Green Chile Chili

So last night I was watching The Next Iron Chef. One should never watch any Food Network late at night. It might prompt you to get out of your comfy bed to make something. It did and I did. Chili was the name of the game. This recipe is really a throw together. I'm sure everyone knows how to make it but I'm posting it here because my girls do not and my blog is really for a virtual cookbook for them of homemade foods.

Feel free to try it!

Green Chile Chili

1 lb hamburger, browned

1/2-1 can diced tomatoes

1/2-1 can green chiles

1 can kidney or white/navy beans, drained

1 pkg chili seasoning (or mix your own) 

1/4-1/2 cup water

3-4 shakes of Cilantro leaves

3-4 shakes of Mediterranean Basil leaves

1 oz colby jack cheese

sour cream to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

salt/pepper to taste

1 - Brown the hamburger and drain off the liquid. 

2 - Add the rest of the ingredients (except the cheese).

3 - Bring to a boil, stirring often.

4 - Set to simmer and do so for about 10 minutes.

5 - Serve in bowls with a dollop or sour cream (or maybe some shredded cheese or fritos!

6 - Enjoy. Try to share. It's addicting.

Makes 3 hearty or 4 nice sized servings.

Spicy Zucchini Egg Sausagey Fritatta

Fridays are the best days in our house because our homeschool work is done for the week and we're free to create art, cook, bake or go on field trips. Today we baked (and played Wii, but you aren't interested in that. ha) 

We're basically lazy eaters. If it's not conveniently sitting in our fridge, we wander around moping about there being 'nothing to eat'. Well, my kids mostly. So today we found ourselves without quick foods but hungry for breakfast. It meant time to bake.  I've been trying to low carb this week so no bread but this egg type casserole/fritatta was just the ticket.

Notice the lovely divided dish I forgot I had. Perfect for making a casserole to accomodate a vegetarian and the rest of us! No sausage for her. Love when that works out!

Spicy Zucchini Egg Sausagey Fritatta

8 eggs

2 sausage patties

1/2 medium zucchini

1/2-1 cup shredded cheese

cayenne or red pepper flakes

salt/pepper to taste

butter or Pam

1 - Thinly slice 1/2 a zucchini and place in the bottom of a buttered/Pam'd pan. Sprinkle with cayenne or red pepper flakes.

2 - Crack all eggs into a bowl. Add a bit of water (not good at measuring; 1/8-1/4 cup). Mix well.

3 - Add the cheese to the eggs. stir.

4 - Cook sausage patties. If you're like me and use already cooked, frozen patties, just thaw and chop up into pieces. Add to the egg mixture.

5 - Pour egg/cheese/sausage mixture over the zucchini, slowly so as not to displace them.

6 - Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper to taste.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until eggs are fully set up.  Serve warm.

Variations: You could add tomatoes, salsa, various cheeses or ricotta or leftover vegetables, broccoli, etc...

Cheesy Mushroom Chicken & Spicy Green Beans Dinner

Freezer cooking is such a great idea! No, I haven't branched over into whole meals being prepared and frozen, yet. But only because I do not have a large freezer yet. Some day it will be mine. In the meantime, we try to cook some things ahead of time to help with the week's  menu. This past weekend DH spent several hours baking all the chicken we had in the house, about 16 large rib breasts of chicken. This helps with the weekly cooking because now we have lots of vacuum packed bags of chicken in the freezer all ready to go!

I had thawed a nice bag of chicken today but had no idea what I wanted to make with it. In searching through the fridge I found a head cabbage screaming 'Eat me or I'll die!' I love me some yummy cabbage so of course I was not going to neglect it! I also felt like eating cheesy something so I grabbed the cheddar as well. The pantry and freezer revealed a couple choice ingredients  and I was off and running. This is a one-thing-led-to-another dish that came out beautifully I think. 

I did a few things you wouldn't normally expect in a cheesy dinner but on because I was accomodating the low carbers in our house. I substituted cream/water for milk and cabbage for rice or noodles. Any of these choices would be just as good. You could also omit the mushroom soup if you don't like it and add some milk, more cheese and possibly a thickener like flour or cornstarch. I used the soup to get the consistency I wanted and to use up pantry supplies.

See below for one of my favorite and simple side dishes.

** BEWARE, I'm a throw together cook. Not real solid on the exact measurements of spices and such so use your best judgment and discerning palate to get the taste you desire. **

Cheesy Mushroom Chicken

3+ cooked chicken breasts, meat only

5-7 fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 can cream mushroom soup

1/2 can (use soup can to measure) heavy cream

1/2 can water

1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

5 shakes of cilantro

5 shakes of sage

2-3 shakes of garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

cabbage

butter

olive oil

1. Add 3 pats of butter to a deeper skillet to melt. When melted, add 1/2 a head of cabbage, chopped. You can add a drizzle of olive oil or more butter on the top. Sprinkle with salt/pepper.

2. When the cabbage is cooked but not translucent (ie: has a bit of crunch still in it) remove from the pan and put in a bowl to wait.

3. Slice the cooked chicken breasts into strips. Add a bit of olive oil to the pan you just emptied and add in the chicken and fresh mushrooms to heat up.

4. Add in the mushroom soup, cream, water, seasonings. Mix well.

5. After the mixture has heated a bit, grate the cheddar over the pan (or use shredded cheese.) My guesstimate of the amount of cheese is just that. A guess. I grated a 1" x 1" x 3 1/2" piece into the pan. Looked like a loose cup of cheese. Stir in until melted.

6. Serve over the cabbage.

Side dish: Spicy Green Beans

2-3 cups whole green beans (I use frozen)

olive oil

season-all

red pepper flakes or jalapeno, diced (most seeds removed)

opt: mushrooms, sliced

1. Put olive oil in the pan and add the frozen beans.

2. Drizzle olive oil over beans and add all spices.

3. Add in mushrooms if you would like them.

4. Cook on medium high until they are bright green. They should be hot and have a snap to them still.

5. Enjoy!

Riddle Banana Bread

There are very few recipes I can call 'family recipes'. It's not that we don't cook. My mom always cooked our meals but it was more like throw it together type things; recipes you don't really need written instructions for. My father is now the cook in the family, more the gourmet gourmand. He and my husband have taken classes at the local culinary instruction school. But they're experimental cooks and try out already created recipes, they don't invent them. So when I'm digging through my recipes looking for one of two recipes I call 'family' it's like coming home. 

When the grocery store had a huge sale on bananas I bought a ton. We ate quite a few in smoothies and as snacks. But when I heard an excited voice from the kitchen announce 'Oh yay! The bananas are going bad!" and a little jiggy dance happening, I knew it was time to pull out the tried and true family banana bread recipe.

Riddle Banana Bread

(this is my mother's recipe, my maiden name is in fact Riddle. :) )

1 cup shortening or butter

1 cup sugar + enough for sprinkling on tops

4 eggs

3 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups mashed bananas (about 5 medium)

(opt) - 1 cup chopped nuts

(opt) - extra 1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar (for sweeter bread)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix all the ingredients together. 

Spray Pam or wipe 2 loaf pans with butter . 

Pour evenly into both loaf pans and sprinkle with sugar on top.

Bake 30 minutes and then place a piece of foil loosely over both pans to keep the tops from burning.

Bake an additional 10-25 mins depending on your oven.

This is delicious straight out of the pan with a bit of melted butter on top.

*NOTE:  My suggestion on baking: If you stick a knife in the bread to check it and it is still a bit wet, wait just a minute or two and take out. If you wait too long the bottom will get a bit brown. It's still good, I'm just an undercook-girl myself.  Enjoy!

Spicy Nectarine Cucumber Mint Salad

I guess last night I was feeling one last kick for summer because I ended up creating a salad with the last bits of our garden. Homegrown jalapeno, mint and banana peppers adding in beautiful store bought cucumbers, nectarines and grapes created a surprisingly delicious combination!

*NOTE: Amounts are only suggestions. I really just threw this together.*

Spicy Nectarine Cucumber Mint Salad

Ingredients:

1 ripe Nectarine, sliced (great use for over ripe fruit)

1 medium cucumber, sliced

1 large handful of red seedless grapes, cut in half

1 yellow banana pepper, sliced

2 small jalapenos, seeds removed, finely diced

1 small bunch mint leaves, finely chopped

1/4 cup white vinegar

1/4 cup white sugar

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

pinch or two of kosher salt

1. Cut nectarine, cucumber, banana pepper and grapes and mix in a bowl. 

2. In a separate bowl mix the rest of ingredients, wisking for a minute to join the sugar into the vinegar and oil.

3. Pour the liquid mix over the salad and mix. 

4. Serve chilled. Tastes best after sitting overnight.

Makes about 4 medium servings. If you're making it for a group or party, at least double the recipe. Enjoy!

Apple Berry Crisp

Ohh sweet nectar of the gods! I could just live right in this pan! This summer we gathered mulberries before the birds overtook the bushes and we found apples on sale a couple weeks ago. Both ingredients finally had found a match made in heaven in this concoction.  No worries on it being a difficult recipe. It's really a throw together easy peasy! Try it!

Apple Berry Crisp

NOTE: I wasn't very specific with any of the ingredients in measurements, I just guessed. Especially the apples. I spent the evening baking apple cake, pineapple apple cake and I still had leftover apples, hence the reason for this invention. I wanna say I had about 5 apples to work with? 

Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup oats

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp nutmeg 

Pinch of salt
6-8 Tbsp butter (NOT softened)

Stir until most of the butter can't be seen in chunks.

Filling:
4-6 apples, peeled, chopped
1 cup berries (I used mulberries)
2? Tbsp lemon juice
3-5 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Mix up (my mulberries turned my apples hot pink, which is why the picture looks like a cherry cobbler!) and pour into a pie pan. Pour the topping over all the filling. I had a few Tablespoons of butter left on a stick so I cut in pats and added it to the top.

Bake at 350 for 25-35 mins. Let set for a bit so you don't burn the roof of your mouth off.

NOTE #2: I will tell you, with the amount of liquids in with the fruits, it didn't let the topping really resemble a 'crisp'. It's more like a crumble or cobbler. Any way you slice it, it's heavenly!

Modified Martha Buttermilk Biscuits

This is not an original or cobbled together recipe by me. It is a straight-from-Martha's-mouth recipe. I am in love with Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook cookbook. These were probably the best biscuits I've ever made. I added cheese to half the batch and those were even better!!! I did modify the instructions a bit but that is it. You really shouldn't mess with Martha too much.

(Modified Martha) Buttermilk Biscuits

Ingredients:

4 cups flour

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) cold butter, chopped up

1 3/4 cups buttermilk plus more for brushing

OPT: 1 1/2 to 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. 

Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs.

*Note: I used my mixer for these steps. You can use it for the next but DON'T OVER MIX or you'll get weird fluffyish biscuits, changing the consistency of the dough. 

Add in the buttermilk.

* ANOTHER NOTE: I didn't have any buttermilk, surprise, surprise since I don't usually cook with froo-froo type ingredients. So I made my own. Just put 1 Tbsp vinegar per cup of milk in a measuring cup. So for this I used 1 Tbsp and 2 tsps for the 1 3/4 cup milk. Stir it in the cup and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Then add it to the mixture.

The original recipe calls for turning the dough onto a floured surface, folding/working the dough and then cutting it out with a biscuit round. Like I said, I'm not a froo-froo baker so I went with the stickier version of the dough. If your dough is dry, just add a bit more milk til its sticky. 

Spoon onto a sprayed/buttered baking sheet in messy globs. Brush the tops with extra buttermilk (or butter for a golden glaze). 

VARIATION: If you want them to be the scrumptious slightly crunchy cheesy versions, add 3 cups of sharp shredded cheddar. I did half a batch of each and added only 1 1/2 cups cheese.

Bake about 10 minutes but it really depends on your oven. They will get slightly brown because of the milk. You want them still soft in the middle but not doughy.

TOPPINGS: On the plain ones we used either honey or I enjoyed molasses straight from the jar. Yum, scrum! On the cheese biscuits, real butter is your best friend.

Next stop? I'm adding mulberries and trying out a sweet version of these! Cross your fingers...