Healthy Yummy Chili

Yes, I know it is a little hot outside but Wade and I love chili. We just crank the A/C and eat chili whenever. We both like very lean chili. This is the recipe that I always follow and we enjoy it every time. This is something you can throw on in the morning and let it cook in a roaster or crock pot.

2 lbs stew meat
1 lb ground turkey
2 cans diced tomatoes (you can use plain, chili ready, or w/ onions)
2 drained cans of dark kidney beans
1 can of chili beans in chili sauce
1/2 onion-chopped
1 green pepper-chopped (optional)
1 T. chili powder
1 T. garlic pepper (my fav is the Sav-a-lot brand)
1 T. taco seasoning
1 T. cumin
Salt- this one you will have to feel out. Salt is an enhancer. I usually do not add salt in the beginning. The is salt in some of the above seasonings. After it is hot and cooking for a while or even up to 15 min before you eat, I taste the chili. If the flavors are not blending, I add a pinch of salt. You do not want it too salty because if you use crackers, corn chips, or cheese... these also add salt.


I first brown the ground turkey and then dump it into the crock-pot / roaster. To save on dishes, I next brown the stew meat. While I am cooking the meat I add all my other ingredients to the pot. Once everything in in the pot, I give it a stir and let it cook. It need to cook a while so that the stew meat will be tender. The cooking times are:

crock pot- high to start (like while you are getting ready for work, up to an hour) and then low for at least 4 hours.
roaster- 350 for at least 2 1/2 - 3 hours.
Stove top in soup pot- high until boiling point, med low for 2 hour.

Enjoy

Lazy Salsa

I LOVE fresh salsa but I hate to cut tomatoes. Of all the different things you can do when you cook... cutting tomatoes is what I dislikehg the most. I also only really enjoy fresh tomatoes that you get out of the garden. I do not buy tomatoes from the store very often and when I do, I am picky and stick to grape or roma tomatoes. So here is my quick (a.k.a lazy) salsa.

2 cans petite diced tomatoes drained really well
1/2 chopped red onion
1/4 of a chopped jalapeno (NO SEEDS... that is the heat)
1 chopped yellow or orange pepper
1 T minced garlic
1 bunch of cilantro chopped
The juice from 2 limes
1/2 T salt

Mix everything together. Let sit for 2-3 hours, then taste. If the flavor do not blend well, you may need more salt. Salt is a favor enhancer. You can add more or less of any of the above ingredients. I love fresh salsa with baked lays scoops or pita chips.... If you are feeling froggie, you could even use fresh tomatoes... I like salsa made from grape tomatoes the best!

Good Ol' Chicken Wings

So... usually I make many wings around Super Bowl time. Wade and I are wing eaters. At our wedding we had like 7 different kinds of wings. I know that may sound like a weird wedding food but... it was us. Anyone who knows Wade and I (and especially when we were dating) also knows that we stay pretty true to just being us. Wade was the one who changed out of his tux and into a Bovine City steak eating contest shirt right after picture and before we walking into the reception as husband and wife. Because it was VERY hot, all the grooms men did have my permission to change but I was a little surprise that Wade had a steak eating shirt on... but that is him. One thing that I can always say about Wade is that he is always himself, never fake or tries to act or be a certain way for someone else. But back to the wings.... This is my favorite hot wing recipe... it sounds complex and messy... but you will get the hang of it. They are always a favorite. Now... I will warn that they are not the healthliest but.... they will be yummy....

You first mix:

2 cups flour, 1 teas of each garlic, salt, paprika, black pepper.

I always put my raw wings in a bowl. I mix up 3 eggs and pour it over the wings. I just kinda toss the wings around to get them all eggy. I then dip each one in the flour mixture and drop them into hot oil for frying (I use canola but peanut oil is the best). You can tell in the oil is ready for frying by dropping in a pinch of the flour. If it sinks... not ready. If it bubbles, it is ready to go. Smoking oil is not good. You do not need to worry about cooking the wings all the way through because we will be cooking them again. You just fry them until they have that nice golden fried chicken look to them. Once you pull them out of the oil, I drain them on a plate with a paper towel. I then dip then in my hot sauce mixture. The hot sauce mixture is:

2 cups frank red hot wing sauce
1 stick REAL butter (anything but real butter will make it greasy)
1 teas garlic salt
The juice from 2 limes

After you dunk them I lay them single layers in a 13x9 sprayed with Pam. I then bake them at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

Summertime is Grill'n Time (summer burgers)

In the summer I grill 75% of the time. I enjoy the smoky flavor plus it does not heat up the house. My favorite thing to cook up for a crowd is my... well they don't really have a name... Wade calls them the "burgers with the stuff in them" They are super easy and add a kick to your burgers.

This makes 6-8 burgers.

You will need:

3lb of hamburger
1 sleeve of ritz crackers, crushed
1 large egg
1/4-1/2 red pepper chopped fine
1/4-1/2 cup fine chopped onion
2 T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 T. minced garlic
1 slice of provolone cheese per hamburger or BBQ sauce

Mix all but the cheese (or BBQ sauce) together. Make patties. It is hard to tell you and estimated grilling time. It depends on so many heat factors. One key to a juicy burger, of any kind, is to flip it only once. Constantly flipping our pressing on the burger with dry it out (although these burgers are a little harder to dry out). You can see the sides of the burger starting to cook. This is a sign that you are close to flipping. I also cover my grill with the lid often so I can trap some of the heat and smoke. Once you flip it over and allow the burger to cook a bit longer, you can tell how done the burger is by pressing lightly (to hard will cause the juices to run out) on the top. The more give, the more rare. You can feel the density gain as it cooks. Once close to done lay a slice of cheese on each burger. Cover with the lid. This will smoke / melt the cheese. It is also good to not use the cheese and top it will BBQ sauce. I brush them with BBQ right after I flip them... You are all done. Enjoy.

Cooking and Blogging......

Well, here we go! I am not such the blogger. I enjoy reading other people's blog but I am not a writer. I would rather tell a story than write about it. I like the whole "blogging" world, though. Some leave long and detailed posts, some short thoughts, and some use links to direct you to something they have seen or found on the internet. I find each blog interesting. It allows you to get to know someone better by peeking into what they are thinking, struggling with, find humorous, or just share about their latest adventure. Each blog also contains glimpses of their "shape" or passion. What is my passion? I love to cook and serve people. I love to have friends over for dinner and allow them to be our guests in our home. Many of my friends are intimidated when they must cook for someone else. By using this blog, I would like to pass on some cooking ideas that may help one feel more comfortable cooking and invite someone over for dinner. This may also just give you an idea for your own creation. You can also give me ideas or ask about a recipe or idea.

Why do I cook? Both of my parents can cook rather well but neither of them prefer to cook. I would not say it is their "passion." My Dad has his special dishes and my mom likes to create different things out of the ordinary. I think I get my love for cooking and sharing meals from my grandma. My grandparent babysat me when I was younger while my mom and dad worked. My grandma made at least one big meal a day. Many of the people that I am close with now (including my husband) did not know my grandma then. For the last 10 years and until she past away in May, she was sick and very miserable. She was not able to do what she loves and her personality began to change. I choose not only remember her as she was the last 10 years, I remember my cooking buddy that I had for my first 16 years of my life. So back to that... She cooked BIG meals everyday. She always cooked like an army was coming over. It was a good thing, though. People knew that she cooked this way and would stop by to eat without a moments notice. She loved it when that would happen. The more people she had to cook for, the happier she was. Because I was around and apart of that, I think that is where I get my passion to cook for other people. So by doing this blog... I hope to honor her. Recipes soon to follow....