My guess is that most of you have seen those glorious food blogs. The ones where each step during the cooking process is beautifully photographed and described. Something like this post from the Pioneer Woman.
Well, I decided to try my hand at creating a food post. I’m sure Dave will roll his eyes as he does not get my obsession with taking pictures of food!
Oh and I dedicate this post to Julia K. who made this yummy chili for us and gave me the recipe.
Spicy Corn Chicken Chili
Here are the ingredients. Looks like a bunch but there is lots of opening and dumping so not so bad.
Uh oh. Gotta go change a diaper. I’ll be right back.
Might as well make a cup of tea.
Hope is not happy so now she is on the counter next to me.
OK, back to the recipe. Cut boneless, skinless chicken breast into bite-sized pieces. Oops, I didn’t defrost chicken so I’m going to use hamburger. So, brown hamburger meat. Drain.
Hope is cranky so I am taking a break to get her down for a nap.
She is awake.
She is asleep.
Admire the onion and garlic.
Coarsely chop onion and finely chop garlic cloves. I’m not about to wake Hope up so I’m not going to use my Pampered Chef chopper. I hope this is coarsely chopped. Now, cook the onion and garlic in a little bit of olive oil for about 5 minutes.
But, I didn’t take a picture of the onions and garlic cooking because I got distracted by this.
What in the world is going on with the neighbor’s car???
Mix together spices: chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cayenne powder. What?! I don’t have any cayenne powder? How is this going to be spicy?
Put the hamburger meat back in the skillet with the onion and garlic. Add spices, tomato sauce, water and salsa.
Add the corn and beans. And salt to taste.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often. Perfect timing as Hope is waking up and hungry.
Uh oh. I didn’t stir once as I was feeding the baby. Good! It didn’t stick.
Look who just SMILED!!!
Chop 1/3 cup of cilantro to sprinkle on top of chili.
Ding Dong. The doorbell just rang. Hold on…
It was our neighbor (not the neighbor with the messy car). I’m still in my nightgown. And I haven’t brushed my hair. Oh well. Hopefully it wasn’t too shocking.
Lunch is ready and I am so exhausted I could fall over!!!
Spicy Corn and Chicken Chili
Extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cayenne powder to taste
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
(Or substitute one pound hamburger meat for chicken)
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
1/2 cup mild or medium salsa
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen corn kernels
1/2 can cannellini beans, drained
1/2 can chick peas, drained
Salt to taste
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
In a large skillet, brown chicken in a little bit of olive oil. Remove chicken from skillet and cook onions and garlic for 5 minutes, stirring frequently until onions are translucent. Stir in chili powder, oregano, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and cayenne. Add tomato sauce, 1 cup water, salsa, corn, cannellini beans and chick peas. Stir chicken back into mixture.
Season with salt, then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes, stirring often, until flavors have melded and chili is thick. Serve over steamed white rice and sprinkle with cilantro.
Emjoed the post! So true to life – especially when there is a baby in the house! Hope has the most precious smile! Thanks for sharing – I’m going to have to try this recipe.
Excellent post! Made me laugh out loud. Nice mid-afternoon distraction. Now I must get back to work.
PS. I would never roll my eyes at you!
And a food blogger is born….love the evolution of the post….keep em coming….:)
Thanks for the giggle! That’s definitely the more realistic play-by-play for meal preparation
My favorite portion is the pic just before the cilantro. She can melt my heart…. Oh yeah, the chili looks fantastic. I’m on my way to Weight Watchers now and your blog has made me sooooooooo hungry…. maybe I’ll have a loss due to the drooling
By the way…. how was the lunch??????
Excellent!
Drooling worked!
but you didn’t say if you liked it?!
Loved it!
Well, I must say….Bravo! What a fun post. Thanks for making a gloomy day a little brighter! Sounds delicious and looks so pretty! And doesn’t Hope look just like her Daddy? She’s adorable..
Did I tell you I’m watching a 3 month old baby right now? That’s along with all the other little ones I have to tend to..thank goodness my husband is retired and a wonderful helper or I’d be in the Nut House!!! Looking forward to making some Chicken Chili!
So true! I love it! We had crock pot chili last night. It was good and super easy! Even the kids ate it (shocking!).
Hi Lana, Your funny and your chili looks delicious. I have a 3 or 4 ingredient cook book, thats kind of my limit
)
Love the post! Looked like you had a great time.
That was funny – reminds me of evry single time I attempt to do anything!!! Thanks for the laugh and the recipe! BTW, I can see Lauren in Hope in the smiling picture.
Sarah
Loved it Lana! So true if you have a family and things going on around you! I will have to try the chili, looks yummy!
Rikki
Oh, hysterical!! Definitely a new-baby-in-the-house life, but I love the neighbor’s car thrown in, the cup of tea, and the “admire garlic and onion.” Because of those additions, your post fits so nicely into our/my ADHD-centric world right now — too funny!
I like the baby smile too…
Best food post ever! If I make it will a cute baby show up to be snuggled at my house too??
Very funny! did you ever figure out what was up with the neighbors car? Looks like they might be living in there.
Hope is darling.
Oh, and the chili looks yummy too.
I don’t think I’ve ever been mentioned in someone’s blog before! You totally made my day (again). The end result looked delicious. Hope is adorable and the car was hilarious!
The chili looks good but you forgot the spaghetti sauce and Wolf Brand chili!! The pictures of my little niece look good too.