Fall Recipes: Scottish Scones & White Chicken Chili

With fall in the air and cool afternoon breezes, it’s time for some fall food! Wait…..  I live in Florida!!!! It is never cool here, but it was a nice thought even if it was just for a moment!

There is something to be said for fall food, even if it is 80 degrees outside 11 months out of the year. Football and chili just seem to go hand in hand, and there’s always room for desert!

On that note, here are two of my favorite fall foods.

Scottish Scones & White Chicken Chili.

The scones are out of this world, and satisfy any sweet tooth. The White Chicken Chili is exploding with flavor and warms you from the inside out.  I prefer to use all Organic ingredients, but it’s not required.

The recipe for these amazing Scottish Scones comes from my friend Darby, who’s an incredible baker!

Scottish Scones 

Ingredients: 

2- 1/2 c. Flour (All Purpose)

5-1/3 T. Butter, cold & cut into chunks

4 tsp. Baking Powder

2 T. Sugar plus

1/4 tsp. Salt

2 Eggs, beaten

3/4 c. Heaving Cream

1/2 – 1 c. Chocolate Chips

For The Topping:

4 T. Sugar

Heavy Cream

(***You can sub out the chocolate chips for grated orange rind, and dried cranberries***)

Recipe:

Mix dry ingredients in bowl. Cut in butter, until crumbly. Add eggs, cream & chocolate chips.

Mix gently with fork, until mostly mixed.

Spoon mixture into a scone pan (sections) or an iron skillet with the “triangles” that has been sprayed with non stick spray. (I use coconut spray from Trader Joe’s)

With a basting brush, baste tops of scones with cream (lightly) then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake @ 400 degrees for 12-14 min or until golden on top.

Let cool for about 10 min before removing from the pan.

Serve warm. YUMMO!

Now that we have dessert taken care of, let’s move on to dinner! Doesn’t everyone have dessert BEFORE dinner? This is my personal recipe that I have tweaked many times. Oh and I tend to be one of those “scratch cooks” so bear with me!

White Chicken Chili

Ingredients:

4 Organic Chicken Breasts

1 small Onion, chopped

1/4 c. Flour

3-4 cloves Garlic, minced

4-5 T. Butter

1/2 c Milk

4 cans White Navy Beans, drained

2 cans Green Chilies

12 c. Chicken Broth (3 cartons)

* Ground Cumin, to taste

* Chili Powder, to taste

* Paprika, to taste

* Sea Salt, to taste

* Pepper, to taste

1/2 – 1 c. Half & Half

Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded

Fresh Cilantro, chopped

Recipe: 

Boil chicken breasts about 20-30 min or until tender and no longer pink on the inside. Drain and shred or chop chicken. Set aside.

Meanwhile, in a  large stock pot, saute on low/med heat chopped onion & minced garlic in butter. As the butter is melting, add flour and stir well. As you are stirring slowly, pour in milk. Keep stirring until mixture is thick & creamy. Add Navy Beans, green chilies and chicken broth. Add shredded chicken and **spices. Add half & half & cook over low/medium heat, stirring occasionally.

** This is where the “to taste” comes into play. I have followed different recipes for White Chicken Chili, and they almost always come out bland UNTIL I started just adding more spices to taste. To add the spices to your heart’s content. I use a lot of cumin, with a tad less chili powder. 

Serve hot and top with Monterey Jack Cheese and cilantro.

Enjoy!

(Homemade corn bread pairs nicely with the White Chicken Chili)

Organic Summer Bean Salad

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With summer quickly approaching, I have been scrambling for quick side dishes to pair with our meals. There’s nothing worse than firing up the oven, and heating up the entire house when it’s 90 degrees outside. My remedy for this is to serve chilled and or marinated salads. It’s so easy to throw these types of side dishes together at the last minute, and for a crazy busy mom, who’s wearing a hundred plus hats so to speak, this is the winning ticket!

One of my VERY favorite chilled salads to make is Organic Summer Bean Salad aka Garbanzo Bean Salad.  Not only is it super easy, but it’s super fast to make and always a crowd pleaser that can potentially feed many. To speed things up, I use my food processor to quickly chop my peppers. If you’re in the market to buy one, I can positively 100% tell you that the Breville Sous Chef  Food Processor is the BEST hands down. I’ve used several other brands over the years, and none can even compare to this beauty. Once you go the Breville Sous, you don’t go back! Okay back to the salad….. Below is my fabulous crowd pleasing recipe for this must try salad.

Organic Summer Bean Salad

2 cans Organic Garbanzo Beans, drained

1 Organic Red Bell Pepper

1 Bunch Organic Onion

1-2 Garlic Pods

Fresh Organic Cilantro

2/4 c. Olive Oil

1 c. Braggs Vinegar

1-2 T. Raw Unfiltered Honey

2 T. Water

Sea Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Drain the beans in a colander. Meanwhile, remove the middle/seeds from the red pepper, and cut into 3 chunks. Throw into the food processor with the “s” blade and pulse a few times or until the peppers are medium/fine chopped. *I like mine chopped in medium chunks* Now, chop the green onion including the green stems. In a medium bowl, dump the drained beans, add the peppers & onion. Next press 1-2 garlic pods or mince. Then chop the fresh cilantro and add to the bowl. In a separate bowl mix the olive oil, vinegar, honey, water, sea salt & pepper. Whisk til throughly mixed. Pour over the bean salad mixture and toss well. Let stand in refrigerator for 1 plus hours, and serve!

*Note: This chilled salad is better when it’s been marinating for several hours or even overnight.

If your feeling crazy bold (Hot Chic Style) as I normally am, you can add other spices to the mix for a little kick. I like Chipotle Seasoning, Smoked Paprika and even Fajita Seasoning. I often do this to change it up. BE CREATIVE and experiment!

Bon Appetit!