Quick Posole

If you have 15 minutes, then you can have dinner on the table. That’s right, from start to finish, this soup will only take you 15 minutes.  Here’s another piece of good news: this flavorful soup boasts only 220 calories a bowl.

Posole is a stew popular in Colombia and Mexico that is slow cooked and contains hominy. While Posole is traditionally slow cooked, I don’t have time for that so I came up with this snappy version. It’s actually inspired by a slow cooker pork posole one of my girlfriend’s makes.

 It’s flavored with broth, green enchilada sauce, cilantro, cumin, salsa and then a squeeze of lime. The shredded chicken is so tender in this dish.

It’s not my best soup, but it’s very good, especially when you consider how quick it comes together.  So pop a beer and dinner will be done before you can even finish your brew (well, I guess that depends on what type of day you’ve had).

I assume everyone has a food processor, but if you don’t, then add a couple extra minutes to the cooking time (and then go buy yourself one). I have a cheap one that I paid $10 for at Walgreens or Walmart in 2000. I am not kidding. So there’s no need to save up for a good one; this has served me well. I always use it to chop onions. You only need to chop an onion and cilantro for this dish, so there’ s not a lot of chopping anyway.

Quick Posole

Makes 4 servings

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 yellow onion

1 bunch cilantro

½ teaspoon cumin seed

¾ teaspoon ground cumin

1 (15-ounce) can reduced sodium chicken broth

1 (10-ounce) can green enchilada sauce

2 cups water

1 can yellow hominy

2/3 cup salsa (red or green will work; I prefer red)

2 cups skinless, shredded rotisserie chicken

1 lime for serving

Chop onion and cilantro set aside. When chopping cilantro, I just keep it as a bunch, chop the stems off where the leaves end and then chop that part, including stems. Some people take the time to pick off leaves, but not me. That takes forever. Stems are fine in the soup.

In a medium pot, heat oil and add onion and cumin and cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Add cilantro, broth, enchilada sauce, water, hominy, salsa and cook 5 minutes. While that cooks, shred your chicken and then add it to the pot and cook 5 more minutes.

Note: the easiest way to shred is pull of the skin, pull the chicken off the bone and shred it by hand. I always save the skin and bones for stock. You can freeze that if you won’t have time to make it this week. I find two birds boiled together makes a better stock anyway.

Serve with a lime wedge. If you want add more vegetables, you can serve this with chopped avocado and tomatoes.

Nutritional Information: Calories: 220; 24 g protein; 19 carbs; 1,175 mg sodium.

This has nothing to do with chicken, but if you're in Missouri, this is a cool attraction: The National Churchill Museum is in Fulton, Mo. The story of how it came to be as almost as interesting as the museum. I wrote about it for the Joplin Globe last week. You can see it here:
http://www.joplinglobe.com/opinion/columns/from-love-letters-to-gas-masks-winston-churchill-museum-links/article_1eab03ad-d5ec-510a-ab6d-1bd6f64ba410.html

Chicken, Corn Chowder (light version)

 The sky is gray and it looks like it's going to snow. I think it's a perfect day for my Chicken, Corn Chowder. This light version uses milk instead of heavy cream, so it's healthier. It comes together quickly so it's great for a weeknight, too. John and Bella love this soup. I hope you enjoy it.

 Chicken, Corn Chowder (Light version)

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 large yellow onion

3 stalks celery

1 heaping tablespoon flour

1 large Russet potato

¼ teaspoon salt

2 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

2 cups whole milk

1 can creamed corn

1 can corn

2 cups chopped rotisserie chicken breast

Salt and pepper to taste

Chop onion, celery, potato and set aside.  I don’t peel the potato.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in large pot over medium heat. When hot, add onions and celery and cook 2 minutes. Then add flour and cook 5 minutes. Add potato, salt, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to strong simmer and add milk and corn and cook about 12 minutes or until potatoes are just tender. Add chicken at the last minute just to heat through.

The vegetables should still be slightly crunchy. There's a lot less fat than traditional chowder, but it's still packed with flavor.    It’s an excellent soup and easy to make.

If you make it and like it, please share.

This morning, as my daughter sleeps, I'm typing up last night's wonderful recipe and I am thinking about dehydrated garlic.

I was introduced to dehydrated garlic three years ago at the New Orleans School of Cooking. I hardly ever buy the fresh stuff now. I was totally skeptical when I saw it, but it re-hydrates just like real garlic and I no longer have stinky fingers from chopping. Plus, it saves me so much time.

Now if I dish requires fresh garlic, like salad or tapenade, I still chop fresh garlic. But on a daily basis, I reach for my dehydrated garlic. If you've never tried it, I recommend it! All you do is drop it in a soup or sauce and it turns into regular garlic.

It's not easy to find, but if you see it, try it. I order mine online to save myself time. I don't want to drive around town hunting any specific ingredient.

Anyway, I will post a lovely Chicken, Corn and Potato Chowder tomorrow. I hope you have a wonderful day.

Does this look delicious? Oh man, it is! This is one of my most requested recipes. My Mexican Lasagna is incredible!

 It's layers of black beans, chicken, bell peppers,
 salsa and cumin with cheese and corn tortillas.

 

Mexican Lasagna

1 package soft yellow corn tortillas (you will not use them all)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 very large yellow onion

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 ½ teaspoons cumin seed

1 green bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

1 can seasoned black beans, drained

4 cups chopped skinless rotisserie chicken (1 whole chicken or 2 if just use breast meat)

2 ¾ cups chunky salsa or picante sauce (that’s more than a regular size jar, so buy a big jar or two regular ones)

Dash of garlic salt

 ½ cup cilantro (optional)

3 1/2- 4 cups of shredded cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese blend (or Mexican- cheese blend)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Note: This calls for 4 cups of rotisserie chicken, which is the whole chicken. If you don’t like dark meat and want only white, you will need to buy two chickens and just use the breast off both.  

This makes a large batch (13” x 9” pan), but the recipe can easily be halved. This is an economical dish when entertaining and absolutely delicious. This lasagna explodes with flavor.  

Helpful hint: If you’re watching your weight, you can use less cheese in this dish by skipping the middle layer of cheese.  This has such powerful flavors, you really won’t miss it too much (and if you don’t try it that way, you won’t even know what you’re missing).

Directions:

Put onion through a food processor and chop bell peppers and set aside.

If you plan to use cilantro, gather the leaves in a bunch and cut off stems at the base of where the leaves start. Chop the leaves and set aside.

Chop your chicken and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. When oil is hot, add onion, cumin powder and cumin seed and cook 6 minutes.  Then add chopped bell peppers and cook 2 minutes. Stir in beans, chicken, salsa, dash of garlic salt and cook 2 minutes.  If you plan to add cilantro, stir it in now. Turn off heat and let mixture rest.

Spray a 13” x 9" pan with cooking spray. Line the bottom with corn tortillas, overlapping in spots so that the bottom is covered. I tear tortillas into desired sizes to make them fit. You will not use the entire package, you just want enough to make layers.

Take half your chicken mixture and spread it evenly over the first layer of tortillas.  Top that mixture with about 40 percent of your cheese. You want a little extra cheese on top. Then repeat and make another layer or tortillas over the mixture. Make sure it’s all covered, even if you overlap tortillas. Then top that with the rest of the chicken mixture. Cover chicken with remaining cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Slice and serve. I hope you enjoy this; I absolutely love it.

Another option is to make the filling and serve it over rice (completely omitting the cheese), or grill it with minimal cheese in a yellow corn tortilla making a quesadilla. Other than the cheese, there is not a lot of fat in this dish because I always use skinless chicken.

I’ve also used the filling and mixed it with quinoa to make a lower fat version for lunch.

Sliced, black Spanish olives are also nice on this dish. 

I love just about any version of this.
As always, if you try this and like it, please share or leave a comment. Have a wonderful, delicious day!

Hello,
I have a hankering for pizza lately. I think it's this cold weather, it's comfort food. This is an excellent pizza that you can make for lunch or dinner or even as an appetizer for a party. This comes together quickly and is easy, so it's great for a weeknight dinner.


Chicken, Bacon Pizza with Sundried Tomatoes
1 ready made pizza dough (Stonefire is my favorite brand)
Pizza sauce, desired amount
1 cup chopped, skinless rotisserie chicken
1/3 cup real bacon pieces (store bought it what I used)
1/4 cup chopped sundried tomatoes
1 1/3 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese (or desired amount)
Fresh basil to garnish


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Spread pizza sauce over dough. Top with chicken, bacon and sundried tomatoes.
Top with cheese and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
Remove and garnish with slices of fresh basil.



My nephew doesn't like any pizza other than cheese and he ate four slices of this, so that was a huge compliment. My dad loved it, too, but he loves bacon.

This pizza is easy, great for a quick dinner or parties. Serve with or without fresh basil.  Delicious!

Today is the day. I'm finally launching this blog. I've had this idea for more than a year and I've been plugging away at my recipes, but so many things came up, I kept putting this off. No more.
 So, if you're interested, each week I will post three new recipes using rotisserie chicken. While I am a big supporter of the local food movement, I also have eaten more grocery store chicken than ever before (in the past two years).
So if you're looking for quick dinner inspiration and recipes, then check back frequently. I will share a recipe for Chicken, Corn Chowder and Chicken Marsala -- all using rotisserie chicken.
Here's a SCRUMPTIOUS recipe to get started:

Creamy, Gumbo Dip

This dip is incredible, even though the picture is awful. Sometimes the food is great, but the photo isn't.

 My inspiration for this was Gumbo and artichoke dip. Those are two absolutely delectable dishes and I decided to combine the concepts. It has the chicken and Andouille sausage and the “trinity” and then the gooey cheese and heavenly cream cheese found in so many dips. I use Cajun seasoning, but be SURE to taste the seasoning before you add it to this dip because so many brands are appallingly salty. I use “Joe’s Stuff” which I discovered at the New Orleans School of Cooking. We order it online. Which, by the way, if you put in an order, it’s worth getting the dehydrated garlic and Bloody Mary mix. The mix is expensive, but the best I’ve ever had. My second favorite mix is Zing Zang, if that gives you any reference.

Anyway, use Cajun seasoning sparingly or you could ruin this. This fantastic and perfect for a football party, cold night or Sunday afternoon. Enjoy. If you like it, please share!

 Creamy, Gumbo Dip

3/4 cup minced Andouille sausage

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 large stalk of celery, chopped

1/2 cup chopped red onion

¼ cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ cup chopped green bell pepper

1/8 teaspoon salt

4 ounces cream cheese

¼ teaspoon Cajun seasoning

2/3 cup mayonnaise

¾ cup chopped, skinless rotisserie chicken breast

1 1/3 cups shredded Monterey Jack, cheddar blend

Green onions to garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop all ingredients and set aside.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add Andouille sausage and oil. Then add celery and onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add bell peppers and salt and cook another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately stir in cream cheese and Cajun seasoning. Then stir in mayonnaise, chicken and half the cheese. Spread mixture into a deep dish pie pan and cover with remaining cheese. Garnish with green onions.

Bake 15-20 minutes until it bubbles on top. Serve with tortilla chips or French bread slices. It’s amazing!