Monday, March 26, 2012

White Chicken Chili from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook

White Chicken Chili from Tosca Reno's "The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook."

I love this cookbook! I use it several times a week - you should definitely get it.
I will give you the recipe and in parentheses I will show how I altered it. 

(I used all organic everything unless I was using something older up) 
3 Medium poblano chilis, seeded and chopped
2 Jalapeno Chilis, seeded and deveined, chopped
2 Vidalia onions, peeled and chopped (I used three)
2 Ribs celery, trimmed and chopped (I used three) 
1 large leek, white only, well rinsed and chopped (my grocery store was out, so I didn't add this)
6 cloves of garlic, passed through a garlic press (for one, I don't have a garlic press - so I used jared minced garlic 3 TBSP = 6 cloves) 
2 TBSP cumin
2 TBSP dried oregano
2 TBSP dried basil (I was out, so this got left out) 
2 TBSP rosemary (I only had 1 TBSP) 
1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper (I didn't add salt) 
8 cups of water OR low-sodium chicken stock (I used 4 cups water, 3 cups organic low-sodium chicken stock.. for a total of 7 cups which I still think was too much) 
2 x 15 oz cans of navy beans, cannelli beans, or other small white bean or combo (I used 3 cans because I used less chicken - butter beans, navy beans and great northern beans)
3 lbs of boneless skinless chicken breast, cooked and cubed (I am trying to eat a LITTLE less meat so I used 2 lbs and cooked them in the crock pot for 4 hours this morning so that I could shred them instead of cube them - worked amazing!) 
Juice from 2 fresh limes (My first one wasn't really ripe so I just used one to not waste the other)
Juice from 1 fresh lemon (I used half of a large one left over from yesterday's tea recipe)
1/2 cup cilantro leaves (Bummed but I didn't have this)
4 green onions, trimmed and chopped for garnish (not pictured in the main pic below)

1.) Add the RINSED AND CHOPPED (make sure you always rinse your veggies, especially if they are not organic. YUCKY pesticides and dirt) poblano peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, cumin, oregano, basil, rosemary, olive oil, salt, and pepper to large sauce pan. Cook over medium heat for ten minutes. Onions should be transparent. 
(I had never used poblano peppers, so I googled how to chop them and it's the same as bell/jalapeno peppers. Chop of the ends, cut down the middle and remove seeds and veins, then chop!) 

(Step one - all added to the sauce pan. Smelt yummy!)


2.) In the meantime, rinse your beans in a strainer. This is important because it removes a lot of unnecessary sodium! 

While I waited for the chili to boil, I chopped my green onion and squeezed my lime and lemon together in a little bowl. I realized that my limes weren't really ripe, so I only used one and really gutted it. The poor green onions missed the group picture so here is their debut; 
3) Add your liquids (water/stock), rinsed beans, and cubed (or in my case shredded) chicken to your veggies and bring it all to boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for 40 minutes. Add lime and lemon juices and top with your green onions! 
(Pre-lemon/lime/green onion) 





Review; 
As you can see, my bowl was empty! I would definitely consider it more of a soup than a chili though, there was a lot of liquid. I will probably use 5 cups instead of 7 next time (recipe called for 8.) I am also glad I used 2 lbs of chicken and 3 cans of beans instead of 3 lbs of chicken and 2 cans of beans - it was plenty meaty. I think that the cilantro really would have made a difference, but I could taste the lime really great even though I only used one instead of two. Also - my husband and I both added crushed red pepper to our bowl to spice it up. 
It made a LOT, the book says 10 servings. I had one, my husband had two, I put two servings in the fridge for lunch tomorrow and the rest in the freezer! 
Overall, it was great! =) Hope you enjoy! 




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