Pantry Challenge: Chicken Chili Soup

As February wound down, I figured it was time for a pantry challenge, which I'll explain in a future post. It was also cold and wet so I wanted either a bowl of soup or chili with fresh bread.

With a pantry challenge you never know if you have all the necessary ingredients on hand. Last year we were able to make fresh cornbread with chili for a pantry challenge.

Ingredients (serves 6)

• 2 cans (16 oz) Trader Joe's Low Fat Vegetarian Refried Pinto Beans Salsa Style
• 2 cans (15 oz) Kidney Beans
• 1 can Rotel Diced Tomatoes & Green Chiles
• 1 can (12.5 oz) Trader Joe's Premium Chunk White Chicken in Broth
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Onions
• 1 Tablespoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
• 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 2 Tablespoons Hot Just Veggies Freeze-dried Tomatoes and Chilies 

Instructions

1. In medium sauce pan, combine the contents of all cans. 
2. Add spices and Freeze-dried Tomatoes and Chilies.
3. Over medium heat, bring to a boil. Reduce to low heat, and cook for at least an hour.

Recipe: Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce

This past weekend at MooflyFoof and EdRabbit's wedding we had a Dairy-Free Chicken Piccata. And if you remember, cubes and I had Dairy-Free Roasted Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce. For our first homecooked meal since we said "I Do" it seemed only appropriate to try our hand at a dairy-free chicken with lemon caper sauce (aka Chicken Piccata).

Our first attempt at the Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce was a little too lemony and a tad too thick. We also discovered that the halved chicken breasts from Bi-Rite Market were approximately 8 ounces each rather than the 5 to 6 called for in the recipe. Thankfully we had a meat thermometer so that we were able to accurately gauge when the chicken was safe to eat.

Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce

This recipe was adapted from Sparow64's, Taste of Home's, and Fitness Magazine's Chicken with Lemon Caper Sauce recipes, as well as TLC's Chicken Scallopini with Lemon-Caper Sauce recipe.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• Pinch of Salt (1/4 tsp) and Pepper (1/16 tsp)
• 1/2 cup All-Purpose Flour
• 4 (5 to 6 ounces each) Skinless, Boneless Chicken Breast halves
• 3 Garlic cloves, minced
• 2 Tbsp Del Papa, Cold Pressed EVOO
• 1/4 cup Benziger Signaterra Savignon Blanc, Casey's Block 2009, or Dry White Wine
• 1 Tbsp Cornstarch
• 3/8 cup Fresh Lemon Juice (1 1/2 medium size lemons)
• 2 Tbsp Earth Balance
• 2 Tbsp Agostino Recca Capers in Salt, rinsed and drained
• 4 Tbsp Fresh Parsley, chopped
• Lemon slices

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to warm or 200 degrees.
2. In 1-gallon ziplock bag, add salt, pepper, and flour. Shake until well mixed.
3. Place chicken breasts, one at a time, between sheets of wax paper. Pound to 1/4-inch thickness.
4. Add chicken to salt, pepper, and flour mixture, and shake bag until chicken is well coated.
5. In a saute pan (we used our 12" Everyday Pan as we don't own any saute pans) heat EVOO over medium-high heat.
   NOTE: Do not use a nonstick pan.
6. Cook garlic over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
   NOTE: Do not let the garlic brown.
7. Shake excess flour from chicken and with tongs place chicken into pan.
8. Brown chicken in hot EVOO until both sides are golden-brown, approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.
9. When chicken is done, inside is white and firm, remove from pan to baker. Cover with foil and place in oven to keep warm.
10. Juice two small or one and a half medium-sized lemons, approximately 3/8 cup lemon juice.
11. Whisk the cornstarch and the lemon juice until smooth. Set aside.
12. Pour white wine into the pan and allow to boil.
    
13. Stir continuously until the drippings from the chicken are incorporated.
14. Add the Earth Balance and stir until melted.
15. Add the cornstarch and lemon juice mixture to the white wine sauce.
16. Allow to return to a boil.
17. Cook and stirl for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat.
18. Stir in capers and parsley.
19. Return the chicken to the pan, turning to coat.
20. To serve, plate the chicken, pour lemon-caper sauce over each breast, and garnish with lemon slice.

Budget Gourmet: Crab and Chicken Jambalaya

Originally posted in LiveJournal.

Not everything turns out perfectly when you're trying something new. Last night I tried adapting a recipe that a friend had recommended for possible use on the playa. The recipe I started from (an adaptation from a Food and Wine recipe) neglected to state how much garlic to add to the dish (a minor oops) but other than that was straightforward.

After a quick bite to test the rice (after 25 minutes), I called the experiment a failure and voted for grabbing dinner from the Whole Foods downstairs (the leftovers from which I forgot at home this morning). The seasoning of the dish was nice but the rice was undercooked (still hard). Cubes also tasted the dish and agreed the flavor was good. I might try this dish again with a faster cooking rice (the bag said to cook the Brown Jasmine Rice for 50 minutes) as a one pot dish or with cooking the rice separately in my rice cooker.

Overall opinion of this dish for compatibility with the playa: F. Good flavor, but too many ingredients and too long of a cook time.

UPDATE: The dish was salvageable! I transferred the undercooked rice into a 9 x 12 glass casserole, covered with foil and baked in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. The result was a very tasty meal. So yummy that I even took leftovers to work with me for lunch! Cubes sampled shortly after I put the leftovers into the fridge and agreed it was good. Based on the long cook time and ability to save it by baking, I'm going to see if I could make this dish in a crock pot.

Crab and Chicken Jambalaya
NOTE 1: This recipe generates the following trash: 3 cans (1-10 oz can and 2-6 oz cans), 1 juice container than can be flattened, and 3 Ziplock bags.
NOTE 2: The sliced bell pepper initially arrives on the playa frozen (additional cooling material in your ice chest) and is used when defrosted.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1/2 cup sliced bell pepper
• 1 cup brown jasmine rice (9 oz)
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 Tbsp dried minced onions
• 1 Tbsp dried shallots
• 1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles - do not drain
• 1 can chicken - do not drain
• 1 can crab - do not drain

Equipment

• Can opener
• Slotted spoon
• 1.5L pot with lid
• 1 camp burner

Instructions (Under Construction - not yet perfected)

1. Heat the EVOO in 1.5L pot.
2. Add the bell pepper and saute over medium heat until softened.
3. Add the Old Bay, garlic powder and rice.
4. Cook until the rice is opaque, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.
5. Hold the back of the slotted spoon over the top of the diced tomatoes and pour into the pot. Repeat this process with the chicken and the crab. (This yields approximately 2/3rds to 3/4th of a cup of liquid.)
6. Add the stock, water, thyme, onion, and shallots and bring to a boil.
7. Cover and cook over very low heat until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, roughly 45 minutes.
8. Just before all the liquid is absorbed add the tomatoes and stir.
9. When you uncover the rice it may look like all the water is absorbed. Check to be sure by gently moving the rice to see if there is any water left on the bottom of the pan.
10. When all the liquid is absorbed, add the chicken and crab, fluff with a fork and cover for about 3 minutes to heat the chicken and crab.

Budget Gourmet: Suprising Goodness From a Can

This year I'm going out to the playa for the first time. Many will say the experience is not about the food. I tend to eat only when I'm inspired by food. Hence, this might be a problem.

To face this challenge head on, I decided to see what I could do with canned goods or single-serve soups that don't require refrigeration. Today was my first attempt at turning canned chicken (something I'd never buy off the shelf at a grocery store) into a hearty tempting meal. This meal definitely has me rethinking other canned goods that I've scoffed at and passed by previously.

Chicken with Italian Herb Marinara

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 1/2 of a box (16 oz) of Imagine's Fire Roasted Tomato Bisque (2nd half of soup needs to be refrigerated)
• 1 can (12.5 oz) Trader Joe's Premium Chunk Chicken in Water
• 1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp Rosemary
• 1 Tbsp Thyme
• 1 Tbsp Oregano
• 1 Tbsp Basil
• 2 tsp Garlic Powder (NOTE: Don't use garlic salt. The chicken has been packed with salt.)

Instructions

Pour soup into in a 2.5L pot. Add chicken along with the water in which it's packed to the soup and blend. Combine the tomato paste and stir until well mixed. Add spices and blend. Heat until the sauce begins to boil. Serve over your favorite pasta.