Chipotle Chili

1 medium yellow onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 Tbsp chili powder (this makes the chili fairly mild, so up the chili powder if you want it to be spicier)
2 Tbsp paprika
1/2 Tbsp cumin (be careful not to add too much, it can dominate the flavor)
2 Tbsp dried oregano flakes
.5 lbs ground beef
1 15 ounces of diced tomatoes in puree (I used about half a can)
1 15 ounce can of white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 minced chipotle chili peppers in adobo sauce. *ONE PEPPER, NOT ONE CAN!*

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a large pot on medium
2. Saute onions until translucent
3. Add the chili powder, paprika, cumin, and oregano and stir until mixed thoroughly.
4. Add the beef and cook until browned.
5. Add 1/2 a beer and simmer all the liquid off.
6. Add the beans and tomatoes.
7. Add the chipotle chili peppers.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and let simmer for 1 hour.
9. Adjust flavor with salt or tobasco if necessary.

Serves 2.

Yum. That's about all I can say. This is our 2011 Christmas dinner. We were planning on going out for Chinese food but were not feeling like leaving the house. The recipe was adapted from here. This goes especially well with these corn muffins.

Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, and Basil

Roasted Tomato Soup with Ground Beef, Sausage, and Basil
(Makes 3-4 servings)

1 large onion, chopped in pieces 1/2 inch or less
1 T minced garlic
4 tsp. olive oil, divided
2 cups beef stock
1-2 cups water
1 14 oz can diced roasted tomatoes
1 T tomato paste
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. ground fennel
2 links hot turkey Italian sausage
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 can navy beans (drained and rinsed)
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (at least!)
Parmesan reggiano cheese (opt - but is it really?)

Heat 2 tsp. olive oil in a dutch oven or large soup pot, add onions and saute about 5 minutes, then add garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add ground beef and turkey sausage (removed from casings) and brown, using the back of a turner to break into small pieces.

Add stock, tomatoes with juice, oregano, fennel, rinsed navy beans and about a cup of water. Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes to an hour. Add water to thin if necessary as it cooks.

Right before serving, stir in fresh basil and simmer a few minutes more.

Ladle into bowls and grate a little Parmesan over the top.

For the record, I don't like black licorice. The flavor is very off-putting to me. So I've avoided fennel since it's described as having a licorice flavor. I do, however, LOVE sausage and have recently discovered that one of the ingredients in Italian sausage is fennel and I've enjoyed crunching down on a whole fennel seed when I come across one. So I was willing to give this recipe a go. I bought some fennel seeds, ground them up in my spice grinder and wow! I actually liked the smell. And the flavor was spot on! This soup is a really nice, full flavored soup. Enjoy!

Craig's Salsa

1 can (28 Ounce) Diced Tomatoes With Juice
¼ cups Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
¼ teaspoons Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
¼ teaspoons Ground Cumin
½ cups Cilantro
½ whole Lime Juice

Put it all in a food processor and go to town.

I'm not sure if this is exactly how he did it. I've actually adapted it from the Pioneer Woman Cooks here

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup with Quinoa

2-3 cups cherry tomatoes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 - 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock or water
1/4 c quinoa, rinsed
1/4 cup basil
Small pinch red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oven to 400. Wash tomatoes and chop in half. Toss in a small bowl with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 15-25 minutes. Set aside. Heat 1 T of olive oil in a dutch oven (or other non-reactive pot). Saute onions until translucent. Add garlic and saute a few seconds until aromatic. Add onions, garlic, tomatoes and 1/2 cup stock or water to blender (or use immersion blender) and blend well. Return to pot, add the rest of the stock or water and bring to a simmer. Add quinoa, basil and red pepper flakes, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until quinoa open up. Season with salt and pepper.

I'm not a big fan of pureed soups unless it's as a side with bread or a sandwich. Adding quinoa to this soup gives it a nice texture. It turned out so delicious. I adapted it from here.

Red pepper, tomato and chicken pilaf

1 2/3 cups brown rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 14.5 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 7 oz jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 T olive oil
1 t paprika
1/2 t dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 lb chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup green beans, washed and chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
In a dutch oven, combine all ingredients except the green beans. Stir, cover and bake for 40 minutes to an hour.
Stir in green beans and bake uncovered for 10 or 20 minutes more, until all broth is absorbed. Remove bay leaf and serve.

I adapted this recipe from The New American Plate Cookbook. I used regular brown rice instead of quick cooking, so I had to up the time a little. I threw in a few sun dried tomatoes, too. I used crushed tomatoes and the consistency was a little blah. I think it would have been better with diced (with the liquid). Otherwise, a hearty, really easy to make meal. Serve with salad and/or bread.

Black Bean, Corn, Tomato and Quinoa Salad

1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
2 ears of corn (leave husks on)
1 cup black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 green bell pepper (finely diced)
1 small onion (finely diced)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
1-2 T olive oil
1-2 T white wine vinegar
1/2 lime
1 whole garlic clove
chili powder
cayenne pepper powder
salt and pepper

Salad:

Preheat oven to 350. Rinse corn with the husks on. Place directly on middle rack in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool, husk and cut kernels from the cob into a medium bowl.

While the corn is cooking, rinse and drain the quinoa in cold water a few times. Bring 1 cup of water to boil and add the quinoa. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until done.

Add to the corn the cooked quinoa, black benas, cherry tomatoes, green bell pepper, onion and cilantro.


Dressing:

In a small bowl use a garlic press to mash the garlic, or mince it. Add the olive oil, vinegar, lime salt and pepper, chili powder and cayanne pepper (a little goes a long way). Wisk together. I usually use a jar with a lid and then just shake it. Adjust spices for taste.

Add the dressing to the salad and stir to combine.

This is best when made ahead and chilled for an hour or so. It is also great the next day as leftovers. The dressing has a great flavor and the key to this dish is using fresh corn (although it won’t stop me from using frozen in the winter). I served this last night with cold leftover chicken and it was delicious! This is a new hit! Shout out to Kevin at Closet Cooking for this one I've been using his site more and more. I'm gonna have to say it's one of my favorites!

Black Beluga Lentil Soup

1 cup black beluga lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
2 cups of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped
spices and vinegar to taste

Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat, then add the onion and salt and saute until tender, a couple minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, lentils, and water and continue cooking for a few more minutes, letting the soup come back up to a simmer. Stir in the chopped greens, and wait another minute. Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be. Ladle into bowls, and serve. I topped it with fresh chopped tomatoes.

Serves 3 to 4.

This recipe comes from 101 cookbooks here. That recipe calls for a saffron infused yogurt which I really want to try but didn't have saffron on hand. Next time I'll try it and update this post. This recipe is sort of a base soup recipe. It needs to have spice added to it to jazz it up. I added paprika, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and my favorite: smoked salt. I also added a dash or two of vinegar. This is great with bread or a small sandwich.

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

1 cup cherry tomatoes
1/2 cucumber
1 onion slice
2 t Vinegar
4 T Olive Oil
1 pinch Fresh or dried parsley
Salt and Pepper

In a bowl whisk together olive oil, vineagar, parsley, salt and pepper.

Chop the tomatoes in half. Peel the cucumber, slice in half and remove the seeds. Chop. Dice the onion.

Mix together and serve.

Serves 2.
























Thank you, Warren, for the delicious Olive Oil! It made this salad. So the key here is good olive oil. In this case, I used Columena. I didn't have a lemon nor did I add any sugar and I found that I didn't need it. If you have a standard olive oil, I'd suggest adding a little more zing to this salad. It's a refreshing salad for a hot day.