Kate's Chili Fusion

Kate's Chili Fusion

I love chili in just about every style and presentation.  Cook it all day over a wood fire, put beans in it, leave the beans out of it, put it over a hotdog, or serve up a Skyline 5-way (if you know what that is, I love you), and I am in heaven.  Chili is a wonderful amalgam of flavors, and yet it is one of the most hotly debated (no pun intended) culinary rituals in the country.  I mean, really, how often do you hear someone say, “If it doesn’t have carrots, it ain’t beef stew?”

But with chili, every detail of its contents is a deciding factor for whether or not it should truly be considered chili, and depending on whose mom made it or what part of the country you are in, the same ingredient may be the pro or the con.  I say enough with the fighting!  Can we all please just agree that chili is yummy?

I can be a little devil in the kitchen, and in a “thumb the nose at territorial chili” spirit, I have built my chili to celebrate the symphony of regions and local colors from which I have enjoyed its many forms.  If you believe that chili is not chili without the beans, or that chili is just spicy stew with the beans, or that chili should never be cooked indoors, you may want to avoid this recipe.  But if you are an adventurous spirit with an open mind, enjoy!  My family certainly loves it!

Estofado de Chile

(Chili Stew)

Ingredients

1½ pounds – Beef Stew Meat

1 large – Onion, chopped

3 large cloves – Garlic, minced

2 fresh – Jalapenos, chopped

2 cans (14.5 oz.) – Petite Diced Tomatoes

1 can (15 oz.) – Tomato Sauce

1 can (6 oz.) – Tomato Paste

3 cans (15.5 oz.) – Light Red Kidney Beans (liquid drained halfway)

2 cans (15 oz.) – Black Beans (liquid drained halfway)

2 Tablespoons – Chili Powder

2 Tablespoons – Cocoa Powder

2 teaspoons – Black Pepper

2 teaspoons – Salt (or to taste)

1 teaspoon – Ground Cumin

1 teaspoon – Ground Cinnamon

1 teaspoon – Crushed Red Pepper

Preparation

• Trim the beef to remove excess fat and insure bite size chunks
• Place all ingredients in slow cooker (yes, add the meat raw)
• Cook on low heat for 6 – 8 hours, stirring occasionally
• Taste after about 4 hours and add additional seasoning if desired 

Serve

• Top a piping hot bowl with some shredded cheddar cheese
• Add a few dashes of your favorite hot pepper sauce for a little extra kick
• Goes great with a cold Dos Equis!
• Oyster crackers are a fun addition for the kids (or the kid in you!) 

Tips

• Do not brown the beef beforehand; cooking it in the chili from its raw state makes it incredibly tender and delicious.
• This recipe has a subtle heat.  You may not notice it at first; it won't make you sweat, but it builds to sinus clearing level by the end of the first bowl.
• For a milder chili, remove the seeds from the jalapeno and reduce the amount of red pepper.  For spicier, add more.
• Like all my favorites, this recipe keeps wonderfully for days, and even freezes for later use.
• My favorite addition to chili is Cholula Hot Sauce, because it has a wonderful flavor as well as nice spice.  But use what you like.

As always, happy cooking!  I would love to hear how the recipe turns out for you.

Peace and Culinary Delight,

Kate

Meaty Baked Mac and Cheese

Welcome to the “Small Town Gourmet” recipe category.  Many of these are a nostalgic remembrance from my childhood in midwest small-town America.  These magical concoctions served up by my mother and grandmother on shoestring budgets would feed a hungry flock and sometimes leave a little left over for our lunch boxes the next day.  Casseroles were a foundational part of our weekly menu. They were simple, often quick, and always satisfying.

This first offering used to be a family favorite.  We would chuckle about the military grade ingredient list, but never before licking our plates clean!  It comes almost entirely from “the box,” and when I was a little girl it would serve an entire family for about $2.00.  The cost has increased a little, but if you catch the right sales, you can still pull this one together for around $5.00 and maybe half an hour of work.

Meaty Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

1 Cup – Frozen Peas

1 Box (7.25 oz.) – Macaroni and Cheese Dinner

½ Cup – Milk

¼ Cup – Butter or Margarine

1 Can (10.5 oz.) – Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Can (12 oz.) – Spam (or generic equivalent)

Preparation

• Place peas in a colander rinse and let drain
• In a medium saucepan, bring 4 to 6 cups of water to a boil.  Add macaroni and cook until done
• Add about 1 cup of cold water to stop the cooking process and pour the macaroni into the colander with the peas.  Let drain
• Once drained pour macaroni and peas back into saucepan
• Add milk, butter, cheese mix, and mushroom soup and mix well
• Spread contents evenly into a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish
• Cut Spam into 12 equally sized slices and place over macaroni mixture in three rows of four slices
• Place baking dish in a 350-degree oven and bake for 15-25 minutes until Spam has browned
• Remove from oven and let stand for about 5 minutes

 Serve

• This dish is a meal by itself
• Serve with a side of bread and butter and a glass of cold milk

Tips

• You can add salt and pepper if desired, but I find the combination has enough flavor by itself
• I get (relatively) even slices of Spam by halving it, then halving those two halves, and then cutting the four pieces into thirds
• Try not to get between a hungry child and this dish – you could lose a finger!

Enjoy!

Kate

Beef Stroganoff, A Winter Time Favorite

Beef Stroganoff is one of my favorite comfort foods, and it is a fairly simple dish to prepare.  Even better, the recipe is very forgiving, so you can add or subtract amounts and ingredients to achieve your desired taste.  Below is my rendition of this classic dish.  The flavors are mild and satisfying, perfect for a cold winter night; and you’ll have enough to share… not that you’ll want to!

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients

¼ Cup – Olive Oil

2 lbs. – Sirloin Steak, thinly sliced

1 Medium Size White Onion, sliced

8 oz. – Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced

1 tsp. – Garlic Powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Cans – Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 Cup – Sour Cream

4 oz. – Cream Cheese, softened

1 to 1½ Cups – Milk

Preparation

• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat
• Add steak, onions, mushrooms, garlic powder, and salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until all ingredients are well done.
• Pour contents into strainer and let drain
• In the same skillet over medium low to medium heat, combine mushroom soup, sour cream, cream cheese, and about 1 cup of milk.  Stir until ingredients are well blended and smooth.  Bring sauce to a slow boil, stirring constantly.
• Add steak mixture to sauce, cover and let simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally.  Add more milk as needed to achieve desired consistency.

Serve

• Plate the stroganoff over extra wide egg noodles.
• Serve with your favorite green vegetables (I like Brussels Sprouts) and a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon, or your favorite red wine.

Tips

• You may want to tenderize the meat with a marinade prior to preparation.  Sirloin can get tough, though simmering in the sauce does loosen it up considerably.
• When slicing the beef, do your best to slice across the grain and no more than ¼ of an inch thick.  This will help with the tenderness.
• I add a little more salt and pepper (more pepper than salt) to the pan after everything is combined, just to kick the flavor up a bit more.
• You can speed up the blending process by throwing the cream cheese in a food processor or blender with 3 or 4 tablespoons of milk.  Not necessary for a good mixture, but it will save you a little stirring.

Enjoy, and happy cooking!

Kate

Bella Pollo (Beautiful Chicken)

I thought it fitting that my first recipe be the one that inspired me to begin writing them down again. It is because of this dish, that my new blog exists.

Bella Pollo

This is an incredibly easy dish to prepare, and the flavors absolutely explode in your mouth. My family loved it, and I hope yours will too.

4 Cups – Water (approximate)

2 Tablespoons – Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tablespoon – Garlic Salt

1 teaspoon – Crushed Red Pepper (optional)

4 – Boneless, Skinless, Chicken Breasts

½ Cup – Butter or Margarine

1 – Medium White Onion, sliced

1 – Green Bell Pepper, sliced

1 – Red Bell Pepper, sliced

1 lb. - Baby Bella Mushrooms, sliced

Salt and Pepper to taste

Marinading the Chicken

• Pour about 2 cups of water into a large mixing bowl
• Stir in Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, and crushed red pepper until salt dissolves
• Add chicken breasts to the bowl and add enough water to fully immerse.
• Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour

Preparation

• In a large skillet, melt butter over medium high heat
• Place chicken breasts in the skillet then cover with onions, peppers, and mushrooms
• Cover and cook for approx. 10 minutes, stirring vegetables occasionally
• Turn chicken, cover and cook for another 10 minutes or until juices run clear, stirring vegetables occasionally

Serve

• Plate the chicken immediately with white rice (my preference)
• Drizzle vegetables and broth over the rice
• Serve with warm Italian bread and your favorite bottle of white wine.

Tips:

• I usually marinade the chicken for a full 24 hours, unless it came out of my freezer.
• I marinade chicken breasts ahead in the Worcestershire sauce / garlic salt mixture, and freeze them along with the juices in gallon size freezer bags for quick use later. The marinade has a wonderful flavor and is very versatile
• Pounding out the chicken breasts before cooking will reduce the cook time.
• Try the same recipe (minus the marinade) with Italian sausage links!

Enjoy!