Santa Fe Chicken & White Bean Soup

12-10-12

Today's post is another recipe that I made for my client and then tweaked to work for my diet. I've only made it once thus far, but hope to make it again very soon, as the guys thought it was SOOO good! :-P The original recipe can be found in The Oregonian Cookbook (pg 47), and as usual the recipe below is how I made it. Enjoy!

Santa Fe Chicken & White Bean Soup
Yield: 10-12 Servings

2-1/2 Cups  Great Northern beans, soaked in water to cover overnight
11    Cups  Chicken Stock (divided)
1     Tbsp  Dried Oregano
1     Tbsp  Dried Parsley
3     Tsp   Sea Salt
4     Tsp   Ground Cumin
2     Tsp   Dehydrated Garlic
1-1/2 Tsp   Dehydrated Onion
1     Tsp   Paprika
1/2   Tsp   Chili Powder
1/8   Tsp   Ground White Pepper
1/8   Tsp   Ground Black Pepper
Pinch       Cayenne Pepper
Pinch       Red Pepper Flakes, crushed
6     Tbsp  Butter
3     Tbsp  Olive Oil
4     Cups  Onion, chopped
2     Cups  Green Bell Pepper, chopped
1     Cup   Celery, chopped
1-1/2 Tbsp  Garlic, minced (divided)
3     Tbsp  Almond Flour
1    Pound  Boneless, Skinless Chicken, cut into 3/4-inch pieces 
Garnish:   Shredded Cheese, salsa, sour cream(SCD Yogurt), and fresh Cilantro

1)  Drain soaked beans. Combine with 8 cups Chicken Stock in large pot. Bring to a boil; cover and simmer 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until tender.
2)  In a small bowl, combine oregano, parsley, salt, cumin, dehydrated garlic, dehydrated onion, paprika, chili powder, white and black peppers, cayenne, and red pepper flakes; set aside.
3)  In a stockpot, heat butter and olive oil; add onions, bell peppers, celery, 1/2 Tbsp (1-1/2 tsp) garlic, and 1/3 of the reserved seasoning mix. Saute over medium heat for about 5 mins. Add another 1/2 Tbsp garlic and another 1/3 seasoning mix; continue sauteing until celery is tender. Add remaining 1/2 Tbsp garlic, remaining seasoning mix, and 3 Tbsp Almond Flour. Cook 5-7 mins longer. Whisk in remaining 3 cups Chicken Stock, cooking until thickened. 
4)  Add cooked beans and their broth, and chicken; heat until chicken is just cooked, about 5-6 mins. Serve hot in bowls with cheese, salsa, "sour cream", and cilantro.

Note: The guys enjoyed some Tortilla chips with this, but a slice of toasted bread compliments it just as well.                 

Apple Cake Mistake

10-4-12

  I'm back and ready to give an account of my first "conversion" recipe. I made a Plum Cake for my client the other day and wanted to see if I might be able to alter the recipe to comply with my diet. The original recipe had said that you could use other fruits in place of plums. I only had apples on hand, so I made apple cake. :-)
  The results of my cake were not what I expected. The cake ended up rather bland, but the sliced apples on top are what made it delicious. After discussing what I found in my alterations with a few people, I decided that I'll need to make another cake to work out the kinks. The next time I make it, I'm planning to add some vanilla extract. Until then I'll post below with the Original and Converted cake recipes. 
  On another note, when I arrived home from work today my husband and his two younger brothers were making another batch of Sorbet, this time it is Peach flavored. They used the same recipe as before, with the strawberries, only they substituted the strawberries with five large peaches. The taste is very delicious once again, however, we found that the textures are altogether different. The peach sorbet is light tasting and fluffy in texture, while the strawberry sorbet was bold and a definite sorbet texture. I'm very proud of the guys and their talents at making delectable frozen desserts. 

God Bless!
Kittydid

Apple Cake (SCD)
  1       Egg
  1   tsp Lemon Juice
  2  Tbsp Butter, melted
 1/4  cup Honey
1-1/2 cup Almond Flour
 1/8  tsp Cinnamon
 1/8  tsp Baking Soda
 1/8  tsp Salt
  2 small Apples, peeled & sliced
 1/4  cup Cinnamon-Honey mix 

1)  Beat egg until lemon-colored.
2)  Add lemon, butter, and honey; mix well.
3)  Sift dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture.
4)  Press batter into greased 8"x8" pan. (If batter is too stiff, add a bit of water--but it works w/o adding any.)
5)  Arrange fruit on batter and drizzle evenly with Cinna-Hony mix.
6)  Bake for 40 min. at 350F.

*note: next time I'm going to add 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract. Will write update when I do, with how it turns out.

Original Plum Cake Recipe
 1       Egg
1/2 tsp  Lemon Extract
 2 Tbsp  Butter, melted
1/8 tsp  Cinnamon
3/4 cup  Flour
2/3 cup  Sugar
1/2 tsp  Baking Powder
1/8 tsp  Salt
Fresh-or-Frozen Italian Prune/Plum halves
1/4 cup  Cinnamon-Sugar mix

1)  Beat egg until lemon-colored.
2)  Add lemon extract and butter, mix well.
3)  Sift dry ingredients together and add to egg mixture.
4)  Press batter into greased 8"x8" pan. (If batter is too stiff, add a bit of milk--bit it works w/o adding any.)
5)  Arrange fruit, cut-side up, on batter. Sprinkle with Cinna-Sugar mix.
6)  Bake for 40 min. at 350F.