Apple balsamic vinagrette....

It has been quite a while since I last posted, but as I was cooking up some food to take to friends I made up a new salad dressing and it turned out quite tasty! It is based off of a Poppy Seed Dressing recipe I found recently.

Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp kosher salt [less if you use fine salt]
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup sliced apple [I used a potato peeler for the slices]
• 1 cup olive oil

1. Place first 5 ingredients into a blender. Blend on high until sugar is dissolved and the mixture is more or less liquefied.
2. While blender is still running, slowly pour olive oil into blender until dressing emulsifies. It should become thicker and more opaque once it is ready.
3. Put into a jar or container and refrigerate until ready to use!

I am putting this over a salad that has goat cheese crumbles, dried cranberries, pecan chips, and mixed salad greens.

Enjoy!

Buffalo Chicken Chili

I promised to post the winning chili from today's chili cookoff!! Totally did not expect to win, but had so much fun! This chili definitely has some kick, and for those of you who really love spice - feel free to kick it up another couple notches :D I don't have any pictures for now since I expected to be taking some chili home with me but the crock pot was ladled clean :D

Buffalo Chicken Chili

This recipe fills a 7 qt. crock pot.

Prepare meat:
5 - 5.5 LBs Fresh Chicken Thighs - keep fat on & bones in for initial cooking
2 T Butter
1/2 cup water
salt & pepper

Rinse chicken thighs off with water then pat dry w/ paper towel. Take butter and grease crock pot. Place chicken thighs, skin facing up, in the crock pot. Then pour water over the top and season top with salt & pepper. Cook on high for 1 hour. Then cook for another 8-9 hours on low.

**Tip: don't peek in on the meat during the 7-9 hours - you lose 30 mins cook time each time you peek :P**

After cooking, take off all skin and fat and remove bones. Then pull the meat apart into bite sized pieces.

Chili:
4 T extra virgin olive oil [EVOO]
Shredded chicken thigh meat
1 can pinto beans [15 oz], rinsed and drained
5 Large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
7-8 ribs celery with leafy tops, finely chopped
1 Large yellow onion, chopped [used about 3/4 of the onion]
8 cloves garlic
2 T smoked sweet paprika
3 T Southwest Chipotle seasoning [Mrs. Dash]
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
4 cups [32 oz] Chicken stock
1 1/2 cups Frank's Hot Sauce [or your fav hot sauce]
2 cans tomato sauce [15 oz]
2 cans stewed or fire-roasted tomatoes [15 oz]

Turn crock pot on high & let it get warm. Add EVOO & Garlic. Once you start smelling the garlic add meat and stir. Then add carrots, onion, celery, paprika, chipotle seasoning, bay leaves and salt & pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7-8 mins.

Add chicken stock, hot sauce, tomato sauce and tomatoes. Put lid on crock pot and let the chili come to a bubble - continue to stir every so often. Let it simmer for 10-15 mins and let flavors come together. Once hot, serve w/ garnish below.

Garnish:
1 bag Tortilla chips
8 oz container blue cheese - crumbled
16 oz sour cream

Mix 8 oz blue cheese w/ sour cream. Put a spoonful of mixture on top of chili and serve w/ crumbled tortilla chips on top.

If you aren't a fan of blue cheese you can also take ranch seasoning and stir it into the sour cream. As a healthier substitute, you can use greek yogurt [plain yogurt] instead of sour cream.