Our Chili Recipe

Jeff and I don't do spicy, so this chili is perfect for us. Brown the meat, cut up the veggies, and dump it all in the crock pot for a few hours. Add more or less of everything to fit your taste. Perfect for a chilly weekend! Get it?

Hearty Chili
1 pound ground turkey/chicken/beef
30 oz tomato sauce
12 oz V-8
14 oz stewed tomatoes
14 oz chili beans
1 small onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup red pepper
1/2 cup green pepper
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup uncooked wild rice
2/3 cup brown sugar (the secret ingredient, shhh!)
1 packet chili seasoning
1 tablespoon chili powder

Auntie Dell's Poppy Seed Cake

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines yellow cake mix
1 small box vanilla instant pudding
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup hot water
4 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp almond extract
2 tbls poppy seeds

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tbls poppy seeds

Heat oven to 350. Beat eggs in mixing bowl, add the rest of the cake ingredients and beat for about four minutes on medium speed.
Spray Bundt pan with cook spray (you can also us 9X13 pan).
Bake for 35-40 minutes--don't overdo!
Mix ingredients for glaze together.
If using Bundt pan, turn out and glaze when cake is fairly cool. If cooked in a rectangular pan, you can glaze the cake in the pan when it cools.
Drizzle glaze over cake and enjoy!

Recipe courtesy of Auntie Dell Farnworth. We've been enjoying it for years. Best. Cake. Ever.

Dessert Crackers

Ingredients:
One sleeve of Saltines (or more depending on the size of your cookie sheet)
2 sticks of butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
One bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 400.
Spray a cookie sheet with Pam and cover with Saltines in one layer.
In a small saucepan, melt butter and stir in brown sugar. When mixture begins to bubble, stir constantly with a wooden spoon for 3 minutes.
Pour mixture over Saltines and spread around.
Put crackers in oven for 3 minutes.
When you remove the cookie sheet, pour the chocolate chips over the top and spread around until the chocolate melts and covers all of the crackers.
Put cookie sheet in fridge until hardened--about four hours.
Cut into pieces with a pizza cutter.

Spinach and Chicken Pie

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large onion, chopped
2 1/4 pounds ground chicken (or turkey)
3 10 oz. packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups (12 oz) crumbled feta cheese
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
8 sheets phyllo dough, thawed (available in frozen section of grocery store)

Heat oven to 375 and coat 13x9x2 baking pan with cooking spray.
Melt butter in large skillet, add onion, cook 5 minutes.
Add ground meat and cook 8 minutes, until no longer pink.
Add spinach, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes on med-low.
Transfer mixture to large bowl.
Stir in cheese, eggs and oregano.
Place a sheet of phyllo in bottom of pan. Coat with cooking spray. Repeat 7 more times, coating the top of each sheet with cooking spray.
Spread spinach mixture over top.
Repeat layers with 8 more sheets of phyllo dough and cooking spray.
Cut top layer into 8 equal pieces.
Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until top is browned.
Recut to serve.

***Serves 8. Recipe from Family Circle, March 2009

The BEST Guacamole EVER

I went to a Whole Foods cooking class with a chef from Rosa Mexicano and he shared this recipe. It is simple and delicious!

Ingredients Part 1:
For Chile Paste:
1 tablespoon finely chopped white onion
1 firmly packed tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeno (I usually use 3-4 slices of jarred jalapeno)
1 teaspoon salt

Grind the above ingredients in a "molcajete" (wish I had one). You can also use a fork to smash the ingredients to a paste. It takes about 3-4 minutes and everything gets wet, but not thick.

3 Ripe, but firm AVOCADOS:
The chef said to look for black, with a hint of green. They should give to the touch, but not soft. I spend a lot of time checking out the avocados when I make this, but haven't had too much bad luck.
To cut the avocados: Cut them in half and remove the seed. Carefully "score" the avocados, making 3-4 evenly spaced cuts lengthwise and crosswise. Then scoop out the pieces with a spoon and add to the paste. This is apparently the key to the Rosa Mexicano guac. Nice, big pieces of avocado.

The Rest of the Ingredients:
3 tablespoons diced tomato
2 firmly packed tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped white onion
Salt to taste

Add the rest of the ingredients to the chile paste and avocados. Fold gently to keep the avocado pieces large. Serve immediately with chips.

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo

Ingredients:
Kosher Salt
Good olive oil
3/4 pound orzo pasta
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 3 lemons)
Ground black pepper
2 pounds (16-18) shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
1 cup fresh chopped dill (I don't use this. I hate dill.)
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium diced (I think a regular cucumber would be good, too)
1/2 red onion, small diced
3/4 pound feta cheese

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F.
Fill a large pot with water, add a splash of salt and oil, bring water to a boil. Add orzo and simmer for 9-11 minutes. Drain and pour into a large bowl.
Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. I whisk the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and slowly pour in the oil while continuing to whisk. Pour over hot orzo and stir well.
Meanwhile, place shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 5-6 minutes until shrimp are cooked through.
Add the shrimp to the orzo. Add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, salt and pepper to taste. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. Set aside at room temperature for an hour to allow flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight.
Serves 6

**I made this at the beach without shrimp, parsley, or dill and refrigerated before serving.

Recipe from Barefoot Contessa at foodnetwork. com

Greek Chicken with Tzatziki Sauce

Marinade Ingredients:
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Tzatziki sauce:
1 cucumber peeled--then use the peeler to make "ribbons" of cucumber. Keep making the ribbons until you get to the seeds.
1/2 cup plain yogurt (one regular sized yogurt container=1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic glove, minced

Put all of the marinade ingredients (except the chicken) into a large ziploc bag and shake well. Add the chicken and shake again. Keep bag in the fridge until you are ready to cook. I usually do this about 2-3 hours beforehand and shake the bag a few times during that time.
Grill the chicken or broil in the oven until done. Discard the extra marinade.
Put all of the sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix well. I usually do this when I make the marinade and keep the sauce in the fridge because I like it cold. You can prepare right before you eat, though.
Serve the sauce on the side with the chicken and have some with every bite. Yum!

***This is an adaptation from a recipe I found in Cooking Light, years ago. I always serve this chicken with grilled zucchini and roasted potatoes with rosemary. I can also see adding some Feta cheese on the chicken, but I've never done that.

Easy White Chicken Chili

1 can cream of chicken soup
1 packet taco seasoning (not chili seasoning)
1 can chopped green chilies (drained)
2 small cans chicken broth (I think the 15 oz size, you know, like a soup can)
2 cans chicken flaked chicken breast (drained)
1 can great northern white beans (drained)
1 can white navy beans (drained)
1 can white corn (drained)
1 medium onion (chopped)

Put everything in a crock pot and slow cook for several hours. You can serve with sour cream, chopped scallions, bacon bits, or shredded cheese.

Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

Lori made this for Thanksgiving and it was sooooooooo good!

Ingredients:
8 oz. box of elbow macaroni, cooked in salted water and drained
1 ½ cup milk
1- 12 oz. can of evaporated milk
3 eggs, lightly beaten
½ stick of butter
4 cups of grated cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Cook the macaroni in salted water. Mix all ingredients together in the crock pot, retaining 1 cup of cheese for the top. Sprinkle the cup of cheese on top after everything mixed together.

Cover, and cook on Low heat for 3 hours. DO NOT OPEN OR STIR until after the 3 hours. When ready to serve, stir.

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 of a bag of chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, pumpkin, eggs, and applesauce until smooth (I put these in my Kitchen Aid for about a minute).
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Slowly add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and beat until smooth and well combined. The batter will be thick. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the chocolate chips until evenly distributed. Do not over mix. Spoon the batter into loaf pan.
Bake until the top is brown and crusty looking, about 60 minutes. A knife inserted into the center should come out clean.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for ten minutes. After ten minutes, carefully take the bread out of the pan and allow it to cool completely on the wire rack.
Makes one loaf, adapted from Pumpkin Bread with Dates recipe on williams-sonoma.com

one more thing to do with chicken

I threw this together last night and it was tasty and easy and quick. I like cooking with brown rice and black beans; with the chicken and corn it was a complete meal, high in protein low in fat and filling. Did I mention it was quick?
here it is:

• 4 cooked chicken breasts cubed (leftovers work perfectly if you are in a hurry and who isn't)
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 3 cobs of corn cut off the cob (i bought it at the farmers market and had to use it up quick and didn't want to eat it off the cob ) or frozen corn equaling about 3/4 cups.
• 2 cans of black beans 14oz cans
• 1/2 package of chili seasoning like chili-o by French's or to taste.
• 1tsp liquid smoke ( i love the flavor of liquid smoke (i bought it at Kroger) but just use a small amount or omit all together cause the dish is good without it too.)

1. start with the chicken if it's not cooked already saute it in a large skillet or throw in the cubed chicken
2. dump in the tomatoes, black beans, corn and chili mix and liquid smoke.
3. serve over brown rice. (the package of frozen brown rice at Trader Joe's is the best rice I have eaten including rice i cook myself. it takes 3 minutes in the microwave and it is easy and quick and delicious.)

Love to all my Georgia friends, Sally

Fresh Corn and Tomato Salad

3 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup evoo
6 ears fresh corn, husked (about 4 cups of kernels)
2 cups red or orange grape tomatoes, halved
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
8 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into small cubes
Fresh basil leaves

Whisk vinegar, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Gradually whisk in the oil, starting with a few drops and then adding the rest in a steady stream, to make a smooth dressing.
Shear off the corn kernels with a sharp knife over a bowl. Toss in the tomatoes, scallions,and mozzarella. Pour the vinaigrette over the salad and toss to coat. Cover and let set for15 minutes or up to 2 hours. Before serving tear the basil over the salad and stir.
From foodnetwork.com

***Oh my gosh, this was so good! I am so mad I just made it for the first time. It is a perfect summer salad, especially with some good sweet corn. Delicious! I actually found small "pearl-sized" mozzarella which I just dumped right in.

Tortilla-Lime Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 cups vegetable broth
1 (14 1/2 ounce can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes)
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1 breast of chicken (cooked)
2 corn tortillas (cut into strips)
juice of two limes
1 avocado (cut into slices)

Heat the oil in a saucepan and cook onion & garlic about 6 minutes. Add cumin and cayenne and cook while stirring for one minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, chicken & corn and bring to a boil. Simmer about five minutes.

Meanwhile, spray pan with Pam and cook tortilla strips about four minutes, turning when needed. Remove the soup from heat. Stir in lime juice and top with avocado & tortilla strips.

Chicken Casserole

This is my grandmother's recipe. I use fat free/low fat of anything that I can. It is total comfort food!

3 to 4 chicken breasts
can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of sour cream
1/2 sleeve of Ritz crackers
1/2 stick butter

Boil chicken breasts and cube them. Layer the bottom of the dish with the cubed chicken. Mix your sour cream and cream of chicken soup and spread on top of chicken. Crush your Ritz crackers and spread on top of soup mixture. Top with melted butter and bake at 350 for twenty-five minutes.

Stuffed Fiesta Burgers

1 lb. ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, whatever)
1 package taco seasoning
1/4 cup chive and onion cream cheese
1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
hamburger buns
salsa
avocado

Preheat grill to medium heat
Mix meat and taco seasoning
Mix cream cheese and shredded cheese
Shape meat into eight thin patties
Place about 2 tbsp of the cheese mixture in middle of four patties
Top with the other patties, pinching the edges together
Grill patties about 7-9 minutes on each side
Top with salsa and avocado
Makes four burgers, from KRAFT FOOD & FAMILY Summer 2006

**I found the burgers cooked very quickly because the top and bottom layers are thin, but I may have had the heat too high on the BBQ. We used turkey meat and topped with ketchup and mustard. A big hit at our house.

"Vegetarian" Stuffed Peppers

1 1/4 cup chicken broth (sub. veggie broth for true vegetarian)
1 cup couscous
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups fresh spinach
1 cup canned corn, drained
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup grated mozzarella
4 red or yellow bell peppers, cored, stemmed, and seeded
4 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350
Use chicken broth to cook couscous, using directions on the package
Warm olive oil in a large pan over medium heat; saute onion and garlic until translucent (5-10 minutes)
Add spinach and saute until wilted
Add corn (drained) and tomatoes (with juices) and cook for five minutes
Remove from heat, drain, and transfer to a bowl
Stir in couscous and mozzarella, season with salt and pepper
Place peppers upright in a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and fill with stuffing
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and bake for 20 minutes
Serves four, from SELF DISHES Spring 2006

**I cut this recipe in half and had plenty to stuff two peppers, plus some left over which we ate on the side. Also, I used a yellow pepper and a green pepper.