Friday, March 21, 2008

Yummy crock pot chili

My friend downstairs had us over for sunday dinner last week and this is what she made. It was awesome. Some of the best chili I've ever had. Enjoy!

Slow-Cooked Chili

1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil
3/4 lb beef stew meat, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp flour
1 large onion, chopped
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
16-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
16-oz can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
28-oz can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp barbecue sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
Garnishes: sour cream, shredded cheese, fresh chopped parsley, crushed tortilla chips

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat and brown it for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add the chili powder and cumin and let the spices heat for 1 minute, stirring all the while. Stir in the flour and let the mixture cook for 1 minute more.

Transfer the meat mixture to a large slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients (except the garnishes) and stir well. Cover the cooker and let the mixture cook for 6 to 8 hours on the low setting, stirring occasionally. If necessary, thin the chili with a little water or beef broth

Awesome salsa

We had our Easter potluck lunch today at the church and my friend brought this amazing salsa. It is very pretty looking too. Thought you might all enjoy the recipe. I know Ben it isn't authentic, but try it anyway:)

FRESH CORN SALSA
1 can whole kernal corn
1 can black beans
1 can black-eyed beans
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
2 avocados, chopped
cilantro, chopped (to taste)
1 pkg good seasons italian dressing mix (make it into the dressing using vinegar and oil. follow the directions on the package)

Mix it all together and serve with tortilla chips.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

layered salad for dummies, title requested by Jordan

Layer in a bowl the following: (a glass bowl is beautiful to see the layers, but whatever)
-cleaned and chopped lettuce, (any kind) romaine holds up well, and spinach mixed, you can make this whole salad the day before, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. DON'T mix until served!
The lettuce and spinach should fill approx. 2/3rds to not quite 3/4ths of your bowl
-chopped celery. Each layer should be just a thin layer, like just so you cannot see through it to the lettuce.
-sliced water chestnuts (canned)
-chopped green onions (again a thin layer, just enough so you cannot see the layer below.)
-frozen baby peas, always last, with dressing on top of the peas. " " Dressing:
Start with 1 cup mayonnaise and
1 cup sour cream stirred together. (If you use low fat of both, I put about 1-2 TB of milk in it, so it is not too thick. It must be spreadable, but not drippy, like cake mix thickness.)
Spread that on top of your salad. Here is the rule. The same as the rest. It should just cover the layer below it. As soon as it is all white, then it is good. I make more depending on the amount of salad I am making, but always start with that much and if you don't have enough to cover it about 1/4" thick than you don't have enough dressing.

On top of the dressing layer, fresh grated parmesan cheese, about 1/4"
Then sprinkle garlic powder, lawrys seasoned salt, sugar, sesame seeds (optional) and paprika. The spice amount is just until you can see the color across the entire surface, not dark and thick. Some people I give this to, don't put enough. Put about as much spice as you would sprinkle cinnamon on cinnamon toast.
-Cooked, crumbled bacon, 1 lb
-3 eggs hardboiled and diced
-sliced tomatoes, enough to point toward the center around the outside periphery of the bowl.
ok good luck! I have tried to make it foolproof!

Friday, March 14, 2008

Too late for your barbecue salad but yummy

Linguine Salad
1 small pack. linguine cooked, drained, rinsed (or any kind pasta)
1 cucumber chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 large tomato chopped
1 bunch green onions chopped or red onion
1 small bottle italian salad dressing
1/4th c wine vinegar
garlic salt to taste
1/2 bottle small salad supreme seasoning
Mix all above, add salad supreme seasoning to taste.
Can use the same basic recipe above but for a variation salad add:
1/2 lb grated mozzarella
grated carrots
broccoli, chopped
chopped black olives


Pizza Salad
1 lb. curly pasta cooked and drained
3-4 lum tomatoes diced
1 lb. cheddar cheese cubed
1-2 bunches chopped green onions
3 oz. sliced pepperoni, chopped
3/4 c cannola oil or whatever kind you want
2/3 c grated fresh parmesan cheese
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
Combine top 5 items - make dressing - pour over above
add more seasoning to taste
optional add croutons

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Help!

I need a good recipe for a pasta salad to take to a BBQ...any good ideas?

Monday, March 3, 2008

marinated roasted veggies

Mom asked me to post this recipe. I use this all the time. You can serve them alone as a side dish or I love to put them on a sandwich with cheese and make a panini with them. The best part about this recipe is you can make them the day before. You can also use any vegetables you choose. (Ben and Molly this is the recipe from Rylynn's birthday paninis that you asked for)

-4 cups assorted vegetables cut into thick slices or sticks (peeled eggplant; zucchini; summer squash; mushrooms; yellow, red, or green peppers; trimmed asparagus spears; cherry or grape tomatoes(these are the best), red onion or green onions. note:if you want to use carrots or fennel which I have never tried but the recipe lists them as an option, you have to peel and blanche them first.
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/8 cup seasoned rice vinegar, or any kind you want
-1 Tbsp fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
-1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp dried
-1 tsp chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 tsp dried
-1 tsp salt
-1 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Sorry for those of you who follow recipes exactly, but what I usually do is cut up all the veggies I want, then toss them in the olive oil and vinegar and then just season to taste with all the herbs, salt, and pepper. So just start with these amounts and add more until it tastes right. Also I have always used the dried herbs, but go for the fresh ones if you are feeling rich:)

1. Once all veggies are tossed and seasoned, cover and place in refrigerator over night or at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat your oven broiler for 5 minutes.
3. Spread veggies out over a large broiler pan in a thin layer.
4. Broil 4 inches from the heat for 5-7 minutes. Turn veggies once and grill until both sides are browed and wilted.

Eat with a fork or on a sandwich with melted provolone or havarti cheese! Enjoy.