Cowboy Caviar Chili

So, I am always nervous to make chili. I haven't made it for a while cause I had a couple bad experiences, and tried some recipes I thought I would like, but were not good. I'm always kind of overwhelmed by what recipe to try because there are so many, and I always want to make this phenomenal chili, but like I said, I have tried some recipes that didn't work out very well. Tonight, using what I had on hand, I made up my own recipe. By no means is it phenomenal. It's not your ordinary chili, it kind of reminded me of that cowboy caviar salsa (in looks), so I decided to name it that. Here it is.

1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
1 can black beans
1 can red beans
1 can black eyed peas
1 can diced tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
2 cups beef stock (or broth)
1/2 onion
1 or 1/2 green pepper (whichever you prefer), chopped
1 or 1/2 red pepper, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1/2 clove garlic
1/2 cup bbq sauce
2 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander (opt.)
2 Tbsp Worchestershire (I can never spell or say that correctly), mine was reduced sodium so if yours is regular you might want to watch the salt
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
optional, 1/2 tsp dried cilantro, but I would have added fresh if I had it

Cook the peppers, onion and celery until tender. Add meat and brown, then add garlic. Add canned vegetables, stock, bbq sauce, tomato paste, and spices. Bring to a boil and let simmer at least 10-15 minutes.

This is a sweeter chili. If you don't like your food to be sweet in the slightest (cough*Jason*cough), then maybe don't add as much bbq sauce, but I really liked the flavor it gave. This was kind of an experiment, but I liked how it turned out. I would love it if you guys made it and gave me some feedback.

Apple Cider Glazed Pork Chops with Roasted Vegetables

Hi everyone! I'm sorry for my lack of posts in the past...year?... but I will make up for it in the next little while.

I made this meal the other day and it was super easy, and it was probably the best pork chop I have ever made. They were super tender, which surprised me because of how quickly I cooked them. I found a recipe that cooked the pork similar to this, and added my own spices and the sauce reduction.

4 boneless pork chops
2 tsp sage
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 clove garlic or more if you like it
1/8 tsp smoked paprika
pinch of cinnamon

Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups good apple cider
1-2 tsp brown sugar

Mix together spices and rub on pork chops, room temperature. Heat up about 2 Tbsp olive oil in a medium frying pan. When the oil is hot, place pork chops in and get a good brown on one side. Don't poke them or flip them more than once. Brown on the other side, then brush both sides with dijon mustard. Pour 1 1/2 cups apple cider into the pan (more if needed, I'm not sure about the amount, but it should go about halfway up the chops in the pan). Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes on medium heat, until pork chops are tender. Remove the chops without poking them (with tongs or spatula) and crank up the heat on the skillet so that the sauce is boiling. Reduce to about half the liquid then add in brown sugar and salt to taste. Pour sauce over pork chops.

The roasted vegetables I served with this:
Cut equal amounts of yams, russet potatoes, and carrots into same size pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and season with cumin, rosemary, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree until starting to brown. Take out and stir, adjust salt and add more olive oil if veggies are looking dry. Then continue to cook until browned all over and delicious.

Roasted vegetables are a staple at our house now. You can do any vegetables. Asparagus, cauliflower, zucchini, broccoli, etc. This combo of the potatoes and carrots with those spices was definitely one of my favorites yet. Let me know what you think of these recipes if you try them. I hope you do cause they were easy and delicious!

Chicken Pot Pie

I love chicken pot pie and in my opinion an ultimate comfort food.  One of my friends in Arizona made this for our family when I had Cameron and now its a family favorite.


Chicken Pot Pie
1 pie crust
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts; boiled and shredded
10 oz. mixed vegetables (frozen)

Preheat oven to 425.  Melt butter, add onions, flour, salt, and pepper.  Add broth and milk, boil one minute, then add chicken and veggies.  Pour into pie crust, and put the top on.  Bake for 30-35 minutes.  Also a good freezer meal!

Caramel Pecan Ice Cream Dessert

This is my new go to dessert. It is pretty amazing. I have made it and not put it all together, but used the crumble as an ice cream topping with Mrs. Richardson's butterscotch caramel. It is amazing. Make sure you freeze it for 2-3 hours before serving or it will be soupy.

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c flour
1 c chopped pecans
1 c packed brown sugar
1 c quick cooking oats
1 c butter melted
1 1/2 c caramel ice cream topping
2 quarts vanilla ice cream, softened

In a large bowl combine flour, pecans, brown sugar, oats and butter. Spread in a thin layer on a cookie sheet with sides and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, stirring occasionally. Cool and press half of mixture in a 9x13 pan. Drizzle half of caramel topping and then spread with ice cream. Top with remaining sauce and crumbs. Cover and freeze. Remove from freezer 10 minutes before serving.

Sesame Pasta Salad

I got this recipe from the lovely Lexi Brown and I love it. I make it a lot, sometimes with chicken for an easy dinner. I love that you can make it ahead and be done with it. I have never used that much spinach, I usually just throw in a couple handful's. The Veri Veri Teriyaki sauce is in the Asian section of the grocery store and sooo good. I use it on everything. Enjoy!

16 oz bowtie pasta

2 cans mandarin oranges

1 cup sliced cashews

2 bags baby spinach

Dressing:

1/3 cup of red wine vinegar

1/3 cup of olive oil

1½ cup Veri Veri Teryaki sauce

2 Tbl white sugar

Blend dressing in the blender. Cook the pasta al dente and rinse with cold water. Put pasta in large ziplock bag and add dressing. Place in fridge and let soak in overnight. Right before eating it, add in the oranges, cashews, and spinach. Serve chilled.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

I made this bread yesterday, and I thought it was really good.

Buttermilk Banana Bread

1/2 c butter, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed bananas, about 2-3 bananas
4 T buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour your pan. I actually used 3 small loaf pans. This recipe will make enough for one large loaf pan, one med sized loaf pan and one small, 3 small loaf pans, or muffins.

Cream softened butter and sugar. Add eggs, bananas, buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients and add gradually to banana mixture. Just mix till combined. Put in pan(s) of choice.

Bake at 350 for 30-50 min. depending on the size of your pan. The larger the pan the longer you'll cook it. For the 3 small loaf pans I cooked them 30 min. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Take out of the pan and cool on a wire rack.

"Puff" Pancakes

These bring back so many memories for me. I used to love it when Mom would make these for us when we were little. I made them one night for my kids. They were a hit!! My girls loved them and I loved them because they were so easy!!!

Puff Pancakes aka German Pancakes

1/4 c butter
6 eggs
1 1/2 c milk
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 tsp salt

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9 x 13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. While oven is heating up melt your butter in the pan (careful it will burn easily.) Mix the remaining ingredients together until smooth. (I use my hand blender.) Pour egg mixture into the pan over the melted butter. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes. Sift powder sugar over the top. Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, or I really like jam on mine.

Creamy tomato basil soup

I got this recipe from Lexi and I have made it once a week since then. I love it. I cut down the sugar by about half and add more basil and less cream, but it is great as is.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

1 medium onion finely chopped

1/2 cup butter

3-14.5 ounce cans stewed tomatoes (or fresh)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. basil, or to taste

1 Tbsp. Chicken bullion

2-14.5 ounce cans chicken broth

1 cup whipping cream

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Add onion, bullion, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer on a low heat until onion is tender. Add tomatoes with juice and heat until warm. Place these ingredients into a blender, blending thoroughly. You’ll probably have to repeat this step 2 or 3 times as it’s not possible to fit it all in the blender. Return mixture to saucepan adding chicken broth and cream or milk. Heat and serve with garnish of freshly grated parmesan cheese. Serves 6-8.

Apricot-Glazed Pork

This is the recipe I made at Mom and Dad's. It is super easy and delicious. I use soy sauce instead of tamari sauce and dried ginger instead of pickled. I use more like a teaspoon. I also tried this without the sesame oil and it is not as good. This recipe is supposed to feed 4, so for Andrea's family, I would double or triple this.

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• Salt
• Ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1 1/4 cups apricot preserves
• 1/4 cup tamari sauce
• 1 tablespoon chopped pickled ginger

Season both sides of pork with salt and black pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork and sear 2 minutes per side. Add apricot preserves, tamari sauce and ginger and bring to a simmer. Simmer 5 minutes, until pork is cooked through and sauce reduces.