I’ve been gaining some weight lately. I can’t really attribute it to the blog or anything in my life. I just love to eat and have been doing a bit too much lately. For those of you new to the blog, I’ve lost about 45 pounds in the last year and now I’m in good shape. I need to maybe lose about 15 more pounds, but I’m mostly happy at this weight. Everyone who comes into the restaurant who know me well tells me I should be done…I don’t believe them. I unfortunately can be a perfectionist sometimes and I oftentimes just plain reject compliments. Oh well, we all have our faults.
This week was fairly slow catering wise – we didn’t have any events for a change and of course it was a short week with the holiday. The restaurant was fairly busy, but still below my goals. It was a good week to catch up on things though and we continued to do some organization and deep cleaning. It’s a funny business. We are really slow in January, start to pickup up in February, will be pretty busy through May, super busy June, July and August, slow in September and October and then nuts for November and December. It works out that we make a ton of money for a few months and think, wow lets go buy something or go on a trip, then we have a slow month and the extra money seems to disappear again. It keeps us on our toes though and Nancy and I have a trip scheduled for San Fran later this month that we are really looking forward to.
We are known around town for our baking and I did have some fun taking pictures for our website this week of a few of the cakes we make. We did a Red Velvet Cake, our Signature Carrot Cake along with a Pumpkin Spice and Vanilla Layer Cake. Here are few pics for the fun of it!
So, back to eating too much! I have and so tonight I decided to cook something simple out of Cooking Light. I found this recipe in the recent issue and adapted it to meet my needs.
I thought it might be too spicy/hot at first glance, but it turned out perfect. It reminded me more of a soup though than a traditional chili, but what do I know? I can tell you though that Jacob never eats any chili I make and he said he really liked this one and in fact went back for seconds which is always the telltale sign that he likes it.
So give it a try and let me know how it goes. I think this might go well as a starter to some brisket or pulled pork or better yet as the main with some corn bread.
Also for those of you who cook a lot or have a food blog…how do you keep your caloric intake down? Especially those of you who bake!
White Bean Chili / Soup (serves 4)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 cups less-sodium, chicken broth
- 5 teaspoons of Tabasco (if you desire a less spicy version lower to 2 teaspoons)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons cornmeal
- 2 15 oz cans cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
- Greek or Plain Yogurt
- 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions for garnish
- Lemon wedges from one lemon
Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped onions, cook for five minutes until onions are softened, stirring often. Add garlic and cook for one more minute, make sure to stir so as not to burn the garlic.
Add chicken broth, Tabasco, salt and the chicken to the dutch oven. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove chicken and place on a plate to cool.
Add the cornmeal and beans to the broth. Using a whisk mix well. Simmer for another 15 minutes with the lid off. Mash about one quarter of the beans on the side of the pan. Shred the chicken with your hands and add to the pan. Simmer for another five minutes or until the chili thickens, stirring frequently.
Top each serving with yogurt, sprinkle with green onions and serve with lime wedges. Devour!
“Also for those of you who cook a lot or have a food blog…how do you keep your caloric intake down? Especially those of you who bake!”
Hahaha funny you should ask considering my latest post is called “time to sign up for fitness classes”. I like to eat waaay too much to give that up, so I try to offset my eating habits by exercising a lot. Also, I always try to bake something that I can give away, which usually isn’t hard to do ;]
Beautiful cake, by the way.
This is my first time to your blog, via foodgawker.com. I am the primary cook in my house, and I have found that I can eat anything I make, fattening or not, but just to limit my portion and then to get some exercise! Even if its just walking 2 or 3 times a week. I also have a few small hobbies that I work on when I get the urge to eat (more). Sometimes, if I feel really hungry before dinner, I down a glass of ice cold water. It helps to make me feel full, so I just don’t eat as much. Sometimes I just bake something to keep my mind and hands busy if I don’t want to do anything else. I love to eat, but I think more than that, I love to cook, so I try to focus on that rather than the food itself!
I’m sure hobbies are a hard thing if you are running a restaurant, so I’m not sure what the solution would be for you, except just to limit your portions and then keep your hands busy when you feel the urge to eat more!
I give it all away after I’ve taste-tested only 1 slice/piece. I have 3 different jobs, and they now all expect me to bring something in so I can’t eat it all!
I know I’m not in the restaurant business, but I’ve got a sure-fire way to help out on the quest to burn some dinner calories. Have my kids over for dinner. Seriously. They’ll have you UP and DOWN throughout dinner. It’s impossible to eat everything before it gets cold, and it makes you eat slower which fills you up quicker and you don’t eat as much. Let me know what days of the week you want them, and we’ll set up a schedule. ;-)
I love Cooking Light recipes for the most part and it has been a long time since I’ve tried one. This one looks really yummy. Thanks for sharing your adaptation.
I love, love, love to cook!!! Eating is pretty great, too. To keep the calories to a minimum, I try to sub low fat or fat free ingredients when it will work. I eat smallish (a.k.a. serving size) portions and my husband usually takes care of the rest – even if it means he has the leftovers for lunch and snack. I work in a small, family-ish office, so when I have great amounts of baked treats or leftovers, I bring them to work with me (much to my co-workers’ delight).
It’s funny that you decided upon white bean chilli for your latests post, because after making traditional chilli with your corn bread the other day, I was going to look for a white bean chlli recipe. Thanks! I still have some cornmeal and wanted to try your cornbread again, so this will be perfect. Will probably make it some time this week and will let you know how it goes.
Your pics are beautiful! I am still waiting on an invite to Reno to experience your cooking (and certainly Nancy’s baking – that cake looks delicious) first hand!
Love,
Marie
Great soup! I know what you mean about keeping weight down when you love food. It is hard so I work out as much as I can. I am on a healthy food recipe kick lately and my latest blog posts all have been lighter.
Great looking soup. I try to exercise daily. I usually eat small “meals” throughout the day…a yogurt, have an apple later, cut up veggies, granola bar, etc. and then we usually cook dinner together at night. It is just me and my husband. When I bake of course I have to sample the treats, but we share too!!
I’m a baker, too! Even after using fondant and gumpaste and all the fancy bells & whistles, I still love the haphazard frosting with a fresh flower look above all else. That one up there is perfect. Nothing in the world could be more beautiful!
Oh Joe! The cakes are BEAUTIFUL! So simple and lovely. And the soup looks great! -I LOVE Cannellini beans.
As for keeping the weight down, I did so well last year, but I now have about 10 I want to lose too, even though I am pretty much the thinnest of the Moms. I’ve always been ultra thin and so to have any extra weight bothers me, even if people tell me I look good too.
I constantly play the game of is it worth it. I judge every morsel of food that goes into my mouth, and weigh if it is worth it to eat it vs. how much it will take to work it off. Sometimes I give in and just let go, but most of the time it helps me stay good. It might sound neurotic, but really the bottom line for me is that it makes you not eat just to eat, you know, mindless eating, munching, grazing… That’s my tip!
Congrats o your weight loss! I have gained 10 lbs since blogging! Agghhhhh
Wonderful looking soup! I am lucky-ish in that my husband doesn’t really like desserts, so I only get to cook them for company usually. Lowers the calorie intake a bit. And I try not to drink alcohol during the week (although a glass of wine with my dinner is my favourite thing).
[…] you missed the first two versions you can find them here – Springfield Chilli & White Bean & Chicken Chili. Keep in mind that all three of these recipes are adapted from […]