Half-Hour Chili

I have been trying to find good, tasty, filling meatless meals that we all like. I personally have no problem with going without meat, but husband rather likes it, and I think he sometimes doesn't feel full without it, so I am particularly trying to find recipes that he likes. This is partly to save money, partly for better health, and partly to avoid being poisoned by contaminated factory-farmed meat. This year at the weekly farmer's market, I have bought some local, grass-fed beef from two vendors there, and been happy with it, but it costs $6 for a pound of ground beef. (One vendor sells larger amounts for less $$ per pound, but my family only uses a pound at a time, and I'm not sure if it's a good idea to thaw the meat -- which is frozen when I buy it -- divide it up, and re-freeze it.)

Anyway, today I tried this recipe for a meatless chili. I'm sure I could easily add meat to it if I wanted, but for now I did not.

6 servings, about 1 1/3 cups each

Active Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 28-ounce can plus one 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, chopped, with juices
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 15-ounce cans red kidney beans, rinsed
• 1/3 cup bulgur (see Note)
• 1/2 cup nonfat plain yogurt for garnish
• 1/3 cup chopped scallions for garnish
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions, carrot, jalapeño, garlic, chili powder to taste and cumin. Cook, stirring often, until the onions and carrot are soft, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes with their juices, sugar and salt; cook for 5 minutes over high heat. Reduce heat to low; stir in beans and bulgur. Simmer until the chili is thickened, about 15 minutes.
3. Garnish with yogurt, scallions and cilantro, if desired.

Tips & Notes

• Note: Bulgur is made by parboiling, drying and coarsely grinding or cracking wheat berries. Don’t confuse bulgur with cracked wheat, which is simply that—cracked wheat. Since the parboiling step is skipped, cracked wheat must be cooked for up to an hour whereas bulgur simply needs a quick soak in hot water for most uses. Look for it in the natural-foods section of large supermarkets, near other grains, or online at kalustyans.com, buylebanese.com.

Nutrition

Per serving: 217 calories; 3 g fat ( 0 g sat , 2 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 1 g added sugars; 10 g protein; 13 g fiber; 697 mg sodium; 854 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Vitamin A (49% daily value), Vitamin C (43% dv), Potassium (25% dv), Folate & Iron (24% dv), Magnesium (20% dv).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1 lean meat

I used dried beans, rather than canned, so it wasn't really half-hour chili for me, but that's okay -- husband was off work today to help wrangle our 3-year-old, and it's been a grey, drizzly day, nice for staying in and cooking all day.  I googled for information on how many dried beans to use to equal 2 cans, and found this very helpful site.

So, 1 cup of dry beans it is! I used the technique I'd read about in my old copy of "How to Cook Everything" (which I've had for years but barely looked at until the last year or two): brought them to a boil, boiled them for 2 minutes, then removed them from heat and just let them soak a while.  I think I gave them a couple of hours, while I did other stuff, then I really cooked them before putting them aside in a bowl and starting on the rest of the chili.

Once the beans were done the rest of it was indeed super-quick.  I did not have a jalapeno pepper, and since I don't like my food very spicy, I just left that step out.  I figured husband could add his own heat some other way if he wanted.  I used my old standbys of dehydrated chopped onion (soaked in a bit of water for a few minutes before cooking), and jarred pre-minced garlic in water.  I wanted to use up some bagged "baby" carrots I still had, so I estimated on how many looked like 1 whole carrot.  I also threw in 2 sticks of celery, chopped, that I wanted to use up.  Rather than go to the trouble of chopping whole canned tomatoes, I bought canned diced no-salt-added tomatoes.  I used all 2 tablespoons of chili powder, and some extra cumin, 'cause I like cumin. :)  Also, I did not have fresh cilantro, and rather than use it as garnish, I threw 4 teaspoons (if I remember correctly) of dried cilantro into the mix while cooking.  I did not try the yogurt yet; perhaps on my next bowl.   Did not have canola oil on hand, so I used grapeseed oil.

I thought it was all pretty tasty, but husband said he didn't really like it much. When he tried to pinpoint a reason, it wasn't flavor, but rather something about the texture didn't sit right with him.  I don't know what I can do about that, so I guess this recipe will be just for me (and our little boy, if he'll try it) in the future.

Spiced Apple Butter Bran Muffins

Today I tried Spiced Apple Butter Bran Muffins.

1 dozen muffins

Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raisins
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup unprocessed wheat bran, or oat bran
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup low-fat milk
• 1/2 cup spiced apple butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar, or 1/4 cup Splenda Sugar Blend for Baking
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 tablespoons molasses
• 1 cup finely diced peeled apple

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat 12 standard 2 1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray. Place raisins in a small bowl and cover with hot water. Set aside.
2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in bran.
3. Whisk egg, milk, apple butter, brown sugar (or Splenda), oil and molasses in a large bowl until blended. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Drain the raisins; add them and the diced apple to the bowl. Stir until just combined. Scoop the batter into the prepared pan (the cups will be very full).
4. Bake the muffins until the tops spring back when touched lightly, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges and turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

Tips & Notes

• Wrap leftover muffins individually in plastic wrap, place in a plastic storage container or ziplock bag and freeze for up to 1 month. To thaw, remove plastic wrap, wrap in a paper towel and microwave on Defrost for about 2 minutes.

Nutrition

Per muffin: 197 calories; 6 g fat ( 1 g sat , 3 g mono ); 18 mg cholesterol; 38 g carbohydrates; 4 g protein; 4 g fiber; 148 mg sodium; 221 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (16% daily value).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 fat 

I ended up with 15 large muffins, rather than 12.

They're okay, but not great. I feel this is probably due to some shortcuts on my part, and plan to try them again another time to give them a fair chance.  For one, I wanted to use up the apple butter I had in my refrigerator, and it was not "spiced", just plain old apple butter.  I've never actually seen spiced apple butter in the grocery store before, so I guessed at how it might be flavored and attempted to make up for mine by doubling the cinnamon to 1 teaspoon (I like cinnamon anyway!) and adding 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg.

Also, it turned out that I didn't have quite 1/2 cup left in the jar, so I added a bit of applesauce to make up the rest. 

The recipe didn't specify what kind of apple; I used Granny Smith, since I think I heard that kind is good for cooking with.  Think that has anything to do with the lack of flavor too?

Otherwise, the only things I did differently were: I used whole wheat pastry flour for the whole amount, rather than half all-purpose flour; and I didn't have canola oil so I used grapeseed oil, which if I understand correctly shouldn't have really made a difference in the flavor.

Other than flavor, the oat bran was still a wee bit crunchy in the finished muffins, which may not bother some people but I wasn't crazy about it.  There's another muffin recipe I've used before that uses oat bran or oatmeal (I've tried both), and it directs you to mix the bran/oatmeal with some of the wet ingredients first and let it sit a while before continuing. I think I will try that with this recipe next time.  I also may try some of the modifications people mentioned in their reviews on the recipe page.

Korean Chicken Soup

Today I decided to try something a bit new for me: Korean Chicken Soup.

6 servings, generous 1 cup each

Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup uncooked white rice
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1-2 teaspoons hot chile paste or hot chile sauce
• 1 cup shredded cooked chicken (see How To)
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted (see Tip)

Preparation

1. Combine broth, garlic and ginger in a Dutch oven; bring to a boil over high heat. Add rice, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice is tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil; add chile paste (or sauce) to taste. Add chicken and heat through. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.

Tips & Notes

• How To Poach Chicken Breasts: If you don’t have leftover chicken but you want to make a recipe that calls for cooked chicken, the easiest way to cook it is to poach it. Place boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a medium skillet or saucepan. Add lightly salted water (or chicken broth) to cover and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through and no longer pink in the middle, 10 to 15 minutes. (1 pound raw chicken = about 2 1/2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken)
• Tip: To toast sesame seeds, place in a small dry skillet and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until fragrant and lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes.

Nutrition

Per serving: 149 calories; 2 g fat ( 0 g sat , 1 g mono ); 20 mg cholesterol; 18 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 13 g protein; 1 g fiber; 857 mg sodium; 392 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Folate (16% daily value)
Carbohydrate Servings: 1
Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 1/2 lean meat

 I have never tried cooking -- or eating -- anything labeled "Korean" before, so I had no real idea what to expect it to taste like. Being that husband and I are both fairly picky eaters, I worried we might not like it. I wasn't sure I'd like the ginger in the soup, but the rest of the ingredients sounded good to me for the most part.

I had to buy some sesame oil and chili sauce. This was the first time for me buying either one, so I wasn't really sure what to look for. Selection was limited, anyway.  I found a few brands of sesame oil, but only one specified toasted sesame oil, as stated in the recipe, and that one's ingredient list showed that it was diluted with canola oil, which didn't sound appealing to me.  If I'm going to buy sesame oil, I want just sesame oil, unless there's something I don't know. Anyway, the other two kinds listed only "pure sesame oil" as their ingredient, and despite their not saying "toasted", I bought one of those, hoping it wouldn't make a big difference.

Chili sauce (I did not see any chili paste) was a puzzler for me, as the varieties I found had ingredient lists quite different from each other; I especially noticed a big difference between the ones on the Asian food aisle and the ones shelved on a different aisle with "American" stuff like ketchup.  I ended up choosing one from the Asian food aisle with an ingredient list that sounded to me more like what I was probably looking for (for one thing, the first ingredient was not "corn syrups").  I used the smaller amount called for in the recipe -- 1 teaspoon -- which was plenty for me, and informed husband that he could add more to his if he wished.

I did not have leftover chicken to use; I bought an approximately 3/4 pound package for this instead.  I went ahead & cooked it all, thinking we'd use the rest for something else later, but after measuring out the 1 cup called for, and looking at the big pot of broth I had cooking,  1 cup seemed a bit skimpy, so I decided to use the whole amount.

I also used brown rice, rather than white, which took longer to cook.  I threw in some of my dehydrated chopped onions directly into the soup, rather than chopping scallions for garnish. I also used dried ginger from the spice cabinet and pre-minced garlic from a jar rather than fresh.

Despite my hesitation about the ginger, I thought the soup was very good!  It did turn out that I probably could have been fine with just the 1 cup of chicken that was called for originally, but the whole 0.75lbs was not overwhelming, and was probably more satisfying.