Chili & Cornbread

Fall is coming! 

No, not this kind...

This kind!...

OK, really, this kind...

ahhhh...that's better!

Except it still feels like a nasty, humid summer here, so can someone send Southern California the memo pretty please? Thanks. 

In honor of the new season, I am sharing two wonderful recipes I came across recently....chili and cornbread of course!

On our camping trip a couple weeks ago, I brought this chili and it was met with great satisfaction by everyone, so I think it is share-worthy. The recipe is adapted from Pioneer Woman, I just changed a couple things, like adding a lot more tomato sauce, and using black beans instead of pinto. I also used ground turkey and it was not lacking at all for taste. So I imagine with ground beef it would be even richer. Please note that I don't like my chili super spicy and this was just right. So add a little more cayenne if you are crazy like that. Or just be like my husband and add Tapatio to every single thing put in front of you.

Simple, Perfect Chili

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey

2 cloves garlic, chopped

32 oz. tomato sauce

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground oregano

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 cup masa harina (corn flour, found in the Mexican food section of many supermarkets)

15 oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

Shredded Cheddar, for serving

Directions:

Place the ground beef in a large pot and throw in the garlic. Cook over medium heat until browned. Drain off the excess fat, and then pour in the tomato sauce, chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt and cayenne. Stir together well, cover, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If the mixture becomes overly dry, add 1/2 cup water at a time as needed.

After an hour, place the masa harina in a small bowl. Add 1/2 cup water and stir together with a fork. Dump the masa mixture into the chili. Stir together well, and then taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more masa paste and /or water to get the chili to your preferred consistency, or to add more corn flavor. Add the beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with shredded Cheddar, chopped onions, tortilla chips and lime wedges.

Original recipe by Pioneer Woman, found here.

Cornbread

(this recipe was also altered from the original and I love the way it came out)

Ingredients:

2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

2/3 cup milk

2 eggs

1 8 oz. can cream corn

1/2 cup sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350, and grease 9x13 pan

Stir together Jiffy mix, milk, and eggs.

Mix in cream corn and sugar. Pour batter into pan.

Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.

Serve the chili over a piece of cornbread with cheddar cheese on top. Or put the cornbread on top, why not, just be yourselves people!

This Little Piggy...

I love these bookends for the kitchen to put cookbooks between. After all, when I look at  a cute little pig, I think only one thing...bacon! Haha well they are pretty cute, sorry little piggies. Why is bacon so good....

Gold Pig Bookends, CB2, $30

Like this one, delicious no-fail, although mostly belly building recipes

or this one, be an easy breezy entertainer like Ina, parfaits anyone?

I don't have this book yet, but it looks fabulous. And hello again little piggy!

Two Easy Recipes

I'm back in the mix, baby! Is this thing on? Anyone out there? I've been trying a lot of new recipes lately, and most of them have been busts. It could easily be user error, but these two recipes were very easy, and the cute people in my house ate them up. 

This one I found on Pinterest, but the direct link is here. The only thing I did differently was add snow peas from Trader Joes (they come in a microwaveable bag...super quick). I love snow peas, there's like 3 little surprises in each little packet! Fun for the whole family. Next time I'll probably use brown rice to make it healthier because it does have a lot of soy sauce in it.

Easy Korean Ground Beef

What can I say, this other one is not healthy at all, but it is the most delicious Alfredo sauce you will ever make. I mean, it has a block of cream cheese, how can you go wrong? This recipe is just for the sauce and it is very quick and simple. I sauteed some chicken on the stove, steamed some broccoli, and put everything on top of spinach fettucine from Fresh and Easy. Basically anything that goes with Alfredo you can use this recipe for.

Homeade Alfredo Sauce

(confession, this pic is from Google images since I ate it so fast I didn't get a picture, haha, but trust me, it looked like this!)

Easy Does It

Last week I tried a couple new recipes by Pinterest. (Which by the way, I can't figure out how to directly post pins on here since they changed their layout! So I am just linking directly back to the original site the recipe came from). Aaanyway, both of these recipes were really easy and they turned out great!

Easy "Steak" Sandwich

I used some good roast beef from the deli counter to make this faux philly cheesteak sandwich, 

and it was awesome!

Definite husband pleaser. Get some potato salad from the deli counter to make dinner even easier.

Easy Muffins

I bought these two ingredients a while ago after seeing this on Pinterest, and when some friends came over last Saturday morning it was a good reason to try it out. I put some walnuts on top before baking them.

They were a success...just two ingredients...boom!

Food, Glorious Food!

Are you like me and have tons of recipes on your Pinterest board that are yet to be tried?

Well I am trying to go through them, slowly but surely. Every week I'm trying at least one new recipe.

Oh, and I also did something else new! I made a page dedicated just to recipes I've tried that I know for sure are good. Its right on the blog header next to my About Me page. So check it out if you're looking for something new to make for dinner. Or you can just click here.

Now to the Pinterest goodies:

Oven Tacos = Awesome! I made these bad boys twice in 2 weeks. Total score.

But, next time I'm going to make them with those flat bottom shells so there is more room for the toppings.

This pin caption said it was "the BEST crockpot meal ever."  Umm, not so fast there, that is a big statement!

Granted it was very good and super easy...a definite pleaser for kids, and my husband liked it. But best ever? I think not.

Prosciutto, Asparagus and Parmesan Angel Hair...I really loved this, it was easy and it looked pretty on the plate. Make sure you use good prosciutto!

I just pinned this green smoothie from Yummy Mummy.
Its just almond milk, spinach, frozen pineapple and mango....the best green smoothie I've tried!



linking up...

Cream Cheese Comfort

I wanted to share with you this easy, husband approved. crockpot meal! It involves a block of cream cheese, so of course how bad could it be? I first saw it on Look Who's Cookin' Now a long time ago, but its been in my arsenal ever since, especially on these cold lazy days when you want something warm. 

So here in southern California, it dipped to a rigid 65 degrees recently and I got this going....

Crock Pot Cream Cheese Chicken Chili 
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, not drained
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 Ranch dressing packet
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp onion powder
8 oz cream cheese
2-3 chicken breasts

Spray your crock pot with non stick spray ( i always do this, it makes it so much easier to clean!)
Place chicken at bottom of pot, followed by corn, rotel, and beans.
Top with seasoning and ranch mix and stir together.

Place the cream cheese block on top, cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours.

Then stir the cream cheese into the chili and cook for 30 more minutes.

I serve it over rice or egg noodles.

And what is some "chili" without some cornbread?? 

Want to know my secret?....

That's right baby, this stuff is like 40 cents. You can add all sorts of things to it, but I just make it according to the directions on the box for "Johnny cake", all I add is maybe 1/2 tsp of sugar. 

Anyway, hope your tummy stays warm!

How Sweet it Is

Here it goes...I am sharing my not-so-secret sweet potato recipe! This thing always gets oohs and aahs and happy people all around. And there are no marshmallows involved....just some pecan buttery goodness on top. Even if you are a novice cook you can pull this off, trust me.

I found this on All Recipes several years ago, here. The only thing I like to do different from the original recipe is use half yams (the orange ones), and half sweet potatoes (the light brown ones). I like to think that makes a difference, but I'm not even sure.

Yummy Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

4 cups sweet potato, cubed (I usually use 4-5 large potatoes, almost completely peeled)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For topping:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1.         Preheat oven to 325. Put sweet potatoes in a medium saucepan with water to cover. Cook over medium high heat until tender; drain and mash.

2.         In a large bowl, mix together the sweet potatoes, white sugar, eggs, salt, butter, milk and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. (I use a 2.5 qt round baking dish)

3.         In medium bowl, mix the brown sugar and flour. Cut in the butter until the mixture is coarse. Stir in the pecans. Sprinkle the mixture over the sweet potato mixture.

4.         Bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until the topping is lightly brown.

Oh Lord have mercy, this is so good!

Photo from All Recipes

And for even more yummy side dishes, Pioneer Woman just posted her all time favorite Thanksgiving side dishes, here. I may have to try her Butternut Squash Puree....

Linking up at:

Lovely Leeks

OK friends, for anyone looking for something a little different for your Thanksgiving spread this year, I present to you, creamed leeks with parmesan crumbs. One of my favorite things to eat are leeks, is anyone with me? They are a fun little vegetable that looks like this...

The trick is you pull off the dark green outside to get to the light green and white parts on the inside. They taste like very mild, sweet onions. Even easier, Trader Joe's sells them in packs of 2 already trimmed, so all you have to do is slice them.

Recipe originally from Martha Stewart magazine:

Creamed Leeks with Parmesan Crumbs

2 Tbsp butter

8 medium leeks cut in to 1 inch slices (white and light green parts only)

¾ tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp black pepper

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

Parmesan crumbs:

1Tbsp melted, unsalted butter

1 cup panko bread crumbs

½ cup grated parmesan

¼ tsp black pepper

1. Heat oven to 450
2. Melt butter in a 12” straight-sided skillet over medium heat. Add leeks, salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until leeks are tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer leeks to a shallow 2 qt. baking dish and pour cream over the top.
3. In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for Parmesan crumbs.
4. Sprinkle crumbs over the leeks and bake until cream is bubbling and crumbs are golden brown, about 15 minutes.

 *To prepare ahead of time, refrigerate the leeks and parmesan crumbs in separate containers for up to 1 day. When ready to make, warm leeks in microwave, then continue with step 4

*it says the recipe serves 8, but my people like to eat so I double it on Thanksgiving

Seriously, this stuff is delicious!

P.S. One of my other favorite leek recipes is this one from Pioneer Woman, its super easy and wonderful. And you can just add some kind of italian sausage on the side to make it more husband friendly: 

Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks

P.P.S. For more side dish ideas, here's a link to Martha Stewart's Best Christmas side dishes, here!

After all, Thanksgiving really is all about the side dishes isn't it?

Go-To Meal

Do you have a go-to meal? 

Like one you make for company or if you are bringing someone a meal because you know it always turns out good? Well I do, so here it is. I've had this recipe for so long that I don't remember where I got it, and I made a couple changes along the way so I am just going to call it mine now (mwa-hahaha!). 

It makes a bunch too so its also great for potlucks. 

Baked Rigatoni
1 box of Rigatoni pasta

1 lb ground beef
1/2-1 onion, chopped (depending on how much you like)

2 jars of Prego Italian Sausage and Garlic sauce
(you can use any kind but i like this one because of the yummy bits of sausage already in there)
1 or 2 tbsp red wine
1 bag (2 cups) of shredded Italian blend cheese (Sargento or Kraft)
3/4 cup cottage cheese
3/4 cup sour cream
Fresh or dry basil for topping

1) Brown ground beef and onion until beef is browned, draining the fat
2) Add sauce (I usually use one and a half bottles because 2 seems to be overly saucy but hey if you like that go for all of it) and a glug or 2 of red wine, and let simmer on low for about 20 minutes
3) While this is going, boil the water for the pasta and cook it according to the package directions
4) Once pasta is drained, add in both the cottage cheese and sour cream and mix well together

And now for the assembling...
5) In a greased 9x13 baking dish, spread out half of the pasta mixture
6) Layer half of the meat sauce, and then half of the cheese
7) Next layer the other half of the pasta, then the other half of the cheese
8) Lastly sprinkle the basil all over the top to make it look nice and pretty.
9) Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and you're done!

This is what your pasta mixture should look like, this is the key to the creaminess!

Ciao Bella!


What's your go-to meal? If you have a link please leave it in the comments,
I could always use another one!

Pins of the Week

I love this outfit!

                                                                      

benches and armchairs at the dinner table...

                                                                          

I need a nook!

                                                                                

Duct Tape Pumpkins

                                                                           

Always good to have another side dish, and this one is so easy

Chicken Gyros

I don't know about you, but when I think of gyros I picture the Seinfeld episode where Kramer knows of a subway stop with the best ones ever and is convinced he can get on and off the train while its at a stop, and come back with one....

Just me? OK, moving on...

I came across this recipe for Ground Beef Gyros on Full Bellies, Happy Kids. The original recipe can be found here. The first time I made it, I overcooked the beef patties and then used a store bought pita that was no where near fluffy enough! But I had to try again because the tzatziki-like sauce was so easy and delicious.

So the next time I used cubed chicken instead, and decided to make my own pita bread from a recipe I saw on Pinterest and all ended up very well in our tummies! 

Here is the homemade pita on the stove. Thankful for the recipe found here at Budget Bytes

Chicken saute'n.....the flavor of the seasonings here is just delicious and you most likely have all the ingredients on hand

Something different than the same old taco.....mix it up!

My slightly revised Chicken Gryo recipe after the jump....

Steak Anyone?

I'm just going to say it...I love steak. One of my favorite cuts is flank. I love it so much...like I want to ride on a tandem bicycle with it and go shopping to a montage of Walking on Sunshine with it. It's that good....if you do it right. It also helps if your husband knows how to grill it just right on the charcoal. 

The only drawback is that flank can be kind of pricey if its not on sale,
so this is kind of a splurge for us. 

The good news is that you can easily feed 4 people with 2 lbs of flank.

I'm sharing this bomb marinade with you by way of Grandma Barbie by way of her friend Troy, who doesn't mess around, she has the good stuff. (by the way in case you are picturing Grandma Barbie as some little 'ol lady, she is in fact my husband's mom, and is still a quite young and beautiful grandma, wink wink)

Flank Steak Marinade
1-2 lbs flank steak
1 small bottle of soy sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp dry ginger
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced

Put this all in a ziploc bag and let it sit overnight. BBQ it, slice it up into strips, and enjoy!

I call this shot....."Glory at Dusk".....or maybe "Sunset Glory", I don't know, it's a working title...

Grandma Barbie's Monkey Bread

So blogging from the middle of our Idaho adventure was a little more challenging than I thought. Considering I had no cell service or a computer I can see how it became a problem, hmm weird. Well I am still up here but back to my in-law's house in Rathdrum.
Gotta love a long vacation like this!

There are a few things that are a given in life for me. Seinfeld will never get old...when Eye of the Tiger is playing, I need to shadow box....and when we come to visit my in-laws in Idaho, Grandma Barbie makes monkey bread for breakfast. I've noticed that they do sell monkey bread already made in the frozen section, and to that I say shame!

This is a great dish to make when you have company since it feeds a lot. She always serves it with scrambled eggs and sausage. But do whatever you like, get crazy people!

Monkey Bread

Rhodes Dinner Rolls (frozen) 36 count

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

Cinnamon

1 packet butterscotch pudding mix

1 stick of butter

Pam spray

First spray a 9x13 baking dish and arrange the rolls like this.

Then sprinkle on enough cinnamon to cover the rolls (but not too much!), followed by the pudding mix. 

Melt 1 stick of butter and dissolve the brown sugar, creating a mixture. 

Spread that on top also, and it will look like this...

You'll need to let it sit out on the counter overnight, covered with a dish towel to let it rise. So basically assemble this before you go to bed. In the morning it should look like this...

Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes. And when it comes out, turn the pan upside down and empty the bread onto some foil.

 Its got all this gooey, brown sugary wonderful-ness

I prefer the pieces in the middle that are all doughy, but others might like the more well done outside. Eat up! And then run 5 miles in the afternoon...

And here is a pic of our Charlie from the trip. More to come soon of our latest adventure!

Artichoke Crusted Chicken

Now doesn't that sound fancy? 

This is something you can do with chicken that mixes it up a bit and is easy to do. If you like artichokes that is...and I do, so lucky for me!

Basically you salt and pepper your chicken breasts and saute them on the stove until done. 

Finish it off with this cheesy artichoke mixture by melting it under the broiler. 

And then it looks all fancy pants on the table! 

My 1 year old also loves this chicken, unlike my 4 year old who is too aware and looks right at things like artichokes, determining they are gross. I used to be like that too, until I was like 20, and discovered the goodness of other "gross" foods like mushrooms and avocados.
Ha! How wrong I was...

I always try to flatten my chicken so its even. I cover it with a big piece of plastic wrap and then just pound it with the bottom of my frying pan. Works great, then I don't have to do one at a time.

 Trader Joe's (if you live by one) has cheaper artichoke hearts than the regular grocery store,

in my experience.

For the topping mixture on 4 breasts I used:

1/2 cup chopped marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 cup shredded white cheese (i used monterey jack)

1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise

Spoon it on top of your cooked chicken and

broil for a few minutes in the oven to melt the cheese, making sure not to burn it!

Mmmhmmm.

I'm thinking next time I will try this with some spinach mixed in!

I found this on Sugarlaws, you can click here for the original recipe.

Carys' Favorite Marinade

Can't believe we are almost half way through July already. Carys has been doing swim lessons at the YMCA and getting so tan. She's such a little blondie! I picked up this cute heart dress at H&M for 7 bucks, can't beat that.

I wanted to share one of our favorite chicken marinades for the BBQ.

 Do it overnight or all day will cut it also.

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/3 c. worcestershire sauce

2 T brown sugar
2 T. olive oil

2 T lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 t. ground ginger

1/2 t. pepper

Then, grill 'em up!

And in a completely unrelated, but still entertaining note....I was trying to get the girls together  for a picture the other day. Charlie was not having it.. Oh, they make me laugh!