Chicken Chili Verde Soup

 

Last year I had a BUMPER crop of tomatillos.  They are delicious, and I absolutely love them, but I was running out of ideas. I decided to combine them with my healthy pepper crop and make a huge batch of chili verde sauce.

 

 

Actually, I ended up making several batches of chili verde sauce. We have been able to enjoy the sauce throughout the fall and winter; it’s been fabulous. We were looking for some new things to do with it, and one cold wintery day, soup came to my mind.

 

 

There’s something wonderful about a bowl of warm soup when it’s cold and rainy. It’s even better when the soup brings a little heat with it as well. I will say, this soup isn’t necessarily very spicy, but it has some great pepper tones and you could definitely add some more jalepeno to it as well. Kick the spice level up a notch.

 

 

I like to make this when I’m in a pinch for time as well. You can use frozen chicken pieces if you don’t have fresh or shredded chicken on hand, which happens a lot in our house. You can also use different beans, or add more. I have tried this with black and pinto together and it’s wonderful! I’m all about the experimenting and mixing it up.

 

 

Chicken Chili Verde Soup

 

 

 

2 Tbs EVOO

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, sliced

2 cloves garlic

3 c chicken broth

1-2 c water

16 oz chili verde sauce (homemade recipe)

3 pieces fresh or frozen chicken, or 2c shredded chicken

1 15oz can beans, pinto or great northern

1 c frozen corn

½ c sour cream (optional)

 

 

 

In a large cast iron pot, heat the oil at medium-high heat. Add the onion and allow to brown and caramelize a bit, about 3-4 minutes. Add the celery and allow that to cook 3-4 minutes to sweat. Add the garlic and let that cook for 1-2 minutes.

 

Add the chicken broth, the chili verde sauce, and one cup of the water. Bring that to a boil and then add the fresh or frozen chicken to the pot to cook. Put the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes; long enough for the chicken to cook through.

 

*If you’re using cooked shredded chicken, skip this step and move on. Pull the chicken pieces out and set aside. Add the beans and the corn to the pot and bring it back to a boil. Meanwhile shred the chicken and add it back to the pot. Put the lid on and let everything cook for another 10-15 minutes to help build the flavors. If your soup needs more water, add it now.

 

Finally, add the sour cream and mix everything together. Once the sour cream is well incorporated, you are ready to serve. Enjoy with some delicious corn bread or crunchy tortilla chips.

 

 

 

Honey Honey Stars Quilt

 

So… what do you do when you have fabric left from a quilt you made years ago and haven’t found the perfect project for it yet? For me, I struggle throwing the leftovers into the scrap pile if it’s enough to make something else. But what to make?

Many years ago, I took a jelly roll class at a LQS using Kate Spain’s Honey Honey. To complete the quilt, I had to buy a supplement pack that I didn’t completely use. The leftovers went into a project bag and I didn’t think about it for a long time.

As I continue to try and work through old fabrics and projects, I pulled this one out and was inspired. I went onto my quilting program and designed a block that used white to balance out the minimal amount of fabric I had.

I was so happy that I was able to get 14 blocks out of the leftover fabrics. To make the quilt top a little bigger, and to create more white contrast, and made the sashing pretty wide. I laid the pieces out and was bummed there was still a little bit of fabric left.

 So… I decided to make stars with what was left, and they fit perfect as corners to my sashing. They also create a nice little shimmer of interest through the top. Finally, I needed a border to pull the whole thing together. I looked in my stash and was excited to find I still had some leftovers from the backing of the first quilt too. P-E-R-F-E-C-T

 When it came to the backing, I found a great fabric on the sale rack at the LQS that is a honeycomb pattern with pinks and purples. It couldn’t work out any better.

 For the quilting, I wanted to make a swirling pattern and used my drawing chalk to trace my lines to follow. Unfortunately, it won’t wash out even after multiple washes. I am still researching how to get it out, and I’m super bummed. Hopefully I’ll figure it out. For the rest of the quilt I used a simple meander, except for the border where I used the same swirling pattern as I did on the blocks.

The last step was the binding. I had a great two-tone pink zigzag fabric that was perfect for framing the finished product.

 

 

 I’m so happy I was able to put this one together. The original fabric holds a sweet place in my heart because it was used to make mydaughters first big-girl-bed quilt. Now I have another sweet finish that I love.

Bear Paw in the Honey Quilt

 

This is a long-delayed post about a beautiful quilt I made for my daughter so many years ago when she was about to move from the crib to the first big girl bed. I can’t believe I never put it in my blog, but when completing another quilt from the scraps, I realized the story and the quilt weren’t there. It is time to get this one in. 

 

 

In 2013-2014 I was looking for distractions. We found out when our daughter was born in 2012 that she was deaf. We have no family history, so it was a bit of a shock. We immediately started educating ourselves on all of it. I found websites to teach me sign language, I found kids shows for my son to watch that taught us all sign language. We also researched medical interventions, including cochlear implants.

 

 

We decided to go for it and we were thrown into a world on surgery, followed be lots and lots of therapy. It was very challenging mentally, but it was all totally worth it. Now she has access to hearing and speech but also knows sign language and is not afraid to not have her hearing access.

 

 

Okay, that was a longer story than I expected. The reason it matters in this instance is that I needed something I could distract myself with, and feel accomplished when I was finished. Quilting was a wonderful outlet that allowed me to really put everything aside and focus on this one thing.

 

 

My mom found a kit at a LQS that included instructions and a beautiful set of Moda Fabric called Honey, Honey. It was beautiful corals, blues, teals, and pinks with bees and honeycomb and flowers. The pattern was a bear paw block; very fitting with bees and honeycomb. I got to work and was able to get the blocks done pretty quickly.

 

 

Following the pattern, I added the sashing and the borders. It made for a very large twin quilt. It would be perfect for my daughter’s new bed. I used a large floral print from the collection for the backing as well as for the binding.

 

 

For the quilting, I used a stencil and chalk to create a floral themed pattern on each block that has points. I used it in the corners, and stretched it out on the borders. My machine and my arms were quite tired after all that.

 

 

The final touch was to put a label on the finished product. I did this with permanent fabric pens on a scrap from the project and hand stitched it onto the back. I finished it right in time for her to transition, and took a picture of it on her bed. She was very excited about her new big girl bed and the personalized quilt made for her.

 

 

Several years since and I’ve made many more quilts to adorn her bed. She still likes this one the best though, and I’m so glad I was able to make it for her.