Thursday, October 20, 2011

Cooking

Kaia and I enjoy watching cooking shows on TV. Everything they do looks so complicated, but in reality, most things you can do cooking are fairly simple. Before Kaia and I started dating my cooking consisted of soup out of a can, mac and cheese, or hamburger helper. With a little encouragement from my beautiful wife and some practice, maple glazed pork chops aren't out of the question.

Cooking is a lot of fun. Last nights experiment was with chicken noodle soup. Now we didn't do anything extravagant, but it turns out a little different every time. That is one of the exciting things when you are exploring flavors. Things are great every time and they are always a little different. While I am no Bobby Flay, I can handle myself in the kitchen and whip up something excellent (usually following a recipe). It has been fun as I have gotten older to try new things and be adventurous in the kitchen.

To our readers, what are some of your favorite recipes?

2 comments:

  1. One of my absolute favorite recipes... I made this after modifying a couple different white chicken chili recipes I had found and my version has won a couple of chili cook-off contests when friends and family have made it.

    White Chicken Chili with Corn
    Ingredients:
    · 4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds)
    (I’ve also used three large cans of all white chicken breast-
    this reduces the prep time and tastes just as yummy.)
    · butter or oil to cook chicken in
    · 1 stick unsalted butter
    · 1/4 c all-purpose flour
    · 1 can chicken broth
    · 2 cups fat free half and half
    · 1 1/2 to 2 large onions, chopped
    · 1 tsp Tabasco (you can always add more…)
    · 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
    · 1 tsp ground cumin
    · 1/2 teaspoon salt
    · 1/2 teaspoon pepper
    · 16 oz or so of canned white beans (ex: Great
    · White beans & Butter Beans.)
    · Two 4-oz cans chopped mild green chilies
    · 2-3 cups of frozen corn
    · 1 1/2 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
    · 1/2 cup light sour cream

    Directions:
    Heat a large skillet over moderately high heat and put
    in some butter and oil. Meanwhile coat your chicken
    with salt and pepper and maybe some chili powder.
    Place in skillet and leave until nicely browned, then
    flip them every few minutes until they are done.
    Remove the chicken from the pan. When the chicken is
    cool enough to handle, shred it with your fingers and
    set aside. (If using canned white chicken, just skip this step and add chicken later.)

    While waiting for chicken to cool, cook the onion in
    the same pan with 2 Tbs of butter until softened.
    In a heavy pot, large enough to hold all the
    ingredients, melt remaining 6 Tbs of butter over
    moderately low heat and whisk in flour. Whisk the two
    together.


    Stir in the onion and gradually add the broth and half
    and half, whisking the whole time. Bring mixture to a
    boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes, or
    until thickened.

    Stir in Tabasco, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
    Add beans, chilies, chicken and cheese, and cook over
    moderately low heat, stirring occasionally for 20
    minutes. Add sour cream.

    May be served immediately –
    of course, like all chili, this tastes awesome the
    next day. (If you like thicker chili, reduce the
    amount of chicken broth added in step 5.)
    Serve with the usual chili garnishes--cilantro,
    cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes, etc.

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  2. This sounds delicious Karalynn! We love chili, especially when it's got a little kick which this one sounds like it does! Have you ever had the buffalo chili at Poor Richards? It is pretty incredible, I would highly recommend it! Thanks for the recipe! We'll definitely be trying this in the near future!

    -Kaia

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