White Chili

I know it's the middle of the summer and soup might not be the most normal thing to serve on a summer's evening, but this White Chili recipe is so easy, doesn't heat up the house, and tastes just as delicious on a warm summer's evening as it does on a cold winter's night.  I make this chili year-round and never get complaints.  In fact, whenever I have guests over and I make this I usually get asked to share the recipe.  So... I wanted to share it with all of you!

This is great to make when you can prepare ahead and have some leftover chicken in the fridge.  Then really - you just have to toss all the ingredients in the slow cooker, go and enjoy your busy or relaxing summer's day, and when it's dinner-time and everyone is hungry and you are too tired to make something dinner is already done!  Oh, I love nights like those.

White Chili
Yield: 6-8 servings

Ingredients
3 (15oz) cans of Great Northern Beans, drained
8 oz chicken, cooked and shredded
1 cup onions, chopped
1 1/2 cups bell pepper (any color)
2 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/2 cups chicken broth

Optional Toppings:
shredded cheese
sour cream
tortilla chips

Directions
Combine all the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.  Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and chips if desired.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

These cookies.  I love them.  They take me back to the semester I lived in Hawaii.  Paradise!  I think these cookies are a great combination of sweet with a tad bit of salty.  In our house, we love our chocolate chip cookies but every once in awhile you need a change (at least I do - my kids and husband would probably disagree with me) and these cookies are a great change to add to the rotating cookie list.

Love the soft centers with the chunks of white chocolate and macadamia nuts.

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Yield: About 16 cookies

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, unbleached

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 cup white chocolate chips

1/2 cup coarsely chopped salted macadamia nuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat liners.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).  Add the egg, vanilla, and almond extracts.  Add the flour mixture and beat until everything is evenly combined.  Stir in the white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts until evenly distributed.

Roll two heaping tablespoons of dough into a ball.  Tear the ball in half and place the torn side down on the cookie sheet.  Take the second half and place it on top of the first half with the torn part facing up.  Like this:

Leave about two inches between each cookie for spreading.  Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges are very slightly browned.  The centers might not look all the way done but the cookies will finish cooking while cooling on the cookie sheet.  Leave the cookies on the sheet for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and allowing them to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container for up to 7 days.

Recipe Source: thenovicechefblog.com

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Energy Bars

 

I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July weekend filled with fun, family, friends and fireworks!  A break from normal every-day-life is wonderful and very much needed every once in a while, but then it's always nice to get back into the normal routine; including sharing my favorite recipes with you!  

These little jam-packed energy bars are ooey, gooey, easy to make and so yummy.  A perfect treat to make when you have bananas you need to use up.  And using coconut oil and oats and bananas and spices makes these healthy, right?  That's what I say when I find myself going back every few minutes to even the pan out.  I hope you enjoy them!

Oatmeal Banana Chocolate Chip Energy Bars

Yield: 16 squares

Ingredients

2 bananas, ripe

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper then spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, mash the bananas then add the brown sugar, oil and vanilla.  With an electric mixer mix until smooth.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together the baking power, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and oats.  Add the banana mixture and stir until almost all the way combined then add in the chocolate chips and finish stirring until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the baking pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 20 minutes or until the top puffs up and is golden brown.  Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.  Remove the bars by lifting up the parchment paper then cut into 16 squares.  Store in an airtight container.

Recipe Source: adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks: Runner's World, Meals on the Run.

Patriotic White Chocolate Popcorn

This popcorn is such a fun 4th of July treat.  It would be great to snack on while watching fireworks!  And what makes this recipe even more fun is you can change up the M&M's depending on the upcoming holiday and enjoy this little treat for many different occasions; orange and black M&M's for Halloween or green and red M&M's for Christmas, etc. and the white chocolate popcorn stays the same.  It really takes just about 5 minutes to put together then a few more minutes to cool and that's it.    

Patriotic White Chocolate Popcorn

Yield: about 12 servings

Ingredients

7 cups popped popcorn, plain

1 1/2 cups white chocolate

1 cup red, white and blue M&M's

Directions

Line and large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  Pop the popcorn then spread it out onto the baking sheet.

Fill up a small sauce pan about 1/3 of the way with water.  Place the white chocolate into a bowl and put the bowl on top of the pot filled with water.  Turn the stove-top on and as the water comes to a boil stir the white chocolate with a rubber spatula.  It will begin to melt.  (The is the double boiler method).  Continue stirring until all the chocolate has melted and is smooth.  Pour the chocolate over the popcorn and carefully toss until all the popcorn is coated.  Sprinkle the M&M's on top.  Allow the chocolate to cool for 20 minutes before serving.  Store any leftovers in an airtight container or ziplock bag.

Recipe Source: adapted from a pumpkin and a princess