An American classic that is a favorite, and feeds many is chili. I give you two versions of this dish. As there are as many chili recipes out there as there are kinds of chile peppers, feel free to change the recipes as you see fit.
Some Like it Scorching Hot - Red Chili
Ingredients:
2.7 Kilograms. diced tomatoes (1 #10 can)
2.7 Kilograms. Kidney Beans (1 #10 can)
2.7 Kilorams Pinto Beans (1 #10 can)
6 stalks Celery, sliced
2.7 Kilograms ground beef (Ground Chuck) ,or whatever meat is available
6 ea. dried Tobasco Peppers, Jalepeno Peppers, Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Cayenne Peppers
3 ea. Bhuk Jalokia Peppers, Naga Viper Peppers
3 large onions, diced
2 tsp. ground Coriander
1 1/2 tbs. ground Cumin
.5 Kilograms. hot Chili Powder
1/2 cup freshly-chopped Cilantro
3 squares unsweetened Baker's Chocolate
Mesquite flavor Liquid Smoke to taste, or better yet, grill the ground beef over smoky hardwood, with the lid down, before breaking up for the chili.
Brown The ground beef and set aside. I a huge pot (must hold about 7 gallons) add the canned stuff. Chop the onion into bite-sized pieces and throw into the pot. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for two hours, stirring every fifteen minutes or so to prevent burning the chili to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat serve with corn chips or crackers, or refrigerate overnight to allow the flavors to blend. Reheat and serve. Put into meal-sized freezer bags and save for future use, leaving enough out for a good meal.
Prize-Winning White Chili
Ingredients:
* 24 oz. (3 cups) Great Northern Beans, cooked
* 24 oz. Pinto Beans, cooked
* ½ cup Salsa Verde (available in most grocery stores)
* 1 large white onion, diced
* ½ cup chopped green onion
* 1 tbs. Sriracha brand Pepper Sauce
* 2 tbs. Coriander, ground
* 1 tbs. Cumin, ground
* 2 stalks Celery, sliced with leaves
* 1 ½ lb. Ground Beef (80/20 grind)
* 2 tsp. Kosher Salt, or 1 ½ tsp. table salt
* 3 tbs. fresh Cilantro, chopped
* 2, one-inch Serrano Chile Peppers, minced
* ½ tsp. white pepper, ground (or you can use black pepper)
* 2 cups heavy cream (1 pint)
* ½ cup Masa Harina (can be found next to the corn meal at
your grocers)
* 3 tbs. cooking oil
Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the diced onion. Sauté over medium heat while stirring until the onion begins to soften (about 2 minutes). Add the ground beef and flatten out. Let cook for about 5 minutes and then break it up. Stir and cook until the meat has lightly browned. Add the remaining ingredients, except for the Masa Harina, and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for two hours, stirring every twenty minutes or so to prevent the chili from sticking. Taste the chili and correct the seasoning to your taste (add more salt if needed).
Place the Masa Harina into an eight ounce cup along with just enough water to form a thick paste. Stir with a fork until all the lumps are removed. Slowly stir in two tbs. more water. This is called slurry. Stir the Masa Harina slurry into the chili, and again cover. Let it all cook over low heat for an additional ten minutes. Stir and test to see if the chili is thick enough for you. If so, then you are ready to serve up a bowl- full or two to your family.
Tip: If you can't get Masa Harina, smash up corn chips and add to the cooking chili. Just reduce the salt a bit, as the chips add salt.
This next recipe is taken from my cookbook - "You Can Be A Great Cook with Beef. The recipe has received many a compliment, and so, I give it to you to use.
Sloppy Joe
Before I met my wife, I was going out with another young lady who lived at home with her parents. One day I was at her place and she said “Ya want some lunch”? Of course, being an
exceptionally slender twenty year old, with an ultra high
metabolism (whatever happened to that metabolism anyway), I
said “Sure”.
She went into the kitchen to find a can of store bought Sloppy Joe sauce and some ground beef. To make a long story short, she had no sauce and was at a loss for something to make. I replied that peanut butter and jelly would be fine. She complained that her heart was set on Sloppy Joe's.
I said “Well let me see whatcha got.” She had ketchup, brown
sugar, Worcestershire Sauce, tomato paste, etc. I quickly
threw together a sauce with fresh chopped onions and green
peppers added for texture and flavor. She was amazed. I was
amazed that she was amazed. But I was the culinary hero (a
dangerous thing for a twenty year old whose head swelled
easily). I wasn't yet a very good cook. But this seemed pretty
elementary to me.
The point of this is that with a little imagination, you can
create almost any recipe you desire. And remember, if you make
your own, you can tailor it to your tastes.
This is the original “meal in a pan”. As an example of the
“tailor it to your taste” principle, my wife's idea of Sloppy
Joe Sauce is completely different from mine. But hers is
really good, and exceptionally easy to make. However, this is
my book so your going to get my sauce. After you get the idea,
you can make your own, modified to fit your family's tastes.
You can even use the store bought stuff if you like it. I won't
tell.
*
Ingredients:
1 4 oz. can tomato paste
1 6 oz can Tomato Sauce
1 12 oz. can dark red kidney beans
½ clove minced garlic
½ medium yellow onion, diced
3 heaping tbs. chopped green pepper
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (for Diabetics, substitute an equal
amount of Splenda brand sweetener and a tsp. of molasses)
1 tsp. Chili Powder
½ tsp. Salt
1 tbs. Worcestershire Sauce
1 bay leaf, crumbled
2 tbs. olive oil
1 lb. ground beef
Place ground beef into a 12 inch covered frying pan and place over medium heat. While the pan is warming, add the olive oil to a 1 quart sauce pan and apply medium heat. Add the garlic,
onion, and bay leaf to the oil and sauté until the onion turns
translucent. Add the remaining ingredients, stir until well
blended, cover and turn down heat to simmer.
Lift the lid from the ground beef and break up the meat into
bite sized chunks. Lightly salt the meat, stir, and cover.
Check the meat and stir the sauce every five minutes until the
meat is cooked through.
Drain the meat into a suitable bowl and place the juice in the refrigerator for later use. Combine the meat and sauce and serve over hamburger buns.
*
The Wife's Sloppy Joe Filling
Now you get my wife's recipe. When you see it, you might just say “why bother”. But let me assure you that on a cold day,
when time is at a premium, this tasty and quick meal is sure
to please. I would not have ever thought to make this on my
own.
It just goes to show that there are some pretty basic recipes around that taste great.
Ingredients:
2 - 12 oz. cans Tomato Soup
2 lbs. Ground Beef
½ tsp. Salt
1 twelve oz. Can Dark Red Kidney Beans
2 Hamburger buns per person.
Drain the Kidney Beans. Brown the ground beef in a covered
skillet. Drain and rinse, reserving the liquid for another meal. Add the remaining ingredients and heat until bubbling.
Serve on hamburger buns.
How about some Fried Chicken?
Gourmet Oven-Finished Chicken
This recipe was taught to me by my mother-in-law, a sweet and wonderful woman, and a fine cook in her own right. My wife reinforced the technique early in our marriage until I mastered it. This recipe produces a final product that is so juicy, it will literally squirt you when you bite into it. Have napkins ready.
With this technique, we use egg wash and flour to form a light and crispy, coating that adds flavor, texture, and holds moisture in the meat. The chicken is cooked in two stages. The first stage uses hot oil to cook the light coating. The second stage uses dry oven heat to finish the meat. How good is it? Try it. Then you be the judge. And if you have a secret family recipe for spices, feel free to add them to the flour.
Ingredients:
1 frying chicken, separated
1 cup seasoned flour (See recipe below)
2 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup water
2 cups Sunflower, or vegetable oil
Pre-heat oven to 375' Fahrenheit. Heat oil in heavy skillet until fragrant. Mix the two large eggs and milk in a wide bowl. Put two cups flour into a large bowl. Dip the chicken in egg, then dredge in the flour. Shake off excess flour and dry on a cooling rack for five minutes. Place chicken in the hot oil and fry until lightly browned on both sides. Lightly salt and place on a foil lined cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove and serve with your favorite side dishes.
(hint: Try using whole wheat flour instead of white flour. It gives the chicken a more robust flavor, and crispier texture.)
Seasoned Flour:
1 cup all-purpose (or whole wheat) flour
3 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. granulated garlic powder
1/4 tsp. powdered ginger
1 tsp. marjoram
1/2 tsp. rubbed sage
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. tumeric
1/4 tsp. red pepper
2 dashes Chinese 5-spice powder
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. granulated onion powder
Whisk everything together
That should give you a few good ideas.
Seeeeeeya; Chief Longwind of the North