White Chicken Chili

We tried a new thing last year at our big annual Ropte Family GTG: A chili cookoff!

You guys - it was a blast! While some of the guys kinda pawned off the chili making onto their wives ::ahem, Mark and Dan:: the other guys got really into it, even naming their chili. All the names were pretty much inside family jokes, so that was kinda fun too lol

All the chili was pretty tasty, but this one stole my vote. And really, who would have guessed it: My baby brother (a bachelor who has just recently decided to start cooking instead of eating out, living in an apartment in Des Moines) was the chef who introduced me to it! The name of his chili "Mars Garlic Attack" was actually on account of him slightly mis-reading the recipe, and instead of 1 1/2 TSP of garlic powder, he added 1 1/2 TBSP. He was worried that it was ruined, but it was AWESOME!

I had heard about White Chicken Chili for years, but it never really sounded that good. I've changed my mind: It's DELICIOUS! I know he said he found it on my sister's Pinterest, but I searched and searched to no avail to find it. If you know whose recipe it is, please let me know so I can add a reference!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast cut into ½ in cubes
• 1 med onion chopped
• 1 ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp veg oil
• 2 cans white beans drained
• 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
• 2 cans (4 oz) chopped green chilies
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 C sour cream
• ½ C heavy whipping cream ( I sometimes use whole milk)

Directions:

Salute chicken, onion, and garlic powder in oil. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat
stir in Sour Cream and Whipping Cream.

Chinese Christmas 2013

This past Christmas was a first for us: Not only did we host a fun gathering (which is normally held at Dad and Pam's house), but we decided to forego the traditional Christmas ham and did a Chinese Christmas with homemade Chinese dishes.

It has been a family tradition over the past 3 years that when we are decorating for Christmas, we get Chinese takeout, decorate, listen to Christmas music, and then watch Christmas movies when we're all done. I guess I just didn't get my fill of Chinese this year :)

I decided to make two of our favorite "go-to" Chinese food recipes: Sweet & Sour Chicken and Beef & Broccoli. To be honest, I felt like they both kinda flopped, but everyone else said they were great. I tried this Kraft box of sweet & sour mix to make things easier on myself, but I prefer my own recipe for Sweet & Sour Chicken (I'll post it below).

The Beef & Broccoli ended up getting a little singed, what with me planning a little poorly on the prep work (lesson learned!). Once again, everyone said it was great, but I think they were all lying lol I also felt the sauce was a little too bold, as I prefer a more mild sauce where the beef and broccoli are the stars with just a little flavor. I wouldn't make the recipe again, especially since it took such random ingredients that we don't typically keep on hand.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Posted in 2010 to the blog:
Click HERE for the recipe

I actually discovered an incredibly more awesome Beef & Broccoli recipe earlier this week, so instead of giving you the wretched one we used this particular night, I'm going to give you the incredible one I made Monday evening. I actually ended up doubling the sauce because there wasn't a ton once it simmered a while, and that ended up being about perfect. However, it also added a TON of sodium from the soy sauce, so keep that in mind. It was probably fine just for us, but with a 1 year old with minimal teeth, he needed a little more sauce to get it down.

Beef & Broccoli

Ingredients

Base

• 3 tablespoons cornstarch, divided
• 1/2 cup water, plus
• 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 lb boneless round steak or 1 lb charcoal chuck steak, cut into thin 3-inch strips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 4 cups broccoli florets
• 1 small onion, cut into wedges

Sauce

• 1/3 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water and garlic powder until smooth.
2. Add beef and toss.
3. In a large skillet or wok over medium high heat, stir-fry beef in 1 tablespoon oil until beef reaches desired doneness; remove and keep warm.
4. Stir-fry broccoli and onion in remaining oil for 4-5 minutes.
5. Return beef to pan.
6. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger and remaining cornstarch and water until smooth; add to the pan.
7. Cook and stir for 2 minutes.
8. Serve over rice.