White Chicken Chili Recipe: It’s Not Complicated

Written by Liz -

This past Valentine’s Day, we decided to have a chili cook-off. It seemed like a much better idea for this romance holiday on a cold winter night, especially with our particular relationship statuses; “it’s complicated” seems to be most popular in our group’s social media circles.

This White Chicken Chili recipe was my submission. I love it for its creaminess, the spicy cumin taste (I actually added a bit more cumin than in the recipe) and the boost of greens with the Spinach. I also added a little cheese on top, and some folks also topped theirs with raw onions and sour cream. Wine pairing note: this soup goes great with Chardonnay.

I’m not sure if my chili won the cook-off, but it was the first pot to be emptied! It took the chill out of a cold night and it warmed our bellies and our hearts. And it’s not complicated.

White Chicken Chili Recipe

Ingredients for 8 servings:

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast tenders
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 to 1 1/2 cups mild salsa verde
• 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) pinto beans, drained
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup loose-pack frozen corn
• 1 can (12 fluid ounces) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
• 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
• Baked tortilla chips and light sour cream for serving (optional)

Directions:

HEAT oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook on each side until golden. Transfer chicken to plate; cover.

ADD onion to same saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add garlic; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in cumin and coriander; cook for 30 seconds. Stir in salsa verde, cannellini beans, pinto beans, water and corn. Cook for about 10 minutes or until hot.

CUT or shred chicken into bite-size pieces and add to saucepan along with any accumulated juices on plate. Stir in evaporated milk and spinach; cook for a few minutes just until heated through and spinach is slightly wilted. Serve topped with crumbled tortilla chips and dollop of sour cream.

Links:

• White Chicken Chili
• Get a Carnation coupon

More chili recipes:

Pumpkin Chili Mexicana

Chili with Three Beans

Finding Balance: A Lighter Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

Written by Chris-

 “…small helpings, no seconds, no snacking, and a little bit of everything.”  – Julia Child

I laugh every time I read this quote. It sounds like my life! Working in a test kitchen, I sample a little bit of everything – and by doing so, I consume way too many calories! I recently heard a stat that recipe developers gain 3-4 pounds each year. That’s just scary!

I often joke about wearing my stretchy pants when recipe contests come along. My weight fluctuates depending on what recipe projects I am working on, but pounds gained eventually come off. It’s all about finding balance – good nutritional balance paired with physical activity.

Finding nutritional balance can be challenging, especially if you are on the run, or work in the culinary field (all those little tastes really add up!). I recently shared a few healthier eating/lifestyle tips that work for me over on Together Counts. Check it out if you’d like. And remember, it’s ok to give in to those little cravings every now and again. Having foods “off-limits” just increases their allure, in my opinion. As Julia Child once said, “Everything in moderation… even moderation.”

Let’s not forget exercise – love it or hate it, you’ve got to do it. Finding time is difficult – and I am the first to complain about lack of time. If you can’t carve out at least 30 minutes in your day, try to find creative ways to incorporate bits and pieces of exercise into your daily routine. Years ago I shared a tip (albeit embarrassing tip) with People magazine about doing squats and lunges while blow drying hair. I even have a Kettlebell in our test kitchen/at my desk – it provides a great arm workout while editing recipes! Find what works for you and stick to it.

Chicken Pot Pie, a culinary classic. Something I like to do is lighten up traditional favorites. It’s always fun to see if Nestlé brand managers or my family can tell a difference. This recipe is my latest attempt. Pot Pies, prepared in the traditional way, can top 25 grams of fat per serving. In this lighter version (a slimmed down 12 grams of fat per serving), I substituted lowfat evaporated milk for the cream. I also incorporated more vegetables and used a buttermilk biscuit in place of the traditional pastry crust. I’ve made this recipe for my family several times now. Since I have their stamp of approval, I thought I would share it with you.

Lighter Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients needed for 8 servings:

FILLING

• 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 3 celery ribs, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• Fine sea salt
• 1/4 cup dry white wine or sherry (optional, but I’d add it!)
• 3 cups water
• 2 teaspoons MAGGI Instant Chicken Flavor Bouillon
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 can (12 fluid ounces) NESTLÉ® CARNATION® Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
• One 3 1/2- to 4-pound rotisserie chicken, skin removed and meat shredded , about 4 cups (to cut fat, use cooked, shredded chicken breast)
• 1 cup (or more!) frozen green peas
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

BISCUITS

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (you can use ¾ cup all-purpose flour and ¾ cup whole-wheat flour if you’d like or 1 ½ cups white whole-wheat flour to boost nutrition)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup reduced-fat buttermilk
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425° F.

FOR FILLING:

Combine carrots, celery, onion, garlic, thyme, oil and ½ teaspoon salt in a large Dutch oven or saucepan. Cover; cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, for 6 to 8 minutes or until vegetables have softened.

Stir in wine; cook for 1 minute or until almost evaporated. Stir in water and bouillon; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.

Whisk cornstarch and evaporated milk together; stir into sauce. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until sauce slightly thickens. Remove from heat; stir in chicken, peas and parsley. Season with ground black pepper.

Divide mixture between eight 8-ounce ramekins as shown above or spoon into 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Cover to keep warm while you are making the biscuits. (Creative note: pint-size mason jars without lids work great with this recipe and they are adorable when baked! You will need 9 jars total.)

FOR BISCUITS:

Whisk flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk buttermilk and melted butter together. Gently stir buttermilk mixture into flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined and no pockets of flour remain (add another tablespoon buttermilk if dough doesn’t hold together well).

Drop dough into equal mounds over ramekins, spreading out mounds somewhat so they cover most of the filling (as shown above). If you prefer for the biscuits to be more uniform, form each mound into a ball then flatten slightly and place over ramekins. Place on baking sheet. If using a 13 x 9-inch baking dish, drop dough into 8 mounds a few inches apart over hot filling.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the biscuits are golden and the filling is bubbly. Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Dig in!

Here’s to a healthier, more balanced 2012! (My pups are ready to take me for a walk… this will be my physical activity today!)

Links:

• Lighter Chicken Pot Pie
• Get a CARNATION® Evaporated Milk coupon

 

Zesty Chicken and Rice Casserole

Pork Tenderloin with Dijon Mustard Sauce

Celebrate National Milk Day: Baked Chicken, Scalloped Potatoes, Creamy Risotto

Written by Nick - 

January 11, 2011 is National Milk day! It’s time to break out your milk-stache and rejoice. National Milk day might feel like an odd holiday to celebrate, but every once in a while we all need a good reason to have an ice cold glass of milk (and cookies). But if you’re like me, you don’t always have a well-stocked fridge and milk is often the first thing to disappear. One thing I always have in the pantry is evaporated milk. Now, I’m probably not going to drink it with a cookie, but it’s great for baking anything! I like to use evaporated milk to give recipes that creamy and rich taste.

Here are some of my favorite “milk” recipes. Each uses Carnation evaporated milk, making it a perfect way to celebrate National Milk Day.

Crispy Baked Dijon Chicken 

This dish above is super simple to put together. In less than 30 minutes you’ll be enjoying some zesty, crispy chicken. Keep the evaporated milk in the cupboard, the chicken in the freezer and the parmesan cheese on hand… you’ll have most of these ingredients already so it’s a perfect meal to whip up after a long day.

Scrumptious Cheddar Bacon Scalloped Potatoes

This side dish is great for entertaining. You’ll want to make enough to have leftovers, because who wouldn’t want some more tomorrow or the next day or the next day?

Simple Risotto with Peas & Parmesan

Another quick and simple dish you can whip up in a hurry, shown above. It’s a staple at any bachelor’s house. This risotto always comes out looking and tasting professional but it’s so simple to put together.

Links:

• Crispy Baked Dijon Chicken
• Scrumptious Cheddar Bacon Scalloped Potatoes
• Simple Risotto with Peas & Parmesan
• Get a Carnation Evaporated Milk coupon

More Evaporated Milk recipes :

Crustless Broccoli & Cheddar Mini Quiches

One-Dish Fiesta Casserole

Serving the Ladies of LA’s Downtown Women’s Center: Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Written by Liz -

Yesterday was one of my favorite days at work. Some of us from the Nestlé Kitchens joined some co-workers at Los Angeles’ Downtown Women’s Center to buy the ingredients, prepare, cook and serve lunch to over 100 ladies visiting or living at the center. On the menu: oven-baked chicken with crunchy Parmesan coating and lemon zest, white beans, collard greens and baked sweet potato fries.

We didn’t have to come up with a menu or instructions; luckily, the center’s nutritionist on staff, Tracy, handled all that for us. And she was good. Tracy and the volunteer kitchen leader instructed us on how to make theses dishes more healthy and where to find all our tools and utensils. We quickly took over the kitchen!

Everything was prepared from scratch using fresh whole foods. The vegetables were simply gorgeous.

Fresh vegetable stock was started immediately, to use with the beans and collard greens.

We chopped, stirred, boiled, sautéed, zested, coated and seasoned. We smiled and chatted with residents (one in French!), who were all incredibly grateful. We were too.

And everyone was hungry. We were amazed at how talented the staff was, creating such healthy menus and using whole foods, cooking from scratch. The collard greens (using no pork for seasoning) and the baked sweet potato fries were the first to go, and everyone wanted seconds!

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

1. Wash and peel the potatoes as shown above (or leave the peel on for more nutrition!).

2. Cut potatoes into half-inch strips.

3. Place on baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper and smoked paprika, above.

4. Bake at 450 for 40 minutes, or until fries are cooked and slightly crispy.

5. Serve with a smile!

Time for Summer Grilling: Ribs, Rubs & Chicken Galore

When the weather gets warm, I head outside to cook. Grilling season is here! Recently I’d eaten an entire meal of grilled food in Spain. And Memorial Day is a good time to pull off the cover and blow the dust away. The grill is your new best friend.

Grilling meat may seem daunting if you’ve never done it, so rest assured you can use a grill almost the same as you would an oven. Many recipes have directions for both an oven and a grill, and you can also use rubs, sauces and marinades to season any type of meat: beef, poultry, pork, lamb and more. All it takes is a little research and recipe hunting.

I started my summer grilling by using this Coffee-Spiced Rub recipe, which is perfect on ribs as shown in the recipe. But I wanted to grill a whole chicken using this rub, so I modified the cooking time since chicken has a lot less fat than ribs.

Coffee-Spiced Rub

(covers 4 pounds meat, shown on ribs at top)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 teaspoons packed brown sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons NESCAFÉ TASTER’S CHOICE House Blend 100% Pure Instant Coffee Granules or NESCAFÉ CLÁSICO Pure Instant Coffee Granules
• 1 1/4 teaspoons sea or kosher salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa

Directions:

COMBINE sugar, coffee granules, salt, garlic powder, coriander, pepper and cocoa in coffee or spice grinder; cover. Process until smooth. Lightly rub meat with oil. Sprinkle with rub mixture, pressing gently to help it adhere to the meat.

To learn how to grill a whole chicken, I turned to YouTube; it looked so easy! I had a whole chicken and some beef brisket as well, and I still wanted to use this recipe’s method of first slow cooking the meat over beer or wine, then grilling it to perfection at the end. Plus, I was dying to use a handcrafted pecan beer I got at the local beer festival – in the South - to perform this duty.

Since I was cooking chicken and brisket, the meat only needed about an hour in the oven at 250 (it made the house smell so good!) then I put it on the grill to finish the cooking and crisp up the outside. The leftover beer plus drippings in the bottom of the oven pan smelled so good, I used it to make a sauce.

For the sauce:

Pour the liquid from the pan under the meat through a sieve into a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and add a bit of butter. Cook until it reduces by about half and serve alongside the meat.

For my next backyard dinner, I decided to marinate and grill a whole chicken. The marinade in this Chardonnay Marinated Chicken recipe captured my heart and I set to work. I doubled the amount of chardonnay to almost cover the chicken, and created a custom herb mix made from every herb growing in the garden around my house, including rosemary, thyme, parsley, lavender and mint. I also used good, local olive oil and large sea salt. Turning the chicken in the marinade a few times during the evening made me lick my fingers! I couldn’t wait to eat it.

To grill, I followed my handy YouTube instructions, and it turned out perfectly cooked. 15 minutes before the chicken was done, I added zucchini, asparagus and broccolini to the grill. I also made a warm spicy-vinegar potato salad and mini lemon tartlets to fill every last bit of space in my guests’ tummies.

My grill is now the most popular kid in town.

Links:

• Coffee-Spiced Ribs
• Get a Taster’s Choice coupon
• Get a Toll House coupon

Related Grilling Recipes:

Skewered Sesame Chicken (oven or grill)

Grilled Pound Cake with Berries & Apple-Ginger Syrup

Pesto Possibilities for Mother’s Day: 5 Delicious Ways to Use Pesto

Mother’s Day is just days away. Going out to eat has become an American tradition, with restaurant industry stats showing it as one of the busiest days of the year. Well, on this day, I actually prefer to stay in (and yes, this is coming from a mom of three eight-year-olds). I prefer simple, delicious food prepared and eaten at home.

Since my mother and mother-in-law are local, effortless entertaining is essential. After all, it’s my day, too. So in the spirit of keeping things simple and homemade, I wanted to share five delicious ways to use Buitoni All Natural Pesto.

Buitoni Pesto is made with fragrant basil, pungent garlic, pine nuts, aged Parmesan and Romano cheeses and extra-virgin olive oil. Friends, this is as close to homemade as you are going to get! Plus, you don’t need to clean your food processor (that’s huge in my book).

Make a quick crostini appetizer

Add a touch of elegance to Mother’s Day without spending much time in the kitchen with this tasty appetizer, Crostini Aperitivo, shown above. Toasted bread slices are topped with a delicious goat cheese and pesto spread, and then topped with thinly sliced prosciutto. Roasted asparagus or peppers, chopped dates, sliced apples and shaved cantaloupe also pair well with the spread.

Watch the video below to see just how easy it is.

 

Make Pesto Kale Chips

Kale Chips have been quite the rage lately. I did a Google search and found a number of creative recipes. I decided to try a version with pesto, shown above, and landed on something truly unique and absolutely delicious! Finished with a sprinkling of fine sea salt, it’s really difficult to stop with just one handful.

Drizzle over soups

Vine-ripened tomatoes, marjoram and garlic are combined with a fragrant broth to make this beautiful vine-ripened tomato soup. And to heighten it even more, Buitoni Riserva All Natural Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti (pasta filled with a blend of creamy whipped ricotta cheese, fontina, Parmesan and authentic Italian Grana Padano) is added. It’s then topped with homemade croutons, a handful of arugula and a spoonful of Buitoni Pesto. This would make a perfect Mother’s Day lunchtime meal.

Spread on sandwiches

Looking for something a little more casual? Try this recipe for Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo. Perfect for simple entertaining, these sandwiches offer a classy, yet casual approach to mealtime.

Use as marinade for meats and fish

Grill up some wholesome fun with this flavorful recipe for Pesto Chicken & Vegetable Kebabs. Marinated in a pesto sauce, these skewers of chicken pieces and seasoned vegetables make a colorful and appetizing entrée.

Of course, you can also just toss pesto with pasta, add to pizza, dips and dressings. Pesto possibilities are really endless.

However you decide to celebrate this day, please take time out for you. I am constantly reminding myself of this. With simple recipes like these, it’s that much easier to find time.

Happy Mother’s Day everyone!

Links:

• Crostini Aperitivo
• Pesto Kale Chips
• Quattro Formaggi Agnolotti with Vine-Ripened Tomato Tuscan Soup
• Grilled Chicken Sandwiches with Pesto Mayo
• Pesto Chicken & Vegetable Kebabs

Related pesto recipes:

Insalata Caprese with Pesto Vinaigrette

Olive, Pesto and Bruschetta Cheese Torta