March 2012 ~ Colie's Kitchen

Mar 28, 2012

Wordless Wednesday -Spring Break in Minneapolis

Although I think Minnesota is the most boring and overpriced place on earth ($7 for a Red Baron Pizza? Seriously? Ha!) I had a good time at these places… Honest during Spring Break and winter there isn’t much to do. If you are going to venture to Minnesota do so during the summer. If someone can suggest some fun places to go please do I will take all of the suggestions I can get! I am not trying to knock your state, but dang…

I have to go there at least once a year because my husband’s family lives there. Even if you ask the people there what to do for fun they don’t have any ideas, or they say driving to Minneapolis (2o minutes away) is too far, in their opinion Mall of America is the greatest place on earth, and vacationing means driving 45 minutes away to go camping or going to Wisconsin to go camping… ugh! The happening spots at 10pm... Wal-Mart, Cub Foods, and McDonalds. That’s not for me! The food… don’t get me started!

I guess I come from too big of a city with too much to do to take a step back into small town USA!

Como Zoo

Minneapolis Sculpture Garden

MY FAVORITE

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Mar 3, 2012

Poblano Chicken Chowder

My husband and I love stuffed poblano pepper. It’s one of our “go to’s” when we go out to our favorite local Mexican restaurants. I found a recipe for chicken poblano chowder on the Food Network Website and decided to give it a try. I have to say this recipe is phenomenal .We all absolutely loved it. It’s creamy and very filling. If you like poblano peppers you will love this recipe.

Caution to the heat sensitive this recipe tends to be a bit warm. You could probably half the amount of poblano peppers down to one also be sure to remove the seeds and the ribs. If you like the heat you can increase it by leaving everything in. I used two peppers removing the seeds and ribs and I must say my sinuses were open by the end of dinner, but I loved it.

This recipe would be wonderful on a cold wet night. Although this recipe calls for chicken I don’t know that I would add chicken to it again. I just didn’t see that it added anything other than bulk to the chowder. I think you could easily leave it out and get the same results. This chowder focuses so much on the pepper that the chicken is over shadowed. Most of the time I couldn’t taste the chicken at all. You could easily make this vegetarian.

Feeds: 3-4

Ingredients:

1/2 cup olive oil or margarine
2 large carrots cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 stalks celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 minced garlic clove
2 small poblano peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon of garlic powder
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules
1.5 quarts chicken broth
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, minced
1 1/2 cups diced (large pieces) grilled chicken
1/4 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 -1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 can of evaporated milk
½ can of sweet corn
1 6oz can of chopped green chilles

Directions:

On 400 degrees roast poblano peppers on a baking sheet for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the oven and place in a closed paper bag for 20 minutes then remove the clean skin from your pepper then dice.
Heat the oil or margarine in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the carrots, onions, celery, garlic, poblano peppers, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cumin, and thyme.
Sauté for 7 to 8 minutes or until the vegetables begin to soften. Stir in the chicken bouillon, corn, and green chilles. Add the chicken broth and cilantro, and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
Stir in the chicken and cook, stirring frequently, until the chowder is thick and the chicken is heated through.
Shortly before the chowder is done, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 4 minutes to cook the flour. Do not allow the mixture to brown! Ladle 1 cup of the hot liquid from the stockpot into the skillet, whisking constantly.
When the first cup of liquid is incorporated, add another 2 cups of liquid, 1 at a time. Pour the mixture in the skillet into the stockpot, whisking to blend. Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes longer, or until the mixture begins to thicken.
Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in evaporated milk. Garnish with cheese, or tortilla chips.