Chili

The Recipe: From Cook This; Not That.

The Food: Husband doesn't even like chili, but he likes this.

What You Need:
1 T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2 heaping T chili powder
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef)
2 T tomato paste
1 oz dark chocolate (1 piece)
1 bottle or can of beer
1 can diced tomatoes, with juices (I like the petite diced)
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
salt and pepper to taste

Your Turn:
Chop the onion and toss it into a large stock pot in which your olive oil is already heating up. Mince the garlic and add that too.

Cook about 5 minutes over medium heat.

Add the 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano, 2 heaping T chili powder, 1/8 tsp cinnamon and 2 bay leaves. Cook until fragrant, about 3 more minutes.

Add ground turkey and 2 T tomato paste and stir with a wooden spoon. Cook until turkey is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.

Add 1 oz dark chocolate, 1 bottle beer, and the can of diced tomatoes. Turn heat to low, cover, and simmer about 30 - 45 minutes.

After it's cooked at least 30 minutes, it's a good time to throw it in the crock pot for a few hours if you have the time. Add the beans and corn, drained and rinsed, and let it cook in the crock pot on low for as long as you're able. (You can add any combination of beans and/or corn, as you prefer. Husband doesn't like beans, so I only do one can of pinto along with a can of corn. Substituting black beans for one of the types - or even just adding it - would be really good too!) An hour or two is good; all day works too. If you can't manage this, just add the beans and corn at this point, and simmer on low for a little longer, until it's all hot through.

Add salt and pepper. (Don't forget this like I often do!) Start with a small amount, taste, and add more as needed. You can also add hot sauce, if you like.

Serve over hot white rice with shredded cheddar cheese on top. Also yummy with tortilla chips!

Taco Casserole

The Occasion: Satisfying that taco craving, but with a new twist.

The Recipe: From Pillsbury's Annual Recipes 2009 cookbook.

How it Went: This seemed like an easy thing to make, but you can never be sure with something this straightforward. Sometimes the easy things are actually too easy for their own good and end up tasting totally blah. Also, Husband is never too thrilled when I set out to try something new, and I know he was nervous about this one. However, when I brought it piping hot to the table, and the taco-y aroma wafted through the room, I had a feeling it was all going to be OK. We both loved it.

What You Need:
1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 can refried beans
1 jar medium salsa
1 package taco seasoning mix
tortilla chips
1/2 green bell pepper
4 scallions
1-2 tomatoes, depending on your tomato preference
1 C shredded cheese (cheddar or colby jack or something similar)
1/4 C sliced black olives
shredded lettuce
sour cream

Your Turn:
Chop 1/2 green bell pepper. Slice 4 scallions from the white end about halfway up the green part. Dice up 1 or 2 tomatoes. I used just one, but if you like tomatoes more than me, use two. Set this mixture aside.

Cook 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a large skillet until brown. Drain fat.

Reduce heat to medium, then stir in 1 can refried beans, 1 jar medium salsa, and 1 package taco seasoning mix.

Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally.

In the bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish, crumble about 2 C tortilla chips. You basically want to cover the bottom of the dish completely. Top this with the meat and bean mixture from the skillet.

Over this, scatter your vegetable mixture.

Sprinkle 1 C shredded cheese, and 1/4 C chopped black olives on top of this.

Bake uncovered at 350 for 20-30 minutes until hot and bubbly.

Serve with shredded lettuce, sour cream, and additional tortilla chips.

Taco Salad

The Occasion: I had salsa and sour cream leftover from something else. Taco Salad was a perfect use for these things.

The Recipe: Improvised.

How it Went: This is always a smash hit. We love it.

What You Need:
ground turkey (1 lb)
1 packet taco seasoning
lettuce
tortilla chips
1 bell pepper (any color)
1 yellow onion
1 can black olives
shredded cheddar cheese
salsa
sour cream

Your Turn:
Cook ground turkey. Add taco seasoning as directed on packet.

In the meantime, shred up lettuce and prepare a bowl of tortilla chips.

Prepare a plate of chopped peppers, onion, and olives along with cheese, sour cream, and salsa.

Serve meat hot over a bed of lettuce with desired toppings.

Enjoy!

Hawaiin Stir Fry

The Date: 6 February 2012

The Occasion: Weeknight dinner

The Recipe: From Taste of Home’s 2011 Annual Recipes Cookbook. It was in the “Cooking for One or Two” section. Perfect of us, you would think. But I doubled it, and therefore defeated the whole purpose of the recipe. But it lasts longer this way.

How it went: This is a pretty good meal. A little strange, maybe, but it’s tastier than you might think. 

I added some Orange Ginger Sugar
from this set of gourmet sugars
Mom got me for Christmas.
Quite yummy!!

What You Need:
1 lb ground beef or turkey

1 onion

2 or 3 stalks celery

1/2 green pepper

Garlic

Butter or oil

1 can (12 oz) pineapple chunks

1/2 C brown sugar

2 T flour

2 T vinegar

1/2 tsp salt

Cooked white rice

Your turn:
In a skillet, cook the ground meat until no longer pink.

Drain grease and set aside.

In the same skillet, sauté

· 1 onion, diced

· 2-3 stalks of celery, chopped

· 1/2 of a green pepper, chopped

· The pineapple from a 12 oz can (save the juice—you’ll need it later!)

· Some fresh minced or dried minced garlic, to your liking

in butter or oil until veggies are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

To the pineapple juice you’ve saved, add

· Enough water to measure 1 C

· 1/2 C brown sugar

· 2 T white flour

· 2 T white wine or rice vinegar (I tried it with apple cider vinegar, but it made the whole thing too cidery)

· 1/2 tsp salt

Whisk until smooth. 

Add to veggies in skillet and bring to a boil. Cook and stir over medium heat about 2 minutes. Add meat back to the skillet and stir to heat everything through.

Serve with white rice, and (optional) cilantro! 

A few recipes that aren't mine

I've made a few things recently that turned out excellent, but are so insanely easy, it's not worth a play-by-play of how to make it. I'll just give you the links and let you give it a whirl on your own.

A Whole Chicken in the Crock Pot
I made this today (recipe here) and it was seriously excellent. The blog I found it on says it's "fall-off-the-bone delicious," and I tell you... it absolutely was. I got this chicken from my employer at work for Christmas, so it was free, but I also read that buying a whole chicken is really cheap per pound, and you can make broth (which makes for divine soup) with the juices and bones! I also saved 4 cups of chicken, aside from what we ate for dinner, which I'll put in soup or casserole. It seems like a win-win-win situation. The broth is currently in my crock pot, where it will cook all night. I'll skim out all the bones and stuff in the morning, and save the excellent broth for an upcoming soup. Mmmm. I was a bit scared to attempt this whole-chicken-bones-and-all thing, but I'm impressed with myself and thrilled with the result. Please: Try this.

Nantucket Cranberry Pie
I took this recipe from Pioneer Woman to bake for Christmas Eve at my in-laws. Everyone loved it (I liked it more than the Cranberry Chess Pie, myself) and I'll definitely keep it in my favorite pies list. I might do a post on this, since it was so good and I love blogging pies, but Pioneer Woman's post (and photos, of course) are far superior to mine. So just check her recipe out.

Taco Soup
I made this a couple months ago for a friend who had a baby and needed meals delivered. It was a crock pot soup and embarrassingly easy, but she and her husband loved it. For an easy crock pot dinner, this is an excellent choice. It's also flexible. Leave out a certain kind of beans or the green chiles, or add more of anything you like. It's really great with shredded cheese and sour cream on top and a sprinkling of tortilla chips.

Skillet Chili
I've always made chili in a big skillet on the stove, but I've always used ground meat, a packet of McCormick chili seasoning, and whatever ingredients it suggests on the back of the packet. When I came across this recipe for chili, it sounded really similar but with a homemade flair. We loved it, and Husband even said it was better than my normal chili (which is funny because he normally likes packaged things more than the homemade versions). It was extremely good. I served it with rice, which I don't think she suggests. Also, I didn't use the whole jar of tomato sauce. I used tomato paste and some water instead, because I didn't have tomato sauce on hand. I also didn't have celery salt, so I used a bit of regular salt instead. It was really, really good.

Thanks to other cooks and food bloggers of the world for making such excellent recipes available!

Stove Top Lasagna

The Date: 14 November 2011

The Occasion: Quick Monday night meal. Love this go-to favorite!

The Recipe: A Betty Crocker recipe I've adapted from this book.

How it Went:
This is pretty much a no-fail meal. I had only a little Italian dressing in the fridge (who knew you could run out of that stuff!?) so it lacked the full flavor it usually has. But you really can't do this meal wrong. Yum!

What You Need:
ground beef or turkey
onion
green bell pepper
tomato sauce
Italian dressing
malfada pasta

Your Turn:
Chop one smallish onion and one green bell pepper.

Brown 1 lb of ground meat in a large skillet. Add onions and peppers to cook with the meat.

Drain grease from meat when cooked.

Add to skillet

• 1 and 2/3 cups water
• 1 jar tomato sauce (I use Francesco Rinaldi, Three Cheese)
• 3 cups malfada noodles
• 1/4 cup Italian dressing

Bring to a boil. Then turn to medium-low and let simmer about 15 minutes, stirring every so often until noodles are tender.

I failed to take a picture of this meal myself. This pic is from bettycrocker.com

Stroganoff

The Date: 27 October 2011

The Occasion: I finally felt well enough to cook a meal after being sick all week and mostly eating broth.

The Recipe: From this cookbook, with the cream of mushroom soup from the recipe substituted for this homemade version. 

How it Went:
Great, as usual. This is a favorite meal in our house and tonight did not disappoint. I loved not using a canned cream soup this time. The meal felt more wholesome without adding a gloppy cylinder of beige mush. Don't forget to cook a green vegetable with this. I made zucchini because I forgot to cook a veggie until the whole thing was done and sauteing some zucch's was the easiest option. Normally, though, it's great with steamed broccoli on the side.

What You Need:
ground turkey or beef
cooked bacon or real bacon bits
mushrooms (optional)
onion
garlic, fresh or dried and minced
flour
beef broth
milk
butter
Worcestershire sauce
pepper
salt
paprika
egg noodles
sour cream
shredded sharp white cheddar cheese

Your Turn:
Cook 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a large skillet. While it's cooking, add 5 slices of cooked bacon, crumbled (or a few tablespoons of REAL bacon bits). Add 1 cup mushrooms, if you're into eating fungus, 1 medium onion, chopped, and either a minced fresh garlic clove or a few dashes of dried minced garlic. Cook until meat is done.

In the meantime, melt 1 T butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add 3 T flour, slowly, until smooth. Remove from heat. Add 1/2 C of beef broth and 1/2 C of milk, slowly, while stirring. Return to medium low heat and stir while bringing it to a gentle boil. Continue to stir until mixture thickens. Stir in a few dashes of black pepper.

When meat mixture is done, drain grease. Stir in 2 T flour until blended. Add the flour/broth mixture you made and stir. Also add

• 1 can (14.5 oz) beef broth
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp paprika

Bring to a boil, the reduce heat and simmer 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime, cook 6 cups of egg noodles and drain when done.

Just before serving, stir 1 cup of sour cream into the Stroganoff. Don't let it come to a boil again, just make sure it's still hot through after adding the cream.

Serve over egg noodles and sprinkle each serving with shredded cheddar cheese.

Shepherd's Pie

The Date: 18 October 2011

Tasty!

The Occasion: Pete loves this kind of thing, and I had not yet made him a shepherd's pie in over a year of marriage. So I gave it a whirl.

The Recipe: A combination of a Real Simple recipe and a Recipes.com recipe, with some of my own modifications.

How it Went:
Success! I would add a bit more flavor next time, and would like to try adding the gravy (included in recipe below), but I was pleased overall. "Easy" recipes often use shortcuts that I prefer not to use. In this recipe, I replaced frozen veggies with fresh and made my own mashed potatoes instead of used packaged.

Your Turn:
Wash, peel, and cube 4 medium sized red skinned potatoes. Put them in a pot, cover with water, add a dash of salt, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and cook about 13 minutes.

While this is boiling, cook 1 lb ground beef or turkey in a 10-inch skillet. Sprinkle with a few dashes of black pepper and a shake of dried thyme leaves. When cooked though, skim off grease.

In a smaller skillet, cook 2 T butter and 2 T flour until bubbly. Whisk in 1/2 C beef broth and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce. (This is not how I made mine, but I think this sounds better. I added 1/3 C ketchup and 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce, but Pete thought it just tasted like sloppy joe. I think this gravy would be great.) Mix gravy with meat. Move meat mixture from skillet into casserole dish.

Now, in the same skillet, saute

• a handful of baby carrots, chopped
  
• three stalks celery, chopped
  
• half an onion chopped
• about half a pound of green beans with ends snapped off and snapped in half.

Add a dash of salt and a few shakes of black pepper and thyme. Saute about 15 minutes. (Tip: If you chop veggies and add them to the skillet as you go - which is what I do - you want to start with the carrots. They take the longest to soften. Do the onion and green beans last since they become tender more quickly.)

Now, back to the potatoes. When tender, drain, then return to pot. Add

• 1/4 C milk
• 1 T sour cream
• 1 T shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 T butter
• dash of salt

Mash well.

Your veggies should be done now. Transfer them into the casserole with the meat and stir to blend.

Meat and vegetables.

Transfer the potatoes into large ziploc bag, zip shut, cut off one corner, and pipe over the top of the meat and vegetables.

Ready to go in the oven.

Cook at 400 for about 25 minutes or until potatoes start to brown on top.