Chicken and Bean Chili

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I had a craving for chicken chili last night. Strangely, I've not had chicken chili before, it just sounded really good at the time. Per usual, I searched Pinterest for some recipe inspiration, then just decided to throw something together. This is pretty much how I make dinner every night: Get inspired then see if I have similar ingredients to make a meal. My family seems to enjoy what comes of this routine, so I'm sticking with it!

As some of you know, I live a "grain free diet". I've recently decided to reintroduce corn into my allowed foods, but limited in quantity. So far I've not shown any reactions to it! If you're going grain-free, you can still make this recipe by omitting the corn and maybe doubling up on the beans!

Here's my interpretation of "Chicken and Bean Chili"...

Ingredients:

• 3 large organic skinless chicken breasts, rinsed and blotted dry
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 
• 1 quart of organic veggie broth (I like WholeFood's 365 brand)
• 1 can of non-GMO white beans (I like Cannellini beans) slightly drained, but NOT rinsed
• 1 can of non-GMO black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 bag of non-GMO corn (WholeFoods carries a large variety of non-GMO frozen veggies!)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp tabasco sauce or to taste
• Borsari original season salt to taste (I swear by this season salt. This is not a paid advert. I just really like the stuff!)
• 2 Tbs. Irish butter
• Avocado, fresh cilantro and shredded Monterey Jack cheese for toppings

Directions:

• Season chicken with Borsari salt and place in a microwave-safe covered dish with 1 cup of the veggie broth. (My favorite dish to use is this covered stoneware dish by Pampered Chef. The chicken comes out moist & tender, and never rubbery!) Cook for 5-7 minutes or until your chicken is cooked through. You can also use your cooktop, but I wanted to save time.
• While the chicken is cooking, sauté the chopped onions in olive oil until translucent, about 3-5 minutes, then add the chopped garlic and continue simmering for another minute.
• Add remaining veggie broth, drained & rinsed black beans, and drained but NOT rinsed white beans. I like to use the natural starch of the white beans to slightly thicken the chili. Then you won't need to add any flours or thickeners later.
• Incorporate the frozen corn.
• Using kitchen scissors or a salad chopper, "shred" the chicken, and add to the veggies and broth, stirring well.
• Add butter, tabasco and red pepper flakes, cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve topped with avocado, fresh cilantro and a little shredded Jack cheese!

My family loved this dish and asked for seconds. That's always a good sign. You can make it as spicy as you like, by adding more or less of the red pepper flakes and tabasco. I didn't add chili powder to this recipe, nor cumin. I liked the idea of making a "clean" chili, so I opted for red pepper flakes and tabasco only.  I'm really happy with the results. Let me know if you make this! 

(This is not a paid post. None of the links are for paid adverts, I just thought you'd like to know what products I use!)

Grain-Free Banana Peanut Butter Muffins

Happy New Year, friends! I trust you had a lovely holiday. I, for one, enjoyed the break from routine and just doing nothing, really. Well, I hung out with my family and saw friends. I attended & hosted a party or two. Generally speaking, though, I relaxed! With temperatures around zero or single digits, I'm having a bit of trouble getting into gear! Here it is January 8th and I've only now returned to work. It's all good though. My January calendar is fairly full. I'm about to start working with a new client on her brand new business logo (my favorite!), I've got new customizable, pre-made logos about to launch and I continue to prepare yummy, whole food, for my crew at home. This brings me to today's topic: Muffins!

As you may know, if you're a regular visitor to my journal, I am a grain-free observer. I will have corn now and again (organic only), but all the other grains don't agree with me. So I'm getting creative in the kitchen when it comes to baked goods. Here's my latest recipe based on several flourless muffin recipes, but with my own twist. For example, I love adding extra eggs, vanilla and hazelnut meal whenever possible. This recipe is no acceptation.

Ingredients:

• 1 large ripe banana
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup creamy organic peanut butter (I prefer using regular organic peanut butter when baking rather than homemade peanut butter. The homemade type tends to be too runny for baking in my opinion.)
• 3 tablespoons organic maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon madagascar vanilla (please use the real stuff)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/3 cup fine ground hazelnut meal/flour
• 1/4 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400˚F.
• Using your stand mixer or hand mixer, combine all ingredients but the chocolate chips, and mix/whisk on medium low speed. Add the peanut butter once  you've added all the other ingredients to insure it doesn't clump and stick to the bottom of your bowl.
• When you've got your batter well combined, fold in your mini chocolate chips until incorporated.
• Pour into your muffin papers. I like using the larger variety, which makes muffin-tops.
• Bake for 17 minutes if you're using the larger papers. Your baking time will vary based on the size of muffin papers you use.
• Enjoy warm, fresh from the oven with a bit of butter on top. You can also keep them in an airtight container for 4-5 days, but honestly... who can keep from eating muffins that long?

I'm guessing you have all the ingredients in your kitchen right now, though maybe not the hazelnut meal/flour. If you don't have the hazelnut meal... go get some! It's a delicious addition to your baking. Especially if you're embracing the grain-free or gluten free lifestyle! Give this recipe a try. And if you do, please let me know, in the comments, how you like them!

Cheers!

-Patti