The Dove's Nest White Chili

This was a recipe Zach brought home from his mom's house as a favorite, so I thought I'd give it a try. It has a lot more ingredients than anything else I'd made before, and the preparation took me about an hour. But man this is a delicious meal! I have to say it was worth it. It's surprisingly spicy and a hearty soup.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes or--my recommendation--2 10 ounce cans of diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 6 tomatillos, chopped. These really add flavor--don't omit them if possible!
• 1 medium jalapeno, seeded and minced
• 2 cups chicken stock. I used chicken boullion and water.
• 1 17 ounce can of chopped green chilies
• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken. I sauteed chicken breast in a pan and then chopped it.
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/4 cup--heaping of fresh cilantro. I used a tablespoon of dried cilantro.
• 2 19 ounce cans of cannellini or Great Northern Beans(my choice)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper to taste
• sour cream for serving
• shredded monterey Jack cheese to top soup
• fried tortilla strips

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion. Saute for 3 to 5 minutes or until the onion has softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes longer, but don't allow the garlic to brown.

2. Add the tomatoes, tomatillos and jalapeno. Cook until the tomatillos are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Add the chicken stock, green chilies, chicken, oregano, cumin, cilantro, beans and lime juice. Cook until heated through, stirring frequently. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Ladle the chili into serving bowls.

5. Serve garnished with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla strips.

Hope you enjoy!

Shrimp Florentine Stir-Fry

I got the basic idea for this recipe from my favorite recipe book, Betty Crocker's Quick & Easy Cookbook. This book has gotten me through college and beyond with easy and tasty recipes. It's the book I use the most!

We made shrimp Florentine stir-fry for our 1-month anniversary of being married. We picked this recipe because we had a big bag of spinach leaves we wanted to get rid of. It's fresh and tasty. Hope you enjoy it too!




Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 8 minutes

Ingredients for 4 servings

• 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil. When in doubt, we usually opt for olive oil for most recipes.
• 1 pound medium size uncooked, peeled and de-veined shrimp. If you get it frozen, run some cool water over the shrimp for a few minutes to thaw it.
• 4 cups of fresh spinach leaves
• 1 can(14 ounces) of baby corn nuggets, drained. I used regular corn and it worked just fine. :-)
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped, drained roasted bell peppers - from a 7-oz jar. I found these in the aisle with Mexican food--not something I usually get. :-)
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves. I used dried--my tarragon plant keeled over this winter.
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt
• lemon wedges. We didn't have these, but I don't like lemon on seafood anyway, so I didn't miss them. They are just for garnish.

And here are the directions!
1) Heat a wok or 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. I used a deep skillet because that's what we have! Add the oil and coat the sides and bottom of the skillet.
2) Once the oil is heated, add the shrimp to the skillet. Stir fry 2-3 minutes--stir constantly--or until shrimp are pink and firm. Add the spinach, corn, bell peppers, tarragon and garlic salt. Stir-fry for 2-4 minutes or until spinach is wilted. You can add lemon wedges for garnish.

Nutritional info:

Calories: 175(calories from fat 45)

Fat: 5g (Saturated fat 1g)

Cholesterol: 105mg

Sodium: 480 mg

Carbohydrates: 20g (dietary fiber 3g)

Protein: 15g

Diet exchanges: 1 medium-fat meat, 4 vegetable.

See? Pretty easy. Let me know how it works for y'all and if you do anything to it!