Crumbelievable! Chili

I really love a good chili. When the right flavors are combined just so and cooked to perfection, chili is a wonderful food. This is the easiest chili recipe I’ve ever made in my life. And it tastes good. Certainly can’t beat that!

Crumbelievable! Chili

Prep: 10 min. Total time: 54 min.
Makes: 6 servings, 1 cup each
1 lb. extra lean ground beef {I like to use ground turkey or chicken}
½ cup chopped onions (about 1 small)
½ cup chopped green peppers
1 can (15oz) kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 can (14-1/2oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (12oz) tomato sauce
1 Tbsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper {I never use this because I don’t like my chili to be too spicy}
¾ cup cheddar cheese crumbles {I also never use these – it’s so much cheaper to buy cheese in a brick and just shred it. Plus I like the flavor of the cheese melted into the chili better than eating large chunks of cheese with the beans. If you would be in favor of that combo, you could just buy the brick of cheese and cut it into cubes instead of shredding it.}



Directions:
Brown meat in large skillet on medium heat; drain. Add onions and green peppers; cook 5-6 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender; stirring occasionally.
Add all remaining ingredients except cheese; mix well. Reduce heat to low; cover. Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Spoon evenly into six serving bowls. Top each with 2 Tbsp. cheese.

Sloppy Jennies

A nice change from a traditional “Sloppy Joe” dinner, this recipe calls for lean ground turkey, making it a healthier alternative to ground hamburger. The combination of ingredients in this recipe makes it really yummy – I think I may like it more than even traditional sloppy joes!

Sloppy Jennies

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, dived
½ red bell pepper, diced
1 lb. extra-lean ground turkey breast
1 (8oz) can tomato sauce
½ cup ketchup
¼ cup water
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. ground mustard {I didn’t use this and it still tasted wonderful}
4 lower-calorie hamburger buns, split and toasted

Directions:
Cook onion and bell pepper in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat 5-8 minutes or until they start to brown, stirring occasionally. Add turkey; cook 4-6 minutes or until browned and no longer pink, stirring to crumble meat.
Stir in all remaining ingredients except buns. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Serve on buns.
Winnie Wiggins, Cooking Pleasures, Feb/Mar 2009 issue, pg. 58

Italian Pasta with Tomato & Basil

This is perhaps one of my all-time favorite pasta recipes. I love it! Since I have tried it, I just don’t see pasta in the same light – I could eat this until there wasn’t a bit left. So yummy!

Italian Pasta with Tomato & Basil

Prep Time: 20 min Total Time: 20 min
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:

3 cups chopped tomatoes
1 cup KRAFT Shredded Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago Cheeses, divided {I just used shredded mozzarella – that’s what I had on hand and I didn’t buy extra cheese that I normally wouldn’t have purchased anyway.}1 Tbsp. sliced fresh basil {I use about a tsp or so of dried basil and it works just fine; more or less to taste}
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cups (8 oz.) bow tie pasta, cooked, drained {or any kind of past you desire; I’ve used penne and fettuccine noodles, as well as bow tie – it all tastes good}

Directions:
Mix tomatoes, 3/4 cup of the cheese, basil, garlic and oil. Add to hot pasta in large bowl; toss to coat. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.
Great Substitute: Prepare as directed, substituting 2 tsp. dried basil leaves for the fresh basil.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

I really enjoyed this meal. It wasn’t too difficult to make {it would be especially easy if you actually just cooked the pasta al dente so it’s not too soft. I had a lot of shells that were too soft and didn’t hold up very well while I filled them – I wasn’t paying attention while they cooked!} and it tastes very yummy! I did forget to put in the spinach but I’m sure it would taste wonderful with spinach as well.

Cheesy Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:
24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided {This is the only kind of cheese I used; I didn’t add the asiago.}
1 cup shredded asiago cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup cottage cheese {I only used cottage cheese – I actually cut the recipe in half and just used a whole cup of cottage cheese. Saved me money and tasted just fine.}
4 tablespoons minced chives
1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry {I imagine you could also use fresh spinach if washed and then added in the same way the frozen spinach would be}.
4 cups meatless spaghetti sauce, divided

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta according to package directions. In a small bowl, combine half the mozzarella cheese, asiago cheese, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, chives, and 1 cup of the spinach. (Save remaining spinach for other uses.) Spread 2 cups of the spaghetti sauce into a shallow 9×13-inch glass baking dish coated with cooking spray. Drain pasta; stuff shells with cheese mixture and arrange in baking dish.

Top with remaining spaghetti sauce and mozzarella. Bake 30 minutes.

Serves 4 to 6.
Deseret Book, 2008; Photo by Ned Horton.
http://www.ldsliving.com/magazine/show/2006/Proven-Meals-for-Picky-Eaters

Curried Black Beans and Rice

This recipe is so so yummy. I just loved it. And it is very filling. The recipe does make a lot of food, so for just the two of us, I would cut it in half. I made it for Dan and I without cutting it down and we had leftovers for about 3 more meals afterwards. I also made it for my family {there were 11 of us there if I remember correctly} and every one of them loved it as well. My grandmother is from Sweden and she has an amazing palette – not picky, she just makes amazing food – so I was really excited when she said she liked it {she loves curry, so I had that running in my favor}. And my two teenage brothers are in this “everything mom makes is yucky” phase, and she tells me that they won’t eat rice. Both of them went back for seconds on this {I did double it for my family when I made it for them}. I’m telling you, it is amazing!

Curried Black Beans and Rice
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 4-6 people

Ingredients:
1 T. Oil
1 sm. onion, chopped
1 Tbsp. Curry powder {more or less depending on your preference – I’ve only ever used 1 Tbsp. but that is plenty of flavor for me}
1 lb ground sausage (you can easily substitute beef, chicken, or turkey – I’ve used ground turkey and beef and it’s always turned out great)
3/4 cup chicken broth (or 2-3 boullion cubes crushed in hot water)
2 (16 oz.) cans black beans drained
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups uncooked Rice

Directions:
Rinse your rice and cook as directed in your rice cooker or pot, however you prefer. While your rice is cooking, saute onion in oil with the curry powder. Add sausage. Cook about 5 minutes. Add broth and beans. Cook 4-5 minutes longer. Serve over rice and enjoy!

Crescent Sandwiches

This is a recipe I “made up” one day for lunch. I get really bored of sandwiches for lunch so I like trying to come up with new things I can do. The day I made these I had some crescent rolls in the refrigerator that I needed to use so I came up with this. Really, it wasn’t hard. It’s not like I’m an amazing chef or anything. These are actually really simple but we really enjoyed them.

Crescent Sandwiches

Ingredients:

1 tube (8oz) refrigerated crescent rolls {or your own homemade equivalent}
8 slices of sandwich meat or some other pre-cooked variety of meat {I won’t tell you what brand or kind to use – that would be silly; choose something you like}
Mozzarella cheese, cut into small slices
Ranch dressing


Directions:
Open the tube of crescent rolls and unroll them onto an un-greased baking sheet.

Take a slice of sandwich meat, fold it into a triangle and place it on widest end of the crescent roll.

Then add the slices of mozzarella cheese {I cut mine nice and small so they'd fit really well} and roll, starting at the widest end.

Continue with the rest of the sandwiches.

Bake at 350 degrees for 5-6 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with ranch dressing and vegetables.

Shelf Reliance Giveaway

If any of you are like me, you have a hard time organizing your food storage in an effective way. Shelf Reliance pretty much covers all the bases and really helps with the oraganization stuff {and they have food storage stuff you can use!}. It's amazing. And right now is an option to win a Harvest 72". Go here to enter {you only have til Friday so hurry quickly!}

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!!

Twenty minute Simple Skirt Tutorial AND GIVEAWAY!!!! Awesome skirt tutorial. I'm excited to give it a try!

Swirled Dill Rolls

This is the recipe I typically make to go along with the Chicken Piccata. I love these rolls. They are so simple and yummy – and you could easily substitute the canned crescent rolls for a homemade variety if you wanted!

Swirled Dill Rolls
Taste of Home’s Quick Cooking
Prep/total time: 20 min.
Makes: 8 rolls

Ingredients:
1 tube (8oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
¼ tsp. onion powder
¼ tsp. snipped fresh dill {I used dried dill – I start with about a ¼ tsp and add more depending on what I’m after for flavor}

Directions:
Do not unroll crescent dough; cut into eight equal slices. Place cut side down on an un-greased baking sheet. Bake at 375oF for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile in a small bowl, combine the butter, onion powder and dill. Spread over warm rolls.

Chicken Piccata

A friend of mine requested this recipe. I made it when we invited her and her husband over for dinner one night. I didn’t think it turned out as good as I would have liked but that’s because I think there was too much pepper {I have a really difficult time with spicy foods}. I will cut it way down when I make it again. Other than that, this recipe is really delicious. You won’t be sorry you made this!

Chicken Piccata
Taste of Home’s Quick Cooking
Prep/total time: 25 minutes
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients:
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz. each)
¼ cup butter, cubed
¼ cup white wine or chicken broth
1 Tbsp. lemon juice




Directions:
In a large reseal-able plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Flatten chicken to ½ inch thickness; place in bag, one piece at a time and shake to coat.
In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in butter. Stir in wine or broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 12-15 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear. Drizzle with lemon juice.

Next week I'll post the recipe I always make when we have this chicken. You won't be disappointed!