Homemade Chili and Cornbread

Williams Chili

Serves: 8

Time: 25 Minutes

Ingredients:

1.5-2 lbs hamburger (depending on how meaty you'd like your chili)

3 cups tomato juice

1 can pinto beans, half drained

1 pkg. Williams Chili Seasoning (you can find this at Smith's, Walmart, and Fred Meyer)

Cook hamburger in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink; drain. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until combined. Turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Serve with cheese.

Buttermilk Cornbread (via)

Serves 9

Time:45 Minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup cornmeal

1 cup flour (either wheat or white. longer cooking time for wheat)

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Melt butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from heat and add sugar. Mix well. Quickly add eggs and mix unto combined. Mix buttermilk and baking soda in separate bowl and add to butter mixture. Mix well. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt.

Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Eggnog

Sorry I've been completely absent lately. Life is busy and the truth of the matter is, I haven't cooked or baked a whole lot in the past few weeks. After next Thursday I will be done with school and be back in the kitchen and back to posting more on this blog.

For now, here's something new I tried tonight. I made homemade eggnog! And it's actually quite delicious. It's not as thick and heavy as store-bought eggnog. Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

4 eggs, separated into whites and yolks

1/2 cup sugar

3 cups milk

1 cup whipping cream (I used half and half because dinner tonight called for half and half and I didn't want to buy both and have both go bad. Plus, I think the half and half is a teensy bit healthier)

3 tsp vanilla

1 tsp rum extract (or you can use orange extract, just use a little less)

Dash of salt

Ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored. Gradually beat in sugar. Stir in milk, cream, vanilla and rum.

2. Add salt to egg whites and beat until they stand in peaks. Fold into egg yolk mixture.

3. Serve in punch cups. Sprinkle each serving with nutmeg.

This recipe is delish, but must be consumed kinda quickly. Because of the eggs, try to drink all of this in a couple days. Which will not be difficult because it's so good!

Pork, Mushroom, and Snow-Pea Stir Fry and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut

Yep, two recipes at once! This is what I made for dinner and dessert tonight. Delish! Be careful with the cookies though, they're so goo I could probably eat a dozen. :) Sorry, I don't have pictures. Please don't hate me.

Pork, Mushroom, and Snow-Pea Stir Fry

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed and very thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 pound snow peas, strings removed
• 3 garlic cloves, forced through a garlic press
• 1/2 pound sliced cremini mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

• Accompaniment: steamed rice

preparation

Toss pork with cornstarch and 1 teaspoon salt.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Stir-fry pork until pale golden and almost cooked through, about 4 minutes, then transfer to a plate. Add 1 tablespoon oil to wok and stir-fry snow peas with garlic until crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to plate.

Add mushrooms to wok with water and remaining tablespoon oil and cook, covered, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add pork, snow peas, and teriyaki sauce and stir-fry until pork is cooked through, about 2 minutes.

(via)

And here's the recipe for the cookies:

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1 (6.5 ounce) jar macadamia nuts, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt, stir into the creamed mixture. Finally, stir in the white chocolate and nuts. Drop cookies by heaping teaspoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet, about 2 inches apart.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. When cool, store in an airtight container.

(Via)

Rye Bread

I decided I wanted to try and make some rye bread this week. It is delish! I didn't get around to taking pictures, but here's the recipe anyway. I found it on tablespoon.com

Ingredients

• 2 pkg. active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115°F.)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups Rye Flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (105 to 115°F.)
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 2 tablespoons shortening, melted
• 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 cups All Purpose or Unbleached Flour

Directions

1. 1Generously grease two 8x4 or 9x5-inch loaf pans. Dissolve yeast in warm waterand 1 tablespoon sugar. Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In large bowl, combine rye flour, 1/4 cup sugar, salt, 1 1/4 cups warm water,molasses and shortening. Stir in dissolved yeast. Gradually add all purposeflour to form a stiff dough. On floured surface, knead in remaining flouruntil smooth, about 5 minutes. Place in greased bowl; cover loosely withplastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place (80 to 85°F.) untildoubled in size, about 45 to 75 minutes.
2. 2Punch down dough. Divide into 2 parts; shape into loaves. Place in prepared
3. 3pans; brush tops with additional melted shortening. Cover; let rise in warm
4. 4place until doubled in size, about 45 to 75 minutes. Heat oven to 375°F.
5. 5Bake 25 to 35 minutes or until loaves sound hollow when lightly tapped.
6. 6Remove from pans immediately; cool on wire racks.

(Sorry the formatting is all messed up on here, I just copied and pasted from the website.)

Chicken Fajitas

Sorry I've been absent lately. But here's a yummy dinner we had the other night. It's from marthastewart.com. Enjoy!!!

• Ingredients
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken cutlets (about 8)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 3 bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
• 1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 8 flour tortillas (6-inch)
• Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
• Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Heat broiler, with rack set 4 inches from heat. Arrange chicken on a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil; rub with 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle with chili powder, and season with salt and pepper. Broil, without turning, until chicken is opaque throughout, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside.
2. On another rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, toss peppers, onion, garlic, and remaining tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Broil, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are crisp-tender and slightly charred, 6 to 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, thinly slice chicken crosswise. Stack and wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel; microwave on high until warm, about 1 minute. Transfer chicken and pepper mixture to a platter, and serve with tortillas, cilantro, sour cream, and lime wedges.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

My favorite cookies ever!!! Especially in the Fall!

Ingredients

• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I did 1 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 
  

Directions

1. Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
2. Add vanilla and chocolate chips.
3. Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 365 degrees F for approximately 12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Creamy Shrimp and Tomato Chowder

Once Fall hits I start craving soups like crazy. So we've been eating a ton of soup lately and I have a few more to make this week. Enjoy!

Time: 18 minutes

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup)

1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)

1 Tbs olive oil

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained

8 oz medium peeled cook shrimp

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/2 cup water

Ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large saucepan cook celery and onion in hot oil just until tender. Stir in tomatoes; heat through. Add shrimp, whipping cream, and water. Cook over medium heat just until hot. Season to taste with pepper.

Pumpkin Roll

Okay, so these are absolutely amazing!! Thanks to Larissa for the recipe! They're really rich though, don't try eating more than one at a time.

Ingredients:

Cake:

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp lemon juice

3/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

Filling:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

4 Tbs butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl combine eggs and sugar. Add pumpkin and lemon juice; mix until blended. Add flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Mix well. Spread batter into greased wax paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake @350 F for 15 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean when poked into the middle). Cool 15 minutes. THen place cake on clean tea towel (or a towel with no texture) sprinkled with powdered sugar. Remove wax paper and cool 10 more minutes. Roll cake up in towel. Set aside.

Beat together cream cheese and butter. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Unroll cake. Even spread filling over cake. Roll up cake. Wrap in plastic wrap. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Slice and serve sprinkled with powdered sugar and whipped topping. Refrigerate or freeze any leftovers.

Enjoy!

Chicken Rolls

Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 cube butter, softened

3-4 cooked and cubed chicken breasts

3 cans crescent rolls

1 cube butter, melted (for dipping)

cornflake crumbs

Directions:

Mix cream cheese, butter, and chicken in a bowl. Unroll crescent rolls. Put a spoonful of mixture in center of separated crescent roll. Roll tightly. Roll crescent roll in melted butter and then roll in cornflake crumbs. Bake @ 350 F for 15 minutes or until golden. Serve with creamy gravy (see below)

Gravy:

Mix and heat 1 can cream of chicken soup and half a can of milk.

Chicken Stir Fry

Prep Time: 15 min Cook time: 10 min

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 4 (4 ounce) boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons cooking oil, divided
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 cup sliced celery (1/2 inch pieces)
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 small onion, cut into wedges
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon granules

Directions

1. Cut chicken into 1/2-in. strips; place in a resealable plastic bag. Add cornstarch and toss to coat. Combine soy sauce, ginger and garlic powder; add to bag and shake well. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tablespoons of oil; stir-fry chicken until no longer pink, about 3-5 minutes. Remove and keep warm. Add remaining oil; stir- fry broccoli, celery, carrots and onion for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add water and bouillon. Return chicken to pan. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.

Amazing Peach Cobbler!!

I went down to Fairview this weekend and learned to can peaches with my Grandma. It was a blast!!! And I had some extra fresh peaches so I decided to try this recipe for peach cobbler. It is to die for!!!

4 cups peeled and sliced fresh peaches (blanch in boiling water for 30 seconds to remove the skins)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon flour

Cobbler crust:

1 cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon brown sugar, for topping

Whipped cream

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Generously butter a 1 1/2-quart shallow baking dish. Place the sliced peaches in the dish and sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and flour. Mix gently and spread evenly again. Bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile combine all dry ingredients for cobbler crust in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or your fingers, to make the texture like coarse crumbs. Add buttermilk and stir to form a soft dough.

Remove fruit from oven and drop rounded spoonfuls of dough on top. Sprinkle with last tablespoon of brown sugar and return to oven. Bake until fruit is bubbly and crust topping is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm with whipped cream {we served with vanilla bean ice cream}.

Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction and Rosemary Baked Potato Wedges

I wanted to try something a little more fancy the other night and found this great lamb recipe and a little something to go with it. It really wasn't that difficult and looked beautiful on the plate. The name makes it sound a lot more complicated than it is, so give it a try!

Lamb Chops with Balsamic Reduction

Serves 2

Prep time: 10 min Cook time: 15 min

Ingredients:

3/4 tsp dried rosemary

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

4 lamb chops (3/4 inch thick)

1 Tbs olive oil

1/4 cup minced shallots

1/3 cup aged balsamic vinegar (I just used regular balsamic vinegar that I already had, I honestly don't know the difference between that and "aged" except that the latter is obviously older)

3/4 cup chicken broth

1 Tbs butter

Directions:

1. In a small bowl or cup, mix together rosemary, basil, thyme, salt and pepper. Rub this mixture onto the lamb chops on both sides. Place them on a plate, cover and set aside for 15 minutes to absorb the flavors.

2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place lamb chops in the skillet, and cook for about 3 1/2 minutes per side for medium rare, or continue to cook to your desired doneness. Remove from the skillet and keep warm on a serving platter.

3. Add shallots to the skillet and cook for a few minutes, just until browned. Stir in vinegar, scraping any bits of lamb from the bottom of the skillet, then stir in the chicken broth. Continue to cook and stir over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until the sauce has reduced by half. If you don't, the sauce will be runny and not good. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter.

4. Place lamb chops on a bed of baby spinach leaves and pour reduction over them. Serve immediately.

Rosemary Baked Potato Wedges

Serves 4

Prep time: 35 min Cook time: 45 min

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tsp olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoons butter, melted

1 1/4 pounds Yukon God potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges

3 Tbs and 1 tsp flour

3 Tbs and 1/2 tsp bread crumbs

1 1/2 tsp rosemary

3/4 tsp garlic powder

3/4 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 F. Prepare one cookie sheet with cooking spray.

2. Stir together the olive oil and melted butter. Place the potato wedges in a large bowl; pour the butter mixture over the potatoes; toss to coat. Mix together the flour, bread crumbs, rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt; add to the potatoes and stir. Spread the potato wedges in a single layer on the baking sheet.

3. Bake in the preheated over until browned, about 40 minutes.

Butternut Squash Bake

Butternut Squash Bake

Prep time: 20 min Cook time: 35 min

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 (4 pound) butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed (if I ever made this recipe again I would just buy squash already peeled, seeded, and cubed because that part alone almost doubled the time needed for this recipe.)

1/3 cup yellow onion, minced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

1 Tbs minced fresh thyme

8 ounces crumbled blue cheese

sea salt and ground black pepper to taste (or you can use just regular salt and pepper. No need to get fancy)

1/4 cup Italian bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat over to 425 F.

2. Toss the squash, onion, olive oil, 1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, thyme, and blue cheese in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour mixture into a large baking dish. Sprinkle 1/4 cup bread crumbs over the mixture.

3. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 35-40 minutes.

Pizza from Scratch!

Pizza Crust

Prep Time: 30 min Cook time: 20 min Ready in: 1 hr 50 min

Serves 15

Ingredients:

2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 tsp salt

2 Tbs olive oil

3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water and let sit for 10 minutes.

2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.

3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well-floured surface and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double (about 1 hour). Punch down the dough and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out.

4. Preheat oven to 425 F. Roll out dough onto a cookie sheet and let rise 15 more minutes. Bake for 5-7 minutes. Top with sauce (recipe below) and top with desired ingredients (we used romano and mozzerella cheese, pepperoni and sausage. YUM!).

5. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Pizza Sauce

Ingredients:

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp oregano

1/8 tsp pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 16 oz can tomato sauce

1 3 oz can tomato paste

2 Tbs olive oil

Directions:

Saute garlic in olive oil until lightly brown. Add all other ingredients. Stir and heat until sauce comes to a boil. Cool and use.

Pineapple Chicken

This is one of our favorite recipes! It's also one of the easiest.

Pineapple Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 frozen chicken breasts

20 oz. can pineapple chunks, drained

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Directions:

Place chicken in crockpot.

Mix pineapple, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes.

Pour mixture over chicken.

Cook on low 4-6 hours, on high 3-4 hours.

Serve over rice.

See how easy!!! :)

Taco Soup

Taco soup is one of the easiest and yummiest things ever! One of our favorite meals for sure!

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1 pkg. taco seasoning

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 can kidney beans, drained

1 can corn

Fritos

Mexican Blend cheese

Sour Cream

Directions:

Cook meat until no longer pink. Combine meat, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, kidney beans, and corn in a large pot. Stir in taco seasoning. Cook over medium heat until hot. Serve with Fritos, cheese, and sour cream

Preview

Here are some recipes that are forthcoming! Love me some delicious food!

Butternut Squash Bake

Sausage/Pepperoni Pizza (with homemade crust and sauce)

Pineapple Chicken

Honey-Crusted Chicken (courtesy of Larissa Terry, my cousin)

Taco Soup

Get excited!!!!