Thanksgiving Chili

    Thanksgiving Chili ... or you could rename. We won't be having it on Thanksgiving, but I'm guessing the ingredients reminded someone of the holiday, hence the name.

    Some of us were a bit skeptical about this chili when we saw the ingredients, but we all loved it. So flavorful. It's a definite keeper and has already been made several times.

    I had a few readers ask for the recipe, so here it is.

    Thanksgiving Chili

½ lb. ground turkey

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped sweet bell pepper (we used red and orange)

14½ oz can diced tomatoes

15 oz can pumpkin

15½ oz can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup water
½ cup medium salsa
2 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp black pepper
3/4 tsp. cumin
14½ oz can chicken broth

    In a large pot saute turkey, onions, and bell peppers until turkey is browned. Mix in tomatoes, pumpkin, beans, water, salsa, and seasonings. Give a quick stir and then add the broth. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for twenty minutes. Stir occasionally.

For a vegetarian option omit the turkey, and substitute the chicken broth with vegetable broth.

Algerian Meatballs

We have been trying new recipes ever since Rosebud expressed an interest in trying foods from other countries. Since she had been studying about Algeria we decided to try some Algerian meatballs last evening. They turned out to be delicious and we enjoyed them a lot more than the recipe we had tried that included brown rice, plantains, and peanut butter.

 

Algerian Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp onions, minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Bake at 400º for 15 minutes.

In the meantime sautè in 1 Tbsp butter

½ cup diced onions
7 cherry tomatoes, chopped

Once onions are translucent add:

2 cloves garlic, minced

Sautè for an additional 30 seconds.

Add two tablespoons of drippings from your baked meatballs and simmer for a minute or so. Spoon your onion mixture over meatballs and serve,


We liked these well enough that we'll be making them again!

Stuffed Portobello

The children have been going to our church's Christmas pageant practice one night a week since early October. On the evenings they are gone I try to make a simple meal for LV and me.

 

This week I decided it would be the perfect time to make stuffed portabello mushrooms since LV and I both love them and the children have still not learned to appreciate mushrooms.

 

It had been a long time since I made them and they turned out even better than I had remembered. So good in fact that I forgot to take a picture until after the first bite had already been taken.

 

 

 

Stuffed Portobello

 

2 portobello mushroom caps

1 cup fried sausage, crumbled

1 cup shredded cheese (I used fiesta blend)

1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

2 tsp olive oil

 

Remove stem and gills from mushroom cap. Brush the outside with the olive oil and place top side down in an 8x8 baking dish. Bake at 400 for 5 minutes. Meanwhile combine fried sausage crumbles, shredded cheese, and pepper.

 

Divide evenly and stuff mushroom caps. Return to oven and bake for an additional 8 minutes.

 

Serve and enjoy!

Easy Roast Beef Sandwiches

The less time I spend working over a hot stove during the summer the happier I am! After trying these sandwiches I knew we would be having them on our summer menu for a long time. Very simple and very tasty. To me that is the perfect combination.

Easy Roast Beef Sandwiches

12 oz. thinly sliced deli roast beef

½ cup water

¼ cup ketchup

1 Tbsp brown sugar

½ tsp prepared mustard

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp salt

¼ tsp  red pepper flakes (hot)

Combine last seven ingredients in a saucepan. Separate roast beef slices and add them one at a time while stirring to make sure each piece is coated with sauce. Bring to a boil and cook for 4-6 minutes. Serve on your favorite hamburger buns.

Yields 4 if each sandwich has a nice amount of meat.

Delicious!

Hawaiian Chicken Fajitas

I always like when I find another recipe to add to my keeper file. Recently there have been quite a few being tucked into it. Here is one of the latest that I'm sure will be a favorite in our family for a long time!

Hawaiian Chicken Fajitas

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 each small yellow, red, and orange sweet pepper, julienned*
1 med Vidalia onion cut into thin wedges
2 Tbsp enchilada seasoning mix
¼ cup water
2 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp parsley flakes
½ tsp salt
½ cup pineapple tidbits, drained
8 flour tortillas (10 inch) warmed

In a large skillet, cook chicken in olive oil for 4-5 minutes. Add peppers and onion; cook and stir for an additional 5 minutes. In a bowl combine seasoning mix and water, add honey, parsley and salt. Pour over chicken in skillet. Stir until everything is well coated. Add pineapples and cook and stir for 1-2 minutes. Place chicken mixture on one side of each warmed tortilla, fold tortilla over chicken.

Serve and enjoy!

*I prefer using the small sweet peppers but regular ones would work fine as well. Two small peppers equal 3/4 of a regular size.

Chicken Delight

Last evening I tried another new recipe and it is definitely making it's way into my keeper file. Delicious as a word to describe it doesn't quite do it justice. I've had many delicious things already and this has got to be close to the top.

Chicken Delight

In a small bowl combine:
½ cup prepared mustard
½ cup honey
1½ tsp vegetable oil
½ tsp lemon juice

Pour ½ cup of honey mustard mixture into a large resealable bag. Add:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Set remaining marinade aside until later.

Seal bag and refrigerate for two hours.
Drain and discard marinade from chicken.
In a large skillet over medium heat brown chicken on both sides in:
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Sprinkle with:
½ tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
½ tsp paprika

Place chicken into greased 9x13 cake pan.

In your skillet which still has a little vegetable oil in it add:
2 Tbsp butter
1½ cup sliced mushrooms
Saute mushrooms until tender.

Spoon remaining marinade over chicken. Top with:
1½ cup shredded Montery Jack cheese
Sauted mushrooms
8 partially cooked bacon strips

Place the bacon strips in a crisscross pattern on chicken.

Bake, uncovered, at 375º for 20-25 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!

Corn Bread

I am not a huge fan of corn bread at all. That is until I found this recipe. It isn't really like bread at all being more cake"y"  and solid and filled with things that more bland and boring corn bread is often missing.


Mexican Corn Bread

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1½ cup corn meal
½ cup vegetable oil
1-10 oz can Southwestern style corn
1 pod hot pepper (optional, can substitute with ½ tsp black pepper)
½ sweet green pepper chopped (again, optional)
1 tsp salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix in order given, pour into 8x8 pan and bake at 425º for 30-35 minutes.


I like serving it with refried beans. Simple, filling, and delicious!

Hawaiian Rolls

I enjoy trying new recipes but with moving halfway across the country and all the work involved I was glad when ever I was able to get a decent meal on the table and new recipes were the last thing on my mind.

Tonight however I finally took the time to try another one and it turned out to be even better than I had hoped. We all enjoyed it very much and I will be filing it into my keeper file.

Hawaiian Rolls

½ cup milk
1 tsp. prepared mustard
2 drops Worcestershire sauce
2 slices potato bread, crumbled
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp onion, minced
1 tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
1 pound ground beef
14 thin slices Virginia baked ham
14 bacon slices
1 cup pineapple tidbits, undrained

Combine first eight ingredients in a bowl. Mix well then add the ground beef. Mix really well. Spread beef mixture on ham slices and roll up. Wrap a slice of bacon around each roll and secure with a toothpick at both ends of the bacon. Place into 13x9 pan pour pineapple over the rolls and bake at 375º for 30 minutes or a little longer if you want your bacon to be nice and crispy.

Serve, and enjoy. It is really hard to stop after the first roll but I did my best.

Casserole

There are many things I enjoy doing, and one of them is trying out and creating new recipes. I was looking for something relatively easy tonight for supper, and threw this creation together. It was a big hit with the rest of the family so I jotted down how I made it but I haven't had time to think of something intelligent to call it. So if you have any ideas I would love to hear them.

In a cast iron skillet over medium heat combine:

2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1½ cup rice
½ tsp. black pepper
1 tsp salt

Stir to evenly coat rice with oil and add

3 cups water

Cover and turn heat down and slowly simmer for approximately fifteen minutes or until water is absorbed.

In the meantime in another skillet combine:

2 lbs ground beef
1 medium onion (diced finely)
¾ tsp black pepper
1½ tsp salt

Stir over high heat until evenly brown.

In a 15 x 10 pan spread the cooked rice in bottom. Spread meat over it, and add:

1 can Ragú Six Cheese pasta sauce (1lb 10 oz)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Bake uncovered in a 350º oven until cheese is melted.

Serve with an optional dollop of sour cream on top.

A garden salad is excellent to serve with this casserole to complete your meal.

Taco Ring

I enjoy trying new recipes and the one I tried tonight will definitely be going into the keeper file!
Taco Ring

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 Tbsp water
4 Tbsp taco seasoning
1/2 pound ground beef

In a bowl combine meat, water, taco seasoning, and cheese. Mix well and form into 16 one inch balls and place on a baking pan. Bake for 12 minutes in an oven that has been preheated to 400.

Drain meatballs on paper towels. Reduce oven heat to 375. Now take two tubes of crescent rolls (8 oz each) unroll and separate into triangles.On a 14 inch pizza pan or a large foil lined cookie sheet (Spray with non stick spray) place triangles forming a ring with pointed ends facing outer edge of pan and wide ends overlapping. Lightly press wide ends together. place a meatball on the wide end of the triangle and fold point over and tuck under wide end of roll. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes until rolls are a golden brown.

Remove from oven and fill center of ring with:

1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 medium tomato chopped
1/4 cup sliced ripe olives

If desired fill a small dish with sour cream and place in center. Serve while still warm.

These are surprisingly simple to make, and delightfully delicious!

Jalapeno Bites

I am always on the lookout for delicious and yet easy to make recipes and have come across another keeper!

Start with fresh Jalapeno peppers. Cut them in half length wise and remove the seeds. You will want to wear latex gloves to do this part.

Next fill each half even full of softened cream cheese. And then wrap a piece of bacon around it and place on a baking sheet, a jelly roll or cake pan work best. Bake at 350 until bacon has reached your desired crispness.

Serve as an appetizer or an addition to make any meal better. They are surprisely mild once the seeds and membrane have been removed. Even the children have a hard time stopping at only one or two.

Happenings Around the House and a Recipe

No matter the weather Sunbeam is found on the recliner occupied with one of her many things to pass the time while she recovers from her accident. She seems to be doing very well, not only in healing, but also in being sweetly content.

For the rest of us, the rainy weather requires us to make new plans for our day. Sailor was delighted to have Wags in the house even though he was required to stay on the rug inside the door. Wags was honored to be allowed to be inside and appeared to enjoy listening to the many stories Sailor told him.

The rain finally stopped towards evening and as the last clouds scuttled away, we decided to go get some of the things we need that were in storage. After we got to the storage place we discovered that the boxes were getting soggy and there were lots of spiders everywhere, so we made a quick decision to bring everything home.

I have been trying to find room for everything, which is challenging. I suppose I'm too much of a pack rat, but so many of the things have sentimental value that I hate the thought of getting rid of them.

I still have a lot of unpacking to do, but took time to cook up a big meal last evening. Among the menu for the night was fried chicken.

This time I remembered to take a picture before we ate everything.

Fried Chicken

2 cups flour

2 Tbsp salt

2 Tbsp black pepper

1 Tbsp parsley flakes

1 Tbsp thyme

1 Tbsp dry mustard

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp basil

Mix all together and place half of the mixture in a large Ziploc bag.

Beat two eggs very well, until almost cream colored. Roll chicken in egg and then place in seasoning mixture and shake to coat.

Have a saucepan or a deep skillet ready with vegetable oil heated to 350 and deep enough to cover at least half of the chicken. Carefully place your coated chicken pieces in the hot oil and fry until a delightful golden brown, turn over and fry the other side.

Preheat oven to 350 and have a pan ready lined with parchment paper, as the chicken comes out of the oil place them on the pan and place in oven for 20-30 minutes and up to 45 minutes if you have extra large pieces of chicken.

Since my husband would much rather have something along the beef line to eat rather than chicken. I made some Chicken Fried Steak for him.

I started with two large boneless steak and had them tenderized really well. I then cut them into pieces approximately 3"x3" I added 1/2 tsp sage and 1/2 tsp crushed rosemary to the mixture I had for the chicken. I then beat two eggs and added 1 tsp liquid hickory smoke and rolled the steak in the egg and into the seasoned flour mixture and fried it in the oil. There was no need to place these in the oven, they were done to perfection in the skillet.

With a seven layer salad, and mashed potatoes and gravy our meal was complete.

A few pieces of the Chicken Fried Steak before it disappeared.

Broccoli Salad

Everyone should have a sister-in-law like I have. She has a heart of gold and laughter that makes you want to join in even if you don't have a clue what is funny. She is the mother to eight children, and she just celebrated a birthday.

For the past several years when either one of us had a birthday the other one would cook a big supper and bring it to their house.

I spent all day baking and cooking and thought I would take some pictures and share recipes on here. I managed to get all the baked things done and then started on the main course. Fried chicken is one of her favorites, so naturally I made that. I have a recipe for the coating/breading that I spent years tweaking and adjusting till I found a combination that every one loves and I always get asked for the recipe when ever I make it. I was going to share it with you but somehow every last piece of the ten pounds of chicken I had prepared disappeared before I got a picture taken of the finished product. I have a sneaking suspicion that a certain dog and cat got to enjoy it too.

I made cheesy potatoes in my slow cooker that also disappeared before I had time to take a picture of them. And so it continued everything I worked hard at all day got swallowed up in a matter of minutes. I did manage to take one picture........ of a salad.

Broccoli Salad

4 cups chopped broccoli

1 cup black seedless grapes (halved)

1 cup red seedless grapes (halved)
1/3 cup chopped green onion

1 lb bacon (fried crisp and crumbled)

1 cup shredded cheese

In a bowl mix broccoli, grapes, onions, and bacon. Make a dressing with:

1 cup Miracle Whip

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp white vinegar

Pour over broccoli mixture and mix together. Set in refrigerator overnight for flavors to blend. 20 minutes before serving add the cheese and mix again.

As you can tell by the picture I hadn't added the cheese yet. I have resolved next time I want pictures I have to take them immediately after the food is prepared. For sure if I'm expecting to feed a hungry, fun loving crowd of little people.

Italian Salad

Our family enjoys trying new salads, and have discovered some delicious ones along the way. One of my sister-in-laws gave me this recipe and last night I made it. (If you're reading this Emma, Thank-you so much for sharing) Since it has to marinade overnight I didn't get to taste it until today. I loved it, my husband asked for seconds which is always a good sign, the girls didn't care for the olives, and Sailor emphatically does not care for it at all.


Italian Salad
1 box (16 oz) medium shell pasta
4 oz. hard salami, cubed
6 oz. sliced pepperoni, quartered
12 cheese sticks, halved and cut in 1/4" pieces
3 medium tomatoes seeded and chopped
1 bell pepper chopped
1/2 cup sliced ripe olives
1/2 cup sliced stuffed olives
1 cup Zesty Italian salad dressing
1 tsp. oregano

Cook pasta shells according to directions on box. Rinse in cold water and drain. Place in a big bowl then add your salami, pepperoni, cheese, olives, tomatoes, and pepper.
In a smaller bowl combine the Italian dressing and oregano and mix with a wire whisk or fork. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate over night to let the flavors blend.
Serves approximately 16. It keeps well for several days if kept refrigerated.
Enjoy!

Cheesy Garlic Bites

I have a very busy day planned.

• Thinking of all I'll be doing makes me hungry.
• Being hungry makes me think of good food.
• Good food makes me think of Cheesy Garlic Bites.
• Cheesy Garlic Bites make me feel like sharing the recipe

Cheesy Garlic Bites
1 cup warm water
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2-1/4 cup flour
Mix water, vegetable oil, sugar, and salt. Add 1 cup flour and yeast. Mix until smooth. Add Parmesan cheese and mix again. Add another cup of flour. Mix well. Add remaining 1/4 cup of flour and knead by hand.
Cover with a cloth and set aside for 45 minutes.
On a greased surface roll out this dough to a 12"x20" rectangle. It's a good idea to grease your rolling pin too.
Spread with 2 tablespoons of softened butter. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of fresh minced garlic and 1 cup of your choice of shredded cheese. (I used cheddar this time) and 1 tablespoon parsley flakes. Roll up and cut in 1 inch slices and place sliced side down on a greased or parchment paper lined pan (I like to use my airbake cookie sheet) bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and serve. Yield approximately 24

These never fail to make any meal better! They are so good I always have a hard time stopping with just one or two.