White Chicken Chili

Florida, you are drunk. 

Sophia has Spring Pictures today at school and it just so happens to be the coldest day of the year. Sophia is in a "I only wear dresses" stage and pretty much becomes the hulk if I dress her in anything else. Today she HAD to wear a specific dress. This dress just happens to be sleeveless. I get her to accept the fact that she must wear leggings or tights, but refuses to wear a sweater or anything that covers up her beloved dress. 

I toss the sweater and throw a ski jacket into the car. I force this child to wear a ski jacket on the walk into school. She takes it off the instance we enter the building. Her teacher gives her a funny look and asks "Does Sophia have a jacket?" Yup, this huge ski jacket,which does not match her dress, but will have to do today. Whatever works, ya know?!

So that's how my morning went, but I get a laugh that there's going to be a spring background (I'm thinking flowery meadow) and the kids will be bundled up in turtlenecks, except Sophia of course.  

Anyways, since the weather is freeezzing (by my standards), naturally I cooked up some soup for dinner last night. This white chicken chili is beyond easy and only 5 ingredients! Amazing! 

White Chicken Chili

What you’ll need:

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
8 cups chicken broth
2 cans Great Northern Beans in chili sauce (I used Bush’s Best)
2 cups (16 oz) Salsa Verde

3 tsp cumin

Avocado to top

What you do:

To cook my chicken, I boiled the chicken breasts in a large pot of water. Then cooled, and chopped up to add in soup.

Add chicken, broth, beans, and salsa verde into a large soup pot.

Add cumin and stir to mix.
Bring to boil, then turn down heat and let simmer on low for 30 minutes.
Serve in bowls and top with avocado and Salt & Pepper as desired. 

*Additional toppings can include green onions, sour cream, or shredded cheese.

Enjoy!

XOXO

Cold Weather brings Zuppa de Toscana Pollo

Happy Wednesday! It's a cool 51 degrees here in town and I gotta say, it's a little cold for me. If I have pants and a jacket on and I'm still cold, it's TOO cold. 

A friend and I were talking about Floridians (ourselves) and how people up North poke fun at us for bundling up and acting like we're in Alaska if the temp dips under 60 degrees. She went to Wisconsin over the Christmas break and her family up there was giving her crap about needing to turn the heat on at night, even though the temperature was getting below 60 inside. Then, I was telling her how we went to NYC in December one year and didn't get to enjoy the city because it was 2 degrees outside. Ain't nobody got time for that! We barely wanted to leave the hotel room.

Maybe we just don't have the right gear? Who knows...but listen people, if you live in Florida your entire life, anything under 60 degrees is cold! I don't care what you think! :)

Along with the weather, this week itself has been a shock to the system. Trying to get back to the "normal" routine has been tough and great at the same time. Although getting up to an alarm clock is never really fun, it feels good to have structure back in our lives. The holidays really screw with us, right?! Physically (weight gain/sugar addiction) and mentally (party after party after party).

So here it is, Wednesday, and I'm finally feeling back to "normal". The holiday junk food has been thrown out, our workouts and running have been consistent, and cooking healthy meals has returned. Ahhh, my life is back.

Last night I made a soup for dinner. I don't know why but every time the weather gets colder, I cook soup. Its just the right thing to do.

I wanted to make a copy cat recipe of Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana. I used to eat that soup ALOT when I worked at a doctor's office and Olive Garden was one of the few choices close by when ordering take out. It's a creamy soup with spicy sausage, kale, and russet potatoes. But instead, I made it with ingredients I had available: chicken, kale, and sweet potatoes. I'll call this one, Zuppa de Toscana Pollo. 

Zuppa de Toscana Pollo

What you’ll need:

2 large chicken breasts
2 tbsp EVOO
4 bunches fresh kale, stems removed and chopped
2 sweet potatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 tbsp garlic, minced
6-8 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup half & half
Salt & Pepper


What you do:

Cook chicken however you prefer. I used FlavorGod Garlic Everything Seasoning and sautéed the chicken in a large frying pan.
Once chicken is fully cooked, chop into bite size pieces and set aside.
In a large soup pot, add EVOO over medium high heat.
Add onions and celery to pot and sautee for 5 minutes.
Add garlic, potatoes, kale, chicken, and chicken broth to pot. Stir and make sure potatoes are covered in the broth.
Bring to boil, reduce to a summer, and let cook until potatoes are tender. This should be no less than 30 minutes. (I let mine simmer for 2 hours)
Add salt, pepper to taste
Take off heat and stir in half&half.

Enjoy!

XOXO

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

The weather in the Tampa area has definitely been soup weather. Every time it gets cold outside, I put soup on the menu!

This Chicken Pot Pie Soup was perfection in a bowl! 

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

What you’ll need:

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and chopped up into bite sized pieces
5 ½ tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 stalks celery, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken broth
2 medium sweet potatos, peeled and diced
½ tsp dried parsley
¼ tsp dried rosemary
1 bay leaf
Salt & Pepper
1 package frozen peas
2.5 cups almond milk
6 tbsp flour
½ cup heavy cream
1.5 tsp lemon juice


What you do:

In a large soup pot, melt 1.5 tsp butter over medium heat.
Add onion, carrot, celery, and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
Add chicken broth, potatoes, parley, rosemary, bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper as desired.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and let cook (lid on, stirring occasionally) for 25-30 minutes.
Reduce heat to low and stir in chicken and peas.

In a medium sauce pan, melt remaining 4 tbsp butter.
Add flour and whisk constantly for 1.5 minutes.
While whisking, slowly pour in milk and whisk vigorously to smooth our lumps.
Bring mixture to boil (while whisking)
Remove from heat and stir in cream.
Pour milk mixture into larger pot with chicken.
Stir in lemon juice.
Remove bay leaf.

ENJOY!

XOXO

Sweet Potato Kale Soup

Soup is a major part of Fall. Once that cooler weather comes rolling in, I get the itch to make soup. A couple weeks ago I posted a Sweet Potato chili (which is amazing and you must make it!!) and last week I made another soup with sweet potatoes. I don't know what it is about sweet potatoes, they're delicious and don't ever need to be left out of a soup! Let that be a tip to every cook in the world! :) 

This soup is one of my favorite and super easy to make! Sophia and Nelps even eat it! Score! Packed with kale and sweet potatoes, it should be renamed Super Food Soup!

Sweet Potato Kale Soup

What you’ll need:
EVOO
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
4 Chicken sausage links, sliced into ½ inch pieces
5 cups chopped Kale
4 cups chicken broth

What you do:

In a large pot, heat EVOO over medium high heat.
Add in chicken sausage and stir around a couple minutes until browned.
Add in sweet potato and onion. Sauté until onion softens (about 5 minutes)
Stir in garlic. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
Add in chopped kale and chicken broth.
Bring to boil and then turn down heat to simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes  - 1 hour.
Season with salt & pepper as desired.
ENJOY!

XOXO

Sweet Potato Chili

The weather has finally cooled down a bit here on this side of Florida. It'll be in the low 70s in the morning, but then jump up to high 80s by afternoon. (Just because I wrote that, it will probably be back in the 90s tomorrow.)

It's not THAT much cooler, but that little tease of cool weather makes me want to make some good ol' soup, curl up next to a fire in a big sweatshirt. But since I don't see any bonfires in my future for another month or two, I'll settle with a big bowl of chili.

This chili was exactly what I was hungry for. Warm comfort food with a hint of sweetness from the potatoes. 

I don't really like to add much spicy seasonings to my cooking these days since I have little mouths to feed. If you wanted the chili more spicy, you could definitely add a little bit of cayenne pepper to it. 

Sweet Potato Chili

What you’ll need:
1 lb ground turkey
EVOO
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 can Rotel (Diced tomatoes with green chilies) Do not drain
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
3 cups chicken broth

What you do:
Cook ground turkey on skillet over medium high heat. Set aside.
In a large pot, heat EVOO over medium high heat. Add in sweet potato, onion, and green pepper.
Sauté until onion softens (about 7 minutes)
Stir in garlic, chili powder, cumin, and oregano. Sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
Add in rotel, black beans, ground turkey, and broth.
Bring to boil and then turn down heat to simmer. Let simmer for minimum 1 hour. (I let mine simmer for about 3 hours)
Top with choice of toppings.
ENJOY!

We topped ours with Greek yogurt and avocado.Other good toppings would be sour cream, cheese, green onions, and fritos!

XOXO