White Chicken Chili

3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1 can (14.5 oz) Great Northern beans

1 can (14.5 oz) Pinto beans

1 can (4.5 oz) green chilies

2 cups frozen corn

2 tsps cumin

1 tsp chipotle chili powder

1 tsp garlic spread (garlic cloves already prepared in a tube)

2 cups chicken broth

To prepare this meal without freezing it:

1.     Cut up chicken breasts into bite size pieces and place in crock pot.

2.    Add the remaining ingredients to the crock pot and cook on HIGH for 6-8 hours.

To prepare this meal as a freezer meal:

1.     Cook chicken breasts and then cut into bite size pieces. Allow the chicken to cool completely.

2.    Add ingredients to a gallon size bag.

3.    Add the cooked chicken to the gallon size bag. Make sure the chicken is cooled!

4.    Using a spoon stir the ingredients and seal the bag.

*Garnishes can include: grated cheese, sour cream, tortilla chips and/or tortillas.

*If you wish to thicken the chili you can do so by adding some flour or mashing some beans up and placing them in the crock pot. The flour and/or beans will cause the chili to thicken.

Lentil Stew with Chicken Sausages

a family tradition, I don't really have or follow a recipe, so adjust as suits your family.

• 3 chicken sausages or one half Kielbasa
• 1 med onion
• 2 Carrots
• 3 celery stalks
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 med potatoes
• 1 cup green lentils
• 4 cups chicken broth 
• Worcestershire/Tamari/Braggs/Fish Sauce to taste -- I usually use a few dashes of each

1. Cook your sausage of choice for a few minutes until brown, then remove 2. Dice onions, celery, carrots and saute in sausage grease, adding additional fat if needed, until soft. 3. Add garlic and cook one or two more minutes. 4. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer until the lentils and potatoes are tender 5. Return sausages to soup; add water to soup if thinning is needed. 6. Add umami seasonings to taste.

Note: I use a few different fermented sauces to help get a little deeper flavor in the stew. They add umami, which is one of the 5 basic tastes like sweet, sour, salty, bitter. Umami is the savory flavor you find in tomatoes, roasted meats, sausages and such.

Worcestershire is a fermented sauce made from anchovies, malt vinegar, molasses and a host of other goodies. Lea and Perrin's is the original, and in my mind, the best.

Tamari is a slightly different way of brewing soy sauce, which is fermented soybeans. I usully buy San-J.

Braggs Liquid Amino Acids is another soy based sauce. You can find it at most health food stores.

Fish Sauce is just what it sounds like - a fermented fish sauce. This is a key flavor and ingredient in Thai cooking. I don't use any particular brand, but check the Thai section at Wegmans or a health food store for a decent good one. Mine's all in Thai so I can't read it. A few dashes goes a LOOOOONG way, so a small bottle is a good pace to start.

Mary's Beef Stew

2 pounds stew beef (cut into 1” inch chunks)
¼ cup flour

2 TB oil

16 ounces tomato sauce

¼ tsp basil (I used dried – conversion would be ¾ tsp fresh)

2 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 cup sliced celery

6 each – carrots, onions, potatoes (I used Yukon Gold) – peeled and cut (for a bit of variety in texture, I chop some of the onions in the food processor and some by hand – the food processed ones act as a nice “thickening” agent)

Coat beef with flour.  Brown the beef with oil.  Stir in 2 cups hot water, tomato sauce and seasonings.  Cover and simmer for 1 ½ hours.  Add vegetables.  Simmer until done, about 45 minutes (I have left it on low for a few hours as well.

Reheating instructions:

Allow to thaw in refrigerator.  Pour into stock pot and heat until simmering.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Turkey Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 (11 ounce) can Mexican-style corn

1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, undrained

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

1 (16 ounce) jar chunky salsa

2 1/2 cups cooked, chopped turkey meat

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

2 tablespoons guacamole

Optional Additions and Substitutions:

Add cumin to taste

Use Sweet Corn instead of Mexican style

Use Black Beans instead of chili beans

Directions To Make:

1.     In a large pot over medium heat, combine corn, chili beans, broth and salsa. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and stir in cooked turkey. Season with salt and pepper. Cover, and cook 5 to 10 minutes more, until heated through. Stir in cilantro. Makes 4-6 servings.

2.     In a bowl, stir together sour cream and guacamole until smooth.

3.     Ladle soup into bowls and top with guacamole mixture.

Directions to Reheating Your Freezer Meal:

1.     Thaw soup overnight in frig.

2.     Pour into pot and bring to boil.  Cover and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.  (When I reheat soup, I often add another can of chicken broth or 2 cups of water to replace what cooks off).

3.     Serve.

** I got this recipe from www.allrecipes.com several years ago when looking for a way to use up leftover turkey from Thanksgiving.  When I make this recipe I use sweet corn and black beans (because those are staples in my pantry).  I will often use dry beans and pre-cook before adding to the soup.  In the past, I have also used frozen corn and cut corn from the cob (all options have worked fine).  I always add cumin and fresh cilantro to my soup because I feel like it really adds to the flavor as well.  I would not use dry cilantro – it doesn’t add as much flavor as fresh.  My family loves the sour cream and guacamole mixture on top of their soup (it really does add to the meal)!