chicken chili

chicken chili

A friend of mine is thinking about making chicken chili for a party she’s throwing, and I told her that I had the perfect one. It’s important to have a few well-worn, loved and trusted recipes in your kitchen. For me, the more used the cookbook or the more destroyed the printed recipe, the better! One of my best – and definitely most worn – recipes is the Soup Nazi’s Chicken Chili from the Top Secret Recipes online site. (You know the Soup Nazi, made famous in one of the best Seinfeld episodes where George doesn’t follow the strict ordering procedure and gets a sharp “No soup for you!” from the crabby but genius soup stand chef.) This recipe came to me from my friend Stacy’s mom, and they’d both already made a few modifications before it sending it my way. I’ve tweaked it a bit more, and the result is the most delicious chicken chili I’ve ever eaten. This is a crowd pleaser – give it a try!

The Soup Nazi’s Mexican Chicken Chili

2 pounds of chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
10 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 small onion
2 cups frozen corn
2 carrots, sliced
3-4 celery stalks, diced
3 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans red kidney beans, no liquid
1 jalapeno, diced
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 clove garlic, minced
2 – 2 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of basil
dash of oregano
salt to taste

Saute the chicken breasts in the olive oil in a large pot over medium/high heat. Cook the chicken on both sides until done – about 7-10 minutes per side. Cool the chicken until it can be handled. Do not rinse the pot. Shred the chicken by hand into bite-sized pieces and place the pieces back into the pot. Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and turn heat to high. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 4-5 hours. Stir mixture often so that many of the chicken pieces shred into much smaller bits. Chili should reduce substantially to thicken and darken (less orange, more brown) when done. Combine some chopped Italian parsley with sour cream and serve it on the side for topping the chili, if desired.

goal setting

i think i can

Another new year, time for some new goals – or in my case, re-addressing some of my old goals in new ways. In January, lots of people like to evaluate their choices from the previous year and perhaps tweak a few things. My New Year’s resolutions always seem to be the same: to not worry so much, to enjoy my life more, to spend more time on my writing and other personal projects, and to get in shape. On the subject of that last one, I’m kick-starting my new healthier self with a cleanse that I saw in the January’s Redbook magazine: no processed foods, no caffeine, no alcohol, no dairy, no breads, no sugar. If my celebrity muse Gwyneth Paltrow can do it for three weeks, then surely I can do it for five days. I’m not making her exact recipes and probably eating more than I should, but hey at least I’m trying.

My motivation with these kinds of things usually comes from the challenge. I ran my first half marathon in 2009 mostly because I didn’t think I could. My friend Stacy wanted to run one, and honestly I didn’t think there was any way I would be able to run that far. I’d never been much of a runner and hadn’t even run 5 miles at one time before. But being able to cross something off the bucket list seemed as good a reason as any to try. It makes me happy to be out of my usual routine and to work a little harder to see just what I’m made of. Of course, exactly 0 miles into my new running challenge, completing a FULL marathon in June, I’m feeling a little skeptical of whether the surprising-even-myself philosophy will be enough. I just have to stay positive: I think I can, I think I can, I think I can …

I’m on day four of this cleanse and have been dealing with massive headaches. But focusing on the good – of how proud of myself I’ll be and how nice it will feel to know I’m working hard to stay healthy – may just get me through. That and the fact that Friday evening is Bella’s birthday party, and I for one am planning to have an extra big helping of my homemade mac and cheese and a glass of wine to celebrate. Yes, cross another challenge off the list!