Intermittent Fasting Diet Plan Example

I made this Chicken, Black Bean, Avocado, and Radish Salad with Lime and Cilantro several times to get the flavors just right, and when I was making the final version (with the addition of radishes for color and a little crunch) my brother Mark, his wife Lisa, and their daughter-in-law Lindy dropped by just as I was starting the recipe.  I convinced them to hang around while I made the salad and took photos, which might be the best excuse ever for a rather messy-looking bowl of salad that could have been styled a bit more carefully!  Being close enough for family members to drop in is just one of the things I absolutely love about the new house.  And by the way, I fed my visitors this salad, as well as leftovers from a casserole that hasn't made it to the blog yet, and both dishes were definitely a hit!

(Salt Lake has gotten about 24 inches of snow in the last 24 hours, and I could use some comfort food, so this delicious Chicken, Black Bean, and Cilantro Soup sounds perfect for A Month of Daily Phase One Recipes. This is a quick and easy recipe, especially if you have some leftover rotisserie chicken in the fridge.)

If you're a regular reader you know I'm constantly going through the archives of the blog and updating old posts with new photos.  And if you want to see how much this recipe for Chicken, Black Bean, and Cilantro Soup needed a photo make-over, just look below at the original photo, with soup spilled all over the edge of the bowl! I'm still not the greatest photographer, but I'm leaving that photo here as proof that my photos are certainly  improving.

(Updated with better photos, plus instructions for using either dried or canned beans, February 2014.)  If you're someone who might be inclined to turn up your nose at the mention of lima beans, stay with me for a minute here.   I first made this soup with Florida Butter Beans, (a type of heirloom baby lima bean, also known as Calico Pole Beans) that I bought in San Francisco from Rancho Gordo Beans.  The Florida Butter Beans are creamy and delicious, and if you can find those (or something similar) I highly recommend making this soup starting with dried beans that you've soaked overnight.  But when I decided this recipe *must* have an updated photo, I decided to try it with canned butter beans from the supermarket, and I was happily surprised at how good it was that way too.  If you still can't wrap your mind around the idea of butter beans or lima beans, try the soup with a different type of white bean!

(This Black Bean Chili with Lime and Cilantro that can be made in a slow cooker or on the stove is today's pick for the month of  Daily Phase One Recipes.  I've have a very hard time choosing just one favorite chili recipe, but this is definitely on my list of faves.  You can see all the recipes from the month by clicking Daily Phase One Recipes.  Check after the recipe for Phase One Flashbacks from this day in 2012 and 2013.)

One thing that can be frustrating about food blogging is that the greatest recipe in the world won't get much attention if the photo is bad, so I was happy to finally take new photos for this favorite slow cooker chili with lime and cilantro.  The ultra flavorful chili includes a can of refried pinto beans as part of the base, which makes it extra thick, and I've been enjoying this the last few days with a dollop of low-fat sour cream on top.  Lime and cilantro are two of my favorite ingredients, but if you're not a cilantro fan I'd replace it with thinly sliced green onions, and if you don't have a crockpot, just skip the step of reducing the beef stock, and you can make this in a regular pot on top of the stove.  I hope lots of you will try this; it just might become your favorite easy chili recipe!

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