Black Bean Chili

Oh I can't contain myself! First, I "fixed" my stoneware by buying the exact same slowcooker model and returning it within the hour after having switched out the new stoneware...how evil but genious of me! Secondly, I found black beans in France, although in the dry form, and last, I made this black bean chili, which is the same as the White Chicken Chili, but with black beans that I cooked from DRY BEANS!!! It was so good that I wasn't even sad about going to every single store in town looking for green onions and not finding any this weekend. We ate stuffed avocados as appetizers...whaat? you say? Here in France, you cannot invite someone over unless you have planned at least a 5 course meal. You just can't, I think it's in the constitution, and very looked down upon if you don't. During the holidays, it can go up to 7-8.
Course 1: "Aperitif" or Munchies and a cocktail
Course 2: "Entrée" or Appetizer
Course 3: "Plat de Resistance" or Main course
Course 4: "Fromage et Salade" or Salad and Cheese
Course 5: Dessert
This is why I gain weight in France, and lose weight in the USA!
Ingredients
1 lb chicken, cut into small cubes
1 chopped onion
1 cube dehydrated chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 can Corn (drained)
2 chopped bell peppers (mutli-color)
1 tsp red chili paste (no jalapenos here)
1 1/2 cup dry black beans
4 cups water
Garnish:
Shredded Swiss Cheese
Greek Yogurt
Tortilla Strips
Cilantro
Chopped green onions (if you can find them)
Lemon wedges
Julienned Cabbage
Avocado slices
Directions:
1. Wash the beans and cook overnight with the 4 cups of water on low in a slow cooker for at least 10 hours.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook on low for 3-5 hours. or until the beans reach desired tenderness.
3. Serve over rice or in a burrito or with rice in a burrito or however you want because it is so delicious you will want to try different things with all your leftovers!!

* remove the cheese and tortilla strips and this is fight food

Chicken Avocado Cabbage Rolls

This has just not been my week! On top of my stoneware cracking, we tried making egg rolls for guests this week as an appetizer before the Pho, and though we've made these before without any problems, this time, we just couldn't roll the darn egg rolls! We didn't have the same wrapping papers that we had found before in the US, and these ones were just too small and too slippery and we gave up and threw them against the wall. Now what was I supposed to do with my arriving guests and plenty of egg roll stuffing? Well, I rolled them in cabbage leaves and popped them into the oven. To my surprise, they came out delicious. I still would like to find a correct version of egg roll papers, but that will be for another time. I got this recipe from Guy Fieri on the Food Network.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/2 cup finely minced red onion
• 1/4 cup finely minced red bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons minced ginger
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1/4 cup sliced bamboo shoots
• 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
• 2 cups chopped chicken breast
• 1/4 cup soy sauce (or GF alternative)
• 1 cup julienned green cabbage
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 6 or 7 cabbage leaves
• 2 avocados, sliced into 24 pieces
• Jarred sweet chili sauce, for dipping

  Directions

  • In a saute pan over high heat, add canola oil. Saute red onions and bell peppers until translucent. Add ginger, garlic, bamboo shoots, celery, chicken, and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Deglaze pan with soy sauce. Cool mixture. Then either do them as regular egg rolls, or wrap them in cabbage leaves with some avocado, shredded carrots, and julienned cabbage, and pop in the oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes!

REMIX Jess' White Chili

I made this for my in laws... everyone loved it! I added tomatoes, and i didn't have enough chicken since it wasn't planned, so i added some pork. Also, Monterey Jack is non existant here in France, so I used Swiss. Everyone was happy! I served with rice and it made 10 servings total. Jess takes way better food pictures than I do.

Phõ

I am a Pho King Queen!! When I lived in SD, everyone was crazy about Pho, but I never felt adventurous enough to try it...I don't know why. But when I saw that even the Crockpot Lady made it and found it delicious, i decided to give it a whirl. The result was a crowd pleaser!!
Ingredients:
--6 cups beef broth or stock
--2 inch chunk of ginger grated
--1 t anise
--1 t ground cinnamon
--2 sliced green onions
--1 lb thin sliced beef (I found a good priced hunk and thin sliced it myself!)
--1 t fish sauce (nuoc nam)
--1/2 t black pepper
--1 t red chili paste
--package of rice noodles
for garnish: bean sprouts (with heads cut off), chopped green onions, lime, cilantro, thai basil (which i could not find)
Directions:
1. Throw everything but the noodles into the crockpot and leave it on low for 4-6 hours. The house will smell funny..not like food, but like licorice. It is normal, its the anise.
2. Boil the rice noodles separately as the instructions on the package say to.
3. To serve, put some noodles in a bowl, ladle the "soup" and garnish with yummy stuff. It wasn't spicy enough for me, so i added crushed red pepper to my bowl.

I've never had restaurant Pho, but this was damn good!

*use low sodium broth and this is fight food