This recipe is super easy to make. I cooked my chicken ahead of time, then added the rest of the ingredients once cooled. This recipe is taken from Kraft's "What's Cooking" magazine Summer 2013. My kids love Mexican food, so I like to change up our usual recipes. I found that 1/2 a pound of chicken wasn't enough, I ended up using 3 breasts of chicken and made 6 good sized tortilla pockets. I did not need the egg to seal the tortillas that I put the refried beans in as they stuck just fine. I made 3 tortillas without the beans for my kids and used the egg to seal those ones. I served my tortilla pockets with the left-over refried beans and freshly made guacamole.
2 tablespoons oil, divided
1/2 lb. (225 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup Kraft 3 Cheese Mexicana Finely Shredded Cheese
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup frozen corn
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
6 large flour tortillas
3/4 cup canned retried beans
1 egg, beaten
1. Heat oven to 400F.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet. Add chicken; cook and stir 4 minutes or until done. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, salsa, corn, cilantro and cumin.
3. Spread tortillas with beans. Spoon chicken mixture down centres of tortillas. Fold in opposite sides of each tortilla, then fold bottom over filling and once again to make rectangular packet. Brush top edge with egg; press onto packet to seal. Place, seam-sides down on baking sheet; brush with remaining oil.
4. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown.
This soup is more like a stew. It is super tasty! This recipe is taken from "The Epicurious Cookbook - More than 250 of our best-loved four-fork recipes" by Tanya Steel and the editors of Epicurious. Give yourself time to make this as the barley needs to simmer in the soup for 45 minutes. The book suggests for a meatless meal, simply omit the chicken and substitute vegetable broth for the chicken stock. You can even bump up the bean count for additional protein - and extra fiber.
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
4 boneless skinless, chicken breast halves
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their liquid
5 1/2 cups chicken stock or low-sodium chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup medium pearl barely
1 (4-ounce) can diced mild or hot green chilies
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and the garlic powder. Place the chicken breasts in a large bowl. Add the lemon juice mixture and toss to thoroughly coat the chicken.
2. In an 8-quart Dutch oven over moderate heat, warm 1 tablespoon vegetable oil. Add the chicken and cook, turning once or twice, until browned and cooked through, about 12 minutes total. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil along with the onions and garlic to the Dutch oven and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the black pepper along with the remaining 1 tablespoon chili powder and the remaining 1 teaspoon cumin and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, and their liquid, chicken stock, black beans, barley, chilies, and tomato paste and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to moderately low, cover, and simmer until the barley is tender, about 45 minutes.
4. Cut or tear the chicken into bite-size pieces. Once the barley is tender, stir the chicken into the soup along with the corn, and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Yield: Makes 8 servings
I've now decided to try the library for some new recipes and I found this gem of a cookbook, Ken's Soup Krazy by Ken Kostick. A chef known for his great soups! Even though I have to take my great find back, I will always have the recipes here. My husband said this was one of his favorites. I used ground chicken since I don't eat red meat, and ground turkey wasn't available at my grocery store that day.
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1 28-oz can stewed tomatoes, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 carrot, shredded
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup cooked red beans
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp hot pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
7 cups low-fat vegetable stock
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
1. In a large soup pot, saute the ground beef for 5 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove and drain on paper towel. In the same pot, combine the stewed tomatoes and their juice, celery, red pepper, onion, carrot, garlic, beans, chili powder, basil, salt, black pepper, hot pepper flakes, bay leaf and stock. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.
Serves 8
Variation: Replace the lean ground beef with lean ground turkey.
This recipe is taken from Cook's Illustrated "The Best Light Recipe" cookbook. For the beans I used 1 cup kidney beans, 1 cup black beans and a can of the chili mix beans. I am serving this with garlic bread, but you can also serve this over rice.
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 medium onion, minced
1 large red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped fine
9 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 3 tablespoons)
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
salt
3 cups beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups water
1 (28-ounce)can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lime
1. Toast the cumin seeds in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 minute. Stir in the onion, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, oil, cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Stir in the beans, water, tomatoes, oregano, and brown sugar, scraping up any brown bits. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the chili is slightly thickened, about 25 minutes.
3. Stir in the corn and continue to simmer until heated through, 5 to 10 minutes. off the heat, stir in the cilantro and lime juice, and season with salt to taste. (The chili can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.)
I took this recipe from the Winnipeg Free Press Recipe Swap (November 23rd, 2011). I've never had the original version of this soup, but according to the article it's supposed to be like the soup served at Ciao. This soup is really good and super easy to make. I used chicken bacon instead of real bacon. The fake bacon doesn't crumble like bacon, so I just diced it. I also used 6 cups of packaged chicken broth instead of the cans. I also used all fresh herbs and fresh spinach.
1 x 796ml (28oz) can diced tomatoes
2 x 398ml (14oz) cans Great Northern beans (or cannellini or white kidney beans), drained and rinsed well
3 x 284ml (10oz) cans chicken broth
750 ml (3 cups) water
1 x 213ml (8oz) can tomato sauce
1 x 398ml (14oz) can chopped spinach, drained, or about 250ml (1 cup) fresh chopped spinach, added just before serving
8 slices bacon, cooked until crisp and crumbled
5 ml (1 tsp) garlic powder, or 15ml (1 tbsp) minced garlic
15 ml (1 tbsp) dried parsley, or 45ml (3 tbsp) fresh, chopped
2 ml (1/2 tsp) dried basil, or 10ml (2 tsp) fresh, chopped
7 ml (1 1/2 tsp) salt
2 ml (1/2 tsp) black pepper
250 g (about 500ml or 2 cups) seashell pasta or macaroni
Romano or Parmesan cheese, for garnish
1. In a very large pot, heat diced tomatoes, beans, chicken broth, tomato sauce, canned spinach, (if using fresh spinach, add only before serving), bacon, garlic, herbs and seasonings. Simmer for about 20 minutes until flavours merge. Add pasta and cook uncovered on medium until pasta is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning, if desired. Serve with grated Romano or Parmesan cheese.
For this recipe I use 4 chicken breasts cut up. I have also used ground chicken as well. This recipe is from Food and Wine magazine's "Quick from Scratch Chicken Cookbook.
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound skinless chicken thighs (about 4), cut into thin strips
4 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
2 jalapeno peppers, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
1 1/2 cups canned crushed tomatoes with their juice
2 1/2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
1 2/3 cups drained and rinsed pinto beans (from one 15-ounce can)
1 2/3 cups drained and rinsed black beans (from one 15-ounce can)
1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
1. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook until they start to soften, about 3 minutes.
2. Increase the heat to moderate and stir in the chicken strips. Cook until they are no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and salt. Add the jalapenos, the tomatoes with their juice, and the broth. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Uncover the saucepan and stir in the beans and black pepper. Simmer until the chili is thickened, about 15 minutes longer. Serve topped with the cilantro.
This is a quick and easy soup to make. In the picture I didn't add the zucchini like I usually do as the grocery store didn't have it that day. This recipe is taken from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.
Minestrone Soup
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
5 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 to 2 tsp salt
1 stalk celery, minced
1 medium carrot, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 tsp oregano
fresh black pepper to taste
1 tsp basil
1 medium bell pepper, diced
3 to 4 cups (or more) water
1 14 1/2-oz can tomato puree (approx. 2 cups)
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked pea beans, chick peas, or kidney beans
1/2 to 1 cup dry pasta (any shape)
Parmesan cheese
1. Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, and 1 1/2 tsp salt. Saute over medium heat for about 5 minutes, then add celery, carrot, oregano, black pepper, and basil. Cover and cook over very low heat about 10 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add bell pepper, zucchini, water, and tomato puree. Cover and simmer about 15 minutes. Add beans and simmer another 5 minutes.
3. Bring the soup to a gentle boil. Add pasta, stir, and cook until the pasta is tender. Serve right away topped with Parmesan cheese.
