White Chili the Slow Carb Way

Adapt as a slow carb dish by omitting the sour cream or dress it up with shredded cheese..

The first time I ever enjoyed White Chili David Belt made it and brought it to work and treated all of us to this wonderful concoction!! It was delicious and I loved it. When I made it at home Brian didn't like the cloves so I have since opted to seriously reduce the amount of ground cloves I use and add more to mine at the table. 

David's recipe had more cheese and yummy things than this recipe and was made with cubed chicken. This version is a skinned down adaptation made with ground turkey that I can enjoy on this diet I have chosen to "treat " myself with.

This version I  further adapted from Mr. Sunday's Soups, by Lorraine Wallace.

Ingredients:

1 pound white dry beans, soak overnight in water to cover
1 1/2 Qt. chicken broth
1-2 jalapeno pepper stemmed, seeded, and diced
1-2 bay leaves
1 T. olive oil
2 lbs. ground turkey
1 lg. onion diced
3/4 t. kosher salt
1/8 t. cayenne pepper
5 garlic cloves diced fine
2 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
1/4 t. ground cloves

Garnishes if desired:

sour cream
grated mild cheddar
scallions, finely chopped
rough chop cilantro

Drain the beans and pick over them discarding any discolored beans or debris.

Using a large heavy bottomed pan or Dutch Oven, combine the broth and the drained and rinsed beans with the bay leaf and jalapeno pepper. The liquid should cover the beans about 1 1/2"; add a little water if necessary. Bring to a boil then reduce to very low. Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 1/4 hours until the beans are tender. Discard the bay leaves.

Transfer 1 C. of the beans to a blender or food processor and add a little cooking liquid. Process until smooth, then stir the pureed beans back into the whole beans then set aside.

Place a large heavy skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Cook the turkey stirring to break up the meat for about 10 minutes. Add the onion, salt, and cayenne and cook, stirring another 10 minutes

Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, and cloves and cook stirring another 2 minutes. Stir this mixture into the beans and place the pot over medium heat. Bring to a very slow simmer, stirring occasionally. Cook until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. Adjust the seasonings if necessary.

A bowl of piping hot White Chili is an excellent fall dish at our house.

Ladle the chili into large shallow bowls and top with sour cream and shredded cheese if desired. Scatter scallions and cilantro as a finishing touch and serve immediately.

Note:  I still have David's recipe and enjoy it while not dieting!! I am certain to share it with you as time goes by.

Oatmeal Cookies Chocked full of Walnuts, Raisins, Dates, and Spices.

Homemade Oatmeal Cookies

My husband Brian was asking for his favorite cookies to be baked and although I planned to make them for him today it was a long way around to get them done!! There was laundry to start and then of all things I found myself out of brown sugar. So off to town I went.

Just as I was getting them mixed up, low and behold, he called and needed computer help. Our son Joel had gotten his new computer set up for him but he wasn't able to do some things he needed to so off I went again, this time to his place of business. I quickly stowed the finished batter in the refrigerator.

About 3:00 PM. I walked back in the door at home to find the phone was ringing and my dearest friend in the world surprised me with a call. 

Double Bagged Cookie Batter Ready to Freeze 

So at 4 PM I am wondering what the best course might be. I decided to bake off 2 dozen cookies and split the cookie batter in half for freezing. I can't have them on this diet and he won't eat a whole batch all that quickly anyway. 

This is going to work out just fine. I can just pull them out and bake them off as needed.

Here is how I made them today:

1 pound soft butter
2 C. brown sugar
2 C. sugar
1/4 C. molasses
4 large eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 pound raisins
12 oz. chopped dated
1 C. chopped walnuts
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves
2 t. soda
2 t. salt
4 C. flour
4 C. oats

Note: You can use 2 cups of chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or additional nuts instead of an equal portion of raisins or dates if desired.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare pans with parchment paper or silpat liners.

Cream butter. Add the sugars and molasses creaming well. Add the eggs beating an additional minute. Add the vanilla, walnuts, raisins, and dates to the mixture. Blend the remaining dry ingredients into the mixture.

Drop by teaspoons full onto cookie sheets, (Lightly grease if you don't prepare as above.) Bake 10 minutes. Do not over bake. Cool on the pan a few minutes before removing to cooling racks.

Yield 6-8 dozen cookies depending on size.

Cheesecake with Cherries

Cheesecake with Cherries

Since I worked for 10 years for the Lazarus Department Store Chain, (now called Macy's) I was a big fan of the restaurant. Plus, it was just around the corner on the second floor from the furniture department, my stomping ground.

page 38, Selected Lazarus Recipes, 1981.

Daily the ladies would line up for the buffet, or the soup, or was it the burgers with the "burger sauce"?

Odds are it was for the DESERTS!!! They were wonderful and this cheesecake recipe is just one of many that were enjoyed by so many Evansville, Indiana ladies.

Crust prior filling.

Ingredients for the crust:

1 1/2 C. crushed graham cracker crumbs
1/3 C. melted butter
1/4 C. sugar

Batter, batter, batter!!!

Ingredients for the filling:

3, 8 Oz. pkgs. of Cream Cheese
1 1/2 C. sugar
4 large eggs
1 T. vanilla

My FAVORITE Tahitian Vanilla.

Ingredients for the topping:

1 1/2 C. sour cream
1/4 C. sugar
1 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. and butter generously a 10" spring form pan.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and sugar mixing well. Press into the sides and bottom of the prepared pan. Set aside.

You must use an electric mixer for this recipe and a stand mixer is even better!! Combine the cream cheese and sugar and beat together for 5 minutes. 

Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating. Add the vanilla and beat for an additional 30 minutes. Be sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl really good at least twice.

Pour into the graham cracker crust and bake in the center of the oven for 60 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 20 minutes.

Serving time.

Mix the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla together well and spread onto the top of the cheesecake. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool. Refrigerate overnight before removing from the pan and serving. 

Note:  It is imperative  you beat the batter the full 30 minutes.  It has always turned out perfectly for me.  No water bath, no in the oven overnight, no foil wrapped pan, NO CRACK IN THE TOP. 

The cherry topping is not part of the Lazarus recipe but to make it or any fruit topping use fresh or frozen fruit.  I used 2 C. frozen pie cherries,  add sugar to sweeten to you taste.  We like sweet so I used 1 1/4 C.   Stir fruit and sugar with 1 1/2 T. cornstarch and heat over a medium-high burner stirring constantly until thickened.  Refrigerate and it will thicken further.  Spoon atop cheesecake and serve.
You may also add a drop or two of red food coloring if desired.

Molly on the kitchen floor.

Molly laid patiently at my feet as she always does.  She is my constant companion and also loves to ride in the car.  She is doing quite well and we seem to be getting through puppy hood!!