Dad's Favorite Chili v. 2.0

There are so many chili recipes out there. If you had 20 people make chili, you would have 20 very different types of chili, from bland to uber spicy, from vegan to a meatsa-meatsa fest, from beans to no beans.
Everyone has their own take on chili. This version is the current favorite in the Golla household.
Enjoy!

 

Dad’s Favorite Chili

 2.5 lbs. ground beef, 85% lean

1.5 lbs. Hot Italian sausage

¼ c. bacon crumbles

1 large onion, chopped

2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 bottle Corona, 12 oz.

1 Tbls. Beef Better than Bouillon

4 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 15-oz cans spicy chili beans

1 6-oz can tomato paste

¼ cup chili powder

1Tbls. oregano

1Tbls. cumin

1Tbls. Worcestershire sauce

2 tsp. hot pepper sauce, (e.g. Tabasco)

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. sugar

 

Heat large stock pot over medium heat. Add beef and sausage, breaking apart while it cooks until brown. Drain excess grease.

Add rest of ingredients. Stir to blend.

Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Taste and adjust flavor. Add salt, pepper, chili powder, or nothing at all.

Do whatever floats your boat.

This is YOUR chili. Own it.

Tips & Tricks:

·         Use this recipe as a template. Adjust it to suit your family’s tastes.

·         This recipe makes A LOT OF CHILI. Half it, or freeze half after it cooks.

·         It’s good in a bowl with bacon sprinkled on top, then cheese. Or on Fritos.

Foodie Friday--Savory Meatloaf

I meant to publish this recipe a few weeks ago, but never sat down at the computer to get it accomplished. Oops...

Savory Meatloaf

 

2 lbs. ground beef

1 c. Kirkland bacon crumbles

1 onion, diced

1 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. sage

1 tsp. savory

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground mustard

½ tsp. pepper

1 clove garlic, minced, or ¼ tsp. garlic powder

1 cup milk

1 egg

1 cup Ciabatta bread, crumbed in Cuisinart

Preheat oven to 350◦F.

Prepare pan with parchment fitted to 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Fry bacon crumbles to render grease. Add onion, and sauté until onions are translucent and lightly browned. Mix spices into onion mixture, and then add milk. Stir to combine.

In large bowl, mix ground beef with egg and onion mixture. Add breadcrumbs to combine. Spread meat mixture in loaf pan.

Bake uncovered for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, or until meat thermometer reaches 160◦F.

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         My family hates raw onions, which is the reason I sautéed them.

·         Kirkland bacon crumbles were put into the recipe because I needed to use them up. BTW: they are found in the salad topper/condiment aisle.

·         Ciabatta bread because we had some mini ciabatta sandwich rolls that were getting old. Bread crumbs of any type work. If I didn’t have enough ciabatta, I had Panko bread crumbs on standby.

·         Parchment paper is AWESOME! I use it all the time for baking cookies to making fudge to reheating pizza. Just throw it away when you’re finished!

·         Fold a piece of parchment paper to fit into pan, then make a nice sharp edges and corners and staple them to keep the correct form. Keep paper long to use as “handles” when you take the meatloaf out of the pan to cut. This makes cleanup short and sweet. Take care. There is a lot of fat in this meatloaf so remove from pan near the sink in case of spillage.

Foodie Friday -- Beef Stroganoff

I had every intention of trying a Martha Stewart beef stroganoff recipe, but a few things stood in my way. One it was a crockpot meal, which would have forced me to chop onions, mushrooms and meat at 5:30 in the morning prior to work.

Yuck. No thank you. Coffee and I have a special bonding moment at 5:30 in the morning. I'd hate to disrupt that particular ritual.

And two, it had Dijon mustard in it, which my family dislikes. I did think of sneaking it in this recipe, but forgot. Oops.

A few days earlier, I had purchased a 5-lb chuck roast from Costco, which I cut up into both cubes and strips while defatting it. I ended up with about 2-lbs of strips and 2-lbs of 3-inch strips (about 1/4-inch thick and 3/4-inch wide), which I tossed in the freezer. I'll use the cubed meat for chili or some sort of stew next week.

It's 4 PM and time to start cooking dinner...Improvise time!

Beef Stroganoff

 

2 lbs beef, sliced into strips (roughly 3-in long x 1/2-in wide x 1/4-in deep)

2 small onions, or one large onion, diced (or sliced, if you prefer. I think I will slice it next time)

1-lb mushrooms, cubed (sliced, if you prefer)

2 cups beef broth*

oil

salt

pepper

garlic powder

flour

8 oz. lite sour cream

 

1-lb egg noodles

 

1) Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in large Dutch oven pan on medium-high. Add onion and mushrooms, cook until tender about 6-8 minutes. Season lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Remove from pan, leaving juices, and add meat. Brown meat, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a couple Tablespoons of flour. Stir until flour is cooked, about 1 minute.

 

2) Return onions and mushrooms to pan. Add beef broth. Stir.

 

3) Lightly cover (angle lid instead of placing it tightly on), and turn heat down to keep beef at a strong simmer. Cook for 1-2 hours or until broth thickens to a gravy. ** Adjust seasoning at this time, but you probably won't need to add anything. Just saying.

 

4) Cook pasta according to directions. Drain.

 

5) Stir sour cream into beef mixture.

 

6) Place noodles on plate and spoon beef stroganoff over noodles.

 

Enjoy!

 

Tips and Tricks

• * I never have beef broth, or chicken broth for that matter, in the house . . . ever. But what I always have is Better Than Bouillon, chicken and beef. For this recipe, I used about 1 Tablespoon of beef Better than Bouillon, along with 2 cups of water.  
• ** I cooked my stroganoff about 1 1/2 hours. It just worked out that way. If you use a more marbled cut of beef, it will become less tough the longer it is braised as the fat will break down. My inspiration for this recipe was guided by Paula Deen who cooks her meal for only 45 minutes. Slower = more tender.  
• If you want to cook the beef first, then the onions and mushrooms. Go for it! It doesn't really matter. 



Foodie Friday -- Cubed Steak with Mushrooms

Somewhere I saw a recipe that featured cubed steak and mushrooms. The picture made it look wonderful . . . and then I couldn't figure out where I'd seen the recipe.

And I had already bought the steaks and mushrooms.

I googled it, but every single recipe seemed to use Cream of Mushroom Soup (Yuck!), or some intense form of flour/egg white/flour dredging, so I winged it.

This turned out to be a pretty good recipe.

*When I bought the cube steak, it came in a package of three, weighing in just under one pound.

Cube Steak with Mushrooms

3 cubed steaks

Flour (1/2 cup)

Salt

Pepper

2 Tbls. Vegetable oil

1 cup Beef broth, warmed

1 8-oz package sliced mushrooms 

Place flour, salt and pepper in Ziploc bag. Add one cube steak, toss to coat.

Turn large skillet on high and add oil. When oil is hot, place one cube stake in pan. Repeat dredging steaks in flour mixture, and adding to pan. Do not over crowd.

Cook on high until blood rises to the top of the steaks, turn to cook the other side. When blood rises from second side, turn once more for about 1-2 minutes.

Remove steaks to plate and tent with foil.

Add a little bit of beef broth to pan, scraping up brown bits.

Add mushrooms, allow to toast for 2 minutes. Add rest of broth, boiling until sauce slightly thickens.

 

Add the cube steaks, spooning sauce and mushrooms over top. Allow to cook for 1-2 more minutes until heated up and gravy has thickened.  

Serve and enjoy!

 

Tips & Tricks:

·         Cube steak is typically used for Chicken Fried Steak. This is a very tough piece of beef, which is why it’s sliced super thin and it looks like it’s been mutilated by a bunch of knives. This is the only way this piece of meat can become tender.

·         The beef broth is used to deglaze the pan, pulling up all sorts of yummy goodness that seared to the bottom of the pan.

·         I was lazy and bought sliced mushrooms—Baby Bellas—which are a little sturdier than your basic white mushroom. You can slice them yourself, but the price was the same at my store so I bought them sliced

·         I didn’t calculate the WW points, but I don’t think it added up to too many.

·         I served this meal with oven roasted potatoes and green beans.

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday -- Beef and Barley Soup

Crockpot soup!  I love a good crockpot soup, don't you?

The original recipe was from the 1950's or 60's. It's old. My mom had typed it on a card, then I typed it on a card in the 1980's. It called for beef shank or neck. . . I don't know about you, but the three grocery stores that I shopped at didn't have beef shank or neck. Years ago, Walmart had beef tongue, but that's another story.

Most modern stores in the US won't carry the 'remnants' from animals. If you can find a cheaper cut of beef, more power to you! The how to cook will be in the Tips and Tricks.

I also couldn't find barley. What is this world coming to??  By the time I got to store #3, Reasor's, a local grocery chain, I found a wonderful selection of grains . . . but no barley. Every other kind of seed and grain imaginable, but no barley. What to do? I spent 5 minutes trying to remember the size of the pearl barley we used for this recipe. I found spelt. Yes, spelt. It's a German wheat grain. After cooking for eight hours, it still had a bit of a chew to the texture. I enjoyed it, my hubby didn't.

Beef and Barley Soup

1 1/2 bottom roast, bite-sized cubes
2 carrots, diced
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
3/4-1 cup barley (spelt)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. savory
4 cups beef broth

2 Tbls. cornstarch, for thickening

Combine all ingredients, EXCEPT cornstarch, in crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours, or until beef and barley are tender.

To thicken, place cornstarch into small bowl, add a few spoonfuls of broth to cornstarch and stir to make a slurry, stir into soup. Repeat if needed to thicken to desired level.

Taste for seasoning. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks:

• For beef shank or neck: Take three pounds of beef (because there will be bone, etc. and you need more meat), dredge in flour, place in hot pan with 4Tbls oil, brown on all sides. THEN cook it like the recipe states, before serving it, remove the meat from the bones and put it back into the crockpot. 
• If unsure how salty the beef broth is, then use only half of the salt stated in the recipe and adjust after it cooks.
• If using dried parsley vs fresh, then use about 1-2 Tbls.
• I turned the crockpot on high for the last hour to cook the spelt a little more
• I used Better than Bouillon beef base. I find it to be less salty than regular broth
• I didn't need to adjust any seasonings. It turned out really good.
• Reheats well. The beef became really tender after it sat for a day or two in the fridge

Enjoy!

Maze of Monster Mix-Ups is still available for free today.

Tomorrow will be a different book, but I can't remember which one! 

Foodie Friday -- Pot Roast

So you're thinking, "Any idiot can make a pot roast, why do I need a recipe?"

Good comment, but let me tell you that until I looked up recipes, I had been doing it wrong.

Actually, my greatest mistake was not cooking it long enough . . . by an hour or two. Yeah, that much makes a big difference.

So I open my Pioneer Woman cookbook and see what she does to make her pot roast so special.

Not much.

I followed her instructions and discovered that you can't get the yummy burnt bits from the onions, carrots and roast when you use a non-stick pan. Bummer. So I had to make adjustments.

Here's my version of:

Pot Roast

2-3 pound roast--suitable for oven cooking, without marbling

1 Tbls. oil

carrots--I had bag of baby cut carrots

2-3 onions, peeled and cut in half

2 cups of beef broth (or more)

large sprig of rosemary, about 6-inches long

5-6 stems of thyme, about 3-4 inches long

2 lb. of mixed potatoes (Yukon gold, red, blue)

2 pkgs. brown gravy mix

Place large pot (5 quart) on stove over high heat. Add oil. When oil is shimmery add onions. Toss onions around until they are slightly charred. Remove from pan and add carrots. When carrots get slightly charred, remove. Season roast with sea salt and pepper, all sides. Place roast in pan and sear all sides. Add the onions, carrots. thyme and rosemary. Add enough broth to reach 2/3 of the way up the roast. Bring to boil and then lower heat to low simmer. Cover and cook for 3-4 hours. Add potatoes and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, about an hour. In the last 15 minutes, empty pouches of gravy mix into 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Ladle cooking broth into cup and stir, then mixed add back into pot with the roast.
Roast should be tender by this time. Remove roast and slice into thick slices, about 1/2 inch. Place slice in deep bowl and ladle carrots, potatoes, onions and gravy over beef.

Hints & Suggestions:

· As I mentioned, a non-stick pans won't leave charred bits on the bottom of the pan to enhance the gravy. Bummer, but there you go.

· I happen to eat a lot of those pre-washed baby carrots so I had them on hand. If you have regular carrots, just cut them in 2-inch chunks and throw them in the pot.

· I put potatoes in the pot, but if you don't want to do that just make mashed potatoes to get a starch in your diet. Plop the taters in your bowl, add a thick slice of meat and then douse in gravy and vegs.

· Much taste testing was performed on the meat during the last hour of cooking. Total cooking time was 5 hours. Yes, FIVE hours.

I think that it's for now.

 

Later, Peeps!

 

 

 

 

Foodie Friday -- Skillet Hash

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I had leftover meat and not a whole lot of options. Well, when I was looking for a recipe, I remembered this one for Skillet Hash. It's originally from a Betty Crocker cookbook and I've used this recipe numerous times when I've had left over roast beef.

Skillet Hash

2 cups chopped cooked beef
4 small potatoes, cooked and diced (about 2 cups)
1 med. onion, chopped (@1/2 cup)
1 Tbls. snipped parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup shortening

Mix beef, potatoes, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Heat shortening in large skillet over medium heat until melted. Spread beef mixture evenly in skillet. Fry, turning frequently, until browned. 10-15 minutes.

 
Hints & suggestions:

·         Oven Hash--Omit shortening. Spread mixture evenly in greased 8 x 8 baking dish. Cook uncovered on 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

·         My beef is already seasoned, so I will taste it before adding the additional salt and pepper.

·         Can easily double the recipe, but you might need two skillets to cook them in or work in batches.

Enjoy!

Foodie Friday -- Spicy Twice Cooked Beef

Last week, I was cleaning out my freezer and I found a couple of frozen steaks. They had been vacuum sealed, so they still looked okay, but I need more room for my candy stuff, which meant I needed to cook them.

Normally, my family likes and eats only filet steak--not because we're snobs, but because we aren't fans of the fat marbling most other types of steaks. So don't ask me why I picked up Sirloin Tip steaks.

I coated them in some Montreal Seasoning and grill them. We didn't eat them that night because we were enjoying some filets. So they sat in the fridge--and none of us are fans of reheated steak.

What to do?

Stir-fry, baby! Or hash, but I didn't have any potatoes. So, STIR-FRY, it is!

Spicy Twice Cooked Beef

Marinade:

2 Tbls. minced ginger root
1 Tbls. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, add more if want it hotter
1 cup teriyaki sauce
Add to the marinade,
1 1/2 cups of julienned steak* (@ one sirloin tip steak)

Mix well and refrigerate for about 6 hours.

1-2 Tbls. oil
1 Tbls. cornstarch
1/2 onion, sliced thin, crosswise**
1 celery rib, sliced thin
1/2 cup carrots, julienned
3 cups packaged grated cabbage

2 packs Ramen noodles, broken once and cooked according to directions without seasoning packet.

Heat 1 Tbls of oil in wok, or large skillet, on high heat. Using tongs, drain meat, and place marinaded beef in pan, reserving liquid. Add cornstarch to liquid, mix and set aside. Sear meat 3-4 min. Remove meat and set on plate. Add a little oil and toss in vegetables. Saute until tender, 2-3 min. Return meat to wok and add reserved marinade, stirring constantly until cooked down. Add noodles. Stir and serve.

Makes 2-3 servings

Notes and suggestions:
*julienne--sliced into matchstick-like pieces, about 2-3 inches long and 1/8-inch on each side
**crosswise--slice whole onion from top to root, pull papery skin back toward root. Lay 1/2 onion flat on cutting board and slice into half moon shapes about 1/4-inch thick.
--You can add 1/4 cup soy sauce to marinade, but if meat is already seasoned, it will make it too salty
-- recipe cooks quickly, slice all the vegetables ahead of time
--cornstarch will thicken the liquid without it being 'floury' and gummy
--can add more vegetables to stretch the meal into more servings

Enjoy!

Later, Peeps!

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Italian Drip Beef

Again, I’ve taken a recipe and made it my own. The original of this recipe was from The Pioneer Woman’s blog, but I adapted this to Italian Drip Beef in a crockpot.

Italian Drip Beef

1 2.5 to 4 lb. Chuck Roast

2 onions, sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
¼ cup soy sauce
1 cup dry sherry
2 cups beef broth
3 Tbls. Italian seasoning

Place ingredients in crock pot with the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cook for 8-10 hours on low. Shred meat, remove the remaining fat and discard. Return meat to crockpot, cook on low for ½-1 hour.

Cut and toast deli rolls. Add provolone cheese and broil until bubbly, top with desired amount of meat. Add pepperoncini or dip in au jus, if desired.

Enjoy!

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Taco Soup

This recipe has been in my files for many, many years. I think I picked it up during one of my previous Weight Watcher experiences. Trust me -- the current vision is the BEST version! Originally, it was one WW point per cup, but the calculations were different back then. Now, the points value (after I built the recipe in their program) is roughly 3 points per cup. Personally, I’d err on the heavier side of three and call it 4 points. Once the beef and onions are cooked, the rest of the ingredients are simply dumped in the pan. Easy-Peasy.

Uh, no my kiddo does NOT endorse this soup. I don’t know why, considering she will eat Hot Wings with the HOT HOT sauce on them. But who can fathom the minds of kiddos?

**Yes, this recipe freezes well **

Taco Soup

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 large onion, chopped
3 16-oz. cans Chili beans, undrained
16-oz can whole corn, undrained
16-oz can chopped tomatoes, undrained
15-oz can tomato sauce
1 ½ cups water
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dry salad dressing mix

Cook beef and onion until beef is browned; drain. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 15-30 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Savory Stew with Dumplings

A long time ago (sometime after college), I picked up a Gold Medal flour cookbook. This is a wonderful go-to book for almost any type of recipe that would use flour. This is an easy comfort food type of stew and one of my fall back recipes for winter.  

Savory Stew with Dumplings

½ cup flour

2 to 3 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch chunks (or smaller)
3 Tbls oil
4 cups water
1 bay leaf
2 Tbls snipped parsley
½ tsp thyme
1 ½ cups ¼-inch slices carrots
1 cup ¼-inch slices celery
2 medium onions, sliced
4 cups ¾-inch cubed, unpared potatoes

Herb Dumplings (see below)

Mix flour, salt and pepper. Coat beef with flour mixture. Heat oil in Dutch oven until hot; add beef and remaining flour mixture. Cook and stir until beef is brown. Add water. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 1 ½ hours. Add bay leaf, parsley, thyme and vegetables. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Prepare Herb Dumplings. Drop by spoonfuls onto hot beef or vegetables (do not drop directly into liquid). Cook uncovered over low heat 10 minutes. Cover and cook 10 minutes longer.

Herb Dumplings

3 Tbls shortening

1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp dried sage
¼ tsp dried thyme
¾ cup milk

Cut shortening into flour, baking powder, salt, sage and thyme until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk.

Enjoy!!