Chili

Suddenly it is fall!  Instead of marinated chicken on the BBQ my thoughts have turned towards comfort foods.  For lunch today I enjoyed a bowl of steaming hot chili that warmed me through and through.  I know that there are a million chili recipes out there but I've never been able to find one that I truly love.  Now I have finally found it!!

Another one of my unskilled photos!

Chili
(adapted from www.food.com)

• 2 lbs ground beef
• 1 (29 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (29 ounce) can kidney beans (with liquid)
• 1 (29 ounce) can pinto beans (with liquid)
• 1 (29 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 2 -3 teaspoons cumin powder
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• salt to taste
• 1-2 cups water

*Brown ground onion, celery and ground beef until no pink remains.  Drain.
*Add all other ingredients.  (Add water as needed). Bring to a boil.
*Simmer 1.5 to 2 hours on low with lid ajar until thick.

I made a few adjustments.  I used beans that I had cooked at home so they had no liquid.  I found that I did need to add the full two cups of water to make the initial chili watery enough that I could simmer it down.  I also added two cans of mushrooms as I love mushrooms in my chili.  I loved the addition of the green chilies, they were the icing on the cake for me!!

Enjoy!

C :)

Chocolate Waffles

G wanted waffles for lunch the other day and I was out of the usual blueberry store bought brand that he likes.  I had recently borrowed my parent's waffle maker, so G and I decided to try something new.  All I have to say is YUMMY!  I'm not really sure that these could be classified as "lunch", more accurately "dessert".  We had ours with butter, but for dessert you could definitely add some ice cream or whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce.

image: Me, and my poor photography ;)

Chocolate Waffles
(adapted from food.com)

1 cup butter

4 beaten eggs

1 cup sugar 

1/2 cup cocoa

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup water (or more)

*Mix all the ingredients together.
*Add by the scoopful to your hot waffle maker.
*Cook for 1-3 minutes.
*Remove from waffle maker and enjoy.

These were a little on the dry side but still wonderful...  Kind of like a brownie made in the waffle maker!  I might do a little experiment in the future and try some whole wheat flour to "healthify" these.

-C :)

Fish Cakes

Canned fish is not high on my list of things that I like, but these fish cakes sure are.  They are versatile, you can use tuna or salmon.  I love this recipe because it is fast and easy and likely uses items you already have in your pantry.  This makes a great hot summer day supper with a salad or veggies and dip on the side.

Fish Cakes

• 2 cans salmon or tuna, drained, skin and bones (for salmon) discarded
• 1 pkg Stove Top Stuffing Mix
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 1/4 mayonnaise or Miracle Whip
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Mix everything together.  Shape into 8-10 patties (approximately 1/3 to 1/2 cup each).  Cook now or refridgerate for up to 24 hours.  Fry in a non-stick pan coated in oil on medium heat until each side is golden brown and crispy.  ENJOY!!

I've also eaten this as a tuna salad sandwich and on a salad without cooking it.  Also delicious!

Carla :)

Golden Chowder

Across most of the country it is spring, but here it is rainy and dreary.  The perfect day for a bowl of hot, steamy soup to take the chill out.  This soup is another recipe of my Mom's.  It is perfectly creamy and delicious.

I'm not sure why my picture is loading sideways.

Golden Chowder

• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 2 cups carrots, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped
• 1 lb fresh or frozen broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 cups milk
• salt to taste
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 2-4 cups shredded cheddar
• 2 cups ham, cubed

*In a large saucepan combine broth, celery, carrots and onion.  Boil, reduce heat.  Simmer covered for about 5 minutes.
*Add broccoli. Cook until broccoli is tender crisp.  (Leave lid slightly open to keep bright green color.)
*Remove from heat.  Do not drain.
*Melt butter in a large pan.  Blend in flour, salt and pepper.  Cook for 1 minute.
*Stir in milk.  Cook until mixture thickens, stirring frequently.
*Stir in cheese and cook until melted.
*Add the ham cubes and the vegetable/broth mixture.  Stir to blend.
*Garnish with paprika.

I hope you enjoy this as much as our family does!  Feel free to omit the ham ( I usually leave it out) and add whatever vegetables you have on hand.  The recipe adapts well.

Enjoy!
- Carla :)

Puppy Chow (for humans)

A few weeks ago we were having a potluck at work.  It was 12pm on a Sunday and I needed to have something ready to go by 3pm and I wanted to have a nap...  Quick and easy was the order of the day.  Thankfully I remembered a box of Chex that I had sitting in my pantry - 10 minutes later I was off to dreamland!

This is a super simple recipe that is open to many adaptations.  Have fun!

Puppy Chow

9 cups Chex cereal (any kind)

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (6oz.)

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, melted

1/4 cup butter, melted

1 -2 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

*Measure the cereal into a large bowl.

*In a microwave safe bowl combine chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter.  Microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between, until melted.

*Stir in vanilla.

*Pour over bowl of cereal and mix until coated.

*Place 1/3 of the coated cereal in a large ziptop bag.  Pour in 1/3 of the icing sugar and shake to coat.

*Spread on waxed paper to cool (can be put in the fridge to speed the process).

*Repeat the icing sugar step until all the cereal is used up.

Enjoy!

-C :)

Parmesan Orzo

Generally speaking I am not one to create recipes.  I like to find a recipe and adapt it to suit my taste and my family.  On Saturday I was planning to serve pork tenderloin (marinated in the Korean Chicken marinade), some sort of rice and veggies as a side dish.  Suddenly the day was gone and supper needed to be served.  With no time to cook rice (we are brown ricers around here) I pulled some orzo out and boiled it while scanning my head to see what I could add to it to make it taste good...  A few minutes later Parmesan Orzo was born.

I was very impressed with the taste of this dish.  I was even more impressed with Sam and Gabriel's reaction...  They GOBBLED it up!  Score!

Parmesan Orzo

• 1 cup orzo pasta (uncooked)
• 2-3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
• milk or cream or half and half

1.  Boil the pasta as usual.
2.  While draining the pasta melt the butter in the cooking pot.
3.  Add pasta back in and stir to coat with butter.
4.  Sprinkle with parmesan (add more if needed).
5.  Pour in some milk (start with 1/4 cup) and stir.  Keep adding milk until a creamy sauce is made.  Leave on warm burner to heat.
6.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

The recipe is open for play.  I didn't measure as I was cooking, so definitely taste as you are going along.  You could add some parsley for color or go crazy and saute some onions and garlic.  I needed something quick so I just stuck to the basics.

The boys ate this too fast to take a picture of!  I'll re-post with a picture once I make it again.

Enjoy!
-C :)

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (Cupcakes)

These are likely my all time favorite muffin recipe.  They are super moist, super chocolatey and super good.  Lately I have been taking one to work, popping it in the microwave to make it all warm and gooey and enjoying it during my coffee break at work.  That means that in the last 9 days I have eaten 9 muffins, no wonder my scrub pants are getting tight!  (That also means in the last 9 days I have worked 9 shifts in a row.  I kind of think I deserved the muffins!)

This recipe comes from a cookbook created by the church I grew up in.  I love cookbooks like that.  You know everyone who put the recipes in and can pretty much guarantee that the recipes will be good (as long as you make the ones put in by the good cooks)!

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

• 2 1/2 cups flour (I use 1 1/2 cups white, 1 cup whole wheat)
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts
• 3/4 cup oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups grated zucchini (fresh or frozen)

1.  Combine all the dry ingredients including the chocolate chips and nuts.
2.  Mix wet ingredients together.  Combine with dry ingredients.
3.  Stir in zucchini.
4.  Place in 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes.

I hope that you enjoy these as much as I do.  If there is one recipe that I have made over and over, it would be this one!  Mom always gives me big overgrown zucchini so that I can grate it up and freeze it for the winter.

Enjoy!
- Carla :)