Chunky Vegetarian Chili (Summer Chili)

Hi there all! It's been a LONG time since I've posted. Things have been super crazy and don't seem to be slowing down, but I've discovered a new recipe that I had to share. I found it on Pinterest where I was directed to myrecipes.com. I changed the recipe some.

I am a huge chili fan. And a huge meat fan. But the other night a friend that doesn't eat a lot of meat was joining us for dinner, so I decided to find a vegetarian chili recipe. It was fantastic! So I've decided to make it again for the two passionate carnivores that live in my home (my husband and myself).

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped bell pepper (I used green, yellow, orange and red, but you can use whatever kind you like.)
2 minced garlic cloves
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can (approx. 15 oz.) Mexican tomatoes or Rotel, undrained
1 can (approx. 15 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cans (approx. 15 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (approx. 15 oz.) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (approx. 15 oz.) can chili beans, undrained
1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions:

1. Heat oil in dutch oven and saute onions, peppers and garlic for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

2. Add sugar and seasonings and stir.

3. Add remaining ingredients, stir and bring to a boil.

4. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Top with your favorite chili toppings. (I like chopped onions, fresh cilantro, cheese and sour cream.)

The taste of the vegetables are really brought out because of the vinegar. This chili tastes light and fresh, therefore it makes a great summer chili!


Sherylyn

Mexican Cornbread

This recipe was given to me by a girl I used to work with. It is quite fantastic! I used pepperjack cheese but I have used the Mexican Velveeta in the past, and I definitely think it was better. The pepperjack was good but the velveeta holds the whole thing together.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning or 2 heaping tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)
1 can (11 ounces) corn and peppers or mexican corn, divided
6 slices pepperjack cheese or mexican Velveeta (recommended)

1 package Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
1 egg
1/3 cup milk

1. Brown beef with onion. Drain.

2. Add taco seasoning and simmer on low.

3. Add about half of the corn.

4. Spread mixture in a 9 x 13 baking pan. Place 6 slices of pepperjack cheese on top.

5. Prepare corn muffins according to package directions or use the Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread recipe. Add the rest of the corn to the corn muffin batter

6. Spread batter over meat and cheese.

7.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Sherylyn

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

I've already posted this recipe on the Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup post, because it is fantastic with it. But I decided to post this by itself for future reference. It's the only way I make cornbread now!

Ingredients:

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix (8.5 ounces)

1 egg

1/4 cup butter or margarine (melted)

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons diced pickled jalapeno, drained well

1 cup shredded cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Combine corn bread mix, egg and butter.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. Place cornbread in greased muffin tin or greased 8 x 8 casserole dish.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Sherylyn

Homemade Taco Seasoning

So I think I was last to know that you can make your own taco seasoning. But here is my recipe. I know taco seasoning isn't THAT expensive, but I've always felt stupid for paying a dollar for a tiny packet of seasonings that I was sure I had at home in my cabinets. 

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon corn starch

1 teaspoon dried onion flakes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

I usually double or sometimes triple the recipe so I don't have to mix up more every time I need it. It keeps just as long as all your seasonings would. Just make sure you store your taco seasoning in an airtight container. Two heaping tablespoons are about the equivalent to a packet, depending on taste.

Sherylyn

Easy Peasy Meatloaf

It has been a busy week! My 5 year wedding anniversary was last Friday (February 10), so we, of course, were busy spending time together. Then Saturday, my cousin, Acacia, and some of our closest friends and family threw us a surprise  party! It was one of the best nights of my entire life and I'm so thankful to all involved! I love you all so much!

Along with the surprise of the party, we were also surprised to find out that 2 of the main contributors of the party happened to be our best friends that live 2 hours away! So the rest of the weekend was devoted to spending time with them which means we didn't sleep much. And I don't do well with that. So my body has been mad at me and gave me a cold. Body jerk!

I'm not feeling 100% better so I decided to make one of the easiest recipes ever! My aunt taught me this one. The original recipe only contains 3 ingredients (not counting the topping).

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 can stewed tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
1 box Stove Top stuffing (I use generic because that's the kind of girl I am.)
1/2 cup chopped onion (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8 square pan with cooking spray. (You can use a loaf pan and increase the cooking time. The square pan is quicker.)

2. Mix beef, tomatoes, onions and stuffing in a bowl.

3. Spread the meat mixture in the pan.

4. Cover tightly with foil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.

5. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

6. Remove meatloaf from oven and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Normally I cover the top with ketchup before baking, but when I went to look for it in the fridge I remembered that we were out! So I looked up a recipe for meatloaf gravy. I'll be honest with you guys, it wasn't very good. So first chance I get I'm going to smother my leftovers with ketchup. Because friends, that's the kind of girl I am.

Sherylyn

Chicken Dorito Casserole

Doritos for dinner? Sounds bad, huh? Well, it is. But oh so delicious! I found the original recipe at plainchicken.com. They have some awesome sounding recipes and I plan to try a lot more. I changed the original recipe a little.

Ingredients:

1 bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos, crushed (I used a whole bag but I think you could get by with half a bag. It was almost too much.)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can rotel
1 can corn, drained well
1 cup shredded mexican cheese, divided
garlic salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Pour crushed Doritos into the pan.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet and grill cubed chicken with garlic salt and pepper. Cook until completely done.

3. Add soups, rotel, corn and 1/2 cup of cheese.

4. Pour the chicken mixture over Doritos.

5. Bake for 20 minutes.

6. Top with remaining cheese (extra if you want) and bake for another 5 to 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I used Clancy's Nacho Cheese chips, which taste exactly like Doritos. The original recipe calls for a cup of sour cream, but I forgot it. I also cut the cheese amount down a little because I felt so guilty about having Doritos for dinner. And I also served it with broccoli to at least make it look some what healthy. But it was fabulous!

Sherylyn

Chocolate Lava Pots

Time for my first dessert post! I knew I needed to make something a little more interesting than a yellow cake mix with chocolate frosting, so I found this recipe at redcouchrecipes.blogspot.com, which an awesome blog so you should check it out. She calls these delicious little treats Pot Au Chocolat but I'm just not that fancy. I've decided to call them Chocolate Lava Pots, but I'm wide open for suggestions! I changed just a couple things so I don't really think I can take any credit (though we all know I'd like to).

What is awesome about these individual sized cakes is that they are super gooey in the center. YUM!

Ingredients:

10 tablespoons salted butter (Yup. 10!)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

3 eggs

3 egg yolks (The yellow part... I looked it up to make sure because I'm a little ditzy sometimes.)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (You can make your own!)

1/2 cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray 6 ramekins (approx. 7 oz. each) with cooking spray. (I only had 2 so I used Pyrex. Two of the Pyrex were too big but they still baked well.) 

2. Melt butter and chocolate chips in the microwave for about a minute.

3. While the butter and chocolate chips are melting, whisk together eggs and separated egg yolks.

4. Stir butter/chocolate into eggs. Mix well.

5. Add powdered sugar. Mix well.

5. Add flour... MIX WELL!

6. Place ramekins on a cookie sheet. Fill each ramekin about halfway. 

7. Bake for 12 to 12 1/2 minutes. The outside should be done but the center should be soft. 

You can top these with ice cream and chocolate syrup, or as RedCouchRecipes suggests, you can use warmed raspberry jam, or use Cool Whip and a sprinkle of cocoa, like I did. I'm sure there are hundreds of other awesome things to put on top, but beware; these are delicious and VERY rich! I imagine the calorie count of these little suckers are like 2000. Enjoy! :)

Sherylyn

Kitchen Dilema! So Much Drama!!! Oh... And How to Make Your Own Powdered Sugar

So I had decided to make my first dessert for the blog. I make desserts all the time but they usually consist of a mix in a box and a can of deliciousness on top. So I had to find one that's a little more interesting than Duncan Hines can offer.

Ok so I found this awesome recipe but stay tuned... The point of this post is to show you my DILEMA! One of the main ingredients in my "mystery" dessert is powdered sugar. I was so mad at myself when I realized I didn't have enough! I remember now that Dustin used it to make buttercream frosting (half of which has been sitting in back of the fridge for about 2 months. I really need to clean out the fridge.)  "Uhhhhhhh! I don't want to go the stoooooore!" I said in an incredibly whiny voice to Bette Davis Jr., who stared up at me with no reply.

I got on the ol' Google machine, trying to figure out if using regular white sugar would make a huge difference. I came upon this site that saved the day! Wholenewmom.com. I found a super easy way to make my own powdered sugar.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar (Apparently you can use any granulated sweetener.)
1 tablespoon corn starch

Directions:

1. Put both ingredients in a blender.

2. Blend on high until the sugar is a powdery consistency. (It took me about a minute.)

That's it! I put my homemade powdered sugar back in the canister and I was a better woman for it! I'm very pleased to know that I don't have to buy powdered sugar again if I don't want to. SO THERE!

Sherylyn

Shepherd's Pie (My Mom's Way)

Every once in a while I break down and buy ground beef. I know, I'm a cheapskate! I can't help it! It's how I've trained myself. But there was a thought in the back of my mind all day saying, Mom's shepherd's pie is so much better with beef... I've made it with ground turkey before and it was still really good. But today I just had to have it Mom's way.

Ingredients

3-4 large potatoes (These are for your mashed potatoes. You also need milk and butter (duh) but I don't know that anyone knows the actual amounts.)
1 pound ground beef or turkey, drained well
1 small onion, diced
1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
1 can green beans, drained well
1 tablespoon oregano
3/4 cup water or beef broth
cheddar or monterrey jack cheese
parmesan cheese (optional)
salt, pepper and garlic powder

Directions

1.Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

2. Boil your potatoes, drain and mash with milk and butter. Season with garlic salt and pepper. You can throw a little cheese in too. I used mozzarella because I was low on monterrey jack.

3. Brown the hamburger with the diced onion. Season the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste. Drain well.

4. Add tomato paste, green beans, oregano and beef broth to hamburger. Mix well. If the mixture is dry, add a little more broth.

5. Pour mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with mashed potatoes.

6. Top potatoes with cheeses.

7. Bake for 20 minutes.

   

  

Omg it was sooooooo good!!!!

Sherylyn

Spicy "Thai" Noodles

Adrianna and I have been cooking together for years. This, however is our first recipe we have cooked together for the blog. "The Homemaking Fashionists" on location (Adrianna's house)!

Spicy "Thai" Noodles

Ingredients

1 box of linguine or spaghetti
1-2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sesame oil
6 tablespoons honey
6 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 carrots peeled and shredded
3/4 cup chopped peanuts
toasted sesame seeds (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare noodles according to package directions. Drain well.

2. Heat oils and crushed red pepper in a small sauce pan for 3 minutes. Strain red pepper and reserve oil.

3. Whisk honey and soy sauce in with the oil.

4. Toss together with noodles.

5. Top each bowl with green onions, cilantro, carrots, peanuts and sesame seeds.

So we had to modify the recipe a bit.. We forgot to get sesame seeds. And neither of us had a wire strainer so we tried to get some of the pepper out with a slotted spoon, much to our avail. But they tasted great! If you plan to leave the pepper in, you should only use 1 tablespoon because it was still pretty hot with just one. I'd imagine if the pepper had been strained like the recipe recommended, it wouldn't have been as spicy. The original recipe also instructed us to chill the noodles in the refrigerator over night and serve cold... but we were hungry right away. And I thought the noodles were good served warm. I think these noodles would be great with chicken.

Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is the exciting conclusion of "The Whole Chicken Experience!" (That's what I'm calling this. Fyi.) This is the third meal from our chicken from Monday. I saved most of the chicken breasts for this. I usually cook this in the crock pot, but I was running late because I was shopping. And really, what's a better excuse than that? If you'd like to cook it in the crock, you can cook it on high for about 2 hours. And add 5 minutes to the last step. I'm pretty sure it is delicious no matter how you make it.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chunky salsa
2 cups of cooked shredded chicken
2 cups frozen corn
1 15 oz. can of black beans rinsed and drained
2 cans (10.75 oz. each) cream of chicken soup
1 can Rotel
1/2 cup water or chicken stock (I used spicy chicken stock from my rotisserie chicken.)
1 tablespoon chopped pickled jalapeno (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground chili powder
1 or 2 6inch corn tortillas cut into strips
1/2 cup shredded cheese
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Stir the salsa, chicken, corn and beans together in a large dutch oven.

2. Stir the soup, tomatoes, chicken stock (or water), jalapenos, cumin and chili powder together in a separate bowl. Pour on top.

3. Allow the pot to heat at very low for a minute or 2, then stir well.

4. Cover and cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

5. Stir in tortilla strips, cheese and cilantro. Cover and cook on very low an additional 10 minutes.

I think this soup is rich enough on it's own, so the only topper I usually use is green onions, if I have them, which of course I will have them FOREVER now (see The Green Onion Experiment). You can also use black olives, sour cream and/or cheese. This batch was particularly spicy for some reason so I used sour cream to cool it down. And you definitely need tortilla or corn chips! I have fried a few corn tortilla strips before, but I was being lazy tonight.

This soup is awesome with Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread. It's super easy!

Cheesy Jalapeno Cornbread

Ingredients:

1 box Jiffy cornbread mix (8.5 ounces)

1 egg

1/4 cup butter or margarine (melted)

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons diced pickled jalapeno, drained well

1 cup shredded cheese

1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Combine corn bread mix, egg and butter.

2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

3. Place cornbread in greased muffin tin or greased 8 x 8 casserole dish.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.  

YUM!!