Veggieful Beef Chili

Background: I needed, as in, NEEDED a good, relatively easy chili recipe this autumn that had lots of veggies, so I checked out some of the best rated ones on allrecipes.com and made up my own.

Serves ~12  (I can usually get 12 out of it for our family of four eaters, including 4- and 6-year-old boys who eat like teenagers. They will eat us out of house and home in 10 years...)

Approximate time, from prep to table: ~1 hour, plus simmering time as desired

Ingredients:
2 lbs ground beef (I use ground round), browned (could also use leftovers from a pork roast)
3 big stalks of celery, chopped finely
3 huge carrots, chopped finely
1-2 green peppers, chopped finely
4 medium onions, chopped
1 tsp garlic
16 oz can of tomato sauce (2 8 oz)
30 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 cans rinsed beans (black, chili, navy, great northern--whatever)
15 oz can of pumpkin (not the pumpkin pie filling, which has added sugar)
(or, leftover sweet potato, mashed up)
1 tsp bouillon
4+ Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cloves
~1 cup of water
Shredded cheese to garnish
Serve with corn bread, tortilla chips, crackers, fritos, etc.

Directions:
Brown the beef in your stock pot, adding S and P to taste.  Transfer to a medium bowl.  Pour the grease back into the stock pot if you want your chili to taste good.  Any leftover bacon grease that you happened to save?  Add some! Those depression-era grandmas know what they're doin'! Yum!

before onions are added

Saute the celery, carrots, green peppers, onions, and garlic in the good stuff, or use coconut oil or butter or whatever.  I chop as I go on this step, but always chop from celery down to onions because of how long it takes the celery and such to cook.

sauteed veggies!

When your onions are translucent and even the celery seems soft, stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, beans, and pumpkin/sweet potato (optional).

just veggies so far

Stir in bouillon (or 1 cup stock, if you have it!), chili powder, cumin, cloves, and browned beef.

Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Base is my fave.

before adding water

Add water as needed so that you can simmer it properly for as long as you want.  I prefer a stew-ish chili.

De-liiiii-cious!

Serve with shredded cheese to garnish and corn bread, tortilla chips, crackers, fritos, etc.  I have to say, Jiffy Corn Muffin mix is easy, delish, and cheap!

Enjoy!

Note/Tips: This freezes well and is great for making to take to someone with a new baby because you'll still have dinner for your own family! Win-win!

"Karenitas"

Why, hello there...

Background:
I'm recently on a Primal kick when it comes to eating after running the gamut from Standard American Diet, Vegetarianism, and Veganism... We eat mostly primally (with awesome health and energy benefits!), but this is an exception to the rule with the flour tortillas I use instead of the egg white version from the original recipe.  I renamed them Karenitas because my Argentinian/Mexican sister-in-law (whom I adore! If you ever read this: Hi Nancy!) told me that they aren't enchiladas the way I make them. So, we're playing off of the carnitas word.

Originally from: Mark's Daily Apple, the "Easy Chicken Enchiladas" toward the bottom of the list.
Serves ~ 4-8
Approximate time, from prep to table: ~ 1.5 hours, but you can bake the chicken the morning of or the day before if desired.  This will get a few days' meals out of the way with leftovers!

Ingredients: 
3 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
4 Tbsp total of olive oil or butter
2 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3+ Tbsp chili powder
1 3/4 Cup water
8 ox tomato sauce
1 small onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
8 burrito-sized flour tortillas
1 - 1 1/2 cups cheese (cheddar, colby jack, mexican blend--whatever)
1-2 scallions, diced (optional)


Directions:
Chicken: I cook the chicken at 400 for 45 minutes: pat dry, rub with olive oil or coconut oil, season with pepper and garlic, bake for 45 minutes at 400.  When done, cover with foil and let sit 5 minutes before dicing. Store in an airtight or covered area so that it doesn't dry out before adding to karenitas.  I sometimes bake it the day before.

Reuse that 9x13 pan right after the chicken is done--put those karenitas right in to bake!

 Enchilada sauce:
Warm butter/oil over medium heat in a large, vertical-sided skillet.  Add all dry ingredients and whisk in water and tomato sauce.  Stir occasionally (to prevent burning) until sauce thickens, at least 10 minutes.

Whisk, whisk, whisk!
Reality check: Yeah, my stovetop gets dirty...I use it!

Meanwhile, in a second skillet, saute onion, zucchini, and squash in olive oil or butter.

Healthy additions!

Reserve about 1 cup sauce in a liquid measuring cup or bowl.

When veggies and sauce are done, preheat oven to 350.  Combine veggies and sauce in the larger sauce pan with the diced chicken.

Coat bottom of 9x13 pan with 1/2 cup of reserved sauce.

Place a tortilla on a plate. Fill with 1/8 of chicken mixture (to have an even amount of filling in each of the eight tortillas). Sprinkle some cheese over the filling and roll up.  Place in 9x13 pan.  Repeat for all tortillas.

Drizzle remaining 1/2 cup of sauce over karenitas, coating them to avoid drying them out. Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle with optional scallions.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Note/Tips:
-Great for leftovers and Mexican-themed parties!  Just make beforehand, refrigerate, and then stick in the oven at 350 until heated through and cheese is melted.
-If you want to use corn tortillas instead of flour, that should be fine. They just broke on me too often and annoyed me.
-About a pound of Ground beef or chopped steak is also delicious!
-Great to send in hubby's lunch for work.

Trivoli Casserole

Background: At the bridal shower hosted by my mother-in-law, she had each person write one of their favorite recipes on a 3-by-5 recipe card. This recipe comes from the book she made up of all the recipe cards. When I first got married, I didn't think I liked casseroles...now this is a family favorite!

Originally from: Christy Vollink

Serves ~6
Approximate time, from prep to table: ~an hour

Ingredients:

Group 1:
2lbs ground beef
1 green pepper
1 medium onion
celery & salt & pepper to taste

Group 2:
1 can cream-style corn
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can tomato soup

1 package penne pasta
4 c. sharp cheddar cheese (can be reduced)

Directions:

Start boiling water for the pasta so that you can cook it during step 2. Drain. (step 1)
Fry ingredients in group 1 until brown (step 2)
Add ingredients from group 2 to the fried ingredients (step 3)
Mix noodles and 2 cups of the cheese with other ingredients (step 4)
Put into a 9-by-13 baking dish and cover with the remaining cheese (step 5)
Bake @ 350 for 45 minutes (step 6)

Note/Tips: Great for leftovers.

Trusted Taste Buds

Hi! Please post all of your favorite, tried and true recipes on this blog! I think this recipe-sharing will be awesome!