Recipe - White Chicken Chili

Good morning! I know you were expecting your typical weekly installment of Savings for Sisters, but this week my mom is letting me hijack the blog to share one of my favorite recipes with you. My name is Dani, and I am Jan's favorite ahem, second daughter. I've been here in town visiting with my mom for a bit, and after all the delicious meals my mom has cooked for me and my two toddlers, I wanted to help out by making dinner one night. I decided to pull out my recipe for White Chicken Chili--or as my three year old calls it, “Hot Chili Soup.” 

This soup is easy to put together, and always a crowd pleaser. It may sound spicy, but it's actually quite a mild dish--even my extremely picky two year old inhales it with enthusiasm. This is a great soup to throw together before church on Sundays; you'll enjoy coming home to the delicious aroma, and your family will love that it will be ready to devour almost instantly.  See my easy-to-follow instructions and photos below.

White Chicken Chili

(Serves approximately 6. I usually double this recipe.)

 (Please note that I forgot to add the chicken to the photo, plus it shows 2 cans of chicken broth when you really only need 1 for a single batch--my mistake!)

1 to 1.5 lb boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
1 large Onion, finely chopped

4 cloves fresh Garlic, minced
2 cans (15.5 oz each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (13 oz) Chicken Broth

2 cans (4 oz each) chopped Green Chiles

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp ground Cumin

1 tsp dried Oregano leaves

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 cup Sour Cream

2/3 cup Whipping Cream

Fresh Cilantro for garnish, optional

This soup requires a little bit of prep work, which you can even do the night before if you want to get it going in the crockpot early in the morning.

-First, clean any unwanted fat off of your chicken breasts. (Note: You can even put the chicken in the crockpot slightly frozen and they will be cooked through by the time you are ready to serve.)

-Lay the chicken breasts in the crockpot at the bottom. Do not cut them up--leave them whole. If they are extra large, you can cut them in half.

-Add your finely chopped onion and the minced garlic. (The garlic you can buy pre-minced in jars at the store will also work for this soup. Just add a ½ tsp for each “clove” of garlic).

-Add the beans, rinsed and drained well.

-Pour in the chicken broth, and add all the spices. You can stir the ingredients a bit to incorporate the spices, but make sure you leave the chicken at the bottom.

DO NOT ADD THE WHIPPING CREAM OR SOUR CREAM YET.

-Turn the crockpot to high for the first hour if you can. If you are headed out the door immediately, just leave it on high as long as you can then turn it to low as you are walking out the door. Cook for 5-7 hours. (If using partially-frozen chicken, you need to plan for closer to the 7 hour mark.)

-About 15 minutes before you are ready to eat, pull the chicken breasts from the crockpot. They will have broken up a bit, so fish around with a spoon or pair of tongs to make sure you get all the chunks out. Put them on a plate and shred them. I have tried this a few ways, and have found that just using two forks to pull the chicken apart seems to be the most effective.

Add the shredded chicken back into the crockpot.

Add the sour cream and whipping cream at this point, and put the lid back on the crockpot to let it heat through. It will only take a few minutes.

-Now garnish each bowl with fresh cilantro and you are ready to serve it to your hungry troops. This soup is great with a slice of bread or some fresh biscuits. I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does.

Recipe - Spring Salad

While a high school girl in the mid 1950's, my mother worked as a waitress at the historic Bluebird Restaurant in Logan.  After graduating and leaving home to attend college and work in Salt Lake for a couple of years, she met my dad, married, and had two babies in quick succession. Needing a part-time job when they moved back to settle in Cache Valley, she returned to the Bluebird and helped serve the many fancy parties they hosted on a regular basis. She even served Merlin Olsen’s wedding breakfast!  She used to tell us about the delicious food at the Bluebird back then, which was light and elegant, suitable for ladies luncheons, men's Rotary and Lion's clubs, and other regular gatherings at the restaurant in those days.  One dish she remembers fondly was called simply, Spring Salad, a favorite for wedding parties and other special events at the Bluebird.

I was planning to share the instructions for this delicious salad with you in a few more weeks, but since spring has arrived early this year, I guess this is as good a time as any.  Called Spring Salad  because it showcases springtime vegetables such as fresh asparagus, little green onions and radishes, this dish makes a lovely first course to a special meal.  The dressing combo is so unusual and tasty—I know you’ll enjoy it.  This salad is beautiful, yet easy to make and sure to impress your family and guests.

Spring Salad

Ingredients:  Iceberg and Romaine Lettuce, Fresh Asparagus, Ripe Avocado, Green Onions, Radishes, Tomatoes, Best Foods Mayonnaise, and a good quality Italian Dressing.

1.  Cut up a combination of iceberg and romaine lettuce that has been washed, dried, and crisped a few hours or overnight in fridge.

2.  Wash and dice radishes very small.  Wash, peel, and slice green onions. 

3.  Peel and slice ripe avocado.  Wash and dry cherry tomatoes or slice regular tomatoes into wedges.
4.  Steam asparagus spears in a small amount of salted water until just tender when pierced with a toothpick--do not overcook.  Cool quickly in cold water and pat dry.
5.  Mix mayo into radishes and green onions--just enough to bind them together.

6.  Place some of the lettuce mix on each plate.
7.  Top with asparagus spears, avocado, and tomatoes.  
8.  Drizzle Italian Dressing all over each salad.
9.  Finally, top with a spoonful of the mayo-radish-onion mixture.
10.  Serve immediately. 

Recipe - Fudgey Ice Cream Dessert

I hope you all noticed the letter I sent out last week through our Relief Society email talking about a fun Book Group available for all to join.  Today, (Wednesday, March 11) is our first meeting for 2015, held at Shawnee Keith's home at 7 p.m.  This week’s Savings for Sisters features the enticing treat attendees will enjoy tonight--Fudgey Ice Cream Dessert. This is a favorite in our family, and I like how it can be made days ahead of an event and socked away in the freezer, ready to be pulled out and sliced when I'm ready.  So if you've been thinking about joining us, isn't it tempting to know you'll be served up a big slice of this luscious creation?  I don't want to pressure anyone, but what's not to like about a bunch of charming ladies sitting around discussing a great book and enjoying a chocolatey treat?

Fudgey Ice Cream Dessert

Here's what you need:

 

-1 1/4 cup semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

-1 (12 oz) can Evaporated (not sweetened condensed) Milk

-1 (10.5 oz) bag Mini Marshmallows (5 cups)

-1 1/3 cup Coconut

-6 Tablespoons Butter

-3 1/2 Cups Crushed Rice Krispies

-1 Cup or so Chopped Pecans or Walnuts (optional)

-½ Gallon Box Vanilla Ice Cream

(Note:  Now that they are making the boxes smaller than they used to, you will need to use a box and a half or make sure you use a brand like Farr's that is still available in the full 1/2 gallon size.  You need a rectangular box, so look for this instead of the tub shaped boxes).

1.  In saucepan, melt chocolate in canned milk.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 4 minutes, stirring constantly.

2.  Remove from heat and add marshmallows; stir until melted.  Cool to room temperature (or the sauce will melt the ice cream).

3.  Crush enough Rice Krispies to measure 3 1/2 cups.  NOTE:  It takes more than this amount of cereal--this is the amount after you crush it.  Don't grind them completely up--just break them a bit so they are still pretty chunky.  You can use a food processor, blender, or rolling pin.

4.  In skillet, cook and stir coconut in butter until lightly toasted (some brown specks should appear in the coconut).  Add in cereal (and chopped nuts if desired).

Place in bowl to cool faster, or leave in skillet to cool if you aren't in a hurry.

5.  Spread 1/3 of the cereal mixture into bottom of an oblong glass casserole dish.
6.  Remove the ice cream from box by carefully folding the sides of the box down.  Using a big, thin bladed knife, cut the block directly in half and put one half back into the freezer to stay frozen while you work with the first half.

7.  Now cut the first half block in half, then each half of that into 6 even slices.  This is for the first layer.  After the first layers of ice cream, chocolate sauce and cereal, you will be cutting the other half a box (which you have waiting in the freezer) into 12 more slices.  You have to work quickly with this or it will get melty (so have everything ready).  You will be cutting a total of 24 slices.

8.  Using your very clean hands, place the slices over the cereal, sealing pieces together as well as you can with your fingers. 

9.  Carefully drizzle on half of the chocolate mixture (which has cooled enough it is no longer warm).  You can try to spread it out to even it up, but it may start melting the ice cream and mixing in.  It's okay if it mixes a bit, because you won't see it later. 

Just get it as even as you can.  Sprinkle on another 1/3 of the cereal mixture.
Bring out the other half block of ice cream and repeat layers as shown above.  Top with remaining cereal.  

10.  Cover well with plastic wrap and freeze until firm (at least overnight).  Makes 15 servings.

Note:  You don’t have to use it all at once.  Just bring it out to soften a few minutes, cut how many pieces you need, then return to freezer.