Schnitzel With Noodles

Winter sports: one of the few redeeming aspects of the season.  This weekend some friends and I rented equipment and fulfilled a year-long goal of going snowshoeing.  It was a beautiful, clear day and, except for the heavily-trodden trail, the snow was pristine and totally untouched... that is, until we came along!  Overheating from the exertion and sunshine resulted in many snowball fight and snow angel-making breaks. 

This was (in my opinion) the most beautiful view of the whole hike.

Our destination was Big Springs and we were not disappointed.  They weren't frozen due to the swiftness of the water and the rocks in the stream bed were covered with a thick carpet of green moss, providing a sharp contrast with the white snow blanketing the ground and the taller boulders.  It was over two miles to the springs and tramping through the snow in heavy boots and snowshoes proved to be hungry work!  Luckily, we had a box of crackers between the seven of us to tide us over for the hike back.

The only picture of all seven of us.

We had a great time and I definitely hope to make a yearly tradition of it!  Best of all, it was fairly inexpensive (only nine dollars to rent the snowshoes).

I thought the following recipe that I recently tried out would be appropriate, since it's the perfect meal after a cold day of playing in the snow!  It's spicy, but even my roommates (who have a fairly low tolerance for spicy food) enjoyed it.  Still, if you don't like heat, leave out some of the peppers because this chile has a kick!  For those of you who don't normally like chile, this is a good recipe because it has more of a chunky stew texture, especially if you break the ground meat into large pieces.

Chipotle Chicken Chili

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 Anaheim chile, seeded and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander seed
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• 1 pound ground poultry (I used turkey)
• 2 chipotle chiles, minced
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from chipotles
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 16 ounce can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Instructions

1. Heat a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil, onions, celery, Anaheim peper, garlic, ginger, bay leaf, cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Sautee until the onions are tender and translucent (about 15-20 minutes).
2. Move the onions to the side and add the ground chicken. Press it down flat, and use a spatula to break it up into large chunks. Continue sautéing until the chicken is cooked. 
3. Add the chipotles, adobo sauce, chicken stock, and cannellini beans. Let the chili simmer uncovered over medium-low heat until it's thick (about 1 hour). Taste and add salt as needed.