and is full of tons of vegetables, nice big chunks of roasted chicken, and lots of flavour. Thanks to my grandma for teaching me how to make this.

PART 1: Homemade Chicken Broth
Mikyn's Kitchen

Chicken carcass and bones, meat removed
10-12 cups water
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 bay leaf
1 whole clove garlic, peeled (optional)
Salt
Pepper

Homemade chicken broth is most easily made from the leftover bones and carcass of a roasting chicken. Once the chicken is roasted, remove as much of the chicken meat from the bones as possible, reserving for future use (If you leave the meat on the bones, it tends to go rubbery, and so it's better to remove before making the broth).

In a large pot, add the bones, carrots, celery, onions, water and spices, and bring to a boil. Once the water comes to a boil, remove any scum, reduce the heat and simmer on low for 1.5-2 hours. After a couple of hours, taste and re-season as necessary - salt is definitely the key here. Don't be afraid to add some - it will still be less than the canned versions in the store.

Strain out the vegetables, bones and bay leaf, reserving the broth. If you allow the broth to cool in the fridge overnight, you can easily remove any fat that may have solidified on top - I find though that the roasting of the chicken actually renders most of the fat, and so there's usually very little left. Enjoy as needed in your recipes.

PART 2: Roasted Chicken and Barley Soup
Mikyn's Kitchen
Serves 8

10 cups homemade chicken broth
4 carrots, chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup roasted chicken, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup barley
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Add carrots, celery, onions and barley, and cook until soft.

2. When nearly done, add the chicken and heat through. Taste and re-season as necessary. Enjoy!