Slow Cooker Chili with Cornbread

It's that time of year for slow cookers and comfort food. Lately I find myself racing against the clock and daylight to get everything done in the few hours between work and sleep. After work and the gym, nothing sounds better than a hot shower and delicious meal waiting for you at home. Never mind the fact that I got up at 6am to go to the grocery store to make this before work...the important thing is I didn't have to cook after work.


SLOW COOKER CHILI

EQUIPMENT
Slow Cooker
Large Pan
Cutting Board
Knife
Wooden Spoon
Can Opener
Measuring Spoons
Measuring Cups



INGREDIENTS
3T Vegetable Oil
2 Yellow Onions, medium dice
1 Red Bell Pepper (or yellow or orange), medium dice
6 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
1/4C Chili Powder
1T Ground Cumin
2lb Lean Ground Beef
1 1/2t Salt
1-28oz Can Diced Tomatoes
1-15oz Can Tomato Sauce
2-15oz Cans Kidney Beans, Drained and Rinsed
1/4C Chopped Green Chiles, or Pickled Jalapenos


Heat the oil in a large pan on medium heat. Add onions, bell pepper and season with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until softened. About 8 minutes.

Add garlic, chili powder and cumin. Stir to coat the vegetables and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ground beef and measured salt and cook, breaking the meat into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until the beef is no longer pink.

Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, add the diced tomatoes and their juices, tomato sauce and the beans. Stir to combine. Cover and cook until chili thickens. 8 hours on low or 6 hours on high.



CORNBREAD


EQUIPMENT
8" Baking Dish
Mixing Bowls
Spatula
Dry Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Wet Measuring Cup
Fork


INGREDIENTS
6T Unsalted Butter, Melted
1C Cornmeal
3/4C Flour
1T Sugar
1 1/2t Baking Powder
1/2t Baking Soda
1/4t Salt
2 Eggs, Lightly Beaten
1 1/2C Buttermilk


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
Lightly grease an 8" Baking dish

In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a separate bowl mix together eggs, buttermilk and butter. Pour buttermilk mixture into the cornmeal mixture and fold together until there are no dry spots. Pour into baking dish. Batter may be lumpy, and that's just fine.

Bake until the top is golden brown, and a tester comes out of the middle clean. About 20 to 25 minutes. Allow the bread to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Salsa

This recipe can be made with the vegetables not grilled, but honestly it's so much tastier with vegetables grilled before hand. Salsa is something I must always have in my fridge, since chips and salsa make me one happy woman. Now, this salsa can be unpredictable in it's heat level. I used a jalapeno, but in this day and age sometimes they can be the most mild chiles there are and sometimes they end up being on the spicy side. This post has been sitting half finished for a couple months now, I didn't have a picture of the salsa so I was waiting to post it. However, since I have been insanely busy lately and haven't been able to cook anything worth posting (in my opinion) I am taking to easy way out and posting this one.



EQUIPMENT
Grill Pan*
Cutting Board
Knife
Blender


INGREDIENTS
1/2 Red Onion, peeled
3 Whole Tomatoes (Tomatillos if you want to make green salsa)
1 Jalapeno (whole)
3 Whole, peeled Garlic Cloves
2T. Can Crushed tomatoes
Handful Fresh Cilantro
Juice from can of tomatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste


Heat a lightly oiled grill pan to medium heat. Place tomatoes, onion and pepper on pan. Grill 10-15 minutes per side, until there is a nice char on the them and the skins are softened. Remove from pan and let cool slightly.

Cut the stem off the jalapeno and remove the seeds. Put everything in a blender and add crushed tomatoes, tomato juice and cilantro. Blend until smooth, and season with salt and pepper.

This will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.


Comer!

Lasagna Soup

Yes, you read correctly. I received my newest issue of Food Network Magazine, and there is a section on soup for dinner. Ok, so soup for dinner isn't a new idea by any means, BUT these soups are takes on other dishes that have been made into soups. The first of which was Lasagna Soup. I have a strong desire to cook my through these soups...minus the Caesar Salad soup. The next soup in the series is a Philly Cheesesteak soup that I'm looking forward to making. I had originally planned to make it this Thursday and have a couple of my buddies over, but a work event came up so it will have to be pushed to next week. Really it's ok, because this has been shaping up to be on packed week! This season becomes a little chaotic for me with work, lots of caterings and the holidays!

So I changed one small thing about this recipe...ok so I changed it in my head for the next time, but I will share it with you. The use of lasagna noodles is not necessary, frankly they're a little too big to be fully enjoyed and when you cut them up they don't really resemble lasagna noodles anyways. I would recommend using a small shell pasta, since it will act as a little spoon soaking up soup with each bite.



EQUIPMENT
Large Pot
Dutch Oven
Cutting Board
Sharp Knife



INGREDIENTS
Kosher salt
8 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into pieces (I would use small shells instead)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 onion, chopped
1/2 pound hot or sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped fresh bail, plus thinly sliced leaves for topping
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream or half-and-half
Ricotta cheese, for topping



1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Ass the noodles and cook as the label directs. Drain, drizzle with olive oil and toss.
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the sausage, garlic and oregano and cook, stirring and creaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon, until the sausage is browned, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until darkened, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the chicken broth, tomatoes and 1 cup water; cover and bring to a simmer. Uncover and cook until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Stir in the noodles, basil, parmesan and heavy cream; simmer 2 more minutes.
4. Divide the soup among bowls. Top with ricotta and sliced basil.




Comer!

Ginger-Scented Butternut Squash Soup

This is my first choice from The Oregonian Cookbook.

Here on the coast we are currently in "storm mode", the typhoon in Japan has caused a storm to roll in on us a couple months earlier than normal. Fall is my favorite season of all, since it's packed full of fabulous dishes, yummy root vegetables, holidays, football and so much more. Ok I've babbled enough...on to the food!

OH! One more thing. I had a fresh butternut squash at home, so that's what I used instead of the frozen squash it calls for.



EQUIPMENT
Large Pot
Glass Measuring Cup
Measuring Spoon
Whisk (wooden spoon will work too)



INGREDIENTS
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen cooked butternut squash
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
About 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger, plus additional to taste
1/2 cup whipping cream


Makes about 6 cups

In a medium pot over medium heat, combine the broth and frozen squash. Cook, spooning the broth over the squash, until the squash has defrosted, about 12 minutes. Add the applesauce, salt to taste, sugar, and ginger; whisk to combine. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the cream, and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Taste and season accordingly.




Comer!

Steamer Clams

I absolutely love a big bucket of steamer clams soaked in garlic and white wine. However, it gets a little expensive to be going out every time I crave some clams.


EQUIPMENT
Dutch Oven (or large stock pot)
Cutting Board
Sharp Knife
Wooden Spoon
Liquid Measuring Cup


INGREDIENTS
2T Grapeseed Oil (or peanut, or canola)
4 Cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
1 Mdm. Onion, chopped
1 Bundle Asparagus, trimmed and chopped
2 Mdm. Tomatoes, chopped
1C. White wine
3 Dozen steamer clams
2C. Water (clam juice can be used if you really like that "clamy" flavor
Salt and Pepper
1/2C. Melted Butter


Rinse and clean clams, make sure to discard any that are open.
Heat oil in pan on medium heat. Saute onion and garlic until translucent (about 2 minutes).
Add in asparagus and saute for 2 minutes, now add in tomatoes and wine. Let simmer for about 2 minutes so flavors can meld and alcohol can have the chance to cook down. Add in clams and water, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until all the clams have opened. Discard any clams that do not open.
When clams have opened remove them to serving dish, and add in melted butter and salt and pepper to taste. Pour broth over the clams and serve with toasted bread.



Comer!

Cookbook Addiction !

So...I have a cookbook addiction, and I'm willing to admit it. I was staring at this wonderfully full case of beautiful cook books last night, and it hit me! I don't use these nearly as much as I should for how many I have, and how much money I've spent on them all combined. So, while chatting with my roommate we have both come to the conclusion that I should cook my way through the Oregonian Cook Book (yes I know something like this has been done before). Since we live in Oregon, that seemed the logical place to start. Perhaps I will deviate occasionally, and toss in a recipe from one of my other cook books on the shelf. If you (the readers) see a book that you would like me to either cook my way through, or toss in a recipe from here and there...please, now is the time to speak up (or write up). There is no deadline for this project, it mainly just to force me to use all these wonderful cook books I have and perhaps find my next favorite recipe.
Last night I made the Salmon Burgers from the Oregonian Cook Book, and I shall do a post of it later on today.


Comer!

Chicken Thighs in Vodka Sauce

This is a very taste and SIMPLE dish that packs some great flavor, and apparently leaves people stumped. I did not realize how many people had not heard of vodka sauce. It's not a giant pool of vodka, but a very nice balanced sauce with a nice richness to it.


EQUIPMENT
Cutting Board
Sharp Knife
Liquid Measuring Cup
Large Pan
Wooden Spoon (or other stirring implement)
Plate



So, I realized a little too late that I did not get the butter in the picture.

SAUCE INGREDIENTS*
1T. Butter
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
24oz Crushed tomatoes with juice
1/4C Vodka
1/2C Half and Half



*Salt and pepper your chicken, cook in a large pan (same pan you will use for the sauce) in 2T of grapeseed (or vegetable oil). Roughly 6 minutes on each side. Remove chicken and use the same pan for your sauce.



Add butter to pan to help get up all the little brown bits left behind from the chicken. When butter has melted add in garlic and saute until fragrant. Then add in tomatoes, juice and all. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.



*Add in cream, stirring to mix into tomatoes.



Pour in vodka, stirring to combine.
Allow the mixture to simmer,(stirring occasionally) for about 10 minutes. Until everything is well incorporated and the alcohol has had a chance to cook out. Add your chicken back into the pan, for a chance to heat through and absorb some of the vodka sauce.

Plate chicken and serve sauce over top.

*Normally it would be best if you add the vodka to the tomatoes, and allow to cook down for a couple of minutes before adding the cream. This prevents the cream from breaking up and getting that separated look to it. I was starving and in a hurry so I added it all at the same time. It all still tasted wonderful, it just doesn't look AS pretty on the plate.


Comer!