Chicken Chili KABLAM!!!

Since the weather has finally (and semi-consistantly) begun to turn cold, what better than to cozy up with friends... and a amazing bowl of chicken chili w/ sweet cornbread. Basically - I pulled this recipe out of thin air... I've never really made a chili before, much less a chicken chili so this was shear luck that I pulled this off. YAY FOR EXPERIMENTING!

Ingredients for the chili -

• 4 chicken breasts – boneless and skinless

• 1 can of pinto beans

• 1 can of chili beans

• 1 can of red kidney beans (rinsed)

• 2 cans of diced tomatoes

• 2 cans of tomato paste (small can)

• ½ of a large red onion – chopped

• ½ of a green pepper- chopped

• 1 – 10oz bottle of chili sauce.

• ½ cup of vegetable oil

• 3 tbs of red chili powder

• 2 tbs of coriander powder

• 2 tbs of cumin powder

• 1 cup of water

• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Place chicken breasts in and poach.

2. In another pot, combine the all the other ingredients and bring to a high heat (even a slight boil). Stir for about 5 minutes then turn the heat down and let simmer for a good 20 minutes.

3. Check the chicken – when it's done it will be white and juicy – use a knife to slice it down the middle to check and see if it's white thru-and-thru.

4. Once the chicken is done, take it out – place it on a cutting board and shred the chicken with two forks. After you have the chicken shredded – place in the pot w/ the rest of the chili and then continue to simmer for about 15-20 more minutes. This way all the lovely flavors of the chili infiltrate the chicken. (HA I just said infiltrate and chicken in the same sentence.)

5. Turn off burner, serve in bowls, top with cheese and a piece of cornbread [see recipe below]. ENJOY!

Ingredients for cornbread

• 2 boxes of JIFFY cornbread

• ¼ cup of sugar

• 1 can of corn

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400.

2. In a bowl – prepare the cornbread batter like it says on the back of the box.

3. Add the sugar and corn – stir till everything is even.

4. Grease pan [9x13in] (best if it's a glass/pyrex dish) and add batter.

5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Cut, serve, and enjoy!

I hope you like this recipe... and even though you may have your doubts about chicken chili - it's HEALTHIER than regular, and just as good... not to mention FILLING... No joke - I could only eat one bowl and I was stuffed!

PS. NEIL YOU NEED TO POST THE LASAGNA RECIPE!

Hawaiian Pizza!

Hawaiian Pizza: a sweet collision of sweet pineapple and MEAT! It's like a luau in your mouth, all you need is the beach and a nice drink and you'll be set.

• 1/2 cup of canadian bacon (half the bag of canadian bacon slices that you buy at the store)
  
• 3/4 can of pineapple chunks - drained and rinsed
  
• Pizza dough - I do it w/ the pizza mix and then make the dough that way, but you can buy the dough or pre-baked crust any way you want.
• Shredded Mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses.
• Pizza sauce of your favorite variety - I like "messing" with mine so it doesn't taste completely like it came out of a can (or jar). Add some spices like red pepper flakes, dill, oregano, etc.. just be careful how much you put in.

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F - or how ever hot the crust says you should.
2. Mix up your dough (FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THE PACKAGE), it's a messy ordeal - but fun nevertheless. If you would like to make your own dough click here. You're going to want to kneed it pretty well - if it gets too sticky (don't add water, ADD FLOUR). Make sure to keep your hands nice and 'floury.' Roll it into a ball or mound.
   
3. Grease and flour the pizza pan (otherwise, you'll be sorry!).
4. Place the dough on the pan and spread it out (watch how thin you spread it). Once finished with that - get a fork and fork the crap out of it.. leave the outer 1/2in "hole-less" that way you have a nice crust. The reason why you put fork the dough after it's rolled out is so you don't get massive bubbles in the crust, but sometimes they still happen.
5. Pop that puppy in the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. Pre-baking the crust helps make sure that the crust is done. Nobody likes a piece of pizza with raw pizza dough in the middle.
   
6. Get a ladle, or a big spoon and put some sauce on the pizza (you did just take the pan out of the oven - so it will be hot...)- makes sure to spread it out evenly - put as much as you want on there, I like to give it a nice even coating.
7. Take your Canadian bacon and start laying it out in a circular motion around the inside of the pizza working your way out.
8. Sprinkle the cheese evenly on top of the crust, use as much or as little as you want.
9. Top with bacon and pineapples (as much or as little as you want)
10. Bake it in the oven for a good 8-12 minutes, until the cheese is melted in the center and the crust is a nice "golden brown"
11. Take it out and let it cool for a minute or two and enjoi!

• WARNING: you may have the urge to listen to Beach Boys music, limbo, and hula dance... I'm not responsible for this reaction as you are taking on this task by yourself. Dun Dun Dahhh...
• For a unique cooking experience go to pandora and create a station of Luau music... either that or The Killers [which have nothing to do with Hawaii or pizza - but are still awesome!]
  

As always,
C.C.C. meeeeeee cooooking!
aka
Stf