Apple Chili and Oat Scones

This turned out very well. The chili was slightly tart from using green apples and the scones were slightly sweet from the brown sugar (they pair really well with cinnamon butter). I would definitely make these again. Though with the chili, I used chunks of chicken and I felt that is wasn't chili-like enough for my tastes and I would use ground chicken next time - which I changed in the recipe here.

The apple chili was adapted from Kitchen Trial and Error.


Apple Chili

• 2 lbs ground chicken
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 apples, cut into bite size cubes (I used green)
• 1 onion, chopped 
• 4 Tbsp unsalted butter 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 2 cups chicken broth 
• 3/4 cup 2% or whole milk (I used 1% though, so just use what you have available)
• 15 oz can pinto beans, rinsed 
• 15 oz can white beans, rinsed 
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (original used Monterey Jack cheese and I totally didn't realize it)

Coat the bottom of a large sauce pan or Dutch oven with olive oil and place over medium heat. Add the chicken, chili powder, and cumin and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a bowl and set aside.

In the same pot, coat the bottom with olive oil again. Add the apple and onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the apple onion mixture to the chicken and set aside.

In the same pot, melt the butter over medium low heat. When melted, whisk in the flour and cook a couple minutes until the flour browns. Add the chicken stock and milk, whisking continuously, and cook until thickened, a few minutes.

Stir the apple chicken mixture and the beans to the stock mixture and bring to a simmer. Stir in the cheese and serve.  

The oat scones were adapted from The Cilantropist.


Oat Scones

• 2 cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup rolled oats
• Zest of 1 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)
• 1 1/3 cups heavy cream
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
• 2-inch cookie cutter 
• Extra rolled oats for sprinkling (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, brown sugar, oats, and lemon zest.  Slowly stir in the heavy cream, and mix until the dough just comes together.  It will be sticky and crumbly at the same time, so turn it out onto a well-floured surface, knead it for a minute or so, then pat it into a circle or rectangle that is between 3/4- and 1-inch thick.  

Cut into rounds using a plain or fluted 2-inch round cutter, then transfer the scones to a baking sheet lined with parchment.  (To make it easier, dip the cutter into a small bowl of flour each time before you cut out the scones.  Then shake the cutter slightly to pop out the scone from the cutter - don't push it out.)  Or, if you don't have a cookie cutter, cut the scones into triangles that are about 2 inches long.  

Before baking, brush the tops of the scones with some of the melted butter.  If you like, you can sprinkle the top with some extra oats.  Bake the scones at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes, checking occasionally, or until the tops are a dark golden brown.  

Once they are finished, remove them from the oven and cool completely.  Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container. 

White Veggie Soup and Curry Chicken w/ Salad

I thought this meal was good. The soup was fairly neutral but I thought the chicken broth took over the flavor a bit too much, but it's plain and satisfying enough to me. The chicken was good (I love curry, so of course I would think that). I wasn't a huge fan of the vinaigrette, though. My dad said it had too much thyme in it and it didn't really blend well with the chicken. I also prefer my salads to be fairly drenched with dressing, and there wasn't enough liquid in the vinaigrette to do that. I'm going to have to do some more work to figure out how to make it better and work with the curry.


FYI, I have not altered the recipe to fix the vinaigrette, yet.

These recipes are adapted from I'll Have What She's Having and Serious Eats.

Roasted White Vegetable Soup

• 1 cauliflower, cut into florets
• 1 rutabaga, peeled and diced
• 1 turnip, peeled and diced
• 1 celery root, peeled and diced
• 1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
• 4-6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 L low sodium vegetable stock

Preheat oven to 400.

Place the vegetables, onion and garlic on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast vegetables for 40 minutes.

Transfer roasted vegetables to a large soup pot. Cover with stock. Bring to a boil then simmer for 20 minutes.

Using an immersion blender puree soup, or allow to cool and pour into a regular blender to puree (may have to be done in batches).

Chicken with Tomato-Saffron Vinaigrette

• 2 Tbsp white rice vinegar
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1/8 tsp crumbled saffron
• 1 1/2 tsp hot paprika
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes (or equivalent chopped tomato pieces)
• 1 1/2 - 2 lbs chicken thighs, sliced
• Lettuce of your choice

(I did these steps while the veggies were simmering.)

In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, lemon juice, shallots, saffron, and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika. Whisk to combine, then slowly whisk in 3 tablespoons of the olive oil to create a dressing. Sprinkle in half the thyme and add the tomatoes, mixing to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, curry powder, and remaining paprika and thyme. Heat a skillet with the remaining olive oil over medium heat and sauté the thighs until cooked through. Remove the chicken and turn off the heat. Add the vinaigrette to the pan to deglaze and warm through. (Oh, I just realized I forgot to heat the vinaigrette up...that could also have had something to do with why it wasn't as good as I'd hoped.)

Place your lettuce on plates and place the chicken on the salads, then spoon the vinaigrette over and serve immediately.

Tomato Chicken Cauliflower Pizza

Today, I mixed 2 recipes together and hoped for the best. Luckily it tasted quite good (if not a bit too spicy - don't worry, I adjusted the recipe to make it less spicy). 

I think I'm making small improvements in photographing this stuff (that or it just looked way better to begin with). The white section of pizza has Parmesan cheese on it for my dad, who can actually eat cheese.

This picture shows what the cauliflower crust looked like when it was done cooking. The crust ended up a little softer than I'd hoped and I'm not sure if that is because of the lack of cheese. It was firm yet slightly spongy to touch.

The recipe for the chicken/sauce is out of Weber's Time to Grill and the cauliflower crust recipe is adapted from Perry's Plate.

Chicken

• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp shallots
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized chunks (thighs make for moister chicken)

Whisk ingredients in a large bowl and add chicken, making sure all the chicken is covered. Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. (Don't worry if there's not a lot of sauce as the same sauce is used on the pizza later.) Use this time to prepare the sauce and crust.

After it has marinated, place in a grilling basket and grill until done - about 15 minutes or so (turning 2-3 times during cooking). If you put your chicken on to grill while the crust is baking, they should both be finished at about the same time.

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp olive oil (I used 3, but I think it was too much oil, use more or less to your preference.)
• 2 Tbsp shallots
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 4 tsp tomato paste
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or more for a spicier pizza - just remember that the chicken has spices on it as well.)
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Whisk ingredients and set aside. (I didn't end up using the entire batch of sauce, but if you like a lot of sauce, feel free to use it all.)

Cauliflower crust

• 1 cauliflower
• 3 eggs (Whoops, I just noticed I only used 2 eggs. It worked, but I'm wondering if that's at least part of the reason the crust turned out softer than I imagined it would.)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese (optional)
• 1 1/2 tsp Italian seasonings
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• pinch or 2 of salt (I didn't remember this either and didn't even notice with everything on it.)

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F.

While the chicken is marinating, chop up your cauliflower into 1-2 inch florets and steam/boil until tender - about 8-10 minutes. Drain cauliflower and place into a food processor and pulse until smooth. (I like to give it a stir or 2 in the middle to make sure there are no chunks.)

When it is smooth, remove to a bowl and add your eggs, seasonings and garlic (as well as the cheese if you are using it). Mix well and spread in a parchment-lined (or aluminum foil or greased) rimmed baking pan. Place in the oven for 18-20 minutes, until the edges start to turn brown. Remove from oven.

Pizza toppings

• fresh spinach
• 1/2 medium bell pepper, diced
• 1/4 onion, diced
• mushrooms, sliced
• Parmesan cheese (optional)

After you remove the crust from the oven, spread crust with sauce and veggies evenly across the pizza. Remove the chicken from the grill and place on top. Add cheese on top if using. Place back in the oven for 10-12 minutes, until the toppings are hot and cheese (if using) has melted. Enjoy.

(They say that letting the pizza cool firms up the crust enough to eat with your hands, but I didn't let it sit, so I'm not sure if my version would do so.)

Serves 3-4.

Chicken & Rice

I bet you wouldn't guess that this is actually mostly cauliflower. It ended up looking like stuffing and it tasted great! I went back for seconds. Don't mind the messy plate in the picture...I almost forgot to take a picture of it at all!

I do admit I cheated a little for this recipe and I just bought a roasted chicken from Los Pollos (a local Mexican chicken restaurant). It went perfectly. If you feel up to actually making your chicken, just season it with spices that are similar to the spices in the rice.


This recipe was adapted from Perry's Plate.


Chicken & Rice

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 green onions, chopped (optional alternative - 1 medium onion, diced and sauteed for 10 minutes prior to the celery being cooked)
• 1 cup celery, finely diced
• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chiles
• 1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (I just shredded the whole chicken)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• chopped fresh cilantro (I don't care for cilantro much so I only put in a tiny amount- if you like cilantro, feel free to use as much as you desire)
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• salsa, to top 

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add celery to skillet and saute for 5 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, place cauliflower in a food processor with the "S" blade and process until it becomes the texture of rice. (If you don't have a large food processor, I recommend doing this in 2 batches rather than trying to fit it all in at once.) Add cauliflower to skillet, cover and cook 5-10 minutes, until tender. (At about the 5 minute mark I was planning on putting in the green onions, but forgot to do so.)

Mix chilies and chicken into skillet, then stir in salt, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cilantro, and lime juice.

Serve, topping with salsa if desired.

Makes about 4-5 servings.