RECIPE: Chicken Chili (easy, easy, easy)

This is a chicken chili recipe my mom served to us last week on Christmas Cookie Baking Day. It was so delicious -- and she said it was so simple -- that I immediately asked for the recipe and made it last night for dinner. It was a big hit, with requests that it be served again sometime soon. Which, you know, is such a nice feeling, much better than the one I get when I serve the plates and my husband looks down at his food, glances warningly at the girls and then stares me straight in the eye with an insincere smile and a hearty, "I'm sure it's going to taste JUST GREAT."

This is the kind of recipe that some people absolutely loathe because it comes from the Cans-n-Boxes section of my cooking repertoire, but it was so quick and easy to prepare and so GOOD, I just don't care. Every cook has to have a few recipes that can be thrown together and ready to serve in a minimal amount of time and this one definitely fits those qualifications. Plus, it's a thick, hearty soup; really, more of a stew. Full of protein, too, with the chicken, the beans and the rice. And did I mention budget-friendly?

CHICKEN CHILI

Ingredients:
1 large can/bottle tomato juice
2 medium-sized cooked chicken breasts, cubed or shredded (or one large will do fine)
2 cans chicken broth
1 can chili beans, undrained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
2 packets taco seasoning
1 cup instant rice or 1 1/2 cups cooked rice

Optional, for garnishing:
shredded cheese of whatever kind you prefer (sharp cheddar? Monterrey Jack?)
chopped green onions
corn chips

Directions:
Spray a soup kettle with non-stick spray. Spend several moments opening up a plenitude of cans. Drain the cans that need to be drained (and rinsed, natch); pour everything in the soup kettle. Add the chicken and the packets of taco seasoning. Bring to a boil and then turn heat to a low medium flame; allow to simmer for twenty minutes or so.

At the end of twenty minutes, add the instant rice. Turn off the flame and put a lid on the pot. Let stand for five minutes. Stir and serve with garnishes, if desired.

RECIPE: Pasta Fazool (pasta e faglioli)

"If the stars make you drool just like pasta fazool, that's amore," Dean Martin sang over the loudspeakers. Well, actually, it was just a recording that was being belted out over the Holy Rosary Italian Festival in downtown Indianapolis several summers ago. As soon as the opening notes sounded, an "Aaahhhhhh!" of pleasure went up from the crowd and we all sang along.

In the case of this recipe, it is love indeed. Because this is just the best soup. So hearty, so peasanty, so hot and nourishing and CHEAP TO PREPARE. And, well, easy. Easy is good. It's always good when something is delicious and simple and good for you too, so I think the soup kettle will definitely be simmering on the stove's back burner this winter, sending forth the pleasant aroma of nonna's cucina through the house, even though neither my husband nor I have a single solitary drop of Italian blood in us.


Pasta e faglioli, which obtained its Yankee pronunciation from the non-Italians of New York City (a little something I learned from the internet) and a simple translation is "pasta and beans." Authentic pasta e faglioli is made with chicken broth and cannellini beans, but you know how these things go: some authentic recipes use pancetta (an Italian type of bacon) and others use a tomato base, such as marinara sauce and I think your final result will probably depend on how much you like tomato-based soups and bacon. I am not, by the way, claiming this recipe, which is my own, to be authentic Italian anything. This is my version and I love it, but I can't pretend it was handed down in my family or anything because like I said above, no Italian blood here.


Serve this soup with a good, strong bread because there is broth that demands to be mopped out of the bowl.


PASTA E FAGLIOLI

Ingredients:

1 can tomato juice
3 cups beef OR chicken broth (I prefer beef, but you do what you want)
3 carrots, scraped and cut into hearty chunks
2 stalks celery, diced
1 medium to large zucchini, cut in chunks
2 cans of beans, cannellini if you're feeling it, but kidney beans will do if that's what you have available, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups ditalini


1 tablespoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon basil
crushed red pepper to taste (I usually add about 1/4 teaspoon)

Parmesan cheese for dressing the soup bowls


1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil ("twice around the pan," as Rachael Ray says)

Directions:

In a soup pot, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato juice, broth, carrots, celery, zucchini, beans and herbs. Bring to a boil and then lower heat until the soup is just simmering; cook until carrots can be pierced with a fork. Add the ditalini; turn up the heat and cook for seven minutes.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish the top with a nice little pile of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir before eating. Serve with thick slices of garlic toast.


Here's Dean singing that song. He looks kind of lost without a cigarette or a martini, doesn't he?

RECIPE: Susie's Taco Soup & Carol's Black Bean Soup

Carol and Susie sent me their recipes for their own south-of-the-border soup specialties. Mine is Mexican Chili. We were sharing these recipes because we noted in several emails that soup is 1) good; 2) hot; and 3) cheap.

The only thing I refuse to concede is that plain yogurt tastes like sour cream, and I've got a teacup in my hand ready to back that opinion up, Susie.

I copied these here just as they sent them to me via email. They are my cousins and so much fun and I love them.

Susie's Taco Soup

1 pound lean ground beef - I use the 93/7
1-2 onions, chopped
garlic if you want - you know, 1-2 cloves
1 package Ranch dressing mix
1 package hot Taco Seasoning Mix
1 can Rotel tomatoes, 28 oz
1 can chopped chilies, 4.5 oz
1 can black beans, 15.5 oz for all the rest
1 can dark, kidney beans
1 can your choice - white navy or pinto
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can mexican style corn
1 can white shoepeg corn - I've only found in small cans - this is a little, white corn, but hey I'm talking to Indiana girls who know their corn
1 can white hominy
3 cans water

Brown beef and onion(s); add taco seasoning mix and ranch mix (dry, not real liquid dressing!), In a large slow cooker or pot, combine all ingredients. Use liquid in all the vegetables/beans, do not drain. Cook until thoroughly heated - at least 1/2 hour. Dpending how hot you like your food, you could add jalapeno peppers to it. I don't think the chilies have much flavor.

Can serve by itself or like A. did - a sliver of avocado on top, shredded cheddar, fritos or tortilla strips and a dollop of plain, nonfat yogurt - tastes just like sour cream and much less calories!!!

This makes a boat load of soup so be prepared to store in the freezer. It freezes well. I think the most interesting thing about this recipe is the white hominy and putting dry ranch dressing mix in it. The ranch gives it such a good flavor. Enjoy!!!

Carol's Black Bean Soup

3 can black beans in seasoned sauce
2 chicken breasts
1 can corn
1 can petite diced tomatoes
assorted spices - I use cumin, garlic, cilantro, oregano
1 small chopped onion
garlic if you have it - last week I didn't.
2 cans chicken broth

I browned the chicken breasts in olive oil and added the onion and garlic. Then I put those chickey breasts in a big pot and added everything else. Let it simmer for a couple hours and take out the chicken and cut it up and put it back in.

Serve with cheese and/or sour cream and those tortilla chips are good too.

RECIPE: Veggie Chowder

Last night, I was going to make cream of potato soup for dinner, but I just couldn't face it. Cream of potato soup always looks so dreary to me. Just kind of plain white and wallpaper-pasty looking. Even when I put shredded carrot in it, it still just doesn't make me say, "Oooh, look at the yummy bowl of delicious souuuuup!!!" It makes me say, "Oh, great. I get to cook this hot mess again?"

But here's the thing: cream of potato soup is very good. And it is really, really inexpensive to make. And a meal that is hot, good and inexpensive is not really one I can just blithely turn away from just because I think it looks unappetizing.

So I decided to try something new and add carrot coins, peas and carrots along with the potatoes. I thought about calling it "Starch Soup" or "Carbohydrate Stew," but decided that "Veggie Chowder" sounded like a better sell. We all agreed that little chunks of ham would be good in this. (Honestly, it could probably use the protein, but it sure is cheap and easy made this way.)

VEGGIE CHOWDER

5 cups chicken broth (either homemade, canned or in bouillon cube form)
5 medium potatoes, cut into chunks
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into coins
1 teaspoon dried dill weed

1/4 cup frozen corn
1/4 cup frozen peas

1 stick butter
8 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups milk

In a medium saucepan, heat the chicken broth to a boil, adding in the potatoes, carrots and dill weed. Reduce the heat and allow the vegetables to simmer until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Add the corn and peas and simmer for five to ten minutes.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and add the flour to make a roux; cook for two minutes while stirring constantly. Add the salt and pepper; stir to combine. Add milk slowly (by the half cup), stirring the mixture smooth over a medium heat before adding more.

When all the milk has been added to the flour/butter combination, pour the chicken stock/vegetable mixture into it. Stir carefully to combine; bring to a slight simmer if necessary.

Serve immediately. Sprinkle with some paprika and add a little parsely for a garnish, if you like doing that sort of thing. A nice green salad with some sliced, hard-cooked egg (protein) would go well with this, I'm sure, but the other night, it was just to cold to even consider eating a salad.

RECIPE: Chili when it's chilly

Last night was such a perfect night. It stayed light until way after 6:00 p.m., even though the sky was very overcast and it was actively snowing. The snow looked very pretty coming down; our big front window framed a perfect winter scene.

It was cold and blustery, a good night for chili. We eat a lot of chili around here, first of all because it's very cheap to make, second of all because we all like it. I make two varieties that I never use a recipe for, so I thought I'd add them to my file here, just in case I ever forget. Which, considering the fact that I forgot to put on deodorant the other day until I was downstairs in the kitchen and suddenly thought, "What's that smell and why do my underarms feel sticky?" forgetting my chili recipes is a good possibility.

CHILI RECIPE #1 -- Grade School Chili

This is a classic chili recipe, the kind you eat with saltine crackers, the kind that was served in the James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School cafeteria with half a peanut butter sandwich on the side, where it (along with Beef Manhattan) became one of my life's major comfort foods.

1# ground beef
1# ground turkey
1 large onion, diced

a whole lotta chili powder

1 can hot chili beans, undrained
1 large can tomato juice
1 cup elbow macaroni
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste

1/4 cup jalapeno pepper juice, optional
ten jalapeno pepper slices, optional


Brown ground beef and turkey in a soup pot, covering the meat liberally with chili powder. A lot of chili powder. More than you think you'll need. More than seems possible. If desired, add the jalapeno pepper juice and peppers. Add the diced onion and stir until onion is translucent and meat is cooked through. Drain slightly, because chili is supposed to be a little bit greasy. That's what makes it good. Add the chili beans, salt, sugar and tomato juice; allow chili to come to a simmer. Cook for fifteen minutes. Add the elbow macaroni and allow chili to simmer for another ten minutes.

Decorate with shredded cheese and more jalapeno slices, if desired. Serve with saltine crackers. Makes enough for four people with plenty of delicious lunch leftovers for the microwave.


CHILI RECIPE #2 -- Mexican Chili

1# ground beef
1# ground turkey
1 large onion, diced
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 envelopes taco seasoning

1 can hot chili beans, undrained
1 can whole kernel corn, undrained
1 large can tomato juice
1 teaspoon sugar
salt to taste

1/4 cup jalapeno pepper juice, optional
10 jalapeno pepper slices, optional

1 cup shredded cheese
1 bag corn chips
two green onions, diced

Brown the beef and turkey in a soup pot, adding the taco seasoning, onion, garlic and cumin. Drain slightly [see above]. If desired, add the jalapeno juice and slices. When the meat is cooked through and the onion is translucent, add the chili beans, corn, tomato juice, sugar and salt. Allow the chili to come to a boil and simmer for fifteen minutes. Turn down the heat and cook slowly for ten more minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese, green onions and corn chips sprinkled on top. Muy delicioso! Serves four with leftovers, etc.

RECIPE: Italian Wedding Soup

I'm going to steal some of my friend Kayte's thunder and post a recipe, which isn't really fair of me. You see, when we were at the Indianapolis Museum of Art last week, I selfishly called dibs on posting a commentary on our tour. Kayte has never selfishly called dibs on posting recipes, something she'd be totally justified in doing. Not only because she is not selfish like me, but also a much better cook. I'm just saying.

Anyway, this is Italian Wedding Soup and it is so good. I hope it is really Italian, because you know how these things go. You spend all this time at the Olive Garden sampling the international cuisine and then you meet a friend who lived for years in Italy and France, who actually married an Italian guy, and you find out that all that stuff at the Olive Garden is just a big, cruel, albeit delicious joke, not Italian, but rather "Italian," and if you can picture me making little air quotes with my fingers and saying the word "Italian" in a tone of voice that means not Italian but really some American's "idea" of what "Italians" really "eat," you'll have the idea.

This Italian Wedding Soup is really, really fast the way I make it. Or you can do your own 10 cups of chicken stock and make your own little meatballs out of 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef and it will probably taste even better, but it will also take longer.

We really enjoy this soup at our house and have it fairly frequently. The first time we had it, my husband looked askance at the spinach leaves, but he ended up loving it. He takes the leftovers for lunch sometimes.

So here goes:

ITALIAN WEDDING SOUP

5 cans of chicken broth (or approximately 10 cups of chicken stock)

2 carrots, shredded

1 bag (1 pound) of frozen, pre-cooked Italian-style meatballs (or make your own, recipe follows)

1 cup small pasta (elbow macaroni-sized down to the smaller kinds like orzo or ditali)

1/2 bag of pre-washed baby spinach leaves, washed again

ground pepper and salt to taste

Pour the chicken broth and frozen meatballs into a soup pot and place over medium-high heat. While they heat, shred the carrots and add to the soup pot. Allow to cook for about ten minutes (the meatballs need only to thaw out and be heated through.) Add 1 cup pasta to the soup pot and allow to cook for eight more minutes. Add washed baby spinach leaves; cook for five more minutes. Serve hot with bread.

This serves four people, allowing some very nice leftovers for lunch the next day. Salt and pepper it if you feel it needs a boost.

I serve this with bread, either making a strange-looking French loaf in my bread machine, or zooming over to Panera Bread to buy a baguette. I assume I don't need to tell you that the bread needs to be eaten with butter. Any unbuttered bites of bread can be dipped in the soup.

ITALIAN MEATBALL RECIPE

Truthfully, I don't make these meatballs myself. I like the way the frozen ones taste well enough that I just don't want to fiddle around with rolling all these little things. But if you don't mind that kind of thing -- or if you have daughters or sons who are willing -- then pour yourself a glass of wine and get to it.

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs, lightly beaten

4 T dried bread crumbs

2 T grated parmesan cheese (as Kayte says in her "Pas-Tability I" recipe, the fresh kind is best, but the green tube will suffice)

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

two good pinches of salt

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix well. Shape into small meatballs. Cook in a skillet in 2 T olive oil, medium heat, turning frequently to brown. Remove from skillet and put into soup pot with broth; follow the rest of the soup directions.