Donna's Award-Winning Crackpot Chili

I entered the Chili Cook Off at church. I don't eat beef, so I made this up as I went today. I figured making chili with chicken would put me out of the competition, but to my great surprise, I won! I received a beautiful picture and a gift certificate from our local Family Bookstore. Fun!

Here's the recipe - more or less. Like I said, I throw in this and that. Hope you enjoy it! I put it all in a crockpot and let it simmer on high for about an hour, then turn it on low for a couple more or until you're ready to dig in. My daughter said I should re-name it "Crackpot Chili" because it's so addictive. I took a pot to my family's house for Christmas and I didn't even get any!

Donna's Chicken Chili

Olive oil – about 2 tbsp.
3 lg. cans chicken breast, drained
1 sm. chopped onion
Garlic powder
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning

2 lg. cans Northern beans, drained
1 sm. can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white corn, drained
1 can yellow corn, drained
2 lg. cans Chicken Broth
1 can green chilies
2 cans chopped tomato chunks

1 pkg. Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix (4 tbsp. chili seasoning mix)
2 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp cocoa
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

In large kettle, sauté onion sprinkled with garlic powder. Add chicken breast to brown, breaking it into small pieces adding poultry seasoning. Add rest of ingredients. Bring to boil. Simmer until thickened.

I poured half the soup (this recipe makes a lot) into a crockpot set on 'low,' and added a can of southwestern cheddar cheese soup for extra thickness, but it's really good either way. I didn't add extra salt, so you may need to add salt to taste.

Sprinkle each serving with Taco Cheese and, if desired, a dollop of sour cream. Really good with lime tortilla chips on the side!

Update: This recipe is easily adaptable. The last couple of times I've made it, I added a dash of cocoa and some brown sugar along with a smidgen of cayenne pepper. That way it comes out sweet and spicy.

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Wheat Free Garlic Pizza with Provolone and Sun-dried Tomatoes

I had an earlier recipe for Gluten Free Pizza which was good, but last night I tried something different and it was goo-o-o-o-d!

I pre-heated my baking stone in a 400 degree oven. (Mine is well-seasoned, but if your isn't, be sure to grease the stone. If you don't have a stone, you can use an seasoned iron skillet, and of course, you can always just use a well-greased baking pan.)

In a bowl, mix:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour
1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon salt (I used Garlic sea salt.)
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Stir in: 
1/2 cup cold water
1 teaspoon olive oil (I used flavored olive oil from Tastefully Simple)

After you mix well, the batter will be about like pancake batter. With my pizza stone nice and hot, I poured the batter on and spread it out very thin.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Watch it to make sure the top isn't getting too brown. I took it out of the oven and used a spatula to lift it up and flipped it over. This way the crust gets all nice and brown on both sides.

I topped it in this order: 

Flavored olive oil, spread thinly across top
Provolone cheese slices (I let cheese overlap crust so I got a really crispy cheese crust around the edges.)
Sun-dried tomatoes
Parmesan cheese
Pizza Seasoning sprinkled lightly


Put it back in the over for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. I liked this version the best because the crust stayed so crisp. I think it would be even better with fresh roasted garlic. Next time!

If you try this and have suggestions, leave them in the comments. Thanks. - D.


Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Creamy Bean Soup (Just Like Bill Knapp's)

We used to have a Bill Knapp's Restaurant in this area. I hated it when it closed. That was one of our favorite restaurants of all time. I have so many wonderful memories of Sunday dinners at Bill Knapp's. We celebrated almost all our birthdays there because they brought out an entire chocolate cake and played a very old, scratchy recording of Happy Birthday.

One of my favorite soups was the bean soup. I found and revised a recipe and it tastes ALMOST the same.

7 C. Water
1 lb. dried navy beans (2 C.) - sorted and rinsed.
1 lb. ham cubes (I buy a nice thick slice at the deli and chop it into cubes.)
1 sm. onion (If you have no fresh, use a couple tablespoons dried onion.)
1 bay leaf
Pepper
Milk

Heat water and beans to boiling. Boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover. Let stand 1 hour.

Stir in all ingredients EXCEPT milk. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat, cover. Simmer about 75 minutes. (Don't boil.)

Remove bay leaf.

In food processor or blender, puree about 1/2 the beans. This step is important to get that creamy texture. Return to the rest of the soup in kettle. Add milk to desired consistency and heat through.

I like to top my bowl with ketchup and lots of pepper. Good to make ahead. Keeps well.

Image: nuchylee / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Wheat Free, Gluten Free Pizza Crust

Since I've gone wheat free, I've really missed pizza. I tried one recipe I had that used coconut flour and it was awful - like eating pizza off of a cookie. Yuck.

Last night I surfed around the 'net trying to find an alternative. I stumbled upon a blog with a recipe for "Socca Pizza for One" using garbanzo bean flour. It's different than a regular flour pizza crust, but it satisfied my longing for pizza.

Now, I'm still playing around with this, but here's what I did today:

I have a baking stone, so I put that in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes. Mine is well-seasoned, but if your isn't, be sure to grease the stone. If you don't have a stone, you can use an seasoned iron skillet, and of course, you can always just use a well-greased baking pan.


In a bowl, mix:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour
1/8 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/8 teaspoon salt (I used Garlic sea salt.)
*2 tablespoons Parmesan 

Stir in: 
1/2 cup cold water
Drizzle of olive oil (I had some flavored olive oil from Tastefully Simple that's delicious.)

After you mix well, the batter will be about like pancake batter. Today I was eager to get my pizza crust made, but next time, I will let this set for a bit in the fridge.

With my pizza stone nice and hot, I poured the batter on and spread it out. Today I left it a bit thicker, like a normal pizza crust. Next time, I intend to spread it out a bit thinner. I like a crispier crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes. Watch it to make sure the top isn't getting too brown. I took it out of the oven and used a spatula to lift it up all around to make sure it wasn't sticking, then topped it with organic pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, green olives (my spurge!), and imported Parmesan. Then I sprinkled the entire top with pizza seasonings. Play around with it. Add meat (I don't eat very much of that.) and veggies. Put it back in the over for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. 

Yum!

*Updated recipe 3/09/12: Last night when I made the pizza, I added the 2 tbsp. of Parmesan to the crust mix. I let the mix sit for a few minutes and spread it very thin on my bigger pizza stone. What a difference! Totally changed the crust and it crisped up better, too.

*Update - Someone asked about where to get garbanzo bean flour. We have a local grocery store that specializes in foods more difficult to find. If there's nothing like that in your area, perhaps you could order it online. This is the one I use:



Hope that helps!

If you try this and have suggestions, leave them in the comments. Thanks. - D.

Image: Suat Eman / FreeDigitalPhotos.net