chicken chili & yamfries

The calendar says it’s spring, but a trip out of doors confirms my suspicion that someone has turned the calendar upside-down. When I passed the grocery store on my way to work this morning, the digital display outside said it was 26 degrees, a decidedly un-spring like temperature.

Seriously.

Since I have not yet figured out how I can exert power over nature [or God] to crank the temperature up outside, I’m left to do what I can to generate some heat on the inside. And that my friends, means soup: an soup both easy & delicious [if you can open a can, you can make this. And let's face it, if you can't open a can, there are larger issues at play than what you're going to eat for dinner tonight] and some sweet & spicy oven fries to go with it: food that makes you warm from the inside-out.

Maybe it'll be like Murphy's law: if I start cooking cold-weather food, maybe ... just maybe, the mercury will rise.

Here's to hoping!





Ingredients

Chicken Chili

• 1 – 28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 1- 14.5 oz can black beans, drained
• 1 – 14.5 oz can white kidney (cannelloni) beans, drained
• Chopped cilantro
• ½ - 1 tsp. cayenne
• ½ - 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 c. carrot shreds
• 1 lb. chicken tenders (white breast meat)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Yam-fries

• 1 lb. Yams
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Cayenne (a pinch)
  

What else you’ll need:

• Kitchen knife
• Cutting board
• Soup pot
• Skillet
• Mixing bowl
  

Featured ingredients:
So by now, you are already aware of my fondness/obsession with beans, be they black, garbanzo, or of the kidney variety. Great for fiber and protein, hooray!! And I’ve introduced the wonderful, tasty, and versatile tomato. Yams however, are a newcomer to the playful cook scene. Here’s the lowdown on a vegetable you’re probably more used to seeing at Thanksgiving or as an ingredient in baby food…

Yams: these tasty little cousins to the potato are good sources of potassium, vitamin B6, and (you guessed it) fiber. Potassium helps control blood pressure and reduce hypertension, while vitamin B6 helps reduce risk of heart attack and stroke by protecting the walls of your blood vessels. Yams also contain diosgenin, a progesterone-like substance that helps support the female endocrine system and may help relieve symptoms of menopause. Go figure!


Directions:

Yam-fries
Cut yams into wedges, approximately ¼” thick.

In a bowl, whisk together olive oil, salt, pepper, and pinch of cayenne. Pour over yam wedges and coat well.

Heat oven to 425 degrees.

Place oiled yams on cookie sheet and bake in oven for 25 minutes. Flip yams with spatula approximately halfway through baking.

Fries are done when edges are slightly browned and yams are tender when poked with a fork.


Chicken Chili
In a large pot, combine diced tomatoes, beans, cilantro, carrot shreds, and spices. Place on medium heat, stirring occasionally. Allow to heat through on low-medium heat for at least 15 minutes.

In a skillet, heat olive oil on medium heat. Place chicken tenders in skillet, add salt & pepper. Once chicken is slightly cooked, shred chicken with a pair of forks. Cook until chicken is cooked through.

Add to soup pot and stir.

Enjoy, friends!!

photo by kirsten.michelle