white bean & chicken chili

It’s fall ya’ll! And I had house guests last weekend, so I made one of my favorite cold weather soups. This dish is always well-received and the leftovers are absolutely delicious. I recommend adding one more jalapeno for an additional kick and making cheesy jalapeno cornbread to go along with it.

The last time I made this chili, instead of simmering for 30 minutes, I baked the chili at 250 degrees for about an hour. The broth/wine proportion and volume is open to interpretation. I’ve made this without wine and/or with less liquid volume and still had great results. As always, home-grown, locally sourced, free-range, and organic ingredients make everything better!

serves 6-8 
1 onion, diced
1 fresh jalapeno, diced
1 rotisserie chicken, bones removed, chopped
28 oz. petite diced tomatoes
3 (15oz.) great northern white beans
14 oz. fresh salsa (I used Jack's Special Medium Salsa)
24 oz. chicken broth
1 cup white wine
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
juice from ½ of a lime
1 Tbsp. cumin

to make your stew: 
*sauté the onion and pepper in a little olive oil until softened
*add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil
*reduce heat and simmer, covered, for at least 30 minutes

serving suggestion:
serve with cornbread, sour cream, shredded cheese, and sliced jalapenos

poulet en cocotte bonne femme

The end of Septemeber has arrived without my having posted any recipes. And while I have been cooking, mostly soups, nothing has seemed worthy of publishing here. In a moment of nostalgia I realized I neglected to post the first dish ever attempted in my dutch oven, roasted chicken.

This simple French dish was a perfect first challenge and the results were nothing short of mouth-watering success. What better way to start a dish than bacon and butter? I remember this recipe taking some time to prepare, but the end result was well worth the effort. I'm glad I thought of this, I plan on making it again soon!

adapted from Julia Child’s recipe

serves 4-6
4 oz. bacon, chopped into large chunks
2 pads of butter
a small whole chicken, washed and drained (giblets and neck removed)
12 small potatoes, quartered
3 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped into large pieces
handful of fresh rosemary
handful of fresh thyme
a bay leaf
2 cloves of garlic

to make the dish:
*preheat the oven to 325 degrees
*chop the bacon into large chunks
*add bacon to dutch oven on medium high heat and stir until mostly cooked
*set bacon aside and add a pad of butter
*place chicken in melted butter, brown the skin, flipping often (approximately 10-15 mins.)
*add cut potatoes to a pan of cold water, bring to a boil and remove immediately
*bring carrots and onion to a low boil for five minutes in a separate pan
*remove chicken to a plate and some of bacon fat from dutch oven
*add another pad of butter to dutch oven and stir in potatoes, coating well
*season the inside of the chicken with rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, and garlic tied in a washed cheesecloth
*season the chicken with salt and pepper
*set aside most of the potatoes from the dutch oven, and add the chicken
*add the remaining potatoes, carrots, onion, and bacon around and partly covering the chicken
*put the lid on the dutch oven and bake for 22 minutes per pound of bird
*let the bird rest 10 minutes before serving

spicy spaghetti

i love this spicy spaghetti! add some chopped tomatoes from the garden; this is a great way to use home-grown produce. quick and easy, this dish went from chopping to serving in just 30 minutes. i'm looking forward to the leftovers!

also, this meal is very inexpensive. if you grow your own peppers and basil as i have, each serving of this dish costs about $1.00. for the money, this meal was satisfying, healthful, and tasty!

adapted from Jamie Oliver’s recipe

serves 4-6
2 cloves garlic
1 pound dried spaghetti (i used Capellini)
1 fresh red chile
olive oil
small bunch of fresh basil
14 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 cup fresh spinach, stems removed
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
4 oz. fresh grated parmesan cheese

to make your pasta:
*peel and finely slice the garlic
*finely slice the chile
*pick the basil leaves off the stalk and put to one side
*finely chop stalks
*bring large pan of salted water to a boil, add spaghetti, cook according to package
*put dutch oven on medium heat, add 2 lugs of olive oil
*add garlic, chile, and basil stalks, stir
*when the garlic browns, add most of the basil leaves and canned tomatoes
*turn the heat up to high for one minute
*season with salt and pepper
*drain spaghetti in colander, transfer to the dutch oven, add spinach and stir

serving suggestion:
serve in bowls topped with torn remaining basil leaves and parmesan cheese.
Chianti works well with this meal.

red, white, & blue cobbler

this quick and easy dessert is perfect for July 4th weekend; add a little ice cream and it’s red, white, and blue! personally, i think cobbler makes a great breakfast too.

adapted from Allrecipes.com

serves 6
4 Tbsp. butter
¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
1 tsp. baking pwder
1/3 tsp. salt
¾ cup milk (I used 2%)
3 cups sliced fresh berries (I used strawberries and blueberries)
1 Tbsp. sugar

to make your cobbler:
*adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat to 350 degress
*put butter in your dutch oven (or at least 2-quart pan), set in oven to melt butter and then remove
*whisk flour, ¾ cup sugar, baking pawder, and salt in a small bowl. Add milk; whisk to form a smooth batter.
*pour batter into the dutch oven (with butter), then scatter fruit over batter, and sprinkle with 1 Tbsp. sugar
*bake until batter browns and fruit bubbles (50-60 minutes)

serving suggestion:
serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream or whipped cream

cheesy baked pasta with spinach & artichoke

this simple, healthful recipe was quick to prepare and yielded a wonderfully cheesy result. any opportunity to grate fresh parmesan is a welcome one, and i think it adds so much more flavor to any dish over the store-bought pre-grated variety.

i thought the meal was hardy enough as a main course, but this recipe could easily be a side item as well. next time, i will try using some lemon pepper and/or lemon thyme in this dish as i love the combination of lemon and artichokes.

adapted from Real Simple’s recipe

serves 4
8oz. whole grain mini penne (or other short pasta)
14oz. can artichoke hearts, rinsed and quartered
9oz. package frozen creamed spinach, thawed
¼ cup fresh grated parmesan
2 cups grated mozzarella, divided
Fresh ground black pepper

to make your pasta:
*cook pasta according to directions, drain, and return to pot
*add artichoke hearts, spinach, parmesan, 1 cup mozzarella & ¼ tsp. pepper, stirring to combine
*heat broiler
*sprinkle remaining mozzarella over the top of the pasta and broil until cheese is browned in spots, about 2-3 minutes

serving suggestion:
with a crisp salad

mom's meatloaf

Meatloaf = comfort food. And while I usually think of this dish as a fall or winter meal, it’s just as tasty when it’s warm outside. It’s even better (and perhaps more seasonally appropriate) the next day as cold slices on sandwich bread. I was able to use parsley from my garden, and soon I’ll be able to use my own peppers too!

Occasionally, I’ll substitute oatmeal for breadcrumbs, which creates a chunkier texture. Also, I place slices of red pepper on the top of the loaf before baking, though this is more for aesthetics than anything else. If you don’t like red pepper, you could substitute any sweet pepper.

based on my mom’s recipe

serves 4-6
pad of butter
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 lb 8% fat Laura’s Lean ground beef
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
3/4 cup italian breadcrumbs
1/3 cup chili sauce
1/3 cup ketchup
1 egg
a few sprigs of fresh Parsley, finely chopped
pinch of cumin
pinch of mustard powder
pinch of salt
a few turns of fresh ground pepper

to make your meatloaf:
*preheat oven to 350
*with dutch oven over medium to high heat, saute' onions in butter for a few minutes
*meanwhile, chop red pepper and combine with beef, breadcrumbs, chili sauce, ketchup, egg, and seasonings in a large mixing bowl
*remove onions with a slotted spoon and place them in the bowl with the meat
*mix everything well with your hands
*create a loaf shape (like a football) and place in the dutch oven (or spread into a loaf pan)
*lightly drizzle the top of the loaf with ketchup
*bake covered for an hour, uncover the last few minutes of baking

serving suggestion:
serve with butter rolls, potatoes, greens, and of course ketchup!

sweet & savory roasted chicken

“food must not only be good to eat, but also good to think”--Claude Levi-Strauss

Some like to fix sweet potatoes sweetly, others prefer savory; this recipe is the best of both worlds. Everything used to make this meal came from local farms save the oil, salt, and pepper.

This is the first time I’ve ordered chicken from my CSA, and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the moistness and flavor. This meal makes the most of everything that’s in season right now, making it very cost-effective.

adapted from Real Simple’s recipe

serves 4
4 chicken thighs
4 chicken legs
3 tbps olive oil
2 ½ tsp kosher salt
¾ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 ½ lbs sweet potatoes
1 medium onion
2 tbps honey

to make your chicken:
*preheat oven to 400
*pat the chicken dry with paper towels and place in the dutch oven (or roasting pan)
*drizzle with 1 tbsp oil, 1 ½ tsp salt, and ½ tsp pepper, rub to coat
*roast chicken for 25 minutes
*meanwhile, chop sweet potatoes and onions into 1” pieces and combine in a large bowl with honey and remaining spices
*after chicken has roasted for 25 minutes, add sweet potato mixture on top of chicken and cook another 25-30 minutes until potatoes are tender.