Chicken Chipotle Rainbow Chili

My current obsession with ground chipotle spawned this chili. I'm thinking of carrying a little chipotle pouch with me at all times, and sprinkling it on everything I eat. I'm addicted.

Soups, stews, and chilis are the most reliable way for me to cram as many veggies as I can into the girls,  plus they're my favorite things to make. They're very forgiving toward my "throw in a little of this," "add a pinch of that" style of cooking, and there is something so comforting about dipping a warm chunk of bread or tortilla into a bowl of hot, soupy love. You know it's true.

I used the veggies I had on hand here, but really anything will do. The hominy, though - that's a must.



Prep Time: 20 mins (mostly chopping)
Cook Time: 30 mins (the more the better, obviously - this is an excellent slow-cooker candidate. I made this right before it was time to take the girls to gymnastics, and kept it on simmer for the hour we were there. When we got home, we ate, and it was perfect.)
Number of Ingredients: 14


1 lb ground chicken
1/4 white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp cumin, or more to taste
1 tbsp ground oregano
1-3 tsps ground chipotle powder, to taste
1/2 bottle beer (literally anything will do - I used Beck's cuz Mike randomly bought it)
1 14 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes + juice
1 4 oz can diced Ortega chilies
1 28 oz can hominy, drained
1 large carrot, chopped into half moons
1 large red pepper, diced
2 cups frozen fire-roated corn kernals
2-4 cups chicken or veggie broth

Cilantro, cheddar, hot sauce, sour cream, lime, avocado chunks for garnish.

Heat a couple tbsps olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven. Sautee onion and garlic until fragrant, about a minute. Add chicken, carrots, peppers, and spices, and break chicken up with wooden spoon as it cooks. When chicken is almost done, but still a bit pink, add beer. When foam cooks off and beer starts bubbling, add tomatoes, hominy, Ortega chilies and corn. Add 2 cups of broth to keep this on the chunky side, 4 to make it more of a soup. Simmer as long as possible to develop flavors.

Garnish with whatever you like (if you're me, a ton of extra chipotle), and serve with cheddar quesadillas and ice cold beer. Because eating Mexican-flavored food without beer is INSANE.

Red Pepper Chipotle Dip

I only recently discovered the glorious majesty that is ground Chipotle powder, and quite frankly, I can't believe how many dips, soups, pots of chili and Mexican casserole-type situations I have made and served without it. It's delicious - smoky, rich, dark, and super spicy. It elevates this simple red pepper dip to from good, to seriously delicious.

I wanted to make traditional hummus, but didn't have any tahini. I figured cream cheese would do in a pinch, and boy did it ever.  I plan to make this dip this way from here on out. Hummus, schmummus.



Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: None
Number of Ingredients: 7

1 14oz. can chickpeas
1 12 oz. jar roasted red peppers packed in olive oil
3 tablespoons cream cheese
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt to taste
A pinch or 2 ground Chipotle powder, to taste

Drain and rinse chickpeas. Drain red peppers. Toss into food processor (or blender, if you're not lucky enough to have come across a good one at a thrift store, like sad little me). Add the cream cheese, oil, and lime juice. Whiz to a non-lumpy puree. Add a big pinch of salt and a smaller pinch of Chipotle, then whiz again, and taste. If it's too thick, add more lime juice or oil. If you can't taste the Chipotle, add more of that. Whiz again, tasting and adding as you see fit after that - but remember, you want this to be thick and creamy, not thin and watery (blerf), so mind how much you whiz it, hoss.

When the dip has your desired taste and texture, sprinkle it with a fresh herb (I used cinaltro), and serve with raw veggies and/or pita chips.

Raw Kale with Avocado, Orange, Purple Onion & Citrus Vinaigrette

I love kale in almost all forms. I've had a leeeettle trouble appreciating it in its raw glory... but this salad is as close to yummy as I think raw kale can get. This is basically a rip-off of the Whole Foods salad bar kale salad, but with avocado & Bragg's, because that's how Stefania likes hers, as well as orange and lemon, because we've got backyard citrus trees threatening to bury us alive with ripe fruits. I winged the vinaigrette, and it ended up tying the whole thing together spectacularly. Be sure to make the vinaigrette first, so you can pour it on the salad immediately - the avocado won't get a chance to brown, and the citrus will marinate the kale.


Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: None! But it does need to sit in the fridge for an hour or so.
Number of Ingredients: 8


1 lemon
1 orange
1 bunch dinosaur or lacinato kale
2 small or medium avocados
1/2 a small purple onion
Olive oil
Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids
Honey


Citrus Vinaigrette

Juice of 1/2 a lemon
Juice of 1/2 an orange (reserve other half for salad)
1 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids (or less, or none)
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp honey (or more to taste)

Juice the citrus into a bowl, reserving the orange rind.  Whisk in the honey, then half the Bragg's. Bragg's is funky - similar to soy sauce in taste, but more yeasty and tangy. It's an acquired taste. Best to use half a tablespoon to start, then slowly add more if you're liking the funkiness. Add a bit more citrus or honey to mellow out the funkiness if it's not your bag, or just omit the Bragg's entirely. Slowly whisk in the oil to emulsify, then set aside.



Kale Salad with Avocado, Orange and Purple Onion


Trim kale from woody stalks and wash, dry well, and rough chop into bite sized chunks. Dice the reserved 1/2 orange (a large dice is fine), and toss into kale. Dice the flesh of 2 avocados and add to the heap. Slice the purple onion into thin half moons and toss those in as well. Mix the whole thing together with most of the vinaigrette - reserving about a tablespoon for later - then chill, covered, in the fridge for about an hour.

When ready to serve, uncover and toss again. You can drain off the juice at the bottom of the bowl, but it actually tastes pretty good. Drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of vinaigrette, and the zest of the reserved 1/2 orange. So pretty! (Zest makes everything look better).

Enjoy the salad, as well as a sense of superiority over those who have not had raw kale today. Just kidding! Kind of.