Author Archives: bistrobess

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

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A few weeks ago, I was all set to make a quick, healthy dinner of Buffalo Chicken Salad.  But, while scanning skinnytaste.com at work, I discovered THIS and my plans were altered.  It uses all the same ingredients as the salad, with a few extra staples that I had in the fridge or pantry.  I made a couple modifications, removing bleu cheese and adding some extra hot sauce. It was delicious, cooked up quickly and was still a light and healthy meal. 

Stuffed Buffalo Chicken

Adapted from skinnytaste.com

  • 1/4 cup shredded 2% cheddar
  • 3 wedges Laughing Cow garlic and herb cheese 
  • 1/4 cup green onion, minced
  • 1/4 cup carrot, minced
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 package thin boneless chicken breasts cutlets
  • 1 cup corn flake crumbs
  • 1 tbsp light mayonnaise
  • 6 tbsp Franks hot sauce
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp light butter
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly coat your baking dish with cooking spray.

Mix cheddar, laughing cow cheese, green onion, carrot, salt and pepper in a dish.

Lay out the chicken cutlets, placing even amount of mixture in the middle and spread in the center.

In one bowl make a breading station out of corn flake crumbs. In another bowl combine mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of hot sauce, and lemon juice.  Roll chicken breasts in the mayonnaise mixture, then into the crumbs, and put on a lightly greased pan, seam side down.

Lightly spray top of chicken with cooking spray. Bake 30 minutes. While the chicken cooks, melt butter and mix with the remaining hot sauce and garlic powder. Drizzle buffalo sauce over finished chicken breast and serve.

Pepperoni Chicken with Zucchini “Noodles”

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Have I talked about carbs?  I probably have.  What girl hasn’t had the internal carbs monologue…are these the “good” carbs or the “bad” carbs? What’s the difference between whole wheat and whole grain? What’s gluten and why is it terrible?  Does wine have carbs? Is butter a carb? 

Honestly, I can’t really answer your questions, except to say if wine has carbs, they are always good, and butter is most definitely a carb.  I am firmly in the “all things in moderation” camp of eating, but sometimes everyone needs a break from heavy, starchy meals.  These zucchini “noodles” are a great summertime pasta substitute, and are so very easy to make.  The secret is using a julienne peeler.  Mine is Swissmar, and I got it in a three pack from Williams Sonoma.  It makes the process simple…just grate a whole zucchini, skin and all, into a bowl and top it with your favorite pasta sauce! 

If you prefer to cook the zucchini, add the “noodles” to a hot saute pan with a bit of olive oil and cook for a few minutes, until slightly softened.  They are delicious both ways, and a really satisfying, yet light, substitute for pasta.  I topped mine with the always awesome Pepperoni Chicken, which is one of my husband’s favorite recipes. 

Pepperoni Chicken

adapted from Cooking Light

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
  • 2 cloves minced fresh garlic
  • ½  white onion, chopped
  • 2-3 oz pepperoni, coarsely chopped (I usually use turkey pepperoni)
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • ¼  teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 ½  cups marinara sauce
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil , plus more for sprinkling
  • 1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets (or you can cut regular chicken breasts in half)
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Preheat broiler to high.

Heat one teaspoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic and pepperoni.  Cook 2-3 minutes until onion begins to soften, stirring frequently.  Add oregano and red pepper flake and stir to combine. Add marinara sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in basil.

Heat remaining olive oil a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle chicken with salt pepper, and add to skillet. Cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, turning after 3 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese melts.  Remove from oven, sprinkle with basil.  Serve immediately with pasta or zucchini noodles!

Glazed Chicken and Szechuan Noodle Salad

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I am really bad at this blogging thing.  I get busy, it gets cold and dark, and the next thing you know, it’s been 7 months since the last time I blogged.  No excuses, just going to take another stab at it.  I hope at least a few people are still reading this…

My love of Cooking Light Magazine has been documented on this blog in the past, as many of my recipe adaptations start there.  While not always the most gourmet dishes in the world, Cooking Light is a great resource for quick dinners and lightened up versions of classics.  Most of the recipes are very simple, and leave a lot of room for interpretation…adding spice, herbs, and proteins to your taste.  (I am not being paid by Cooking Light.  Obviously.)

That said, I pretty much followed the recipe on this one.  As you can see from the pictures, we decided to chop up the grilled chicken at the end and tossed it in with the noodles.  The recipe calls for bottled Szechuan sauce, and I found something the in the Asian aisle of the grocery store called Spicy Szechuan Stir Fry sauce, so I used that.  It. Was. Spicy.  So, tread lightly with that one!  We added a side of simply roasted broccoli (head of broccoli cut into florets, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper, Roast at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes) for a complete meal.

Glazed Chicken and Szechuan Noodle Salad

Adapted from Cooking Light

  • 1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
  • 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 4 teaspoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided
  • 1 package boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I used the thin sliced breasts, so the cooking time was reduced
  • 6 ounces uncooked udon noodles (thick, fresh Japanese wheat noodles) or whole-wheat linguine
  • 1/4 cup bottled Szechuan sauce
  • 1 tablespoon reduced-fat creamy peanut butter  
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lime juice  
  • 1 cup matchstick-cut carrots (I used bagged, shredded carrots)
  • 1/2 cup matchstick-cut green onions

Combine ginger, hoisin, olive oil and 2 teaspoons of soy sauce in a medium bowl; stir well. Add chicken; toss to coat.  You can allow to marinate for up to an hour, but it is not necessary. 

Heat the grill or grill pan to medium high. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill until done. The thin cut breasts will cook in 3-4 minutes per side, larger pieces of chicken could take up to 15-18 minutes total.  I recommend a meat thermometer for this!  Remove from grill; cover.

Cook noodles according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and rinse with cold water; drain well. Combine Szechuan sauce, peanut butter, remaining soy sauce, and juice in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add noodles, carrots, and green onions; toss and serve immediately with chicken on the side, or cut chicken up and stir into the noodles.

Beer Bread

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Bread and I are not friends.  Well, ok, bread and I are BEST FRIENDS when it comes to eating, but we are more like frenemies when it comes to baking.  During Snowmageddon 2010, we were stuck in the house for several days, but luckily had power.  I decided to make bread and it was a total disaster.  I wasted so much flour, butter, yeast and herbs trying to follow what appeared to be a very simple recipe.  Anything involving yeast turns me into a hopeless kitchen clutz.

This aversion makes quickbreads more my jam (get it? jam? bread? food nerd pun?), but also limits my bread repetoire to loaves of banana and zucchini bread.  While those are always delicious, I was hoping to make a more savory quickbread loaf, which is where this recipe comes in.  Simple, basic, always in the kitchen ingredients and no waiting and waiting and waiting for dough to maybe-kinda-hopefully rise.  The bread is slightly sweet from the honey, nutty from the beer, and has a lovely, buttery crust. It’s fool proof, and fabulous. 

Beer Bread

adapted from EzraPoundCake.com and GimmeSomeOven.com

  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons honey (can omit for a more savory loaf)
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bottle (12 ounces) beer
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted (use a whole stick if you are daring)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9″ x 5″ x 3″ inch loaf pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  Using a wooden spoon, stir the beer and honey into the dry ingredients until just mixed. 

Pour half the melted butter into the loaf pan. Then spoon the batter into the pan, and pour the rest of the butter on top of the batter.  It will look buttery, which is obviously a good thing!

Place the loaf pan on a cooking sheet (in case any butter drips while baking) and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until top is golden brown and a toothpick/knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Tamale Pie

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Not to sound too much like Garfield here, but I don’t like Mondays. I seem to always work late-ish, the Metro is always backed up (you dont SAY!), the gym is crowded and I am just generally bummed to have four more days until the weekend.  No matter how much I like to cook, on Monday nights it is a struggle to not just order pizza or eat cereal.   Unless I have something in the crockpot.

Oh how I love my crockpot…when I remember it exists. This recipe is based off something I saw over and over again on Pinterest.  I hope you are familiar with Pinterest, the biggest time-suck since peoples profiles on Facebook were public. Follow me! So, on Pinterest, I have seen many different versions of Tamale Pie.  Real tamales are delicious, but not exactly weeknight food, so I was intrigued.  I modified basic idea (cornbread crust, topped with a filling) into a BistroBess original by incorporated the crockpot, which makes this a 20 minute meal.  Perfect for a Monday night, and leftovers for the rest of the week!

Keeping Thanksgiving in mind, this would be a fantastic leftover turkey recipe!  Just saute all the filling/topping ingredients together with the leftover turkey instead of using the crockpot, and then make as directed.  Fabulous!

Tamale Pie

  • 4-5 chicken breasts
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed, chopped
  • 1 bell pepper, chopped (I used yellow)
  • 2 16 oz jars salsa
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • 1 package Jiffy corn muffin mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup skim milk
  • 1 4oz can diced green chiles
  • 1 cup shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese
  • Chopped cilantro (optional)

Put the chicken, onion, jalapeno, bell pepper, salsa and corn in the crockpot and cook at high for 4-6 hours, or low for 8-10.  I did 10 hours, so it would be ready about the time I get home from work…do whatever works for your schedule.  When it is cooked, take off the lid, and shred the chicken with two forks.  Check for seasoning, add salt and pepper if needed.  Leave in crockpot on warm.

Heat the oven to 400.  Mix the Jiffy mix with the egg, milk, chiles and 1/3 cup of cheese.   Pour into a Pam-ed casserole dish (I used an 11×7, 2.2 quart Pyrex) and bake for about 15 minutes, until set.

Liberally pierce the surface of the cornbread with a fork, and then top with the chicken mixture.  Sprinkle the top with chopped cilantro and the remainder of the cheese.  Bake until the cheese is melted and heated all the way through, about 10-15 minutes.  Serve warm!

Sweet Potato with Cranberry-Chipotle Dressing

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Food magazines are a big problem in my house.  I only receive two a month (Bon Appetit and Cooking Light), but I refuse to throw them away.  They are stacked and stashed in all over our condo, probably taking up more than their fair share of space, because you just NEVER KNOW when you might need the Thanksgiving 2005 (or was it 2006?) Bon Appetit that had a really, really good squash gratin recipe. My mom has a Bon Appetit from 1981 that has the world’s most amazing cheesecake recipe, so I come by this particular hoarding tendency naturally.  I wish I had through of  The Bitten Word, which is one of my favorite blogs, and I would feel much better about the magazines that spill out whenever I open certain drawers.

I am very glad the October issue of Cooking Light was still on the coffee table, because this was one awesome side dish.  I love sweet potatoes, and I love sweet/tart/spicy combinations in sauces.  This hits all those notes beautifully.  I already have ideas about how to adapt the cranberry-chipotle pairing into other recipes.  I love it when that happens.

Sweet Potatoes with Cranberry-Chipotle Dressing

adapted slightly from Cooking Light

  • 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup fresh or frozen cranberries (I used fresh)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • I tablespoon honey
  • 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (plus a little sauce)
  • 3/4 cup chopped green onions
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Preheat oven to 450°. Place sweet potatoes on a large jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until tender, turning after 15 minutes.

Combine remaining 1 tablespoon oil, cranberries, water, and honey in a saucepan.  Finely chop the chipotle pepper.  Add chopped chipotle and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce to pan. Place pan over medium-low heat; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 10 minutes or until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Mash with a fork until chunky.

Combine potatoes, onions, and cilantro in a bowl. Add cranberry mixture to bowl; toss gently to coat.

A Homesick Texan Meal

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This may not make sense to most people, but sometimes I am from Texas.  Sometimes I am from Pennsylvania, sometimes I am from Colorado, sometimes I am from Virginia.  As an Army brat who is the child of Army brats, answering the question “where are you from?” is more complicated than one might think.  So, sometimes it changes.  My mom’s family is from Pennsylvania, but now all live in Colorado.  My parents, sister and I have all lived in Virginia for several years.

My dad’s mom, my Mimi, was a born and raised, tried and true, deep in the heart Texan.  She moved around most of her adult life as an Army wife, but never lost her Texas charm or Texas roots, and made it back there permanently after my grandfather retired.  We still have family who live in Texas, including my sister and brother in law.  I spent my sophomore and junior year of high school there. My dad has a faint, but distinct, Texas accent, though only on certain words. I love Friday Night Lights. Even my dog is from Texas.

All this is to say, I have a little Texas in me, and a big soft spot for the Lone Star State.  While not a seventh generation Texan like Lisa Fain of The Homesick Texan, I absolutely loved cooking from her book, and honestly?  It made me just a little bit homesick. 

Carnitas*

  • 3 lb boneless pork shoulder
  • ½ cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup lime juice
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt

The original recipe said to not trim the pork at all, but I cut off some of the larger pieces of fat.  Cut the pork into 2 inch pieces.  Put the pork in a large Dutch oven, and add juices, garlic cloves, cumin and salt.  Stir, and then add water to just barely cover the pork.  Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer.  Allow the pork to simmer for two hours, uncovered.  Do not touch or stir.

After two hours, mot of the liquid should be evaporated, and the rendered pork fat will be in the bottom of the Dutch oven.  Turn heat up to medium high, and sauté the pork until browned on all sides.  This could take from 10-30 minutes, depending on how quickly the liquid evaporated.  Keep an eye on the pork!  When it is browned, it is done.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain.

Serve warm, with Houston style salsa (recipe below), cilantro, onions and tortillas (recipe also below).

Houston Style Green Salsa*

  • ¾ lb tomatillos, husked
  • 1 avocado
  • 1 or 2 Serrano chiles, ribs and seeds removed
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ¼ cup cilantro
  • salt

Bring a pot of water to a boil, and add the husked tomatillos, whole, and boil for 5 minutes.  Strain, allow to cool for a few minutes, and then add to blender with all other ingredients.  Puree, taste, add salt if needed.  If the mixture is overly thick, you can add water until desired consistency is reached.

San Antonio Style Flour Tortillas*

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for kneading
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.  Heat milk and butter in a small saucepan just until the butter melts.  Remove from heat and stir in oil.

Stir milk mixture into flour mixture until it forms a loose, sticky ball.  Knead on a floured surface for 2 minutes, until a firm, smooth ball is formed.  Cover the dough and allow to rest at room temperature for 1 hour.

After one hour, divide the dough into 8 smaller balls.  Cover and allow to rest for 30 more minutes.

On a floured surface, pat each ball into a 4 inch ball, and then roll out into a thin disk, about 8 inches in diameter.  Keep tortillas covered until ready to cook.

Heat a dry skillet over high heat.  One at a time, place the tortilla on the skillet.  It will immediately begin to bubble up.  Allow to cook for 30 seconds, then flip.  Cook 30 seconds on the other side, and then flip for another 30 seconds.

I had to keep a very close eye on the tortillas, and flip often.   More than 30 seconds on either side and they started to burn.  This will depend on the heat of your stove.  The bottom line is:  LOOK OUT.  They can burn quickly.  Frequent flipping is totally fine.

Keep tortillas warm by wrapping in a clean kitchen towel.

*All recipes are from The Homesick Texan cookbook.

Pork and Green Chile Stew

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Hello to everyone who found BistroBess in the past few days!  Being “Freshly Pressed” certainly upped my readership and the pressure is on!  Please keep checking in, I really appreciate it the support.  But enough with that, on to the food!

I seem drawn to big bowls of comfort food these days, and this stew is no different.  After a very successful trip to Wegman’s last weekend (crowded but fabulous…why isn’t there a Wegmans in Arlington?), I found myself with 4 pork tenderloins, 2 per package.  I roasted off two of them earlier this week, and was trying to think of a creative use for the remaining tenderloins. 

Inspired by something on the Food Network about green chiles, I decided to try my hand at a green chile and pork stew.  I love the New Mexico/Tex Mex flavor of green chiles, and I knew something like this would be perfect for an afternoon of football watching with some friends.  I browsed a few recipes online, but didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, so I improvised. 

Lucky for me (and my friends), it turned out really well!  The stew was thick and hearty, good for my husband who doesn’t love thin soups.  It was spicy, but not overly so, with a great chile flavor, and the pork was wonderfully tender.  It may take a bit of time to simmer, but comes together quickly.  We served it with a dollop of sour cream and some tortillas, but I think it would be great over rice, or even as an enchilada filling. 

Pork and Green Chile Stew

a BistroBess original

  • 2 small pork tenderloins (from one standard grocery store package), cut into bite size pieces
  • 2 small onions, diced
  • 2 poblano peppers, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 can green enchilada sauce
  • 2 4 oz cans diced, roasted green chiles
  • 1 15oz can hominy, drained
  • 2-4 cups chicken broth (this will depend on how thick you want the soup)
  • Olive oil
  • Flour for dredging
  • Salt and pepper

Coat the bottom of a dutch oven with olive oil over medium heat.  Place about 1 cup of flour into a bowl.  Salt and pepper the pieces of pork, then dredge in the flour a few at a time.  Remove the pork from the flour, shaking off the excess, and place into the dutch oven.  Brown on all sides, about 4 minutes per batch, until all pork has browned.   Remove from the dutch oven and set aside.

Add a little bit of olive oil to the dutch oven, if needed.  Add onion and poblano and cook for several minutes, until soft and translucent.  Add garlic, cook for 2 more minutes.  Pour in can of enchilada sauce and, using a wooden spoon, get all the brown bits by scraping the bottom of the pan.  Add the cans of chiles, hominy and the browned pork.  Stir to combine, and add some chicken stock, about 2 cups, to just cover the mixture.  

Cover, turn heat to low, and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, for an hour or more.  I cooked mine for closer to two hours, and stirred every 20 minutes or so.  Add more chicken broth along the way to get the consistency you would like.* Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper.   Serve warm with tortillas, cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc. 

*If you would like to use this for a taco or enchilada filling, I would suggest starting with 1 cup of broth and going from there.

Skinny Onion Rings

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Anyone who grew up an Army brat has developed a real love/hate relationship with Burger King.  For those who don’t know, basically every Army post has a Burger King, and it was generally the only food option.  Posts now have Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Taco Bell and more.  We always had a free standing Buger King, and a PX foodcourt full of generic fast food knockoffs like Anthony’s Pizza and Robin Hood Sandwiches.  Burger King was the way to go…but that often meant getting sick of it, and quickly. But I loved Burger King for one reason…the onion rings option.  I love onion rings, and almost always opted for those instead of fries. 

When I saw a recipe for “skinny” onion rings, I knew I needed to try it.  Personally, I don’t fry things at home.  It’s messy, it’s greasy, it’s generally a pain.  Not to mention it produces some very unhealthy food.  So, this baked option, using onions, low fat buttermilk, panko and not much else, really jumped out at me. 

The recipe was a success for sure; the onion rings were crunchy and quite good.  The process was a bit messy, though not hard.  There are two parts of this process that are integral to success:

  • One, LINE THE BAKING SHEETS WITH PARCHMENT.  Don’t skip it, don’t think you can just sprayy them with Pam…rings on an unlined sheet will burn.  Trust BistroBess. 
  • Two, BREAD THE RINGS IN SMALL BATCHES.  My breading got wet and clumpy really fast, and once that happens, nothing sticks.  I had to toss out my first batch less than halfway through the process and start over.  My suggestion would be to mix up the breading in one bowl, and add it to a seperate breading bowl a small amount at a time. Put in about enough breading for 2 or 3 rings, bread those, wipe out the bowl, and add fresh breading crumbs for the next few rings.  It takes more time, but your results will be dramatically improved.

If you follow these two guidelines, the reward is crispy, hot onion rings that you don’t feel bad about eating.  But don’t worry, Burger King, your onion rings will always be my nostalgic fave.

Skinny Onion Rings

Adapted slightly from SkinnyTaste.com

  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
  • 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
  • 1/4 cup crushed corn flake crumbs
  • salt to taste 
  • Pam cooking spray

Slice onion into ¼ inch rings.  Separate the rings (I discarded the tiny middles), and place in a shallow baking dish.  Cover in buttermilk, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Preheat oven to 450. Combine the three types of crumbs and salt to taste in a small bowl.  Have another bowl nearby for breading.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove onions from refrigerator.

Put a small amount (¼ cup or less) of the breading mixture into your breading bowl.  Remove the onion rings one at a time from the buttermilk, allowing excess to drip off.  Quickly dredge in the breading mixture and place on the baking sheet.  Repeat with all onion rings, replacing breading as needed.  Wet, clumpy breading will not stick to the rings!

Spray the onion rings generously with cooking spray, and bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Serve hot.

Turkey Chili

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My obsession with fall foods continues.  Is there a more fall-ish food than chili?  I doubt it.  Its warm and cozy, great for tailgating or game watching or just an easy dinner.  Added bonus? Freezes and reheats like a dream.

 I love stuff in my chili…meat, veggies, beans, tomatoes…which I know is not for everyone.  So, this is my hodge podge, kitchen sink turkey chili recipe. Omit that which you do not love, or add something you do.  Be warned, this recipe makes enough chili for an ARMY.  I would say 12 servings, at least. Feed a crowd, or enjoy the leftovers!

Turkey Chili

a BistroBess original

  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 pounds lean ground turkey
  • 2 large onions, chopped
  • 2 bell peppers, chopped (I used yellow)
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped (use one if you like less spice)
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 12 oz bottle beer
  • 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 cans mild Rotel (tomato and chili mixture)
  • 1-2 cups chicken broth
  • 2 15 oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
  • 2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1 cup frozen corn kernels (optional)
  • 4 tablespoons masa (corn flour) dissolved in cold water (optional)
  • Sour  cream, shredded cheddar, chips or cornbread for serving

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large dutch oven over medium high heat.  Add the onions and peppers, cook for 3-5 minutes.  Add garlic, cook another minute or so.  Add chopped chipotle, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Push the veggie spice mixture the edges of the pot to make a well.  Add the turkey.  Making the well allows the turkey to make contact with the bottom of the pot and brown.   Cook for about 5 minutes, until the turkey is about half way done, and then mix in with the veggies.   

Add the beer, crushed tomatoes, Rotel and about a cup of chicken broth. Allow to come to a boil, then turn the heat down, cover and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding more chicken broth if needed.  The consistency is really a personal preference, depending on if you like a thick chili, or a slightly soupier version.

So, if you would like to add a bit of corn flavor goodness, and tighten up the liquid in the chili, stir in the masa/water mixture.  This acts much like a cornstarch slurry in Asian cooking, helping to thicken.  If you want to add the corn, do so now.  Allow to simmer for about 10 more minutes.

Check the chili for seasonings, add salt and pepper if needed. 

Serve the chili hot, with all the fixings!