Chili and Cornbread

I'm back! It's been too long. Let's start with something easy. How about some chili? Throw some beef and peppers in the pot with spices, and you've got a meal. This time, I added a few nontraditional ingredients as pictured. If I didn't say, you probably wouldn't know I was planning to make chili.

Beefy Chili
Makes four servings

1 lb ground beef

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove

1 inch ginger, julienne

1 green onion, chopped

1 can diced tomato

1 tbsp chili

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp cumin
1 tsp red cayenne pepper

Brown beef on medium high. Drain well and add it to a crock pot. Heat olive oil on medium high. Add bell pepper, onion, and garlic to the pan. Stir vegetables for three minutes to bring out the flavor, then add to the crock pot. Add ginger, green onion, and the diced tomato with the juice to the pot. Then add the spices and stir. Heat on high for two hours or all day on low. An hour before serving, take the lid off to thicken.

Apparently, according to Top Chef, there's no beans in (Texan) chili. But, Bill thinks it needs some beans. This is a meaty meal. Cornbread balances it out. The Jalapeños give the cornbread a kick. This recipe is loosely based on the regular cornbread recipe in The Kitchen Bible.

Jalapeño Cornbread 

Makes 9 squares

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup polenta

1/2 cup white cornmeal

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream

3/4 cup milk

2 tbsp butter, melted

1 Jalapeño pepper, sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a baking pan (mine was 8x8). Mix flour, polenta, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Whisk the egg, sour cream, milk, and butter in another bowl. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and stir. Pour into a baking pan and top with Jalapeño slices. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick (or chopstick) comes out clean from the center. It's soft but not crumbly. I love the crispy sides. Watch out for the Jalapeños--they're hot! Serve with the chili. 

Guest Blog: Sausage Mushroom Mac n' Cheese

No matter how good the photographer, some things can't be made to look pretty

Hello everyone! This is guest blogger Bill, Shirley's husband. Today I will be presenting to you my Monday night creation, Sausage mushroom mac n' cheese. It's so easy to cook, even your cat can make it. Although in that case, you might be eating some hairy noodles.

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil

2 Italian hot sausages, sliced

5 mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

6 cups water (liquid phase)

1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

1/4 stick butter (box calls for margarine, but let's keep things natural)

1/4 cup milk

1 packet artificial cheese (included with your box of macaroni)

On medium heat, saute garlic. When browned, add sausage slices and cook thoroughly. When sausage is almost done, add mushrooms. Cook a few minutes more and remove from heat. Don't undercook.

Simultaneously, boil 6 cups of water in a medium pot. When at a rolling boil, add macaroni and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally so that darn macaroni doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot. Drain with a colander and return to the pot. Try not to let all your noodles fall in the sink. 

Add the sausage mixture and the remaining ingredients to the pot. Mix thoroughly. If you are bad at measuring and your sauce ended up thin, let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Otherwise, serve immediately. 

Recommended pairing: orange juice. Takes the edge off this ultra-savory meal!

Friday Flashback: Making Christmas Cookies

This time two years ago, we were busy making Christmas cookies for our family. Because we lived so far away, we had to make it early enough for airmail. This year, we can just bring the cookies to them! There weren't many pictures of the finished product because we were so exhausted after making 20 batches of cookies. At the end, I vowed I would never make Christmas cookies again. But as the time gets closer, I'm getting tempted again, especially after looking at some wonderful pictures at I Am Baker.

Reindeer or moose? We prefer moose

Some honey drizzling action

The kitchen overflowed.

Will you be making any Christmas cookies this year?

Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup

In an effort to make up for the amount of food I ate over Thanksgiving, I'm going to post some healthier meals. Also, because I haven't been in the kitchen for a week--thanks to the delicious leftovers from the holiday meal--this is from a couple weeks ago.

Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Soup

Makes 4 servings

1/2 head cauliflower

1 tbsp chopped rosemary

2 cups sweet potato cubed

1 tbsp rubbed sage

5 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

Salt & pepper

1/4 grated Parmesan

Wash and chop cauliflower. 

Season with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Same with the sweet potatoes, only now season with sage.

Puree roasted vegetables in a blender or food processor with chicken broth. You may have to do it in two batches. Add the Greek yogurt. Then return the soup to the stove or cheat like me and use the microwave. Season with salt and pepper, and top of Parmesan.

Serve it with a side salad. This is an Arugula and Romaine salad with Strawberry dressing. Topped with Anadama bread croutons. My husband gave it an A+!

Mmmm, Pies

We look forward to the delicious homemade pies at my mother-in-law's every year during the holidays. This Thanksgiving, I decided to bring one. I've made pumpkin pies before, but this was the first time I made it from scratch. This recipe is from Joy of Baking.

Bake a pie pumpkin at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Wait 10 minutes for it to cool before scooping out the pumpkin. Puree the pulp in a blender or food processor. I forgot this step and pureed it with the eggs. I think that's why the pie cracked when it cooled.

At the same time, you can salt and toast the seeds for 10 minutes. Pie pumpkin seeds are sooo good!

Make these gingersnap cookies.

Finely grind gingersnap cookies with toasted pecans in a food processor.

Make the pie crust and chill for an hour.

Press the cookie and pecan mixture on the bottom and up the sides of the pie crust.

Chill for another half an hour while you make the filling. Add the filling, and decorate with leaves. 

These are my first pie decorations. They're a little cracked, but it's hard to tell once the pie is baked. Bake the pie at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve at room temperature with whipped cream.

Mmmm last bite.

Add a slice of my mother-in-law's famous sour cherry pie. So delicious!