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

Stuffed Avocados.. and other stuff

I made this because i had no fridge, so i couldn't have any meat in the house.. but luckily, tuna is canned, and so are the mixed vegetables i found. This is really good...we ate it as a meal, but you can easily just eat half of this plate as an appetizer. Serves 2 as a meal, 4 as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

2 Avocados, cut in half and gutted (keep the guts)

1 small can of mixed veggies, drained

1 can of asparagus

4 eggs soft-hard boiled

1 tbsp mayonaise

1 lemon

1 can of tuna, drained

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix the tuna, avocado guts, mixed veggies, juice from half a lemon, and the mayonaise, and stuff back into the avocado carcasses.

2. to soft-hard boil the eggs, boil them for 6-7 minutes. the yolks will not be runny, but congealed, and better than hardboiled chalky eggs.

3. arrange the plate with the asparagus, stuffed avocados, eggs, and lemon wedges.

Actually quite filling for a makeshift meal! With the extra squeezes of lemon, the taste is very complete. Eric likes more mayonaise, but I prefer lemon.

Jess's Spicey Chili

Ingredients:
2 can kidney beans
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
2 bell peppers pick 2 colors, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
2 tbs tomato paste
5 chopped cloves of garlic
1 jalepeno
1 chopotle pepper in adobo sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt, pepper to taste

Chopped green onions, shredded cheese and sour cream for garnish

Directions:
Throw in everything except for the bell peppers. Throw those in 1 hour prior to serving so that they aren't mushy.

Cook on low for 3 hours.

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients
1 lb chicken, cut into small cubes
1 cup chopped onion
1 can chicken broth
2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 tsp cumin seed
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
3 15-oz cans of white beans (great northern or cannellini), drained and rinsed
Corn (can or cobb)
2 chopped bell peppers (mutli-color)
2 Jalepeno peppers, chopped finely
Garnish:
Monterey Jack Cheese
Sour Cream
Tortilla Strips
Green Peppers

1. Combine Chicken, onions, chicken broth, garlic, cumin, oregano, jalapenos in crockpot. Cook on low for 3 hours.
2. Add Beans and peppers :30 mins prior to serving (so that they are warm and not mushy)

Broccoli and Cheese Campanelle

Ingredients:
1 lb campenelle pasta (i used penne here)
2tbls onion flakes
1lb fresh broccoli flowerets
1jar cheddar cheese sauce (such as ragu)
8oz diced Ham
1 cup grated Jack Cheese

Variations: I throw in chopped Roasted Red Peppers. I have also substituted ham for turkey; broccoli for peas. :)

1. Bring large pot of lightly salted water to boil. Add pasta and onion flakes; cook four minutes. Add broccoli; cook five more minutes.

2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat cheddar sauce, ham and Pepper Jack Cheese- stirring occasionally. Drain Pasta and broccoli, and return to pot. Stir in cheese mixture. Return to pot.

Obama's Mama's Chili

This is a family recipe, although not from my family, it has become a monthly staple in our meal rotation. I stole this from the Crockpot Lady, who got it when it was published during the 2008 elections. I cooked this for my French in laws, and they really really liked it. French don't really know what chili is, except for Chile con Carne that they buy in cans, but its really not the same thing as American chili at all. Oh yea, and I also got to test out my new Kenwood Slow Cooker that my MIL got me for Christmas!

Ingredients:

1 can kidney beans (and the goop!)

1 lb lean ground meat (I used less than 1 lb ground beef but I've also used turkey.. very good)

2 bell peppers pick 2 colors, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

5-6 medium tomatoes, chopped (include seeds and all)

5 chopped cloves of garlic

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp basil

1 tsp turmeric

2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp salt, pepper to taste

1 part of a chili pepper for spice if you need it

Chopped green onions, shredded cheese and sour cream for garnish

Directions:

Throw it all in, and go about your daily business. Serve with rice and garnish with chopped green onions, a dollup of sour cream, and shredded cheddar or swiss cheese!

If you don't have a crockpot, here's a stove top version with spices reduced accordingly.

This recipe serves 6 very hungry people! And even then, my crockpot wasn't even half full. It's a HUGE 6 Liter oval shaped.. and its just the 2 of us, so leftovers galore!

Lamb Curry

I wanted to share the rest of my NYE dinner. This was my lamb curry with Indian Lentils, makeshift Cheese Naan, and Basmati rice.. but I have to admit that I TOTALLY CHEATED!! I used a ready made Lamb Curry paste, but MADE IN INDIA and totally delicious!
Ingredients:
1 box paste for Lamb Curry you get from Cost Plus World Market, and when they run out or discontinue this product, you can order it online directly. I think I saw some on amazon.com
1 handful of cauliflower
2 cups water
1 lb lamb cut into pieces
Directions:
1. In a sautee pan, mix the paste, the lamb, and the water on medium heat.
2. After about 15 minutes, add the cauliflower and let simmer for 15-20 more minutes.
or
you can throw the lamb, paste, and water in the crockpot... it will come out tender if you're using cheap or previously frozen meat.

Garnish with cilantro and lemon... mmmmm I'm drooling again
For the makeshift Cheese Naan, I found some pitas that I stuffed with Laughing Cow cheese and popped into the oven for a few minutes.

It's not as good as real cheese naan, but I just didn't have enough time or patience to do that.. I have done it before, though. Also, I'd like to add that you can find decent mass produced Naan at Walmart.. or at least I used to be able to in Florida.