Never too Hot for Hatch Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup!

Posted on September 11, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

It was almost cold today; the backdoor thermometer decreed it to be 93 degrees! I guess weather is all relative, but I was sure thankful for a break from the 100+ degree streak Austin has been on forever. The cloud cover on my mid-morning run kept me from breaking much of a sweat and while it did get toasty later in the afternoon, the lower angle of the sun cast an amber glow and longer shadows that could only mean one thing — autumn will be here someday and hopefully someday soon!

All this wishful thinking about changing seasons turned my mind to food. Soup. Wouldn’t soup be great for dinner? Regardless of the fact that cold weather is still month(s) away, I caved to my cravings and made one of my “most favoritest” soups of all time – Hatch Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup. Although I was super excited about making the soup, the actual process was bittersweet. I was reminded that Hatch green chile season, which runs from late July through early September, has pretty much come to an end. I did have an apocalyptic-like stash (75 pounds) of these prized peppers in my freezer, but it’s been dwindling by the day.

As a past Hatch Green Chile Cook-Off Winner at Central Market’s #HATCHFEST, I’ve made some very unusual recipes for the contest including Hatch Green Chile and Chicken Cheesecake and Hatch Green Chile Banana Muffins. My Hatch Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup isn’t quite as crazy as these concoctions, but my husband claims it is still off-the-hook delicious. It’s one of his favorites and mine too – it’s super simple to make, can be prepared ahead of time for those busy nights, and stays tasty when served as leftovers – in fact, it might be even better the next day (so make a double batch)!

This is the first time that I’ve ever written the recipe down, so if the soup seems too thick just add more chicken stock, if it seems too thin, add more crushed tortilla chips. Also, I usually use chicken that I have grilled earlier in the week, but you can cook yours however you like. And, if you don’t eat meat, just swap out the stock for vegetable stock and omit the chicken. Enjoy!

Hatch Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup Recipe

6 cups chicken broth
1 (15-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2/3 cup diced Hatch green chiles (that have been roasted, seeded & peeled)
1/4 cup dried minced onion
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 cup pre-cooked diced chicken breast
8 ounces light sour cream
Garnish: additional tortilla chips, shredded cheese, green onions

Serves 6.

In a large covered pot, add chicken stock, tomatoes (with all the juice), green chiles, onion, cumin, pepper and tortilla chips. Bring to a boil over medium high heat and then reduce to medium and let simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add chicken and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes until heated through. Remove pot from heat and stir in sour cream until thoroughly incorporated.

To serve, top with crushed chips, cheese and green onions.

Also wanted to give a shout out to my new Anolon 4qt Covered Casserole from the Nouvelle Copper line. Features include a double full-cap copper base that distributes heat very evenly, anodized construction that is twice as hard as stainless steel, non-stick interior and stainless steel handles. Two other thumbs up: This pot can go straight from the stove top to the oven (very convenient) and has a European-inspired design (very cool).

If you love Hatch Green Chiles as much as I do, you’ll want to check out some of my other Hatch recipes:

Hatch Green Chile & Chicken Cheesecake with Avocado Drizzle

Hot Mess Hatch Green Chile Burgers with Calabaza Squash “Buns”

Green Chile & Pork Stuffed Zuchinni

Hatch Green Chile Guacamole

School is Hard, Cookies are Soft. #GF Quinoa Oat Almond Chocolate Chippers

Posted on September 6, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Wow, it has really been hard getting back into the school routine. And, I’m not even the one attending class! We hit the ground running last week for our family’s final year with three kids in three different schools – high school, middle school and elementary. Please, please don’t let there ever be another preschooler in my future. Been there, done that . . . and loved that! But, know we’re moving onto the hard stuff – hard in the sense that I hear my 11^th grader whispering to my 8^th grader, “Don’t ask mom to help with your homework.” Sigh.

While pre-calculus and physics might be hard, I am happy to report that cookies are soft. They are soft and chewy and gooey with chocolate chips. That’s the way we like to do cookies in my house. I’ve been trying to make healthier treats for my kids, so the recipe for Quinoa Granola Chocolate Chip Cookies in the September 2013 issue of Cooking Light caught my eye. The Salted Pistachio Chocolate Cookies (PaIeo) I created a while back were a huge hit. However, I love the fact that these chocolate chip cookies are made with quinoa flour. I hadn’t ever baked with it before and was excited to give it a try. Quinoa is high in protein, calcium and iron and the same holds true when it is ground down into flour. Baking experts say you can substitute quinoa flour for half of the all-purpose flour in many recipes or completely replace wheat flour in cakes and cookie recipes.

Does summer vacation really have to be over?

Since we have a few gluten intolerant friends that like to hang around after school, I thought I’d tweak the recipe to suit a GF diet. I calling my version Gluten-Free Quinoa-Oat-Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies and, I think it turned out pretty well. What I did to make them gluten-free was substitute the one cup of all-purpose flour that accompanied the quinoa flour with ½ cup almond meal and ½ cup ground oats. What I found out about oats and a GF diet is that oats are gluten-free; however there is a risk for contamination in the field or in the factory – that’s why it’s best to buy specifically labeled gluten-free oats. Also, another thing to be aware of, especially when serving to gluten intolerant guests – a very small percentage of people who are sensitive to gluten also have an allergy to oats.

Gluten-Free Quinoa-Oat-Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, ground
1/2 cup quinoa flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups gluten-free granola
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate mini-chips

In a medium bowl, combine quinoa flour, almond meal, ground oats, baking powder, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Place sugars, oil, and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until combined. Add vanilla and egg; beat until well blended. Add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until combined. Stir in granola and chocolate chips. Cover and chill dough 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Divide dough into 24 equal portions (about 4 teaspoons each). Roll portions into small balls; arrange balls 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten balls slightly. Bake at 350° for 15 minutes or until bottoms of cookies just begin to brown.

The Cooking Light Quinoa Granola Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe I was inspired by is also an excellent healthy option for those of you who don’t need to worry about dietary restrictions. Mmmm, here it is below. Also, check out their collection of portable, healthy snacks — all perfect to pack in backpacks!

Seven Days of Sweet & Savory Things

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Aug 24: Ran the epic Hood to Coast Relay for the second year, on a team called Cherry Limeade sponsored by the always awesome, always refreshing Nuun Hydration. This Seattle-based maker of electrolyte tabs is focused on creating a take-along product that keeps runners and other athletes hydrated flavorfully – in fact, they have so many flavors, it will make your head spin. My favorites are Kona Kola and Strawberry Lemonade, oh yea — and ½ a Banana tab with ½ a Watermelon tab! I appreciate the fact that I’m not sucking down a bunch of sugar with this product, goodness knows I’ve been the poster child for losing time on a race course due to GI distress.

I was so inspired by the women runners in my team’s van 2, that I just have to shout them out — Allison, Tanaya and Tere from Arizona, Emily (now) from Oregon and Paige from Washington. I’m already looking at the upcoming race calendars to cherry pick (or, should I say ‘cherry limeade pick’?) a few for reunion visits! BTW, all the women I met on the Nuun teams rocked; however, these particular ones though had to put up with me for 40 straight hours with no sleep. There was no do-it-yourselfing on this trip, well except the running. We had the luxury of being chauffeured around on this 200-mile race by our fearless, amusingly foul-mouthed and seriously funny van driver Vishal, a Nuun employee who also made sure that we had our Starbucks, Diet Mountain Dew, and never-ending food and pit stops expertly arranged. Thanks to Megan Fay for organizing the chaos and chief hydrator and company president, Mason Reay, for another year of gracious hospitality. Random side note: I knew Mason lived in Austin for a while, but found out that our children attended the same preschool at the same time! Now that I think of it, he might have been the dad at the Thanksgiving Pow-wow who offered to bring beer.

August 25: Traveled the entire day, plane had mechanical problems and I wasn’t in bed until 2:30, and shortly thereafter greeted my 5:30 alarm clock. That was neither a sweet nor savory thing. But, while waiting at the airport, I did order a “personal mix” of granola from MixMyOwn.com. The site is so cool, you choose a base cereal, other grains, fruits, nuts and add-ins and then bag it up and ship it straight to your door! On the back of the bag, the nutrition label reflects the exact mix that you made. And, it tastes really fantastic on my Greek yogurt.

August 26: School started, enough said. Sweet! Okay, I’ll say more – and I don’t usually dump out this much mushy personal information, so here you go! My three sons have entered 11^th, 8^th and 5^th grades, so proud of them and it’s going to be a great year. Got a sweet kiss from each this morning!

August 28: Finally read my September Cooking Light magazine and made a recipe for Quinoa-Granola Cookies that I will share on the blog tomorrow. Love to put healthy cookies in my kid’s lunches. Sneak peek:

August 30: Brought a post-practice treat to football practice, Jamba Juice smoothies! Seeing as it was 105 degrees, I had no trouble passing off every last one of the Strawberry Surf Rider smoothies to those hot, sweaty boys. This is one of the reasons why I love being a Jamba Juice Whirl’d Ambassador (disclosure). If you sign up to receive Jamba Juice news and specials via email, you’ll receive a coupon for a $2 16-ounce smoothie. That’s a sweet-sweet situation!

August 31: Celebrated National Bacon Day by wrapping a piece of cured pork around a club cracker and rolling it in brown sugar – then baked at 400F until bubbling with greasy-salty-sweet goodness. This sweet-and-savory sin was not my own doing – inspired by the Pioneer Woman.

September 1: Shared my love for beef and why it is great fuel for an athlete at the Tri-Rock Triathlon Expo in Austin, Texas. Looking for a delicious dinner idea that’s healthy and fast? Check out my recipe for Spice Crusted Tenderloin with Street Fair Corn, hurry and make it before grilling season slips away.

Herbalicious | More Herbs, Less Salt Day

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

Herb-a·li·cious [erb-a-lish-uhs]

Adjective: Highly pleasing to the senses, especially to taste or smell created by herbs: the herbalicious flavor of basil on ripe tomatoes; an herbalicious aroma of mint wafted through the room.

Can you believe the word herbalicious is actually in the dictionary? Okay, we’ll maybe it’s not in the tomes of traditional vernacular; but it does deserve a legit spot in my vocabulary because anything about an herb is the word. It’s the word that you heard – it’s got flavor, it’s got groove, it’s got meaning. Yes, I know I’m being silly dilly here, but before you accuse me of sniffing too much sage or overdosing on oregano, I have something else to announce – today is an important holiday called “More Herbs, Less Salt Day.” I’m serious.

You heard it here! I’m also blogging about why you should embrace herbs and give salt the shake off in more detail at Living Litehouse. Herbs can flavor up your recipes while reducing the need for less-than-healthful ingredients relied on for flavor – like excessive salt, butter and cheese. I use herbs every day in every way in my kitchen; check out my herbalicious recipe for Asian Flair Flat Iron Steak or for Mojo Sauce, a tasty choice for marinating, dressings and dipping. Why not spruce up plain bread and baked goods with herbs? I love to put an Italian blend of herbs on buttermilk biscuits – yum!

Fresh herbs are fabulous when you have the time and talent to grow them or don’t mind the expense of buying them down at the fancy-schmancy grocery store. Traditional dried and ground herbs tend to be boring, bland and one-dimensional; it’s no surprise they get pushed to the back of the pantry for years. But, Litehouse Foods has a genius product line of freeze dried herbs that can be stored for anytime use, yet rehydrate at warp speed in recipes. These Instantly Fresh Herbs are available in 15 different varieties including tried-and-true staples, such as parsley and basil, and also other unique flavor offerings such as lemongrass, cilantro and jalapenos.

Check out my post at Living Litehouse to find out more herbalicious details about how to use less salt and more herbs.

Egg-celent School Morning Idea! Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker Giveaway

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Jennifer FIsher

I have a keen sense of smell and an uncanny ability to track down delicious food being made anywhere, anytime. I’ll run faster than you to get there, elbow you out of the way to nab the last piece; all while smiling politely, of course. Survival of fittest, right? This past June at BlogHerFood, my food sample seeking senses were in major overdrive. In the expo hall, every nook and corner of this epic epicurean event was filled with all the latest food products and gadgets on the market. I kept making the rounds over to the Hamilton Beach booth, hoping that they wouldn’t recognized my variety of disguises – like the greedy trick-or-treater kids swapping Halloween masks in the bushes by your front door.

Hamilton Beach was cooking up breakfast sandwiches in a really nifty looking machine. Take a look. Take a good look because I am giving one away! You’ll need to keep reading down to the bottom of the post to enter.

What I loved about this little breakfast sandwich machine is that it wasn’t just another use-once-and-then-stick-in-the-cabinet gizmo. It was a lean, mean breakfast sandwich-making machine that I knew I could train my ‘tween and teenage boys to use. I feel it’s important to start off the day with a good breakfast, especially one that is packed with protein – about 20 -25 grams of lean protein is the best way to start the day. Last year I met Dr. Heather Leidy, an expert in nutrition and exercise physiology from the University of Missouri, and learned about her recent research that shows how eating enough protein at breakfast can prevent unhealthy snacking in the evening and thus help control weight.

That’s why I like to get my brood of breakfast eaters off to school with something of more substance in their stomachs than Lucky Charms or a Pop Tart. Eggs are always a favorite, and I’ve tried my hand at making breakfast sandwiches by making an egg patty in a custard cup in the microwave and then putting it on an English muffin. Actually, that technique works pretty well, but then the remaining steps to get the sandwich finished up can be a chore. Enter the Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker. In one fell swoop, this gadget toasts your bread product of choice, melts cheese and warms veggies and meats – all while cooking up your egg scrambled or sunny-side up!

It’s the perfect little machine for streamlining the back-to-school morning chaos. It only takes 5 minutes to make a sandwich and an on-off indicator light lets you know when everything is done. Then, with a pull of the lever, your egg is released between the bread and other fixings – ready to eat! The non-stick finish makes everything easy to clean up.

To make sure we had a handle on this machine before school started (goodness knows I didn’t want to decipher an instruction book on the first-day-of-school morning), we tried it out at our last hurrah of summer at the beach. With six hungry boys in the condo, I had no trouble selling these sammies – here’s my cute nephew giving it the thumbs up.

There really isn’t a recipe to follow for this machine; you just add the ingredients you like. We used whole-grain sandwich thins (those skinny buns), bagels, sourdough bread cut to shape with the top of a glass, and even waffles. Inside, I offered up a selection of cheese and meats ranging from bacon to deli-style turkey. And, don’t forget the egg – it is recommended to use real eggs, not those from a carton (especially with egg whites). You can see my personal Turkey, Spinach, Tomato and Egg Breakfast Sandwich creation in the first photo of the post. Hamilton Beach has some official breakfast sandwich ideas, if you are interested.

I’m excited to be giving away a Breakfast Sandwich Maker to simplify one of my reader’s morning routines. Trust me; you’ll appreciate not being tempted to hit a greasy fast-food drive-thru. Follow the simple Rafflecopter instructions below to enter.

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Never too Hot for Hatch Green Chile Chicken Enchilada Soup!

School is Hard, Cookies are Soft. #GF Quinoa Oat Almond Chocolate Chippers

Herbalicious | More Herbs, Less Salt Day

Egg-celent School Morning Idea! Hamilton Beach Breakfast Sandwich Maker Giveaway