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Kale & White Bean Soup

Fresh Kale lends a taste of summer’s bounty to this lightened soup.  Aromatic vegetables such as turnips, garlic, onions and bell peppers together with cannellini beans and lean chicken sausage meat balls; add great flavor and plenty of vitamins while keeping the fat in check. What a wonderful way to eat your vegetables!

Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 Cook Time: 15

Ingredients

• 6 links Chicken Sausage (casing remove and make meat balls)
• ½ each Bell Peppers – Red, Yellow, Orange (diced)
• 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
• 1 large Turnip, diced
• 1 32 oz. Chicken Broth – low sodium and fat free
• 1 14.5 oz. can Cannellini Beans (rinsed and drain)
• 1 bunch of Kale ( about 1 pound – stems removed and chopped)
• 1 medium Onion – diced
• Olive oil for sautéing
• Salt and pepper
• chopped scallions for garnish
• shredded parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Steps

Make the sausage meat balls – take one sausage link and twist to squeeze the sausage meat out of the casing and mold 1” meat balls with your hands.  Each link should yield about 5 – 6 meat balls.  Place on a plate until ready to cook.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, add one teaspoon of olive oil and add meat balls.  Sear on all sides (this should take about 3 minutes.)  Then remove and set aside.

In large soup pot, over medium heat add a little olive oil then add onions and garlic.  Sauté until onions and garlic are tender.

Add chicken broth and 1 cup of water to sauté onions and garlic.  Then bell peppers, diced turnips, cannellini beans, and kale.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 - 8 minutes.

Add sausage meat balls and let simmer another 2 – 3 minutes.  Serve soup – garnish with fresh chopped scallions and shredded cheese if desired.

Creamy Chicken Corn Chowder

When it’s cool outside in South Florida, nothing’s more warming inside than a bowlful of chowder.  This one is as good as it gets; thick, rich, chunks of tender chicken breast, plenty of fresh corn, chunks of potatoes and smoky bites of bacon floating throughout.  An ear full of goodness in every bowl, my special ingredient is saltine crackers to help thicken the chowder.

Prep Time: 25 minutes            Cook Time: 45 – 50 minutes     Serves: 6

Ingredients 

• 2 boneless chicken breast, cut in ½” cubes
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ¼ cup cornstarch
• 3 slices of bacon
• ½ onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pound small red potatoes, cut in cubes
• 2 ½  cups low sodium chicken broth
• 2 packages, frozen corn about 10 ounces each
• 2 ½ cups of half & half cream or 2% Milk
• 1 cup crumbled saltine crackers ( about 18 squares)
• Salt & pepper to season chicken- about ½ teaspoon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon minced parsley

Recipe Directions

1. Place chicken cubes in a Ziploc bag and add cornstarch salt and pepper, seal bag and toss until all chicken is coated with cornstarch.  Once coated, remove and place chicken on a plate.

2. In large skillet over medium – high heat add olive oil, and then add chicken cubes to sauté until brown on each side.  Do not overcook chicken; it will be added to the chowder at the end to finish cooking. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

3. Cut bacon into strips with kitchen shears.  Then add bacon strips to 4 – 5 quart saucepan or soup pot.  Cook bacon until nice and crisp, then remove and place on a paper towel to drain.

4. In the same pan sauté onions and garlic until soft, about 2 – 3 minutes. Then add chicken broth and potatoes; bring to boil then reduce heat and let simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10 – 15 minutes.

5. Take frozen corn and put in colander and rinse with warm water; then drain.  Put cracker crumbs into medium bowl; stir in half & half cream. Let stand until crackers are soft, about 5 minutes.

6. Remove about a cup of the cooked potatoes from the saucepan and transfer to a blender, then add crackers/cream mixture and nutmeg and blend until smooth.

 

7. Add potato/cracker mixture back to saucepan; add corn and chicken, season to taste with salt and pepper. Let the chowder simmer for about 10 minutes.  Then serve chowder in your favorite soup bowls.  Top with fresh parsley and bacon.

Wonderful Adventure at the World Food Championships

World Food Championships 2014 

This year WFC Grand Prize @ the Final Table was $100,000.00

http://www.worldfoodchampionships.com/news/431/san-diego-chef-crowned-2014-world-food-champion

What excitement last week November 12th - 18th.

2014 World Food Championship (9) Categories

• Barbecue
• Chili
• Sandwich
• Burger
• Dessert
• Bacon
• Recipe
• Pasta
• Seafood

The recipe category was based on the theme " Cheese". 

Judges were told that every recipe must feature and highlight cheese as the star of the dish.

 Kenmore Kitchen Coliseum 

My Signature Dish - This Isn't A Philly Cheesesteak

The Signature Dish is intended to allow the cook to put their best foot forward. Show the judges what you can do best with cheese.

After the signature round my sandwich put me in the Top Twenty coming in at # 13 with a score of 81.75%

Structured Build Dish  Picadillo w/Chili Cheese

The theme for Structured Build Dish was South of the Border. Mexican cuisine is a culinary favorite.  This round separates the proverbial "men from the boys"  by creating an even footing or structure, which will show our proven culinary skills.  After this round, my Picadillo earned me 87.875% and moved me from the Top 20 to the Top Ten 7th place.

Infused Ingredient Round - Cheese & Potatoes

Cheesy Potato Mushroom Gratin score 78.44%

The infused ingredient for the Recipe Category was Potatoes.  This round will show off a cook's culinary creativity and ability to pair featured ingredients in a manner that both creates an impressive finished product and also highlights cheese and potatoes. Now not expecting to make it to the top ten, I had to create a recipe on the fly to fix for this round.  My combined score for all three entries was 80.99%, which placed 4th in Top Ten Recipe Category.

http://www.worldfoodchampionships.com/scores/competition/7

I had so much fun doing this and I looking forward to next years 2015 World Food Championship which will be held in Kissimmee Florida November 1st - 8th 2015.