Day 13 of a Month of Giving Thanks

Today I am thankful for beautiful, cool, low humidity days like today.  These are the days that remind me why I live in a place with such hot summers. 

Pot of chili on the stove and beautiful breezes blowing through my open windows and doors...

Turkey and Pinto and Black Bean Chili

I’m cold. Now I am not talking just a little cold here, I mean I am bundle up in a bunch of sweaters, fuzzy sock and big slippers, gallons of hot tea being drank, but I still can’t seem to get warm so I guess that’s why my family is eating lots of soups and comfort foods right now! Anything to try and be warm. This chili fit the bill. Needed to simmer on the stove and I knew if would smell just perfect and add the illusion of warmth to the house!

Turned out absolutely perfect and I can’t wait for the leftover for dinner tonight!

Recipe for the cornbread can be found here!

Turkey and Pinto Bean Chili (adapted from Epicurious.com )

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 medium-size red bell peppers, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1.5 pounds ground turkey
• 5 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained
• 1 15-ounce can of black beans, drained
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 ounce semisweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Heat Olive Oil in a large heavy bottom pot. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic and sauté over high heat until vegetables begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add turkey and sauté until no longer pink, breaking up large pieces with back of fork, about 5 minutes. Mix in chili powder, cumin and oregano and stir 1 minute. Add beans, tomatoes with juices, broth and chocolate. Bring chili to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered until chili thickens, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour but can be simmered longer for a thicker chili. Season with salt and pepper.

Chili Verde for the Crockpot

It was cold yesterday.  At least by Southwest Florida standards.  I think we reached a high of about 60F for the whole day.  I’m not complaining.  I live for the cooler weather but I knew that I needed something to warm us up for dinner.  Knowing that we would be at The BMX Track after the sun went down was pretty motivating too!

I pulled out my trusty Crockpot and went to work. 

Chili Verde

6-8 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds of pork (this time I used pork steaks and cut them down to bite sized pieces.  Could use Pork Butt or Shoulder Roast)
• 3 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour (seasoned with a small bit of salt and pepper)
• 1/2 Cup water
• 1/2 Cup Tomatillo Salsa
• 2 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 (7 ounce) can of chopped green chiles, rinsed and drained.
• 1 small jar of pimientos (or 3/4 cup roasted red pepper strips)
• 1 (15 ounce) can of black beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

• In a large bowl toss the pork with the seasoned flour until evenly coated.  Stir in the water , salsa, cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt, onions and 1/2 of the green chiles.  Mix well.
• Cover and cook on low heat for about 6 hours (or on high for about 3 or 4), or until pork is tender.  Stir twice if possible.
• Stir in the remaining green chiles, the red pepper strips and the black beans.  Cover again and cook on high 20-30 min. longer until heated through and bubbling again.

Will I make this again?  Definitely.  This will be a go to winter meal for us.  I wanted to try not browning the pork in this recipe and I am really pleased with how it turned out.  Truth be told I ran out of time and needed to get this on.  Worked to my advantage.  The meat was spoon cutting tender.  Everyone in the house loved it. 

Soup and Chili Weather!

It doesn't really get "cold" here, it just feels like it is to us. After living our summers at 90 degrees and above when the temperature starts to drop below 75 degrees we feel a little chill in the air! Go ahead laugh all you want but when it is in the 40's during the night and only the 60's during the day we need to be bundled up!!! Hence my huge desire for soups and chili last week.

I put a shout out on Twitter (follow me here to find out what I'm up to!) looking for chili recipe and "Wow" did my friends deliver! I have so many chili recipes favorited and that I can't wait to try! Due to my daughter still being sick I wasn't able to head to the grocery store to pick up any missing items so I was rather limited on what I could make. Someone sent me this Weight Watchers recipe though that fit all of my requirements and was low in points (5 points per serving) as well!!!

Bean and Beef Chili (adapted from WW)

Ingredients

	2 tsp olive oil
	1 medium onion(s)
	2 medium stalk(s) celery
	2 medium garlic clove(s)
	1 small jalapeño pepper(s)
	1 pound(s) lean ground sirloin
	2 tbsp chili powder
	2 tsp ground cumin
	1 tsp dried oregano
	2 piece(s) bay leaf
	1/2 tsp table salt
	1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
	28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
	8 oz canned diced tomatoes
	15 oz canned kidney beans
	3/4 cup(s) canned chicken broth

Instructions

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, garlic and jalapeño; sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Add beef and sauté until browned and cooked through, breaking up meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes; drain mixture through a colander to remove excess fat.

Return beef mixture to pan (set over medium-high heat) and add chili powder, cumin, oregano, bay leaves, salt and red pepper flakes; stir to coat vegetables and beef with spices. Add tomatoes, broth, diced tomatoes and beans, and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes.

To serve, discard bay leaves, ladle chili into bowls and top with chopped shallots. Yields about 1 heaping cup per serving.

I loved this recipe and despite it being a WW recipe I will make it again and again! This would be great for a buffet meal or a pot luck. Cook as per directions and then hold warm in a crock pot!

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Chili Nachos!

Chili Nachos with cheddar, onions and fresh jalapeños!

It was lunch time and I was HUNGRY!!! I looked in the fridge and there were a ton of possibilites. Leftover chili, tuna salad, veggies, salad...I didn't want any of it though. Then my eyes lit up and I knew what I had to have!!!

Venison Chili Nachos:

I used the recipe that I posted a couple of week ago for Confessional Chili (posted below). This time though I followed the recipe completely except for the fact that I used ground venison not beef. This was only because it's what I had on hand right then. Venison is a very lean meat with a stronger flavor than beef. This is a great recipe to use it in as the spices and herbs used help to cover up the different taste!

I took out a handful or more of tortilla chips, topped them with cheese, preheated chili, onions and fresh jalapeños. I broiled this just until the cheese was melted. Made for a great lunch!!!

Confessional Chili (New York Cookbook by Molly O'Neill)

Ingredients:

2 to 3 large onions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 to 4 small Indian green chilies, chopped, or 4 jalapeno chilies, chopped (including the seeds), or 3 tablespoons extra-hot ground dried chilis
3 tablespoons peanut oil
3 pounds lean chopped sirloin (used ground venison)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
2 cans (28 ounces each) imported Italian whole plum tomatoes (I used Muir Grove chopped tomatoes and I have to say they were incredibly delicious!)
4 bay leaves
2 cans (16 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch cilantro or Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, rinsed and chopped.

Directions:

1. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic, and chili's in the oil until the onions are translucent, 5 minutes.

2. Crumble the chopped sirloin over the top of the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper; stir in the coriander, cumin, thyme, and oregano. Cover and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

3. Pour the tomatoes into a small bowl and coarsely crush with your hands. Pour the tomatoes and juice on top of the chili mixture. Stir in the bay leaves. Cover or leave uncovered, depending on the consistency you prefer (a covered pot with yield a thicker chili), and simmer until the flavors are well married, about 30 minutes.

4. Stir in the pinto beans and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve at once.

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Farmer's Market Day and a chili recipe!

This weeks haul: cucumbers, scallions, radishes, beets, tat soi (Asian spinach), lettuces, eggplant, bread and some really, really stinky blue cheese (not pictured cuz I didn't want to touch it again!)

Friday night of last week was our Monthly Potluck. This is an event that a bunch of us decided to do because we felt like we were all losing touch with each other. The kids are all at different schools now and we are all so busy with after school activities that we were going months with only the odd email or text message in between. If this is happening to you and you want to start something like this and need more info as to how to do it, email me and I can lend you a hand! It is really working out so great for all of us. Anyway...where was I???

Confessional Chili - David Durk, whose career in law enforcement has spanned 23 years and included a stint as the partner of the famous Frank Serpico, purports to have served this atomic chili to tight-lipped prisoners and potential informers, many of whom he claims "would never talk to a New York Cop." How soon after consumption did they start gabbing? "Immediately," he laughs.

Oh yah, a chili recipe. Last months hostess was Kathy and she made an incredible chili. Of course I asked her for the recipe...but when I was ready to make the recipe I realized I had some of the wrong stuff (crushed tomatoes not whole tomatoes and certainly not 3 lbs of beef). I made do with what I had and it turned out really, really good but was it as good as hers? Nope, need the freshness of the whole tomatoes!!!

The cornbread turned out really good this time and I topped T's and my side with jalapeños and I managed to keep it from falling and cracking on the counter!

Confessional Chili (New York Cookbook by Molly O'Neill)

Ingredients:

2 to 3 large onions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
3 to 4 small Indian green chilies, chopped, or 4 jalapeno chilies, chopped (including the seeds), or 3 tablespoons extra-hot ground dried chilis
3 tablespoons peanut oil
3 pounds lean chopped sirloin
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 teaspoon dried Greek oregano
2 cans (28 ounces each) imported Italian whole plum tomatoes
4 bay leaves
2 cans (16 ounces each) pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 bunch cilantro or Italian (flat-leaf) parsley, rinsed and chopped.

Directions:

1. In a large heavy pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, saute the onions, garlic, and chili's in the oil until the onions are translucent, 5 minutes.

2. Crumble the chopped sirloin over the top of the vegetables. Season with salt and pepper; stir in the coriander, cumin, thyme, and oregano. Cover and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 7 minutes.

3. Pour the tomatoes into a small bowl and coarsely crush with your hands. Pour the tomatoes and juice on top of the chili mixture. Stir in the bay leaves. Cover or leave uncovered, depending on the consistency you prefer (a covered pot with yield a thicker chili), and simmer until the flavors are well married, about 30 minutes.

4. Stir in the pinto beans and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve at once.

Serves 8 to 10

I ended up halving the recipe and using crushed tomatoes (recommend whole-the taste wasn't really fresh like it should have been). Despite my errors this is an incredible recipe and goes wonderfully with all sorts of toppings:

jalapenos
onion
cheese
tortilla chips
sour cream

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com

Chili and a product review

Wow...those onions are almost blinding!!!

A couple of weeks ago the people at Amazing Taste contacted me and asked me if I would like to sample some of their products. Of course I said yes. I like FREE things. I have had problems with this before though. I have been sent products with so many items in the ingredients that I couldn't pronounce and others items that I just would never use.

This time it was different though. When I got the seasoning packets (which sell for $.99) I was pleasantly surprised. One of the companies goals is to help people take cheaper (therefore tougher) pieces of meat and help make them better and saving you money at the same time!


Last night was one of those nights where I had been running everywhere and couldn't figure out what I was going to do for dinner so I was looking through the pantry and saw the seasoning packets and pulled out one for Chili. They also have special blends for poultry, pork, burgers, seafood, an all purpose malibu, and steak house seasonings. The best thing about Amazing Taste Seasonings is that they have hardly any ingredients in them. The chili seasoning has, get this, chili pepper and other spices, salt, and dehydrated garlic. Normally I would have made this without the aid of a seasoning packet but to be fair I wanted to try this.

Guess what? It was good. Now of course I change the recipe from the packet all up. I still added a pound of beef, but I also added onions, green peppers, fresh frozen tomatoes and black beans. Would I buy this? I would need to try some more of them before I could say that. Chili seasoning is so easy to do from scratch so maybe not that one but maybe one of the others. I'll let you know!

Used from my freezer:

1 green pepper (29 to go...a little help here guys???)
6 frozen whole tomatoes

As Always...

Happy Entertaining!!!

Judy
www.nofearentertaining.com