Penzey's Refried Bean Chili

This is the second recipe I have tried from Penzey's spice catalog.  The first recipe was Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pie.  It came out delicious and I have made it a few times since.  In a following catalog, I found this recipe.  I make a very basic chili.  I've been looking for a new recipe to give my chili something exciting.  I was very intrigued by the recipe because it calls for refried beans.  This may sound gross to some, but we really enjoy refried beans.

Penzey's Refried Bean Chili

Well, I made Penzey's Refried Bean Chili last week.  I really wanted to love this recipe.  However, it was just alright.  It had a good flavor but I don't think I'll make it again.  I like my basic chili recipe more.  Also the title of this post should maybe changed to "Beans Beans the Magical Fruit."

Although I was not a huge fan of the recipe, I was excited that we were able to use all of the following ingredients that we made:  salsa, beer, garlic, canned diced tomatoes

I changed the recipe slightly.  I also cut it down to make a smaller amount.  Click here to see the original recipe.  I give the recipe 2 cookies because I will not make it again.  However, it had a good flavor.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion chopped
2 Tbl. chopped garlic
2 Tbl. chili powder
1 Tbl. ground cumin
1 15 oz. can ranch style beans
1 16 oz. can refried beans
1 16 oz. can kidney beans
1 cup salsa
1 can diced tomatoes
1 12 oz beer
1 lime (just the juice)
sour cream (optional)

Directions:
In a large pot, cook the ground beef, onion, garlic and spices over medium high heat until the meat is browned and the onion is tender. Drain beef mixture and return to pot.  Stir in the beans, salsa and beer or beef broth, and diced tomatoes, stir well, turn heat to low and let simmer until thickened and the flavors have melded, 1-2 hours. Stir in the lime juice just before serving. To serve, ladle the chili into bowls and garnish with sour cream, if desired.

Spinach Manicotti

A friend of mine asked me to check out a recipe on the blog Espresso and Cream.  I am hoping to try this request out this weekend.  However, I did see a recipe for Quick Spinach Manicotti that I wanted to try.  The recipe came from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food.  However, Martha makes her marinara sauce creamy by adding two tablespoons of heavy cream.  While I'm sure that makes this dish even better, I thought I should try the non cream route first.

I had so much fun making this dish.  The directions tell you to mix up the filling ingredients and make a piping bag out of a zip lock.  I've done this before and I always have such a good time.  I'm like that 2 year old that has all the toys in the world but would prefer to play with the every day things around the house.  Well, I love kitchen tools and I have many, but somehow piping oohey goohey goodness through a zip lock bag is way more fun.

I enjoyed this dish.  It was easy and different from an ordinary spaghetti and marinara sauce meal.  I also like finding recipes with spinach.  It makes me feel a bit Popeye like.  I don't think the taste was anything extraordinary.  However, I give the recipe 4 cookies for ease.  I can see making this a regular meal.

Quick Spinach Manicotti

Ingredients
8 manicotti shells
1 15-oz. container light ricotta cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
1 8-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of excess moisture
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

2 cups marinara sauce (I used a little more than 2 cups because I really like marinara sauce)
optional:  1 tsp basil and/or oregano to add more flavor to the sauce

Instructions
1.  Preheat oven to 375°F. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta shells according to package instructions. Drain well and arrange in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta, 1/2 cup Parmesan and spinach. Season filling with salt and pepper.
2.  Transfer filling to a large zip-top plastic bag. Twist and squeeze bag so filling is in one corner. With scissors, snip a 3/4-inch opening in corner. Pipe filling into both ends of each pasta shell. Arrange stuffed shells in an 8-inch square glass baking dish.
3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together marinara sauce and basil/oregano. Pour sauce evenly over shells and top with 1/2 cup Parmesan. Bake until sauce in center of dish is bubbling and Parmesan is browned in spots, about 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Apple Pie Filling

Ben is really into gardening in the summer months.  This has lead us to canning tomatoes, pickles, sauces, and jams.  We have a good time preparing these summer items for winter use.  It's exciting to open up the flavor filled jars in the middle of winter for soups and other delicious recipes.

This fall, I bought 10 lbs of apples from a local farm.  I had a recipe for canning apple pie filling and thought it would be a great time to try it out.  I originally planned on buying the granny smith that people suggest for pies.  I decided to get crazy and bought an assortment of 5 different apples.  It was a lot of fun to go through and throw them into a bag.

Ben and I cored and peeled the apples with our pampered chef apple peeler.  I love having this kitchen tool.  I can't say I use it all of the time, but it makes peeling apples so easy.  I love that it is manual too.  Not many things we use today are all manual with no electricity.

This last week we made a pie with the applie pie filling.  It was delicious.  The pie took maybe 5 minutes to throw together and was filled with locally grown organic apples.  Next fall, I hope to buy even more apples.  The prepared filling is pretty in the mason jars and would make a great gift.  Click here to see recipe for apple pie filling.

Chicken Fettucinni Alfredo

I was hoping to score some good wife points by fixing Ben his favorite meal after a busy week.  Well, I got tired and ended up not fixing it for him.  I'm going with the idea of it's the thought that counts.  A few nights later, we took to the kitchen and cooked together.  For those of you that know our current kitchen, know that this is a test of patience.  You basically have to pick a side and play zones.  We had a good time and enjoyed a delicious meal.



Current Kitchen:  One Big Hallway

As I mentioned, our kitchen is a bit frustrating to have more than one person.  Often we have two people and two dogs.  This does not work.  We bought our house a couple of years ago knowing that we wanted to redo the kitchen at some point.  I'm hoping that point will be within this next year.  Redoing the kitchen requires changing our floor plan.  Here are the two plans we are trying to decide between.  Leave a comment and let us know which plan you would choose.

Excuse my pathetic attempt at house plan drawings.  This was a joint project with Cole so he can color them later.  The architects in our family would be so ashamed.  If you click on the picture it will zoom in a bit.




Option B:  Move Kitchen



Option A:  Open up current kitchen













Let us know your thoughts and then try out the recipe.  Chicken Fettucinni Alfredo is one of Ben's favorite meals.  I let him provide suggestions and ratings for this recipe.  Here is the recipe we ended up with.  Hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

3 chicken breasts cut into cubes or strips

3 tablespoons butter

3 cloves of garlic

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

1/2 onion diced

4 ouces of fresh mushrooms (use can if you want to save time)

2 Tbl. flour

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. white pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

4 oz shredded colby monterey jack cheese

1 roma tomato diced

1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

1.In a large skillet over medium heat combine chicken, 1 tablespoons butter, 2 cloves garlic, and Italian seasoning. Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. Remove from skillet and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet. Saute onion, 1 cloves garlic, and mushrooms until onions are transparent. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; cook 2 minutes. Slowly add milk and half-and-half, stirring until smooth and creamy. Stir in Parmesan and Colby-Monterey Jack cheeses; stir until cheese is melted. Stir in chicken mixture, tomatoes and sour cream. Serve over cooked fettuccini.

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms Stuffed with Cheesy Grits

Welcome to my new favorite meal.  This entire meal is my attempt to recreate some of the delicious food at Ally's reception.  The results came out way better than I expected. It's not quite the same as Ally's, but it is really good.  The meal consisted of grilled portobello mushrooms piled high with cheesy grits and brussel sprouts on the side.

I never thought I would like grits.  My first experience with grits made them seem like a mushy tasteless smaller grained oatmeal.  The name itself does not do the food any favors.  Nothing sounds delicious about a "grit".  I only think of things like "I've got grit in my teeth."  I  don't know that I've ever heard someone actually say this, but this is what I picture.  Then I discovered cheesy grits.  Most things with cheese get my attention.

I had not yet attempted to make cheesy grits myself.  I've enjoyed them at several restaurants, usually in the south.  I needed to find a recipe.  I searched through allrecipes.com to find a recipe for cheesy baked grits.  You can find the recipe at this link:  Cheesy Baked Grits
The grits turned out amazing.  Let me warn you...THEY ARE NOT HEALTHY.  I wasn't exactly expecting something with cheesy in the title to be healthy.  I also don't back away from unhealthy meals.  However, there was one point in the cooking process where I didn't know if I should actually eat the end product.  But I did eat them and there is no going back.

While the grits were baking, I worked on the portobello mushrooms.  I looked through some recipes online and came up with my own recipe below.  The mushrooms came out tasting almost like a steak.  I put a scoop of grits on top of the mushrooms and served it with brussel sprouts.  See previous post on brussel sprouts for this recipe.

Enjoy!

Grilled Portobello Mushrooms:
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of onion powder
pinch of garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of pepper

1.  Mix all ingredients together
2.  Wipe off mushrooms with paper towel
3.  use a brush to wipe oil mixture onto the tops of the mushrooms
4.  Lay mushrooms on grill top side down
5.  pour left over oil mixture over gill side of mushrooms
6.  cook for about 6 minutes on each side over low to medium heat or until tender

4 servings/ 2-4 pts per mushroom depending on if you use all of the oil

12 servings grits/ 7 pts per serving

Road Trip Part 2: Champagne and Frozen Berries

Continuing from the previous post, we are on a road trip down to Asheville, NC then to St. Pauls, NC and home again.  It was a lot of driving for a three day vacation.  But it reminded me that I love a good road trip.

My family grew up taking road trips.  We had a pop up camper that we towed everywhere.  My dad would drive through the night for our next exciting location.  It was always an honor to be the one to take the night shift with Dad.  We would be so excited to see the next new thing such as red dirt in the south, mountains rising out of the plains, cactus or tumbleweeds in the southwest.  Each turn seemed to have some grand new adventure. 



Camping with the Family on one of our many trips

 We had a full size conversion van that was perfect for trips.  The back seat folded into a bed.  There were captains chairs in the middle that turned any direction we wanted.  My mom would make sure we were well stocked with books, drinks, snacks, or songs to sing.  Us kids hung out in the back and played games, read books, and slept.  I still remember the mistake of telling my brother I wanted to learn how to play 52 card pick up.

In my college years, I did a little too much traveling.  I kept a map on my walls and traced all of the highways, interstates, and back roads I had traveled.  I could have stared at an atlas all day.  I think I could have told you how to get just about anywhere.  Maybe I should have been working on a degree to work for Google Maps.  I recently found my college road trip map and it gave me a good laugh. 



My traveling became sparse after college.  Having a full time job really cut into my traveling time.  How dare my employers expect me to work 5 days a week.  Don't they know I belong on the road.  Road trips began to feel like a stressful chore and loose the fun they once had.  The gas prices didn't help.

On this recent trip, I was happy to find some of that excitement again.  There were a few new routes that we drove and it was exciting to have that unexpected view around the bend.  Here are a few of the views from our road trip.

Cotton fields on the back roads from Charlotte to St. Paul, NC

Pilot Mountain on 52 from Winston Salem to Virginia

Walker Mountain Tunnel on 77 from Virginia to West Virginia

It was a great drive.  I only wish we had more time to stop and explore.  Hopefully Ben and I will have the time to take a longer vacation sometime soon.  Then we can do some real exploring.  I only have 3 states left:  Minnesota, Idaho, and Vermont.

Travis and Caroline

Back to the drink...While in St. Paul, Travis and Caroline shared their current drink of choice with us.  We played games and drank champagne with frozen berries.  The drink is incredibly simple, tasty, and pretty too.  Freeze berries and put them in a champagne glass and pour champagne over top.  Use a champagne that is less sweet.  If I had champagne here, I'd be pouring one now.

Road Trip Part 1: Brussel Sprouts



Picture from West End Bakery site



Ben and I had a fantastic weekend.  On saturday, we drove down to Asheville, NC for Ally and Lucious's wedding.  We arrived  several hours before the wedding started.  We took some time to catch up with my good friend Laura and her family at West End Bakery.  She has the cutest boys and they are growing up so fast. 

West End Bakery was one of my favorite places when I lived in Asheville.  I lived just down the street and would make frequent trips to get a spelt blueberry muffin.  Unfortunately, they were out of blueberry on saturday.  So I suffered through eating an almond raspberry muffin.  Yum, I wish we had something like West End Bakery in Tipp City.

On to the main event, Ally and Lucious's wedding!  Ally was so beautiful and seemed to be radiating happiness.  I'm so glad she is with someone that makes her so happy.  She is such a great person and I miss living so close to her.  The wedding was wonderful and it was great to catch up with some ASP friends.  We always have a good time together telling old stories and making new memories.



ASP group at the Wedding- photo from Kati Jacobs

The food at the reception was fantastic.  I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.  There are a few things I need to try to make.  But the item that caught me by surprise was brussel sprouts.  I realized I have never eaten brussel sprouts before this weekend.  At the mention of brussel sprouts, the following clip has always come to mind. 

I pushed past my Cosby Show memory and decided to give them a try.  They were so delicious.  Brussel sprouts are like tiny cabbages.  I love cabbage.  Why have I not been eating these for years?

On Sunday, we made our way down to St. Pauls, NC where  our good friends Travis and Caroline live.  We had a great couple of days with good food, drinks, and games.  Caroline is a wonderful cook.  I mentioned how good the brussel sprouts were at Ally's wedding and Caroline gave me a tutorial on cooking them.  This worked out perfectly.

Note:  Caroline only recommends fresh brussel sprouts

1. cut off stems from brussel sprouts.  remove outer leaf and cut in half.

2. In bowl, sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Mix with hands to make sure all are covered with oil.

3. Cook in pre heated skillet with a little more olive oil cut side down.  Cook until slightly browned.  Stir and serve.  Easy and delicious!

Hummus Sandwich

Lunch is always my trickiest meal.  My schedule these days is a bit abnormal.  It seems every day is different and I'm not sure if I'll be eating at home, on the go, or at a vacant rental.  We own and manage rental property.  I don't just find random vacant properties to eat lunch.  Anyway, I'm a big fan of warm meals.  With such an irregular schedule, cold sandwiches seem to be the only option.

I'm becoming more and more picky about the foods I eat.  Not in the way of refining my tastes.  In a way of being paranoid about different meats and textures.  Ben says I've been around my sister too long.  I'm having a hard time eating lunch meats lately.  I'm not a fan of cold meat and I question the freshness of the meat after 2 days.  I'm happy for all of you who can sit down and enjoy a good lunch meat sandwich.

With this newly developing fear of lunch meat, I've started eating more sandwiches with hummus.  Hummus is fairly simple to make at home.  Travis Packer actually makes the best homemade hummus I've had.  Maybe he will do a guest post with his hummus recipe???  As far as store bought hummus, I really enjoy the Sabra brand the best.  I spread hummus on the bread and pile it high with sliced bell peppers and cucumbers.  This week I have developed my favorite sandwich so far.  I took thesomewhat healthy hummus veggie sandwich and added jalepeno chips on top.  Miss Vickie's Jalapeno chips are fantastic.  I'm not even a chip person and I enjoy these.  With this combination, I've found a cold sandwich I can get excited about!

Kale Salad

In my quest to eat more veggies, I ran across a recipe for Kale Slaw.  I really enjoy kale.  I have mainly eaten kale in soups or other cooked meals.  I was excited to try a recipe that did not call for cooking.  I found it on The Kitchn site again.  I'm getting a bit distracted from my existing stack of recipes.  I figure it would have gone in the stack if I didn't try it now.  So in a way, it all works out.

I ended up halfing the original recipe.  It called for two bunches (2 lbs) of kale.  I looked at the first bunch and thought there was no way Ben and I would finish that on our own.  We don't do well with leftovers past day 2.  Then the leftover gets lost in the back of the fridge.  I didn't want to find it weeks later.

I think a salad would be a better description than a slaw.  Maybe I didn't cut the kale into small enough pieces.  I don't know that there is a true difference in definition between slaw and salad.  In my mind, there is a world of difference.  From here on, I will refer to this as Kale Salad.

I also have to say that I was not a fan at first.  But after the first few bites, I really started to enjoy this recipe.  Have you ever had that happen?  It's like I didn't take in all the flavor until the third bite.  I enjoyed the combination of peanut with kale.   I would suggest more dressing.  I took some of the kale out of the bowl and still felt it lacked in dressing.

I'm giving this recipe 3 cookies for now.  However, I'll increase the dressing and it may move up to 4 cookies later.  Below I have put the recipe for how I would make it next time.

Recipe:
1 bunch of kale (approx. 1 lb.)
1 carrot
1 red pepper
1/4- 1/2 cup of peanuts

Dressing Recipe:
1/4 cup peanuts
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon packed light-brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
1.  Remove ribs from kale.  Then slice into small pieces.  Wash in salad spinner and throw into bowl.
2.  Wash and peel the carrot.  Then use peeler to cut thin strips into bowl with kale.
3. Wash red pepper and remove seeds.  Cut into think strips and throw into bowl.
4.  Put peanuts into bowl with kale and stir all ingredients together.

Dressing:
1.  Combine peanuts, oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes in a small food processor.
2.  Process the ingredients until peanuts are well finely chopped and combined.
3.  Pour portions of dressing over salad and mix together.  Use enough dressing for your tastes.  You may not need all of the dressing.  Or you could just serve the dressing on the side.

Hope you enjoy!

Biscuits

Baking in my pajamas!  This is how I wish I could start every day.  It has been a busy few weeks for us.  It's the first day off in over 2 weeks.  Working has been a good busy, but tiring.  My dad also had hip replacement surgery last week.  Between working and trips to the hospital, we've been eating out a lot.  I was excited to have a day to cook again.
 

I decided to start out my day with a good breakfast.  Biscuits and gravy has become one of my favorite breakfasts.  Growing up, I thought this was one of the most unappealing meals I could imagine.  My years in the south have won me over.  It is always a reminder of ASP as well.  I looked forward to the biscuits and gravy day of the week the most.  My first summer on staff, we had a cook named Ruby who made great biscuits and gravy.  That summer is full of great memories.

I have never attempted to make biscuits on my own.  I have always opted for the frozen Pilsbury biscuits.  I copied a recipe years ago.  I can't remember where I copied it from.  My apologies to whomever I am not giving credit to today.  I decided to give it a try.  I know there are simpler bisuit recipes out there.  I'll be excited to try those out on another day.  If anyone has a biscuit recipe they enjoy, please send it my way.

This recipe came out well.  However, they didn't rise or get as airy as I like.  I may have added too much flour.  I think the true culprit was old baking powder.  I realized that my baking powder is from a grocery store in Asheville, NC.  For those of you that don't know how long it's been since I lived there, I'm not telling.  Baking Powder is going on my grocery list today.

I used a Taste of Home recipe for the Biscuits and Gravy.   I typically use ground sausage.  However, I did not have that at the house this morning.  I also used some of our Raspberry Preserves we canned earlier this year.  Later today I hope to get back to some healthier veggie based meals.

Biscuit Recipe: 
2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 tablespoon white sugar 
1/3 cup shortening 
1 cup milk

Directions:
1.  Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

2.  Blend in shortening ( I used a fork for this step).

3.  Stir in milk until dough pulls away from bowl ( I did not use the full cup of milk ).

4.  put dough on floured surface and knead 10 times.  Roll out to 1 inch thick and cut out circular shapes.  I used a juice glass.

5.  Place on cookie sheet and bake at 425 degrees for 13-15 minutes.