Feeding an Army

i haven't really posted in a while because i have been spending lots of time at Meadowvale with my family. today, i took over lots of food to make so we don't have to worry about dinners for a couple of nights. everyone pitched in. AJ chopped onions and garlic and peeled shrimp, UG gathered spices and did the dishes (a very important step) and mom chopped chicken and everyone helped with the taste-testing.

first, i made a big crock pot full of white chicken chili. while that simmers away, i made some shrimp and sausage jambalaya and some chicken noodle soup. also planned is the pear and shallot pork with smashed rutabaga and ginger pears.

so, first up, the white chicken chili. i adapted this recipe from bon appetit. the original recipe is here.

White Chicken Chili (adaped from bon appetit)

(serves 8-10)

2 tbs olive oil
3 large chicken breasts
2 medium onions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 heaping tbs cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
3 (150z) cans cannellini beans, drined and rinsed
1 (15oz) can chopped tomatoes with green chilies
2 (4oz) cans chopped green chilies
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup light cream

heat oil in skillet. sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. brown in skillet for 2 minutes per side.

meanwhile, add drained and rinsed beans to crock pot. add tomatoes and chilies (including juices) to crock pot as well.

remove chicken from pan and cut into bite-sized pieces. add onions and garlic to pan and saute until just tender. add spices and chicken broth to deglaze pan. add chicken and onion/chicken broth mixture to crock pot. add cream and cook over low heat for 8 hours or 4-5 hours on high.

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next on the list is my sausage and shrimp jambalaya. i made a double batch of this. i have posted this recipe before (you can find it here) but it's so good and so easy to make that i thought it would be perfect to have for this weekend particularly since more family will be coming in. i added extra shrimp too to make it heartier.

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finally, i made a pot of chicken noodle soup. i apparently didn't make enough of it though because we scarfed it down for lunch and there is hardly any left.

i used store bough chicken stock (i know, the horror) but doctored it up with some left over carrots, onions, celery, and garlic that was used in a stew recipe to make beef stock. when AJ made the beef stew the recipe said to strain all of the veggies out and add some more carrots. so, instead of throwing all that wonderful goodness that was strained out of the broth away, we decided to save it and use it in some chicken noodle soup. i used a lemon-pepper rotisserie chicken which also added a lot of flavor.

basically, i simmered the leftover veggies in the store bought low-sodium chicken broth for 30 minutes, then drained the broth, added some carrots, onions, and garlic and then shredded the chicken into the broth as it came to a simmer. then i added whole wheat angel hair pasta that i broke up a bit. just a squeeze of half a lemon and as soon as the noodles were finished, we devoured the soup. it was wonderful and so easy!

please stay with me - my posts may not be every day for a little while but i will certainly let you know what good things we are eating over the weekend.