hungry poodle

Can you hear the clang of slow cookers being pulled from countless cupboards at this time of year? We’re craving warm, comforting soups, stews and chilies as temperatures dip and the leaves turn color. (We’re getting a gorgeous display in Kansas.)  This white chicken chili isn’t too spicy (which can always be remedied at serving time with pickled jalapenos and Tabasco) and is filled with the rich flavors of corn (from two sources, corn kernels and corn tortillas) and bell peppers.

I emailed the author of the cookbook that I adapted this recipe from, and asked her about the large amount of chicken broth called for. (Her recipe calls for 8 cups, but after making this chili I cut it back to 4 cups because slow cookers do not evaporate liquid in the same way that stove-top cooking does.) She promptly replied that the recipe was tested by five testers and that it should work.

Trust me on this one, though. If you use more than 4 cups of broth you’ll have watery chili.  However, if I’m wrong in your case, you can always add more broth.  My mother Minerva, (real name Anne) was an excellent natural cook who always seemed to know instinctively which recipes would work and which wouldn’t.  When it came to adding ingredients to a dish, she frequently quoted her Swiss mother, Lydia:  ”You can always put in, but you cannot take out.”

1 T. vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 T. ground cumin
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (optional, but why make chili if it doesn’t have a kick?)
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
6 corn tortillas, torn into small pieces
2 15-oz. cans white beans, drained and rinsed
1 16-oz. bag frozen corn (I like C & W Petite White corn)
3 cups cooked chicken breast, cut into chunks
fresh cilantro, chopped
fresh lime juice
8 T. light sour cream

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet; add onions and bell peppers and saute until vegetables are softened, about 5 minutes.

Combine onion/pepper mixture with seasonings in a slow cooker and add broth, tortillas, beans, corn and chicken. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. Taste for salt and add if needed.

Top each serving with freshly chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice and one T. of light sour cream.  Shredded jack cheese is also great on the side, and for the not-faint-of-palate, jarred jalapeno pepper slices and Tabasco. This chili freezes well, and tastes even better the next day, as the chili thickens.

Note: If you don’t have cooked chicken, you can add raw skinned chicken breasts to the slow cooker and cook them whole with the chili. At the end of the cooking time, remove them, allow to become cool enough to handle, shred the meat and return it to the slow cooker.

Serves: 8

WW Points per serving, with 1 T. light sour cream: 6

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Lately I’ve been posting a lot of bean recipes, in soups mostly, because they are an economical way to get your daily protein. They’re also a powerhouse of nutrition, low on the glycemic index and full of both soluble and insoluble fiber.

And here’s just a bit of chemistry for you: beans contain the essential amino-acid lysine, which is missing in most grains. Combining beans with rice makes up a complete protein. This is why so many cultures throughout the world have long relied on their own version of “beans and rice” as a healthy, non-meat, mainstay of their daily diets.

Now that you know how nutritious beans are, here is a really easy, delicious recipe for black bean soup. This goes together in a flash and makes for a spicy, low-fat, lunch or dinner. Do yourself a favor: make this soup and refrigerate it for a day. It absolutely benefits from the chill-time, which is true for all of us, isn’t it?

1 t. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 (15-1/2 oz.) cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. crushed red pepper (or to taste)
2 cups chicken broth
1 can Rotel tomatoes (or canned diced tomatoes with green chiles)
1 cup frozen corn

Heat oil in a Dutch oven and add onion and garlic. Saute until softened, about 5 minutes.

Puree two cans of drained beans with 1 cup of the chicken broth in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add to onion mixture, along with the remaining beans, broth, cumin, crushed red pepper, tomatoes and corn. Bring to a boil and simmer about 20 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

If you don’t have Rotel tomatoes on hand, use diced tomatoes and add jarred jalapeno peppers to taste.

Serves: 4 to 6

WW points per 4 servings: 6

WW points per 6 servings: 4

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I love chowders, but normally they are steeped in heavy cream, which makes them richer than my waistline or my arteries can afford. Unfortunately,  there is no acceptable alternative to the thick, voluptuous richness of cream-based soups.

We can, however, approximate their flavor, and I think this chowder comes very close. It’s adapted from an out-of-print Weight Watcher cookbook. My son, Corbett, loved this soup and asked for it often. High praise, coming from a young man with a hefty appetite and no care whatsoever for calorie counts or fat grams.

2 t. vegetable oil
2 medium onions, chopped
5 ounces red potatoes, cut into small cubes
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 medium red bell pepper chopped
1/2 medium green pepper, chopped
2 cups frozen corn kernels
4 ounces chopped, cooked chicken breast
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups evaporated skimmed milk
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
big pinch cayenne pepper, or crushed red pepper flakes (optional, but this is what gives it the heat!)
3 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped

In a medium pot, heat vegetable oil and add chopped onions; cook until softened.

Add potatoes, carrot, celery, bell peppers, corn, chicken, broth, milk, salt, pepper and optional cayenne pepper. Bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and soup is slightly thickened. Stir in bacon .

Top each serving with chopped fresh parsley, and serve with Tabasco sauce.

Serves: 4

Weight Watcher points per serving: 6

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