And the letter of the day is C

I started thinking about what to do with yesterday's chicken last night and flipped through several cookbooks. My options were quite limited since I had already diced up the chicken, but I didn't have much of a choice since what was left was two breast halves and a slice of a third. What else was I going to do with the leftover chunk? I ended up settling on another Rachael Ray recipe, this time from the Express Lane book.

This recipe actually ended up being pretty easy and definitely worthy of being in her Express Lane book. I went over to Jim's house again this morning, and I diced/minced up onion, red bell pepper, and garlic. Since the chicken was done yesterday, that was pretty much all of the prep work. I also started on Ina's Cheddar and Jalapeno Cornbread by throwing together the dry ingredients (cornmeal, flour, sugar, and baking powder). I attempted to halve the recipe, but I forgot when it came to the sugar, so I put in too much. I attempted to scoop half of it back out and was only partially successful, since even though I didn't mix them together, the sugar kind of melted right into the other dry ingredients.

During lunch, I went to FoodMaxx on my way to Target for a wedding present. I scooped up a few ingredients needed for the recipe, including cilantro, cumin, jalapenos, and lime. I also got reduced fat margarine sticks, whole milk, and heavy cream, because they were really good prices. I figure I'll be needing either milk or cream for the yet-to-be-decided Easter dessert I will be making this Sunday.

When I got home I started the rest of the Chunky Chicken and Corn Chili with Citrus Salsa. I browned the chicken for a few minutes. Jim took over the cooking part while I finished up the chopping, getting all of the other ingredients together, and instructing him from the sidelines. After the chicken browned, he scooped them out into a bowl and then cooked up the veggies I had chopped this morning along with some cumin, chili powder, salt, and pepper that I measured out. I chopped up the jalapeno, remembering to use a glove this time. The problem is that I wear contacts and usually the jalapeno juices seep into my skin and I'm dying when I take them out and put them in the following morning. I also worked on the citrus salsa. I started by peeling the orange, slicing it across and then dividing the slices into eighths. The jalapeno went into the mixture along with some lime zest/juice and cilantro. By then, the vegetables were cooked, so I tossed in a tablespoon of flour and then poured into 3 cups of chicken stock, the chicken and frozen corn, bringing it up to a boil before simmering it for 10 minutes.





Jim was off the hook at this point, but he started cleaning up while I finished up the cornbread. I microwaved some butter, beat in a couple of eggs, and added a cup of nonfat half and half (yes, it's practically used up at this point). I incorporated the wet ingredients into the dry ones and finally stirred in a cup of low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, chopped scallions, and diced jalapenos. It sat for 20 minutes and then I put it into an 8 x 8 ceramic baking dish, topping it with more cheese and chopped scallions before baking it for 35 minutes at 35 minutes.

While it baked, Jim and I finished watching Feast of Love, one of the more depressing movies I've seen. It was . . . interesting. Quirky, touching at times, and also very dysfunctional. It did show many different sides of love. But at the same time, I'm not sure I wanted to watch an entire movie about how your heart can be broken in so many different ways.

Anyway, I tried to make Ina's cornbread once before and it didn't turn out so hot. It wasn't the Barefoot Contessa's fault, since I used canned chile peppers last time, thinking that it'd be okay. I was pretty wrong on that count. Jim didn't care for it and over half of it ended up getting thrown out. The chiles clashed badly with the bread and it was a rather funny result. I didn't think it was absolutely horrible, but Jim wasn't a fan and didn't want to eat any of it. But I decided to cook it the way it was supposed to be made before giving up on the recipe, which ended up being a good thing, since we both loved it this time around. It was soft, light, and crumbly. It rose more than last time and was way fluffier, so I think I must have overmixed it last time. The jalapenos weren't too hot at all and just infused the bread with tons of flavor. Even with the lightened ingredients, there was still plenty of fat in the there, but at least it wasn't quite so bad. Jim ate almost a quarter of the 8 x 8 dish. So I'd say that he was glad that I didn't give up on the recipe either.



The chicken stew ended up being a lot more like a chunky soup than anything else. It was supposed to be served over rice, but I wanted to make the cornbread since like the chili, it had jalapenos, I got to use up more scallions, and from what I've read, chili and cornbread are a natural pairing. I finished up the stew by tossing in some chopped parsley and cilantro and served it in a soup bowl with a bit of salsa spooned over the top and a plate of cornbread on the side. Jim said it was good and had a nice kick to it. Even though I made two boneless skinless chicken breast meals in a row, I was hoping that the flavors would make them different enough so that it was okay and not too repetitive. Of course, I'll have to give him a break from chicken once he gets through the large amounts of leftovers in the fridge . . . I want to start barbecuing soon now that the weather is getting nice.