Chili - The ONE

This chili is so good!  And you can crock pot or stove top it, to boot!  My dad, who has been the tasting participant in many a chili cook-off, boldly declared that this is the best chili he has ever had. It's that good.

Combine it with a batch of Famous Dave's cornbread (mix from Costco) and his honey-butter recipe, and you've got a happy family.

I found the recipe here:

http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2014/2/15/the-best-chili-on-earth.html

Without further ado:

Serves: 12

Total time: 8-9 hrs (crockpot), 2.5 hrs (stovetop)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef, turkey or venison  [I use turkey.]
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow or white onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped   [I just use a shake of dried parsley.]
• 2 jalapeño peppers, finely chopped (optional)   [I omit these.]
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black ground pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper   [We don't love spice, so I leave this out.]
• 46-oz. can tomato juice   [I have just use a quart of home-bottled pureed tomatoes]
• 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 16-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 16-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed   [I typically use great northern beans instead.]
• Shredded cheese and sour cream, for topping

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, cook ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain excess grease from skillet, but do not clean.
2. Add the olive oil to the skillet. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using) and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and fragrant (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.
3. If cooking the chili stovetop, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If using a slow cooker, add meat-veggie mixture to the slow cooker. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans to either the skillet or slow cooker, depending on which you are using. On stovetop, bring to a boil, dial back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. In slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve warm with cheese and sour cream.

Dutch Honey Syrup

Jen gave me this delicious caramel syrup.  It is amazing paired with French toast :).

1/2 cup butter
1 cup Karo syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup cream

Heat until thickens a little.

Lemon Garlic Vinaigrette

This recipe is from my sister-in-law Adrienne, and has become a Poulsen family staple:

1 lemon (juiced)
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1/4 -3/4 c. vegetable oil (the original recipe calls for 3/4 cup; Jen only uses 1/4 cup)

Blend thoroughly.  Serve over salad with romaine lettuce, slivered almonds, bacon, cheese (if you're into that :)), tomatoes, etc.

Salted Caramel Rice Krispie Treats

I could generally take or leave Rice Krispie treats, but the salted caramel twist on these treats is amazing! Definitely a taker.  

I found this recipe here:  http://ourbestbites.com/2014/08/salted-caramel-rice-krispie-treats/    

Enjoy!!!

(Recipe slightly adapted from Food Network)

Ingredients:
6 cups Rice Krispies
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon kosher salt or flaked sea salt, plus more for sprinkling on top
1 10-ounce bag of mini marshmallows, plus about 1 cup of additional mini marshmallows

Instructions:
In a large, heat-proof bowl, toss together the Rice Krispies and 1 cup of mini marshmallows. Set aside.  [I was short on marshmallows, so I did not use this extra cup of marshmallows in the Rice Krispies.]

Spray an 8×8″ baking pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.

In a large, heavy pot, melt the butter over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. When it’s melted, reduce the heat to medium and add the brown sugar, whipping cream, and corn syrup and cook for about 7 minutes, stirring frequently to keep the caramel from scorching. 

When the caramel is thick and syrupy, add in the salt and stir to combine, then remove from heat and add the 10 ounces of marshmallows. Stir until the marshmallows are dissolved, then quickly pour over the Rice Krispies and stir quickly to coat completely. 

Press into the prepared baking pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Allow to cool completely (I allow mine to cool in the freezer so I am then allowed to eat them more quickly) and then cut into squares.

Crock Pot Quinoa Chicken Chili

This is a good, freezer-friendly meal, that tastes much better than it looks :).  The recipe below makes a lot, so get out your big crock pot!

I got the recipe here:  http://queenbeecoupons.com/crock-pot-slow-cooker-quinoa-chicken-chili-recipe/

Here it is!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup of quinoa, rinsed

One (1) 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (you could use crushed)

One (1) 14 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)

Two (2) 16 oz cans of black beans, rinsed, drained

One (1) 15 oz can of corn, drained

3 Cups chicken stock

2 large chicken breasts, frozen or thawed (cook longer if frozen)

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp cumin

1 tsp crushed red pepper

2 tsp chili powder

This has a nice little kick to it, but I didn’t think it was too spicy. If you’re nervous about spice, reduce the red pepper and the chili powder by half.  {I usually do cut the spices by half...my family isn't into spicy.}

HOW TO PREPARE

1.) Toss everything into slow cooker and cook for 6-8 hours on low or 4-7 hours on high. I added frozen chicken breasts to mine and cooked on high for about six hours. As long as the chicken is cooked – it’s done!

2.) Remove chicken and shred it with two forks. Return to slow cooker.

3.) Top with cheese, sour cream, avocados – whatever sounds good to you! I’m thinking the next day it would probably thicken up enough to eat in a whole wheat tortilla.

Sweet and Sour Sauce

I found this recipe here:

http://www.food.com/recipe/the-best-sweet-and-sour-sauce-76003

It was really good - even the kids downed it!

Ingredients:

Yield:

                 Yield                 1.5             

1.5

cup

Units: US |  Metric

• 1 cup pineapple juice
• 1/3 cup water
• 3 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Directions:

1. 1
   Combine all ingredients in a sauce pan.
2. 2
   Cook over medium heat until thick, stirring constantly.
3. 3
   Pour over chicken, meatballs, smoked sausage, veggies, etc.

Garlic Breadsticks

This recipe comes in two parts.

First, the breadsticks - a versatile and easy dough recipe found here:

http://themamasgirls.com/mamas-best-pizza-dough/

Second, the "glaze", found here:

http://themamasgirls.com/garlic-dill-glazed-breadsticks/

(All photos and the majority of the instructions are copied directly from the above-referenced links.)

These breadsticks were easy to put together, though admittedly they do take at least an hour from start to finish.  They were worth the relatively minimal effort - the breadsticks were delicious!  (I'm not a fan of dill, so I left out the dill from the glaze recipe.  If you like dill, go to the link to find the dill included in the recipe.)

Dough:

3 c. very warm water

2 Tbs. yeast

2 Tbs. sugar

1 tsp. salt

6 – 7 c. flour

1. Measure the “warm water” into your mixer.

2. Add the yeast to the water and let it dissolve for a couple of minutes.

It should form a froth on the surface.

3. Next, add the sugar, salt  and about 2 – 3 cups of  the flour and whisk together.

If you’re using a mixer, put it to no more than about speed 2. At this point your mixture will be smooth and resemble somewhat of a batter more than a dough.

4. Stir in the remaining flour.

Change your whisk out for a large wooden spoon or the kneading attachment on your mixer (I used the kneading attachment on my Bosch from start to finish). Start up your mixer or start up your muscles and mix.  Continue to add flour to the dough “cleans” itself away from the side of the bowl. This is usually somewhere between 6 – 7 cups.

5. Knead the dough until smooth and elastic. (about 6 minutes).

You want a soft dough, but not sticky.  If it sticks to your hand and stays there, add a bit more flour in small increments. If it sticks to your hand, but comes off clean, you’re good to go.

6. Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes.

This allows the dough to relax and become malleable again to roll out  for your breadsticks. 

While dough is resting, you can start to make your glaze.

Garlic Glaze

6 Tbs. salted butter, melted

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

Place butter in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for about 45 seconds or until the butter has almost melted.  Add other ingredients and stir together.  Set aside.

After dough has rested for about 10 minutes, break off or cut off a piece about the size of a baseball.

Spray your rolling surface with non-stick spray. Roll the dough into a long rope about 18 inches long. Begin to pull the left side of the dough toward you, and push the right side away from you.  This will begin twisting the breadstick. Repeat about 3 times so the rope is fairly tightly twisted.

Take the ends of the rope and fold them up together. The dough should naturally twist together in your hands like magic. Grab the bottom, and give it a final twist.

Place the dough twists on a greased baking sheet. Let them rise for 5-10 minutes.

Place your oven rack in the MIDDLE of your oven.  Bake breadsticks at 425° for 12 -14 minutes or until golden on the top.

With a pastry brush, brush the glaze over hot bread immediately after it comes out of the oven. Lightly salt.

This recipe made a full, big cookie sheet's worth of breadsticks.  Enjoy!