Broccoli Kale Salad with Ginger Sesame Vinaigrette

Well, the other day I realized that there was a giant box of Kale that was delivered last week and not used in its destined recipe. Sad, because a good bit of it had gone bad. Cool because it gave me an excuse to use it. There was also ginger from last week. Again, a pity that it wasn't used. But what luck for me! Today's menu for enchiladas got over-ruled because it would have been the 3rd tex-mex meal in a row. And the last two were good, so it's not like I could have pretended I was showing them how it's done. Instead, I decided fried rice was the way to go. Then what Kale thing on the side? Something cool and fresh, not all cooked up.

I searched a bit and found that if you massage lemon or lime juice into raw kale, it sort of cooks it in a way and makes it easier to chew. I approve. This meant lemon or lime was a must. Lime, ginger.... with sesame and rice vinegar! Hooray!

I woke up pathetically late (I have no idea why my alarm clock crapped out on me) but the three of us still managed to finish in time. Thanks to my helpers! The recipe here is a bit of a guess, as mine was a much bigger portion and not measured. When I make it again, I'll pay more attention to that. I'm labeling this as a make-ahead, because you really need to let the kale sit in order for the citrus to work its magic. Oh, and all the haters of my kale chips? Loved this. Gobbled it all up. I was happy that I got a big bunch on the first pass because there was none left for seconds. I did make sure to just say "Broccoli Salad" on the menu board, in order to not scare them off.

Broccoli Kale Salad
Serves: 4-8 Time: 30 minutes (then it sits for at least an hour)

1 bunch kale
1/4 cup lime (or lemon) juice
1 small head of broccoli (about 2 cups-ish chopped)
1 clove garlic
1 piece ginger, about the size of your garlic clove
3 Tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs sesame seeds
1/2 cup craisins
1/2 cup pecans (optional)

- Wash kale and broccoli
- Cut or rip up bits of kale (whichever you prefer - cutting won't bruise it like lettuce) to 1-2 inch pieces
- Put kale into bowl, sprinkle with lime juice and then 'massage' the juice into the leaves. Basically, mash the leaves around in the juice for a couple of minutes.
- Cut broccoli into small pieces, like 1/8 the size of a regular dipping broccoli and toss into bowl
- Mince the garlic and ginger together and sprinkle over bowl
- Add your sesame oil (if you're lucky enough to have it, it does give a nice flavor), sesame seeds and olive oil, toss to coat kale and broccoli
- Add craisins now, or just before serving
- Add pecans (toast them, if you want) just before serving (or else they'll be soggy gross)

Nutrition info (for 1/6th of recipe, no pecans): Cal - 102 Fat - 4.2g Carbs - 15.4g Protein - 2g (And LOADS of nutrients, like vitamins A&C)
Pecans add (per 1/6th of recipe): Cal - 62 Fat - 6.5g Carbs - 1.2g Protein - 0.8g

Baked Kale Chips

Ok, not a lot other than the recipe tonight. 7 Class days left! 17 days til my last final (25 pg paper) due! But, I cannot forget my public. Especially when my little sister (who tasted these over Easter) asked where the recipe is. Here you go.

It's from everyone and no-one, basically every food blogger has done them. They're pretty good, but the flavor is concentrated. If you don't like cooked dark leafy greens, you may not like this. One suggestion: Use less salt than you think. Mine came out too salty. Kale is supposed to be all kinds of healthy, and I tried it in something else that I really enjoyed. This was good, I just don't think I could eat more than a handful or two before feeling like I had the flavor stuck in my mouth. Does that make sense? Probably not. Sorry. Moving on, then....

The drying is important here, since you want them crispy in the end. And you can salt before or after cooking. I think it sticks better if before b/c of the olive oil. But maybe that's why mine were a bit too salty for my taste.

Oh, and why make them in the first place?? It's good for you. I'll let her explain.


Baked Kale Chips
Serves: 6-8 Prep time: 10-15 minutes Bake time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:

One bunch of kale, green or purple washed and dried well
1 T Olive oil
Salt

- Preheat oven to 375ºF
- Fold each kale leaf in half along the stem and use a knife to trim the stem off.
- Tear into pieces a little bigger than what you'd want to find in your hand (they'll shrink in the oven) maybe 3-4 inches.
- Put into a bowl, toss with olive oil to coat. I had a really big looking bunch, but 1 T was actually just fine.
- Spread on a baking sheet (Whole Foods says it's ok to be more than one layer, my sheet was big enough that I can't say for sure) and bake at 375ºF for 15 min.
- Test the pieces for doneness at 10 minutes by waving one in the air a bit until it's room temperature and biting. It should crisp. If it's chewy at all, put them back in the oven. You can stir if you want to, but I didn't and it was fine.

Nutrition info (I'm using info for 1/2 cup boiled with 1/8 Tbs oil, I can't find facts for baked kale): Calories: 32 Fat: 1.8g Carbs: 3.4g Protein: 1.1g

Saturday Splurge: Lime Ricotta Muffins

First, a big apology. My only post this whole week. I had a big presentation on Wednesday for my statistics class (ugh) and I have a 20-25 page paper due on Monday at 3:30. Not. fun. But, that's what they pay me to be here for and all, so I'll do it. You just can't make me smile about it. At least not during the last 3 weeks of the semester.

ON TO THE TASTINESS! Well, then. Today I went to an HP quiz (if you have to ask what HP stands for, I'm not telling you) and then came back and had a huge allergy attack, probably from sitting outside for 3 hours at said quiz, and barely advanced on above-mentioned paper. Then I figured out what to make for dinner and realized I hadn't done my Saturday labor: making treats. Having spotted Ricotta in the fridge the other day, I already had one in mind.

I made these before, about six months ago, actually, and the original recipe is from Rosa's Yummy Yums. I've posted it below with my changes. We don't have real lemons (or limes), which means I went with juice. Lime juice, instead of the original lemon. Still SUPER good. And they didn't take too long. Probably stuck to my one hour that I'm supposed to do for once. These should be even faster for a smaller batch. Quadrupling recipes really does make a difference. That much more flour to measure. And sugar. And baking powder. That much more butter to melt. And then mixing it all together has to be more careful. Then, no cooking spray. So have to grease 48 muffin holes by hand. Don't worry, I'm giving you the single batch recipe :)

I'm fairly certain that these could be made more health-fully without sacrificing much (if any!) of the flavor and texture, but the house gets whole milk ricotta so I'd need to go buy the other stuff to find out. A summer project, I suppose. I hope that didn't scare you, they're really not bad as-is (203 calories), which is why I think it'd be no problem to make them even better!

Lime Ricotta Muffins
Serves: 12 Time: about 30-40 minutes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar (+2 Tablespoons if you want to make them pretty)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup milk
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 eggs
1/4 cup lime juice

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Grease twelve 2 ½” by 1 ¼” muffin-pan cups or line with paper baking liners.
3. In large bowl, stir together flour, ½ cup sugar, baking powder and salt.
4. In medium bowl, with wire whisk or fork, mix together ricotta, milk, melted butter, eggs and lime juice.
5. Make well in center of flour mixture and pour in ricotta mixture; stir until just moistened.
6. Spoon batter into prepared muffin-pan cups.
7. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over muffins.
8. Bake 20 to 22 minutes, until muffins are golden brown, tops spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean.
9. Immediately remove from pan; serve warm. Or cool on wire rack to serve later.

Tested variations:
- Whole wheat flour, using flaxseed as egg replacement
- White whole wheat flour, using 1 packet stevia, 1 1/2 Tbs agave and 2 Tbs frozen apple juice concentrate instead of sugar
- Half cottage cheese (I had less ricotta than I thought one day!)

Nutrition info for one muffin: Calories - 203;    Fat - 8.4g;    Carbs - 26.5g;    Protein - 5.7g

Saturday Splurge: Birthday Cupcakes with Boiled Icing

Ok, this one is on the healthy side for a good scratch cake, especially one that's iced, but the boiled icing can be a MAJOR pain, which means it's going into the Saturday section for that reason alone. One of my friend here turned 22, and she often makes things for other peoples' special events, so I thought it was fitting to make *her* something cool. I wanted to do a cake, but then realized that we really don't have proper pans, but we DO have cupcake tins. I figured that if I was going to do that, I may as well make it look purposeful. Check the pictures to decide if I succeeded on that front.

If you make cupcakes out of this, the recipe should give you 20. After drawing out what I wanted to write with little circles, I decided I needed 4 dozen, multiplied the recipe by 2.5, and ended up with 52. Some were a little small, so 20 is a better estimate. Your time will be different than my convection oven, but I think it was 15-20 minutes. Not bad at all! That's about how long it took me to do the silly icing. The first batch, anyway. As luck would have it, I was just short and got to have the pleasure of making it a second time.

This icing, though is like a dream. A marshmallow-ish, light, fluffy, can't-stop-eating-it dream. I may get a candy thermometer for this icing alone. Because, let me tell you, boiling sugar and water to the soft ball stage, checking for ball-ness in a container of ice water, is not actually my idea of fun. The cake is pretty good, but I would probably go for a strawberry box cake and just put this icing on top the next time.

Yes, I know, I left the bowl of extra icing in the 22. I moved it and took another pic, but you couldn't see the details as well!

Birthday Cake with Boiled Icing (AKA Italian Meringue Icing)
Serves: 16-20 Prep time: 20-40 minutes, depending on your icing luck

Cake directions:
Cooking spray
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups cake flour (or 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk (or skim milk + 1Tbs lemon juice)

- Preheat oven to 350°F
- To prepare cake, coat 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray; set aside.(Or line cupcake pan with papers, or grease & flour)
- Place 2 cups sugar and unsalted butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed for 5 minutes or until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 teaspoon clear vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract.
- Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, and mix after each addition.
- Pour batter into prepared cake pans. Sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pans for 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove cake from pans. Carefully peel off wax paper, and cool completely on wire rack.

Icing directions:
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
3 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

To prepare icing
- Place cream of tartar and egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until soft peaks form.
- Combine 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until sugar dissolves, stirring mixture frequently, and bring to a boil. Cook, without stirring, for 2 minutes or until a candy thermometer registers 238°F.
- Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites, beating at high speed until stiff peaks form. Be careful to AVOID beaters!
- Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract. Spread icing over tops of cupcakes.

Nutrition info (for 1 cupcake, or 1/20th of recipe): Calories - 264 Fat - 8g Carbs - 45g Protein - 3.8g

Spaghetti Carbonara

Well, I have made this twice now, and still no picture. I think that it does not want to be photographed. The first time I just forgot. The second time, I almost forgot. Then I ran upstairs for the camera, brought it down, switched to macro, clicked the button and.... the battery died. Fine. Good news is that it worked well twice. I did a bit of searching, and found one that looks a good bit like mine to post for you, but it's originally from here. It should because he used the same recipe! I didn't find mine from him, though the only real difference is that I didn't sprinkle mind with pepper at the end. Oh, and I always use whole grain pasta because I prefer the taste.

I actually made this last Saturday, before I ran my first 10K. I seriously under did my training, so I will give this pasta, as well as the tasty bread and salad I had, credit for being able to run the full 6.2 miles; I didn't stop to walk once! (Well, the water areas don't count, I wanted to get the water IN me, not just ON me.)

I wouldn't have thought of this as easy or fast, but it totally is. It will take about 3 minutes longer than it takes to cook pasta. It does take some attention to the timing, but that's it. Think you can handle that? I hope so! The recipe calls for bacon, but the first time I just used olive oil because there was no bacon to be had. You will want to use real parmesan. The first time I made it was with dried fake stuff and it was way salty. Not recommended.


Spaghetti Carbonara
Serves: 2-3 Cook time: 20 minutes, if your water is slow to boil

1/3 lb spaghetti
1 1/2 tsp olive oil (or 2-3 strips bacon)
1 clove garlic
2 eggs
1/3-1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

- Put pot of water on to boil as you get out your ingredients. If your frying pan is slow to heat, start heating it up, too. You could also mince the garlic now if you want to, or just crush it with the flat side of your knife.
- When water is boiling, add pasta. Beat eggs in a small bowl with parmesan.
- Wait about 5 minutes for the next step. Go set the table. Pour yourself some water. Make a salad. Something like that.
- In hot frying pan, add oil (or bacon - if using bacon, cook til crisp, then remove from pan) and garlic. If it is minced, leave the garlic in the pan, if not, remove from pan.
- AS SOON AS pasta is barely al dente, drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water (I just set a mug in the sink for that) and put into frying pan, tossing to coat with oil/bacon grease and garlic goodness
- When coated, REMOVE FROM HEAT and pour egg mixture onto noodles (still in the pan!) Your pan is hot, your noodles are hot, so the egg will cook just fine and the parmesan will melt just fine. Add some of the pasta water if you want a thinner sauce.
- Serve, you're done!

Nutrition info (for 1/3 of recipe, made with oil): Calories: 280 Fat - 11.1g Carbs - 29g Protein - 16g

Beer Bread

WAIT!! Before I lose some of you with the name, you can make it with any carbonated beverage. And it really is easy! Takes no kneading! No rising! 5 ingredients! Actually, you might need to wait longer just so your oven will preheat. *sigh of relief* Ok, now that I've got you staying here...

I made this last night. I wanted to make something savory but quick and really good. One of my wonderful kitchen helpers suggested beer bread. I've seen the mixes in the stores, but thought it sounded.... well, white trashy. I have learned that, in fact, it is not. At all. It is very good. The recipe I used is originally from here. You can find her whole wheat bread recipe here.
I actually made four kinds: plain white, garlic & herb white, plain wheat, cheddar & dill wheat. My favorite by far was the cheddar & dill wheat (pictured.) The bread has a really nice texture and a crisp crust that really surprised me. All in all, I highly recommend that you go buy a 12 oz carbonated beverage and make this today. You know, next time I'm at the store, I should get some sparkling cider. Add a little extra sugar, some cinnamon and nutmeg... mmm.....

**Update: I did end up making this with a bottle of cider and it did indeed taste apple-y and work! I threw in about 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1 cup plumped raisins. Another time I forgot the baking powder, and it was still good, just a lot denser. Hooray!**

Beer (or soda) Bread
Serves: 8-12 Prep time: 5 minutes (yes, seriously) Cook time: 45 minutes

3 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 cups whole wheat and 1 cup all-purpose)
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon baking powder (to make it rise)
1 (12 oz) bottle beer (or other carbonated beverage - club soda if you don't want it sweet.)
[add 2 oz (1/4 cup) water if using whole wheat]

- Preheat oven to 375º and grease an 8-inch loaf pan
- Combine dry ingredients in large mixing bowl, stir
- Slowly stir in beer and mix JUST until combined. Batter will be quite thick.
- Pour into greased loaf pan and bake at 375º for 45 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.
- Cool on a wire rack as long as you can stand. If you cut into it before 10 minutes, it will be really soft, a bit crumbly and not keep its shape (trust me!)

Storing: You should be able to keep this in an air-tight container for 3-5 days, depending on your climate (if you don't just eat it all.)

Nutrition info (for 1/8th of recipe): Calories - 197 Fat - o.5g Carbs - 39.7g Protein - 5g

Saturday Splurge: Almond Poppyseed Cookies

This is another great slice & bake recipe. I have been busier with classes (like running around crazy, not getting enough sleep and HOPING that I am keeping my work straight) and so treats that take less time have definitely been needed. Last week I made these. I was worried that they might be a little bit too unusual and not sweet enough for some, but they got a great response!

If you are looking for the original recipe, and her suggested additions, go here. I will certainly be trying more of them later, but here is the version I made, and my picture to go with. I was really excited to make these because there is a large container of poppy seeds in the kitchen that had just been begging me to find a use for it. I had to oblige, of course!

Almond Poppy seed Cookies
Makes: 50-60 cookies

2 sticks (8 ounces; 230 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2 large egg yolks, at room temperature
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups (280 grams) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup poppyseeds

1. Put the butter in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until smooth. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar and beat again until the mixture is smooth and silky. Beat in the egg yolks, followed by the salt and any dried fruits, zest, nuts or seeds. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, beating just until it disappears. It is better to underbeat than overbeat at this point; if the flour isn’t fully incorporated, that’s okay just blend in whatever remaining flour needs blending with a rubber spatula.

2. Tear off a piece of plastic wrap about 18 inches long. Turn half the dough out onto the plastic wrap and (with clean hands!) shape it carefully into a log. Once shaped, roll up in wrap, repeat with other half, and refrigerate for 2 hours to 3 days. If you want to make sure they're perfectly round, re-roll after 30 minutes.

3. Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper [or not - I didn't and only one out of 150 broke!]

4. While the oven is preheating, using a sharp slender knife, slice each log into cookies about 1/4 inch (10 mm) thick. (You can make the cookies thicker if you’d like; just bake them longer.) Place the cookies on the lined baking sheets, leaving about 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) space between them.

5. Bake the cookies for 12 to 14 minutes, or until they are set but not browned. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool to room temperature.

Do ahead: Packed airtight, the cookies will keep for about 5 days at room temperature, or in the freezer for a month. Unbaked logs can be kept refrigerated for up to 3 days or stored in the freezer for up to 1 month.

Oven-steamed veggies

Life is over-running me this week, which means that this post is (gulp!) untested by me! I think that it looks really good, though, and should work just fine.

Clearly for most people this will be an idea when you already have something going in the oven. No reason to turn the oven on *just* for vegetables. But if there's already chicken, a casserole, or something else in there, why not?

I actually got the idea here when I was looking for a better way to steam veggies. You see, in my building we do not have a giant steamer. Instead, we boil veggies. This almost always leads to mush on the bottom and half-cooked on the top. Not ideal at all. Instead, we can flip on the oven, stick 3-4 baking sheets in, and let it do its thing.

Small-scale steamed veggies
Serves: as many as you like! Time: 20 minutes

- Cut vegetables into large bites and put on large piece of aluminum foil. Sprinkle with salt or spices if you want, fold the foil over, and seal the edges.
- Bake at whatever temperature you already need for about 10 minutes. 10-15 should do it at 375º, but I would check them at 8 minutes for any temperature. You'll lose steam and heat this way, but I think better safe than soggy.

Large-scale steamed veggies
Serves: as many as you like! Time: 30 minutes (because cutting more takes more time)

- Cut vegetables into large bites and put on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt or spices if you want, cover with foil and seal the edges.
- Bake at whatever temperature you already need for about 10 minutes if the over is already on.
- If this is the only thing you're baking, bake at 375º for 10-15 minutes. Check one tray at 8 minutes. You'll lose steam and heat this way, but I think better safe than soggy.

Saturday (time) splurge: Apple chips!

When I made kale chips a couple of weeks ago, there were some fans and some... disgusted faces. Dark, leafy greens aren't for everybody. One girl asked, "I wonder if you could do that with apples?" I didn't think it would work in a regular oven, and told her so. Then I went upstairs to my room to find out. Turns out that you can!

A quick search tells me I've only used the word here once, but I should confess: I am terribly impatient when it comes to food. That was a good bit of my motivation starting this blog - find food that doesn't take so long and then write it down somewhere so I wouldn't forget. For this reason, many of the apple chip recipes looked like they took WAY too long for me. When I say many, I mean all that looked viable. It was sad.

So I said, too bad, I'll try it my way anyway! Please note that a key element in this is that my building has a convection oven, which is great at drying things out. Terrible when you're baking chicken or salmon, but great for the chip adventure. I set the oven to 300, thinly sliced my apple, tossed it in cinnamon and sugar, put it in the oven and set it for 20 minutes, expecting to turn the pan then. I went back to my reading.

Was I ever surprised when, at 20 minutes, they all looked close to done. I took one out, shook it like a polaroid til it cooled, and bit into a nice, crispy chip! I was thrilled and pulled the whole sheet out! So, the convection oven gets a major thumbs-up from me on that point. I think they were too dark, though none of my testers thought they tasted burnt, so next time I'll try 275. I *really* wish I had a mandoline or disk for a food processor that slices super thin, because then these would take 5 minutes before the oven, and that would be amazing in my book. For a regular oven recipe, I am copying one (originally from here) for your convenience.

Baked Apple Chips
Serves: 2-3 Time: 1:45 to 2:15

2 apples
approx. 2 tbsp cinnamon
optional: 1 Tbs brown or white sugar
parchment paper (or silpat)
baking/cookie sheet

- Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees F. (LOW SETTING!)
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To prepare the apples:
- Holding the apple steady skin side on the cutting board, with a steady hand and a sharp knife, slice the apples into thin uniform slices. This will be easier if you cut the apple in half first. You want them to be thin, but not TOO thin. You also want them to be as even as possible so that they dry out evenly. Baking the core makes it edible, so remove only if you want to.
- Place the slices in one layer on the prepared baking sheet.
- Sprinkle with a layer of cinnamon, and if using sugar this is when you sprinkle it on too.
- Place on the middle rack in the oven, and keep the door slightly open by placing a wooden spoon in the top corner of the door. This needs to be done so that a vent is provided for the moisture from the apples, otherwise the apples won’t dry out properly and you will be left with a mushy and somewhat mouldy mess of apple slices.
- The total baking time will be between 1 1/2 hours and 2 hours, depending on the thickness of the apple slices. Check the apple slices at 1 hour to ensure they are not burnt. Check the apple slices again at 1 1/2 hours. (To do this, remove one slice from the oven, and place on a plate. Allow to sit for about 3 minutes, then eat it. If it is crispy, then you’re good to remove them! If it’s still a bit soft, keep the apples in for another ten minutes.) With the slices I baked, at 1 hour and 20 minutes they were almost done. I checked again every 5 minutes, and at 1 hour and 40 minutes they were completely finished.

Note: even when they are finished baking, when immediately removed from the oven, they will still be slightly soft. This is why to test them, you need to allow one slice to cool at room temperature for 3 minutes before testing it.

Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for about 3 minutes on the parchment paper. Then, remove them from the paper and place on a plate to serve.

For storage, simply place them in an airtight container and store at room temperature until ready to eat.

White Chicken Chili

I finally remembered to take a picture when making this! Originally I didn't give much info on this because I was really busy with school - but not so busy that I couldn't post it!

Here are my comments the first time: The short version: one of the girls I cook with had this over spring break and then got the recipe. It's super good. I didn't know what to expect, but I was loving it. In the past I couldn't get white beans (the place we ordered our food from didn't have them) so we used regular kidney beans. Still good!

Since moving into my own place I have made it several times. I love how each time it can be a little different, and the freshness the toppings add. The last several times I've made it with just half a pound of chicken and that has been plenty for us. If you use a non-stick pan, you can also decrease the oil if you don't want the onion and garlic browned or cut it out completely.

You can let it simmer for as long as you like, but the time listed should be fine, that's all ours simmered for the 100ish servings we made. I think the toppings really are nice, too, because then it can be personalized.

White Chicken Chili
Serves: 6 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 25 minutes

1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken broth
2 Tbs fresh chopped cilantro
2 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp red pepper sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (or one can)
1 (15 oz) can great northern beans, drained (1 1/2 cups)
1 (15 oz) can white kidney beans, drained (1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
2 Tbs olive oil
Toppings: tortilla chips, green onions, diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro, sour cream, shredded cheese and sliced avocado

Two-pan method:
1. Cut chicken into cubes. Mince garlic. Chop onion.
2. At the same time as #2, heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onions and garlic in oil, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender.
3. **At the same time**, cook chicken with oil.
4. Add all ingredients into large pot (where the garlic & onion were cooked - you can add the stock if the garlic & oil finish before the chicken.) Heat to boiling, then reduce to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until heated through.

One-pan method:
1. Cut chicken into cubes. Mince garlic. Chop onion.
2. Heat a large pot over medium high. Toss in oil, onions and garlic, stirring for just a moment, and then add chicken.
3. Add all ingredients into large pot (where the garlic & onion were cooked - you can add the stock if the garlic & oil finish before the chicken.) Heat to boiling, then reduce to medium-low. Simmer uncovered until heated through.

Nutrition info (1/6th of recipe, no toppings): Cal - 429   Fat - 9=12.6g   Carbs - 30.9g    Protein - 48.5g