Chicken Chili Recipe

Bowl of Chicken Chili

The cold weather has me thinking of ways to keep warm and feed people. As I said in an earlier post, we eat a lot of chicken in my home so there is usually leftover chicken waiting to be reinvented into something tasty. Today the hubby and friends are out in the cold cutting trees for an orchard so I thought a hot lunch would be in order. Looking in the refrigerator I found leftover chicken breast and leftover beans. Hmmm, I thought, looks like the basics for chicken chili.
I won’t claim this as an original recipe, although my take on it might be a little different than most. A friend made some for work one day and it was wonderful. Since I don’t have her recipe I had to make my own. Hope you like it.
Chicken Chili     Makes about 8 12 ounce bowls.
2 cups of cooked, diced chicken

1 onion, diced

1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
2 cups of beans already cooked. Use 1 can of beans if you didn’t cook any. Kidney beans are great but pink, navy, and black beans work well, too.

1- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes

2 tablespoons of chili powder

1 tablespoon of crushed cumin seed

In a large saucepan heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until the onions are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté another minute.

Add chicken, gently stir, and allow the chicken to heat through, about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and beans to the chicken. Turn the heat down to low. Add chili powder and ground cumin and stir.
At this point, you can either continue cooking the chili on the stove over a low heat or do what I do, put it in the crock pot and continue cooking on low. If you continue on the stove, make sure to stir the chili often to make sure it doesn’t scorch.
If you use the stove the chili will be ready in about 1 hour. If you are using the crock pot it will be ready in about 6-8 hours.

Serve with grated cheese, diced onions, and crackers, if you prefer.  Hot sauce is also a welcome addition.
The chili was a big hit at my house. I hope it is at yours. Enjoy and stay warm!

Post by Eileen Patterson of GoofingOff.etsy and GoofingOff.Artfire

Thrifty Chicken and Dumplings

Cup of Chicken and Dumplings
We eat a lot of chicken in my house. Lots. Sometimes I think I might grow feathers but I really like chicken. Reinventing the bird so we don’t feel we are eating the same thing everyday can be a challenge but I am not challenged enough to cook something too exotic. After all, it is a waste of time and money if no one eats or likes something. Well, the other day we made a roast chicken. A couple of days after we had open faced sandwiches. Today I made chicken and dumplings with the rest of that same chicken. I thought that would be a good thing to eat with the weather being so cold. I also thought since it is so cold in the rest of the country I would share the recipe with y’all. This recipe makes a good hearty meal perfect for cold days. It is a good way to use up leftover chicken and vegetables.
Ingredients:
Chicken (Traditionalists use all white meat but I am thrifty and use leftovers) 

2 quarts water

1 teaspoon dry parsley
1 teaspoon salt

2 cups Self-rising flour

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup shortening
Vegetables (frozen peas and baby carrots work real well)

Chicken and dumplings start with good broth. You can use ready made or just make your own with the leftover chicken. Put the leftover chicken in a pot with about 2 quarts of water and simmer over a medium fire. Add a little salt. You can also add a little (teaspoon) of chicken bouillon powder to make the chicken flavor stronger. Let the broth cook about an hour.

Carefully remove the chicken from the broth. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones, gristle, and skin. Put the meat back into the broth. If you are using frozen vegetables, add them just before adding the dumplings.

Making dumplings from scratch is like making biscuits. Place the flour in a bowl and add the shortening. Cut the shortening into the flour. It will get a pebbly texture. Add the milk a little at a time and mix in. The mixture should be soft, not wet or soupy. Add the mixture by spoon to the broth. These are called drop dumplings. Some people roll them out flat and cut them but it isn’t necessary. If you would rather have the roll out kind, just use more flour, roll them out, cut into strips, and then add the dumplings to the broth.

This is how it looks before the dumplings are cooked.
After you add the dumplings to the broth, bring it to a boil, then decrease the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. It will create its own gravy. The vegetables will be tender. 

You can even skip the dumpling making step by using canned biscuits or frozen dumplings. Not bad, I just forget to buy those things.
A low fat alternative to homemade dumplings is flour tortillas, the kind used for burritos and wraps. Just slice them in strips and add them to the broth. The gravy won’t be as thick but it will still be good and have a few less calories.

Ready to eat. Not bad for a cold winter day.
Post by Eileen Patterson of GoofingOff etsy and Goofing off Artfire.

Redesigning Leftovers and Sloppy ChicKs

OK, I guess folks who know me know I am a bit of a tightwad. Oh alright, I am a lot of a tightwad. It is a challenge to me to save a few dollars every day. It is just too easy to blow a few bucks on nothing. I eat a lot of chicken, so much I should have tail feathers (I keep checking but I don't). I can make 3 meals out of one chicken and do just that most of the time. I love rotiserrie chicken and even have a rotiserrie to make my own. I strip the meat after we have supper and save the bones for soup or chicken and dumplings. With the meat I make a lunch called Sloppy Chicks. It is like Sloppy Joes without the beef and a little less greasy. Sloppy Chicks 2 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken 1 onion, diced 2 tb vegetable oil 1/4 cup barbecue sauce Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet over a medium flame. Add onion and saute until the onion is clear and starting to brown. Add chicken and heat thoroughly. Mix in barbeque sauce. Cook, stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Serve on buns. Serves 4