Chipotle Chicken Chili

This recipe is freakin fantastic.  I make it every other week because it makes so much i can freeze half of it and eat it for lunch almost every day.  If you cant handle spicy, make sure you de-seed the chipotle peppers as well.

To make it Paleo approved just omit the kidney beans.

Ingredients:
10 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise

1 jalapeno chile, halved (seeded if desired)

1 white onion, peeled and halved

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/4 cup chili powder

Salt

2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, finely chopped

1 3/4 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, drained

Directions

1. Preheat broiler, with rack 3 inches from heat source. Arrange tomatoes, jalapeno, onion, and garlic, cut side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Broil until starting to char, about 5 minutes. Pulse tomatoes and jalapeno in a blender or a food processor until chunky. Chop onion and mince garlic.
2. Heat a large heavy skillet (preferably enamel cast-iron) over medium-high heat. Add oil. Working in batches, brown chicken in a single layer, allowing to sear before stirring, 5 to 6 minutes; transfer to a plate.
3. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and garlic to skillet. Cook until soft and golden, about 8 minutes. Add chili powder and 2 teaspoons salt. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in chipotles, and add chicken. Raise heat to high. Add tomato-jalapeno mixture. Cook, scraping up browned bits, until fully incorporated, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in stock; simmer for 20 minutes. Add beans; simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

The perfect accompaniments:

  Krustez brand honey cornbread muffins.   So far the best kind I've tried.

  Or, the paleo happy side, sweet potato fries.  Just grab a handful of them and mix then in the bowl.

Perfection the next day over scrambled eggs and topped with cheese.  That's a nice high protein start to your day:)

Also, you can spoon some over chips, sprinkle with cheese and bake at 350 for 4 minutes, then broil for 1.   Makes super tasty nachos.

Thanks to Lucinda Scala Quinn for this recipe:)

Best pancakes ever

These pancakes are simple, and use only ingredients every cook should have on hand.  I got the recipe from the Joy of Cooking cookbook about a decade ago and they are still the best I've ever tried:)



Dry Ingredients:
  In a large bowl whisk together:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3 tbls sugar
1 3/4 tsp baking powder

Wet Ingredients:
   I like to do this in my 2-cup pyrex measuring glass:
1 cup milk
1 egg
   Mix the two together with a fork and then slowly mix in
3 tbls melted butter
   If you do it slowly enough you wont curdle the mixture

Get that griddle piping hot.  about 325 degrees
If you haven't bought a big electric griddle yet GET ONE!!  At Christmas time they are under $20 and the most fantastic way to cook off a whole package of bacon or make sliders by the dozen.  If you are doing this in a skillet, it will probably take many rounds.

Once the griddle is ready, pour the wet into the dry and give it a quick whisk until just incorporated.  If you see bubbles forming you did it right.  I use a 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop out and pour my batter, but you can make them any size you want.  My griddle makes 8 pancakes at a time at this size though, and the whole thing only takes 2 rounds.

flip when the edges start to set and the bubbles start popping through.

ENJOY!!

If you have lots of kids or just love pancakes, double the recipe and then freeze the extras in bags.  you can microwave them or throw a few in the toaster oven to reheat them.

**Added bonus**  Since these already have sugar in them, they do NOT require syrup.  This is ideal for really young kids and toddlers that would make a sticky nightmare of your table.  Just hand them a whole one and let them eat it dry.

Fun variations: 
         -you can substitute half of a cup of flour for wheat flour and it doesn't change the consistency.
         -1 tablespoon of flax seed ground up in your coffee grinder, and added to the batter at the end gives it an almost nutty taste and added protein.
         -I'm sure you can add blueberries to the pancakes after you pour them.  I don't like cooked fruit, so I would would never:)

Introduction

Hi, my name is Rachel, and I am a wife and a mother to 3 great kids; all of whom I cook A LOT for.  On any given day there might be an extra kid or two at my house too, so i find that cooking, and cleaning up from cooking takes a giant chunk out of my day.

One of the most awesome resources that has recently become available is Pinterest.  Thousands of new recipes are at my disposal daily!  Problem is, people pin them without necessarily trying them.  It has become a constant problem that most of the fabulous recipes I pin turn out to be bland or not very tasty at all.

I'm going to dedicate this blog to trying some of those out, and only posting things worth making.  Along the way Ill add some of my family's favorite recipes. 
Here is what you should expect from this blog:
  Meals that
      -make large portions
      -are inexpensive
      -you would be proud so serve your husband's friends
      -are not casseroles.  I didn't grow up with that traditional type American fare and it grosses me out.
      -low carb/paleo/gluten free options.  I recently got my Better Homes and Gardens magazine and there was not ONE recipe in it that didnt contain flour :P  For such a big market out there you would think...

Hopefully I can convince my mom to post as well, because she is an excellent cook:)