December 2011 – Growling Tummy

It’s been too long since I’ve posted, but it was the holidays after all. To make up for it, I’m posting a real gem (woah, I almost spelled that jem…like the 80s cartoon) of a recipe – Chicken Corn Chowder. Its a stick to your bones kind of soup that we ate every last bit of – the entire pot. I can’t say that about every soup I’ve made.

In addition to the corn and chicken, it has roasted red peppers and potatoes and a little kick from a jalapeno. If you don’t finish the entire pot I’d be mighty surprised. Add in some biscuits and you have a great winter dinner.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups reduced-fat milk
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cups chopped roasted skinless, boneless chicken breasts, rotisserie chicken works great here (vegetarians can omit the chicken and its still a great chowder)
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears, but you can use frozen)
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
salt to taste
2 roasted red peppers from a jar, chopped
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn

How To:

Melt the butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, potato and jalapeño and cook for 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil and cook until thick (about 5 minutes). Reduce heat and serve (biscuits work great as a compliment).

I do love blondies – a rich vanilla brownie – and I love them even more with white chocolate. I thought my recipe needed to stop there, but I was wrong (so, so wrong). There is so much more to add like dried cranberries, popcorn, and then some more dried cranberries, thanks to my enlightenment from the Whole Foods “Whole Deal” booklet.

I think back on my days of just plain blondies with white chocolate, and think how naive I was. To think that was all there is.

I changed up the recipe from the Whole Foods version because I like a thicker blondie base. There are also some keys in the recipe to helping make the added toppings stick that I’ve included below. Tis the time of year for Festive Garland Blondies. *teaser* next recipe will be a brownie version!

Festive Garland Brownies, adapted from the Whole Deal newsletter

Ingredients:

1 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups dried cranberries, divided
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups white chocolate chips or chunks, divided
2 cups light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup salted popcorn (from a microwave bag)

How To:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9 inch square baking pan with non-stick spray, set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add 3/4 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips or chunks and toss to coat. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar with a hand mixer until fluffy. Add egg and beat until incorporated. Add flour mixture and beat until just combined.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake until just cooked through and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Set aside for 5 minutes (but you want to work with it still warm so topping will stick). Melt remaining white chocolate. Spread 2/3 of the melted chocolate over bars and immediately scatter remaining cranberries and popcorn over the top, pressing down gently to help stick. Drizzle remaining chocolate over bars. Set aside until chocolate sets, about 15 minutes. Cut into squares and serve. Store in a sealed container for a few days.