Low-Cal White Chili

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Make sure to have the lime!

With all the cold weather we’ve been having here in the Hole, I decided it was high time I make a big, warm, comforting pot of chili. Where did I start? The internets of course! I also needed something low-fat since spring is coming and I am well on my way to having one of these:

Thanks Kimmy

 Source

Also, Bryan and I have a trip to VEGAS planned! Allegiant Air rocked it out and the whole shambangle only set us back less than $800 bucks. Holler at yer boy. 

 I found a series of chili recipes at Cooking Light that were all low-fat but sounded delicious. I decided to go with the White Chili recipe, but I made quite a few modifications.

Nat’s White Chili

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons canola oil *I used vegetable.
  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 large) *I used half a yellow and half of a red.
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 5 teaspoons green hot pepper sauce (such as Tabasco) *I used Siracha instead.
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 2 tablespoons stone-ground cornmeal
  • 1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
  • 1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt  *I used low-fat sour cream.
  • 2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions (about 1)
  • Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic to pan; cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add broth, hot pepper sauce, salt, and chicken to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove chicken from broth mixture; cool.

2. Add cornmeal and beans to broth mixture, stirring with a whisk; simmer 15 minutes. Mash about 1/4 cup beans against side of pan. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces. Add chicken to pan; simmer 5 minutes or until mixture thickens, stirring frequently. Top each serving with yogurt; sprinkle with green onions. Serve with lime wedges, if desired.

Bryan’s Pancakes

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I’ll admit it. I’ve never been a huge pancake fan. Gimme a big bowl of piping-hot oatmeal or an oversized mug filled with Lucky Charms and I am a happy camper, that was until I tried one of Bryan’s from-scratch pancakes. I first experienced the pillowy goodness on my way to work, early one morning. Bryan had woke-up very early that morning to ski the pass (obviously) and had prepared pancakes before he left as pre-skiing fuel. Being the amazing boyfriend that he is, he lovingly left a warm pancake in the pan for me. Since I was in a huge rush that morning (as I often am), I only had time to throw the soft disc into a sandwich bag before running out the door. No syrup, no butter, no powdered sugar. The elusive naked pancake. As I was driving to work, I carefully removed the bag from my purse and tore off a bite-sized chunk to tide me over until I got to work to enjoy it to the fullest capacity. It was everything I never knew I wanted and everything I needed. It was soft, perfectly chewy, not too sweet and well…perfect. I got to work and devoured the entire thing in less than 2 minutes. The best part about these babies? They keep you satiated  for hours upon hours. Bryan has since made these 3 times and last weekend, I was able to capture their udder perfection on camera. Ahhhh, enjoy!

Enjoying a homeade pancake at my desk

Dry Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 tbls granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/8 tsp salt

Wet

  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 and 1/2 tbls cooking oil
  • Syrup

 In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix. In a separate bowl combine milk and cooking oil, beat in egg. Add milk and egg mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until only slightly chunky. Pour pancake badder onto nonstick pan on medium low heat. Flip and enjoy!

Nan’s Chicken Divan

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Nan enjoying delicious fro-yo

 

Ingredients:

  •  2 flat double chicken breasts
  • 1-2 large bunches broccoli – lightly steamed
  • 2 cans cream of chicken soup
  • 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
  • 1/2 – 3/4 cup mayonnaise
  • scant curry powder to taste
  • 1/2 – 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 stick margarine (I use much less)
  • 1/2 bag Pepperidge Farm Herb stuffing mix

Steam (boil) chicken until white, remove all bones and cut up into bite size pieces. Steam broccoli and layer with chicken in casserole dish or 2 qt. glass baking dish. Mix soup, lemon juice, mayo and curry powder. Pour over chicken and broccoli. Cover with grated cheese. Melt margarine in fry pan and mix stuffing mix until slightly greasy. Cover top of casserole with stuffing. Bake at 375 – 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Enjoy!

Bryan’s From Scratch Pizza

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One of the greatest things about making pizza from scratch is that YOU control everything about it. You can pile on the veggies and go light on the cheese if you’re watching calories. Or you can pile on fun toppings. Living here in Jackson Hole we have some interesting options right at our fingertips, like ground bison… it makes an excellent pizza topping, believe me!

Bryan has been making pizza dough and sauce from scratch for some time now and has the process perfected. Now that his legendary pizza is blog-worthy we literally eat it ALL the time, maybe once or twice a week. Here it is, straight from Mr. Bryan Nash.

Bryan’s Basic Pizza Dough

  • 2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
  • 1 tbls active yeast
  • 1 tbls sugar
  • 1 tbls EVOO
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 cup warm water

 In a measuring cup add 1 cup of warm water, add yeast and sugar, stir till yeast is dissolved, let sit for about 10 minutes until the yeast starts to bubble. In a large mixing bowl add flour and salt, mix, make bowl in flour for water, yeast mixture. Add water, then EVOO, mix to smooth, doughy consistency. Then place in oiled bowl, cover with a clean towel and let sit until dough doubles in size.

Bryan’s (not so) Secret Pizza Sauce:

  • 4 oz can tomato paste
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1/4 white onion
  • 4 large basil leaves
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tbls EVOO
  • salt and pepper to taste

In a sauce pan on low/medium heat add tomato paste. In a food processor, chop tomoto, onion, basil, and garlic until only slightly chunky, then add to sauce pan with EVOO and salt and pepper. Bring to low boil, then remove from heat and refrigerate for 2 hours to let flavors settle.

Enclosure Ice Coulior

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We left the trailhead on Saturday at about 4:30pm and made it to the Lower Saddle by 9:00pm with our HEAVY packs. Not long after we settled into our campsite I quickly fell asleep and stirred little until my alarm went off at 4:00am. We were geared up and ready to go by 5:00 and were able to find the beginning of the (very tricky) Valhalla Traverse. The Valhalla Traverse follows a ledge system which curves around behind The Grand Teton and ends above Valhalla Canyon and on the NW side of The Enclosure and The Grand. However, it wasn’t until 6:00am that we were able to follow the very faint climbers trail and find the cairns marking the way along the traverse. It was by far the most interesting and intense “approach” to a climb I have ever done.

The Valhalla Traverse in and of itself is a mountaineering endeavor. Anywho, by the time we reached The Enclosure Ice Couloir we had long since come to the conclusion that it was too late to climb the Black Ice Couloir safely and this 900 vertical foot strip of ice would be a worthy consolation prize. The Enclosure Ice Couloir is a Grade 4 alpine climb (Emmons Glacier on Mt. Rainier is a Grade 2) involving a difficult approach, route finding, rock climbing, and (of course) significant ice climbing. It took us 3.5 hours to climb the full 5 pitches, about 1,000ft (the last 100 feet was compact snow).

 I lead the 1st, 3rd, and 5th pitch of the climb. We do a leap frog type of maneuver when doing these types of ice climbs for speed and efficiency. It was magnificent climbing and it felt great to be climbing ice again (it is a hard thing to explain but there’s just something about it that is SOOO much fun).

 Two long rappels and some down climbing got us back to the Valhalla Traverse where we walked back to our campsite on the Lower Saddle. Both Jeremy and I were elated about climbing one of “the classics” and celebrated in our usual fashion at Dornans in the shadow of the Tetons. All and all, just another incredible day in the mountains!

Apocolypse Coulior

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Yesterday, January, 30th, Jeremy Lupp and I skied the coveted Apocalypse Couloir off of Prospector Peak in Death Canyon. Jeremy suggested this route to me last Friday after he had got a glimpse of it while ice climbing on Prospector Falls the day before. The Apocalypse Couloir is truly a Teton Classic and one of the steepest and most hazardous ski lines in the range. We started out from Jackson a little after 7:00 a.m. and were skinning from the Death Canyon trail by 8:10. It was a relatively warm morning and we made quick work of the well laid skin track past the Phelps Lake overlook and into the canyon. My first glimpse of the couloir was a memorable one, it looked steep…very steep. While I have spent much of the past two winters ice climbing in Death Canyon I had not known of this ski line until recently. Shortly after 10 a.m. we were making our way up the cone beneath the Apocalypse.

 It was warm but the narrow NE facing couloir remains well shaded. After re-hydrating and refueling at the top of the cone we began the long bootpack up the couloir. The snow was firm in some areas and deep powder in others which made for quite a workout. After an hour and 1,000 feet of elevation gain we had reached the “crux” or narrowest choke of the couloir, only 4 feet wide, icy and about 60 degrees. After navigating the crux we continued up the couloir and then turning left to climb the South Fork of the Apocalypse.

 At approximately 1:15 p.m. we were kicking out a ledge large enough to take a break and put on our skis for the exciting descent. The air was crisp and cold in the shade of Prospector Peak above as we discussed our ski route and how we would navigate the narrow crux. We decided that we would have to remove our skis, stow them on our packs and downclimb the precarious ice choke. With the decision made and nothing left to do but begin our ski descent we set off down the couloir. The snow was well condensed and stable which eased our minds of the potential for avalanches but also made for fast, exhilarating turns. Jeremy stopped a couple hundred feet above the crux of the route to stow his skis before the couloir rolled over to steeper terrain. I decided to leave my skis on and gingerly make my way to just above the narrows. This proved to be much faster and surprisingly comfortable as I had no problem keeping an edge on the softening snow. A quick downclimb of 40 feet or so lead me below an ice bulge where I could kick out an area to once again put on my skis and continue the descent. Jeremy was soon reattaching his skis as well and I handed him the camera to video my turns down the steep, narrow couloir. It was by far the most aesthetic line I have ever skied, the beautiful blue ice on my right playing contrast to the monochrome granite walls on my left. Half way down the couloir I stopped at a small alcove where I yelled up to Jeremy to start his descent. Even on Teli-skis Jeremy made great turns down the tight chute and stopped next to me for a minute to share his jubilation at skiing the beautiful line. The walls of the couloir then widened and eventually gave way to the cone below Prospector Falls and the Apocalypse. The snow was warm and soft and we were soon across the creek. We then paused to gaze up at our accomplishment, a tiny sliver of snow tucked in the mass of rock of Prospector Peak.

The skiing out of Death Canyon on the hard skin track made for a quick return to the trailhead. Shortly after 4 p.m. we were honoring our successful day in the park in the usual manner, with cold beer and whiskey at Dornans, then burgers with my girlfriend Natalie at the Cadillac Grill. A perfect day in Jackson Hole.

Natalie vs “The Pass”

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I awoke early that day, about 5 am. Tired and in an affectionate, cuddly mood, I begrudgingly hoisted my warm body out of Bryan’s inviting bed and began dressing myself for the quick drive to my house. After slipping into many layers of ski attire, pulling my blond hair back into a ponytail and refreshing my mascara smudged face, I felt confident and ready to go. Bryan arrived promptly as always and after a series of unfortunate mishaps such as forgetting my ski-backpack, smacking Bryan in the face with the ski-backpack and a minor that-time-of-the-month emotional episode, we were on our way. The sun was rising, meaning I didn’t need to use my newly purchased head lamp and the time was approximately 6:15 am. Skis strapped tightly to my back, ski boots fastened and ipod cranking, Bryan and I made our way up the bootpack with high spirits and smiles on our snow-kissed faces. My dear Bryan can easily ascend the bootpack in about 40 minutes from bottom to top. We estimated the process would take the two of us together roughly 1 hour, 30 minutes. Just about 10 minutes into this process, my body is already feeling the effects of climbing this icy stairmaster. I realize that my lungs are working harder than a two-bit hooker the day before her rent is due. My arms are screaming louder than a fresh lobster submerged in boiling water. And my booty? Let’s not even go there. After multiple stops where I was barely able to catch my breathe and countless hard-core Jacksonites surged past us, I looked sweetly up to Bryan and asked, “Are we at least over half-way through?”. His bluntness hit me like a mack truck, “We’re allllmost half way.” Great.

The slow process of climbing this never-ending white staircase seemed to drag on forever. Minutes felt like hours. Steps felt like miles. Bryan was not only making the same movements but also packing the snow firmly into the foot holes to try and ensure my balance while I huffed and puffed along side. He could have sang an opera and I could barely speak. Finally, my eyes rose and I could see Bryan at the top of the pass, gazing down upon the valley. Success! I. Had. Done it.

Happy to be rid of the burden of carrying two large skis on my back, I excitedly slid into my bindings with ease. Little did I know, I would be stepping into those bindings many more times on the seemingly short trip down. Any experienced skier or snowboarder will sing the praises of skiing untracked powder the day after large pillow-like flakes fall from the sky. The ground becomes blanketed by thick layers of velvety, flour-like clouds which skis and snowboards glide across effortlessly. However, for a beginning skier, this is most definitely not the case. Being my 11th day of skiing since birth and having never skied powder before, I looked down the mountain and felt a wave a panic shock my body from the tips of my fingers to the tips of my toes. I looked over at Bryan, who could undoubtedly feel the fear oozing off of me and he smiled. As we began, the panic began to grow larger and larger. The snow did not feel light and cloud-like as others had described. As I slowly trekked down, boulders seemed to force my skis deeper and deeper into an ice-cold abyss. When it came time to make a turn, everything I learned about skiing went out the window and down I went. Legs flailing, arms outstretched, skis detached from my boots and doused in snow, Bryan was forced to crawl back up the mountain to locate and retrieve my missing ski and assist me in re-attaching it to my boot. The frustrating process of attempting and failing to complete simple pie-wedge turns continued to worsen as my body grew colder, sorer and my cheeks were stained with tears. Bryan’s encouraging words and positive energy allowed me to muster the strength to push through the complete and udder frustration I was feeling inside to finish the ski down physically un-harmed.

Riding home in Bryan’s warm Jeep with my snow-saturated jacket and stiff boots peeled from my body, I felt…well, relief. I had done it. Not only the most physically challenging feat I’d ever completed, but also the most emotionally and mentally draining as well. Although sniffling, sore, tired, cold and wet I was excited and happy at what I had just accomplished. Life is about challenging yourself to achieve great things. I used to think the crazy mountain-climbing citizens of Jackson Hole were silly. I guess now I realize the amazing power the mountains possess and their stirring ability to strengthen the mind and ultimately, elevate the soul.