Here I am, armed with a bowl of hummus and my water bottle. My (proverbial) sleeves are rolled up, and I am ready to write.
I am warning you, this is going to be a picture dump, and a recipe. Pictures of the things that are making me smile this week...
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| sigh...yes, I am pretty sure she makes me sigh more than the others. |
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| so, Meres...yes, she has learned the art of taking her shirt off. And she loves being bare belly. What to do with this child? |
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| One of my birthday presents from the BFF-I love it. It feels awesome to hold onto and keeps the hots-hot and the colds-cold. And it looks pretty hippie-ish to boot! |
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| my new tea strainer. Those of you who know me well, know that I much prefer coffee. But if I drink tea, I am going to do it right. Which means-I don't use teabags. I experienced Teavana last week. They really know how to sell some tea. That whole using the lid to waft the tea scent at you. Very hard to resist. |
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| Oh, yeah, and if I am going to drink tea, it will probably be a stout cup of Earl Grey. This blend smells amazing. And tastes pretty good too. |
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| the cherry tomatoes are still producing. We haven't had a hard frost yet... Aren't they beautiful! |
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| good recipes=good eating. This week we had hummus and white chili. Should have been here... |
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| Bread dough...love the smell, love the feel. |
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| our Nespresso coffee maker. Truly makes better than Starbucks. Everyday. |
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| yes, we have been drinking ungodly amounts of coffee. |
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| birthday roses from Mr. Hippie. He's got my number. |
Last night I made my sil's White Chicken Chili. Folks, I have to say, this is, hands down, the best white chicken chili I have ever had. (And I can say that without bragging, because it isn't my recipe.)
And I've had a lot.
For chili cook-offs, I always go for the white chili, because I'm not a fan of red chili.
I even had my own good recipe, but something about this recipe just knocks all other white chicken chilis out of the running. It is THAT good.
My sil, D, made this for a family gathering a year or two ago. I think she said that her sister actually came up with the recipe when she was in high school. She entered it in a chili cook-off and it won.
You can make this as easy or complicated as you want. You can buy chicken broth, make up bullion, or put together your own stock. For yesterday's batch, I cooked about 6 pounds of bone in chicken thighs in 10 cups of water until the chicken was done. I then removed the chicken, deboned it, and used half for the chili, and saved the other half for later.
You can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or bone-in chicken. Totally up to you. The key and secret ingredient is the green tobacco sauce. I use about half of a 2 ounce bottle, but you can use less or more depending on your personal preferences.
I also have used unsweetened Soy Milk for the cream with good results.
This is a tasty chili, on the milder side. My kids never eat it and say, "oh, this is really spicy."
Blue Ribbon Chicken Chili
Saute' 2 chopped onions with 1/2 stick of butter until tender. Add 1/2 cup of flour and another 1/2 stick of butter. Whisk to make a roux.
Add liquids:
2 cans of chicken broth or 10 cups of stock
2 cups half and half or heavy cream
green tabasco sauce to taste
Bring to boil then add seasonings
1-1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
1 T salt (less if used bullion or chicken broth)
1 teaspoon cumin
pepper
Add
4 cans of navy or great northern beans
1-2 cans black beans
2-4 oz. cans of green chilies
2 pounds of cooked and chopped chicken
Heat through. Just before serving add 1 cup sour cream.
Serve with tortilla chips and grated cheese if so desired. Makes 12 servings. Took me less than 40 minutes to put together with the stock made.
Well, I am taking off to meet my family in St. Louis. We are going to have some great extended Hippie Family time.
What are your plans for the weekend?
*I should mention that Taara Portela won my birthday giveaway! Congrats, Taara!
