White Chicken Chili

Hello! I think it's safe to say that fall is here to stay. It's a chilly 50 degrees here in West Lafayette, IN and windy and damp. What a great day to make chili and watch some college football! It's taken me a WHILE to perfect a white chicken chili recipe. I think I've made about 8 different versions... nothing quite satisfied me until a couple of weeks ago. To date, all of them were too soup-like for me. I finally decided to make a roux and that was a game changer!! I've made this particular version twice now and I think I've finally got a winner!! Let me know what you think or if you have any suggested modifications.

WHITE CHICKEN CHILI

What you need for the chili:
1 poblano pepper, chopped
1/2 of a large white onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
4 cups of chicken stock 
1 8oz package of cream cheese, softened (let it sit out about an hour if you can; or pop it in the microwave for 15 seconds before using)
2 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
1 packet McCormick white chicken chili seasoning mix (pictured below)
1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper (or as much/little as you want; I like it spicy!)
1 can cannellini beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can southwest corn 

To make the chili:
1. I always start by cooking my chicken low and slow. I don't use any seasoning since the chili will have enough. Once cooked thru, dice chicken into small bites.
2. Saute your peppers and onion in a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter until onion is translucent, about 10 minutes.

This was more than needed- we made another batch of chili today, too ;)

3. In a large pot, melt remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Add flour and form a roux. Cook flour until golden, about 5 minutes.

4. Slowly add 2 cups of chicken stock to the roux, mixing constantly until thick. 
5. Add McCormick seasoning packet and cayenne pepper; mix well. 
6. Add your 8oz package of cream cheese. Slowly mix until cream cheese is melted and incorporated into the base.

7. Add your cooked peppers and onions to the base you've made and mix well. Slowly add in another cup of chicken broth.
8. Drain and rinse your beans; drain corn and add to your chili pot. Mix well and bring to a bubble.

9. Add diced chicken and remaining cup of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 more minutes.

ENJOY over rice, baked potato, macaroni or just plain. This is a real cozy, yummy fall meal!

 

This was served over a baked potato with cheese and green onions!

Crab Stuffed Shrimp

Hello! This past weekend we made crab stuffed shrimp that were just out of this world! And they really weren’t that difficult to put together. I think you should give these a try at your next dinner get together! I served it with chicken and wild rice but you can do this all by themselves if you like. I’ve added the wild rice recipe below because it was just too good to keep a secret!

CRAB STUFFED SHRIMP

What you need for the shrimp:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (for the pan)

2 tablespoons of butter (for the pan)

2 ribs of celery, finely chopped

1 small onion, finely chopped (I used half of a large one)

1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped

6-8 ounces (drained weight) fresh lump crab meat (if you can only find canned, get 2, 5 and 1/2 ounce cans, drain and rinse it really well)

½ teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

½ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

2 thin slices white bread, toasted and buttered and then diced

½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons melted butter

8 large, raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

To make the shrimp:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Melt your butter with the oil in a large skillet on medium heat.

3. Add the celery, onion and red bell pepper. Sautee for 5-7 minutes until your veggies are soft.

4. Mix in the lump crab meat and your seasonings. Salt and pepper to taste (I added some ground pepper but no additional salt). Continue to cook on low.

5. While this cooks, toast two pieces of white bread. Butter them and then dice into small pieces. Add the bread to skillet and mix in the shredded cheese. The mixture should all come together! Turn off heat.

6. Prepare your shrimp on a clean surface. Devein (if needed) and butterfly your shrimp down the devein line on the back of the shrimp (almost all the way through the shrimp but not quite).

7. Melt one tablespoon of butter into a small baking dish, spread it around.

8. Brush the inside (butterflied portion) of the shrimp with melted butter.

9. Place a generous amount of the crab mixture on top of the butterflied shrimp. 

10. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until shrimp are pink. Our shrimp were very large so it took closer to 25 minutes but if you have smaller ones it will take less time.

ENJOY!!

BONUS- WILD RICE RECIPE

What you need for the rice:

1 box Uncle Ben’s original wild rice and seasoning mix

1 tablespoon of butter

½ container of sliced baby bella mushrooms

3 green onions, chopped thinly

1 can mandarin oranges, drained (I only used half of the can because I didn’t want to overwhelm the flavor)

½ cup dried cherries (or any fruit you like)

½ cup slivered almonds

To make the rice:

1. Prepare the rice according to box directions.

2. Meanwhile, melt your butter in a sauce pan and cook mushrooms with green onions.

3. Toss all ingredients in with the rice when it’s complete; mix well and serve!

Peanut Butter Cookies

Hi Everyone! Does it seem like spring might be in the air? For the first time in months we're anticipating 40 and 50 degree days this week.We are beyond excited here in West Lafayette! Hopefully the snow will melt and we're done with that until at December! Fingers are crossed! :)

My dad visited this weekend- the boys are working to finish the basement-so I decided to make some of his favorite cookies for dessert. Mom spoiled us all and sent dinner with him so I didn't have to do any other cooking- Thanks Mom! :) These cookies turned out really well so I thought I'd share them with you.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

What you need for the cookies:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Decorative sugar

To make the cookies:
1. Mix all your dry ingredients together in a bowl; sift.
2. Cream the butter and peanut butter together in a bowl. 
3. Add the sugars, egg, vanilla and cream. Beat until well combined.

4. Slowly add in the flour mixture and beat until combined. I added the mixture 1/3 at a time. 
5. Refrigerate cookie dough for at least an hour (it's a little sticky at first and I think this helps firm it up). 

6. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll into one inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. 
7. Using a fork, create a criss-cross pattern on the top of the dough; sprinkle with sugar.

8. Bake in over for 10-12 minutes. Pull them out when they're slightly golden on the edges.

ENJOY!

Red Velvet Cookie Bars

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful evening with your valentine's. Tonight Danny and I shared these red velvet cookie bars as our dessert. They're not only festive (hence the red coloring) but also extremely decadent and delicious. Not to mention- really easy to mix up. You can have these ready to go in under an hour!

What you need for the cookie bars:
1 roll of refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough, room temperature*
1 box red velvet cake mix
2 eggs, room temperature*
2/3 cup melted butter (about 10 and a 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tub vanilla frosting or powdered sugar (optional)
*I took my cookie dough and eggs out about an hour before I was ready to make this.

To make the cookie bars:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. Using your fingers, press cookie dough evenly into the bottom of your prepared baking dish.
3. Bake the cookie dough for 10 minutes.
4. Remove cookie crust from oven and let cool for 10 minutes.

5. While cookie crust cools down a bit, prepare your cake mix by combining red velvet cake mix with melted butter and eggs. I used a whisk and mixed for about a minute until the cake mix is fully incorporated and batter is thick. (It will be thick.)

6. Spread cake batter on top of semi-baked cookie and place back in the oven for another 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

7. Once the bars have cooled completely, frost with vanilla frost or dust with powdered sugar. Cut into squares and share with your favorite valentine! :)

ENJOY!

Hawaiian Turkey Sliders

This next recipe is a hit as an appetizer, late night snack or even a full blown meal. I've made this recipe several times and have always been asked how to make them. The original recipe actually calls for ham, but those of you that know me, know I don't eat that so we switched it up to use honey turkey and I've never gotten a complaint. You could easily do the recipe all ham though, or a little bit of both. This recipe just calls for turkey but switch it up however you like. One more disclaimer, the recipe below is for a full recipe but the pictures are only for half since we didn't need 12 sandwiches for just the two of us. If you want to make only six, just halve the written recipe below.

What you need for the sliders:
1 package of 12 Hawaiian rolls
1 pound of honey turkey (or 1/2lb turkey, 1/2lb ham)
10 slices of swiss cheese
1 stick of butter
1/2 of an onion, chopped
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce


To make the sandwiches:
1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. First, I like to make the sauce that goes on top of the sandwiches. Melt one stick of butter, add the onion, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook until bubbly and hot.

3. Slice your Hawaiian rolls in half the long way. Place the bottoms of the rolls in a 9x13 pan. Put a little of the butter/onion sauce (maybe about a 1/3) on the rolls.

4. Arrange meat and cheese on top. Place tops of rolls over the meat and cheese. Top with the remaining butter mixture.

5. Bake in oven for about 20-30 minutes until cheese is melted and sandwiches are warmed through. 

ENJOY!!

Peanut Butter 'Bon Bons'

Happy Winter Everyone! I know I haven't blogged in forever but I'm ready to get back on track. I have a late Christmas post for you here...these are honestly a huge hit with everyone- they're light and airy but sweet and crispy, too. Plus, since they're 'no bake' they are super easy to put together. The ingredients may sound funny but trust me, they're SO good! I used white chocolate and red and green sprinkles to make them festive but you could definitely use milk chocolate for the coating. You can honestly whip these up in a matter of minutes so it's easy to bring to your next get together.

What you need for the Bon Bons:
1 and 1/2 cups Rice Krispies
1 and 1/4 cup peanut butter (I always use creamy)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I use the Keebler brand)
1/2 cup powdered sugar
3/4 package almond bark (white or milk chocolate) +2 tablespoons Crisco
Sprinkles (as desired)

To make the Bon Bons:
1. Mix the first four ingredients together in a bowl. It's going to seem impossible at first but just keep stirring, it will all come together. At the end, I use my hands to get all the ingredients fully incorporated.

2. Once the mixture has fully pulled together, roll out 1 inch balls and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. I usually get about 30-40 balls out of this.

3. Set the cookie sheet in the fridge or outside to harden up while you melt your chocolate.
4. Cut your almond bark into small pieces. I use the microwave to melt mine. I place the chocolate pieces in a large microwavable bowl with 2 tablespoons of Crisco and microwave on a low setting,  stirring every 30 seconds. 

5. Once chocolate is fully melted, bring your bon bons back out and dip them, using a spoon, until they're fully covered in chocolate. Then lay them back on the wax paper. If you're going to use sprinkles, I use them after I've dipped 4-5...the chocolate still needs to be a little wet in order for the sprinkles to adhere so if you wait too long they won't stick.
6. After all the bon bons have been dipped, put them back in the fridge to fully harden.

ENJOY!!

Halloween Bark

Happy (almost) Halloween!! With the holiday only being a couple weeks away, I thought I'd post a fun and festive treat for you all to try. I first found this recipe on pinterest but I altered it a little to make it my own. You can mix up the ingredients however you like but I thought this version tasted good and also looked pretty (or scary, depending on your perspective!) This would be a great treat for a Halloween party or office snack.

What you need to make the bark:
1-1lb package of white almond bark (add 1 tablespoon of Crisco)
1 cup stick pretzels, broken up into pieces (but not crumbs)
1 cup salted peanuts
12-14 Halloween Oreo's, crushed and broken into small pieces
1 1/2 cup candy corns
2-4 tablespoons Halloween sprinkles (eyeballs or other fun Halloween shapes)

To make the bark:
1. First, break up your pretzels and cookies. I put the pretzels into a ziploc bag and used a rolling pin to break them up. I also put the Oreo's in a baggie but used my hands to break them up so they were more chunky (as opposed to cookie crumbs). 
2. Next, I chopped up the almond bark and started melting it with the Crisco in a sauce pan over low heat. 
3. Line a large jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with parchment paper. I layered all the pretzels, peanuts and then half the candy corns and half the Oreo chunks on the parchment paper. The next time I do this, I would probably pour the melted chocolate down first and then push the toppings into it.

4. When the chocolate is melted, pour it on top of the parchment paper (with or without the toppings) and spread it around. Push remaining toppings into the chocolate so that when it sets you can break it apart without them popping out or falling off. Use the Halloween sprinkles sporadically around the bark.

5. Let cool outside or in the fridge for about an hour or two and then use your hands to break the bark into smaller pieces. 

TRICK OR TREAT!