Chicken Chilli

I've got my new slow cooker and now get to try some of the recipes I've been pinning to Pintrest. This one was for turkey chilli but I used chicken mince.
It was easy and nice but I want to play with getting more flavour into it next time.

My new slow cooker has the ability to sear the meat or fry the onions first - which I did. It was fantastic being able to do it all in the slow cooker rathe than making more dishes.

The recipe originally came from a site called Hazel Street Eats via Food Gawker

We had it with corn chips, sour cream and grated cheese.

I served the portion for our little person before adding the chilli with worked well...despite her being adamant that she wanted hers 'spicy'.


Slow-Cooked Turkey Chili adapted from Global Dish
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 pound ground turkey
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed
1 can cannelini beans, rinsed
1 medium white onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cup firmly packed fresh baby spinach
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon vinegar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Sour cream, salsa, chopped green onions, and shredded cheese of your choice, to serve (optional)

Instructions:
1. Cook the ground turkey in a medium frying pan until browned and cooked through; transfer to the slow cooker.

2. Combine the next 10 ingredients (tomato paste through vinegar) with the turkey in the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours. When done, stir the chili, add salt and pepper if necessary, and spoon into serving bowls. Top with sour cream, salsa, green onions, and cheese.

A yummy easy to make soup is a great meal on a cold night. It isn't really easy to distinguish what exactly is in it. I love anything with cannellini beans in it but they weren't obvious in this soup once they were blended in with everything else.












Roasted Asparagus and White Bean Soup 
Serves 4-5, adapted from The Food Matters Cookbook

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 bunch asparagus, about 1 1/2 lb, ends removed
• 2 leeks, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 baking potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
• 1 cup dried white beans, soaked overnight and boiled until tender
• 6 cups vegetable broth, water, or bean cooking liquid (or any combination of the three)
• 2 oz grated parmesan cheese
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 450.  Arrange asparagus on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Roast for 10-15 minutes or until tender.  Set aside.
2. In the meantime, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the leeks and saute until tender, 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add in the garlic and rosemary and cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant.  
3. Stir the potatoes, cauliflower, cooked white beans and vegetable broth in to the pot.  Turn the heat up to high and bring to a boil, then lower it to a simmer, just so that the mixture remains bubbling even when partially covered.  Let simmer for 20-30 minutes or until vegetables are cooked through.
4. Puree soup with an immersion blender.  Stir in the parmesan cheese.
5. Chop the asparagus and add it to the soup.  
6. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.