Turkey Chili

Once again, my trusty America's Test Kitchen cookbook has come to the rescue! Oh. my. word. This was SO good. SoooooOOOOOoooo good. Yum!! There's just nothing else I can say, really. It's perfection.

Serve with cornbread for a really easy, filling, tasty meal! This chili can be cooked ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze it for up to a month. Reheat over low heat, adding additional water or broth as needed for the right consistency.

Ingredients:
2 onions, minced (just use 1 if you have a larger onion)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons coriander
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt
2 pounds ground turkey (I used 85/15, but use whatever you have)
2 15.5 ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, UNdrained
1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Toppings:
cilantro
lime juice
shredded cheddar cheese
avocado
fresh diced tomatoes
sliced green onion

Combine the onions, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, red pepper flakes, oregano, cayenne, oil, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large pot or Dutch oven. Cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until the vegetables have softened, about 12 minutes.

Uncover and increase the heat to medium-high. Stir in the turkey, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink and just beginning to brown, about 4 minutes. Stir in the beans, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, broth, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer, and cook, uncovered, until the chili has begun to thicken, about 1 hour.

Ladle into bowls, and top with your choice of toppings. ENJOY!

Are you salivating yet?! You should be!

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Potato Patties with Black Bean Salsa

I hope you'll forgive us for taking a week off. Hillary has bought her first home and was preparing for the closing and the moving last week. She will be without internet for a little while. I will be trying to keep up for the next two weeks while she is getting settled and unpacked so I hope that you aren't disappointed. You can wish her congratulations if you'd like.... I know I do!

This recipe is amazingly tasty. I hadn't ever tried anything like this before but everyone loved it and it was so yummy! I hope you will love it too!

Potato Patties with Black Bean Salsa

1 bag (1 lb 4 oz) refrigerated Southwest-style shredded hash brown potatoes*

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (4 oz)

½ cup Original Bisquick mix

3 eggs, beaten, or ¾ cup fat-free egg product

¼ cup canola or olive oil

1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained

1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained, rinsed

¼ cup chunky-style salsa

In large bowl, mix potatoes, cheese, Bisquick mix and eggs until blended.

In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 T of the oil over medium heat. For each patty, spoon about ½ cup** potato mixture into oil in skillet. Flatten with back of spatula.

Cook patties about 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Remove from skillet; cover to keep warm*** while cooking remaining patties. Add remaining 2 T oil as needed to prevent sticking.

In 2-quart saucepan, heat corn, beans and salsa over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until hot. Serve over patties

Makes about 6 servings.

* They didn’t have southwest-style at our grocery store so I just used about 2/3 a bottle (16 oz) of salsa to make up for it.

** I used about 1/3 cup so I could get more out of it and they were a great size.

*** I pulled out a piece of aluminum foil and folded it in half on top of a large plate. As the patties got done I put them on the foil, on the plate and then covered them with the other half of the foil. They were nice and toasty.

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Chuck Wagon Bean Bake

This is another recipe from my mom's collection. And since I'm living with her at this time you can just assume they come from her collection unless I specify otherwise :) This was so super easy and quick. It is one of those *make from the pantry* meals. Most of this is stuff I would always keep in my pantry so that makes it cheap as well. You could do several things with this. It is very hearty and yummy. It would go wonderfully with cornbread!

Chuck Wagon Bean Bake

Ingredients:

-- 1 lb lean or extra lean ground beef

-- ½ cup chopped onion

-- ½ cup chopped green bell pepper

-- 1 can (15 oz) baked beans, undrained

-- 1 can (15 oz) dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

-- 1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

-- 1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce

-- 1/3 cup barbecue sauce

-- ½ tsp salt (opt)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine ground beef, onion and green pepper in a large skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until beef if browned and crumbly, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. Combine cooked beef mixture, baked beans, kidney beans, black beans, tomato sauce, barbecue sauce and salt in a 3-qt casserole dish.
3. Cover dish. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover dish; bake until mixture is bubbly and slightly thickened, 15-20 minutes longer.

Makes 6 servings

Variations:

You could omit the ground beef and serve as a side at a bbq.

You could even serve on buns like sloppy joes.

Enjoy!

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Cafe Rio Black Beans

I really like black beans, but they can get so boring! Using canned beans instead of prepping your own is such a time saver, but I also like to be able to personalize store-bought products to make them more my own. I'm not sure how Cafe Rio authentic these are, because I honestly only had it once, but they taste really yummy!

I don't always do these beans exactly this way. If I want a little more variation, I'll add a can of whole kernel corn, throw in some chili powder, toss in some chopped cilantro just before serving, add some diced onion or diced green chilies, add some hot sauce, use diced tomatoes (canned or fresh) instead of tomato sauce, add. . . You really can do tons of little changes that completely change the taste.

Now, don't rush off and make the sweet pork and these beans just yet -- Friday's post will complete this yummy dish!

Ingredients:
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon salsa verde
1/4 cup tomato sauce

All you've gotta do is combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Easy peasy!

What are your favorite ways to jazz up store-bought products?
Do you use canned beans, or do you prefer to use dried and make them yourself?

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April's Fabulous Crock Pot Chili

Alright, I know you've all been waiting on the edge of your seats for this one. :) I came up with this one day while I was trying to think of something to cook for dinner that wouldn't take much time on my part. Then.... DING.... the light bulb turned on. I have everything to make chili and I could just throw it in the crock pot and not touch it again until dinner time. Well, it was perfect. You can do many variations with it as well. Different beans, veggies, tomatoes, spices, etc. It is also extremely budget friendly. If you are really tight just leave out the ground beef and you have a lot of dinner for just a couple dollars.

April's Fabulous Crock Pot Chili

1 lb ground beef
3 - 15 oz cans of beans (Any combination works great. My favorite is chili beans, kidney beans, and black beans.)
2 - 15 oz cans of tomatoes (any variety, if you like your chili chunky then use diced, if you like it smoother then use crushed)
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 small can diced green chilies
onion
garlic

Spices to taste:
chili powder
cumin
salt
pepper
paprika
oregano

Optional Veggies:
green bell pepper, chopped
red bell pepper, chopped
tomatoes, diced

• Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. I threw in the diced peppers and diced tomatoes when it was almost browned.
• While beef is browning, throw everything else in the crock pot.
  
• I put the tomato sauce into a small bowl and mix in all my spices into that and then I add it to the crock pot.
  
• I also added some chili powder to my beef mixture.
  
• When beef is done, add to crock pot and mix well.
• Cook on low until dinner time
• Serve with corn bread

This recipe completely fills my crock pot. I'm not sure the size but I'm guessing it's about 3 qt.


Enjoy!!

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