Welcome to a progressive dinner date.  I know what you’re thinking, how modern and progressive of us.  And festive!  For the occasion I’ve partnered with HEB for their Cheer Dinner Party Sweepstakes.  You could win a gift card and prize pack of goodies! See the sweepstakes deets here.

So Monday and Tuesday, the lovely Jane made us appetizers to get the party started.  She made:

• Slow Cooker Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs 
• Baked Brie with Wine-Soaked Blueberries 

Umm, delish.  And now I’m continuing the party with…coconut oil biscuits!  And soup.

I came across the idea of coconut oil-ifying biscuits while on pinterest (aka the place of all good ideas) and decided it was a totally brilliant idea.  I know all you beauty people put coconut oil on your hair and skin, but I’d rather have it in cookies and biscuits.  It’s hard for me to make the transition from coconut oil in food to coconut oil in my hair.  It’s like how Andrew uses our baking soda to clean our sink and then I don’t want to use it in cookies.  I just want kitchen things to be kitchen things and cleaning things to be cleaning things.  

So these biscuits.  

They’re fluffy and to me taste like regular delicious biscuits.  I always find that biscuits have too much of a baking soda taste, so I left the baking soda out of this recipe.  Partly because I don’t like the taste and partly because I don’t like that Andrew had used the baking soda to clean the sink.  Whatever the reason, they came out great.

Last week I was having a Sunday afternoon meltdown and Andrew offered to do the grocery shopping for me, which is great and helpful and is a behavior I very much want to encourage him to do.  But he got like NO food.  He came back with chicken breasts, 5 lbs of fruit, eggs, cheddar cheese, greek yogurt and one bunch of celery.  I hate celery.  He hates celery.  It is the world’s most boring vegetable, unless (grandma tip–>) you are adding the celery leaves to your tuna salad.  

By the end of the week we had eaten omelets or take-out tacos for every dinner.  So we decided it’s best if I do the grocery store shopping.  AND 97% of the time I really enjoy grocery shopping.

All this to say I wish we would’ve had this soup then.  Originally I was going to call it a ‘white chicken chili,’ but turmeric has a way of turning things a color other than white.  Even though the soup has a bit of a yellow tinge to it, it’s tasty and not overly turmeric-y.  I promise.  I do not find turmeric to be the most delicious spice, so this isn’t a turmeric overload.  It’s just soul-warming and cozy.  Everything your sweater weather needs.

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Turmeric Chicken Chili with Coconut Oil Biscuits

Yield: serves 4-5

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

turmeric chicken chili
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded & chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 zucchini, sliced into 1" rounds and cut in half
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 cup shredded rotisserie chicken
2, 15-oz cans cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1/3 cup sharp white cheddar
toppings: chives, more cheddar

coconut oil biscuits
2 cups white whole wheat flour
3 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
4 tablespoons coconut oil, hard/not melted
1/2 cup cold milk

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450ºF.

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-low.  Add in onion and poblano pepper and cook for 10 minutes until softened, stirring frequently.  If bottom of pot is burning, add in ~1/4 cup chicken stock to deglaze the pot.  Then add in garlic and zucchini, cook for 5 minutes.  Add in all remaining soup ingredients, except cheese.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for at least 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make your biscuits.  In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and sea salt.  Add in hard coconut oil and use your fingers to incorporate the coconut oil into the flour until it resembles small beads.  Make a well in the center of your flour and pour in milk.  Combine until a dough forms (if dough isn't coming together because it is too dry, add in more milk 1 tablespoon at a time).  Dump dough onto a floured surface.  Quickly knead the dough for 10 seconds before pressing into 1" thick circle.  Use a 1 1/2" diameter circle-shaped cutter (a small cup/jar works great!) to make 10 biscuits.  Place on a greased baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes.

Stir cheese into your soup and scoop into serving bowls.  Serve soup topped with biscuits, cheddar and chives.

Tomorrow I’ll keep the party going with another holiday entree.  It rhymes with bizza.