Presidential All Meat Chili

I read a great book recently called "Dinner with the President: Food, Politics, and a History of Breaking Bread at the White House". It was really interesting cover foods and meals favored by all the presidents from Washington to Biden.   What people will, and will not, eat says so much about a person, so it was fascinating to me to see all the presidents tastes. How about the one president who likes his steak well done with ketchup! Ugh.

The book included some recipes at the end, and this recipe was popular with Lyndon Johnson during his presidency.  It was so simple, I just had to try it!  It was a big hit with everyone that I've served it to, so I wanted to share this one.  It does make a bunch, but I would recommend making the full batch and freezing it for future easy mills.

 Link to the LBJ recipe 

12 servings

Ingredients: 

• 4 pounds ground beef (I used 80/20 mix)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3-4 tablespoons chili powder, or to taste (I used Extra Hot chili powder)
• 1 tsp cayenne, optional
• 2 cans (15 oz) of diced tomatoes (I used with green chilies)
• 2 can (8oz) of tomato sauce
• 1 can (6 oz) of tomato paste
• 2 to 6 dashes hot sauce, or to taste (optional)
• Salt to taste (likely needs between 2-3 tsp)

In a large pot, cook the ground beef, onions and garlic, over medium high heat.  There's no need to add any olive oil, as ground beef has a lot in it naturally when you use 80/20 mix. Using a flat bottom wooden spoon breaking it into small pieces. 

Drain the meat, there's a lot of fat and water in there that won't add anything to your chili.  Here's how much I got from my 4lbs of ground beef.  I usually put this in the fridge to harden and then throw away the fat.  You could add the watery broth back to your chili if you felt it was too thick.

Add the chili powder, cumin and oregano.  Mix well. Add all the tomatoes, 2 cans of diced tomatoes, 2 small cans of tomato sauce and the can of tomato paste.  Let simmer on medium low for about 30 minutes.  Add the salt gradually, to ensure its just the right amount of salty for you.

I have made this ahead and it keeps, and reheats, very well.  

Serve with grated cheese, chopped onions, jalapenos and cilantro and maybe some sour cream.  This is also great for chili hot dogs or even "chili sloppy Joe's" on hamburger buns.

Lazy Girl Creamy Enchilada Verde Soup

Need something easy on a lazy Saturday? Or after a hard day at work?
How about an almost instant soup?

The other day I made Chili Verde Turkey Meatloaf, but had about 2/3 of a large can of green enchilada sauce leftover in the fridge. If you ever have a partial can, you could also freeze the leftovers in a small plastic container, perfect for a recipe like this.


Grab a rotisserie chicken and a can of enchilada sauce, and dinner is almost made.
I must admit, I scrounged around the fridge for veggies that might be good in this soup.  What follows is what I had on hand... you might have other stuff.  Nothing wrong with canned tomatoes, or chopped carrots in this soup.  Use your imagination... 
 
Enchilada sauce has quite a bit of sodium, so you may not need much more in this recipe.  Be sure to completely finish the soup before tasting and adding any more salt.

You could throw all this in the crock pot and let in cook on low for 6 hours, but really, you can do it on  the stove top very quickly.  I used a Costco rotisserie chicken for my re-cooked chicken.  I love that chicken, I buy one almost every time I go there. It's my basic for my homemade easy chicken stock too.
 
Serves 4-6 
Ingredients 

1 1/2 cups Green enchilada sauce
3 cups chicken broth
2 cups diced chicken, cooked and shredded
1 cup onions
1/2 cup celery
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1 cup corn, fresh, frozen or roasted
1/2 cup cilantro
1 tsp cumin
Chili pepper flakes, optional


Saute the onions, celery and bell pepper, over medium heat, in the olive oil for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften.

Add the enchilada sauce and chicken broth, and increase heat to high.  Bring to a boil, then add the chicken, spices and corn.  Taste and adjust the seasonings to you liking.  Reduce to a simmer, and let cook for another 5-10 minutes.  It will thicken slightly as it reduces a bit.

Great on it's own, or you can add some topping suggestions:

• cheddar cheese
• sour cream
• chopped tomatoes
• green onions
• fresh cilantro
• olives
• minced jalapenos
• tortilla chips

Summer Minestrone

Fresh, fast and healthy, perfect for a rainy summer day, like today in the Pacific Northwest.
Lots of fresh veggies make this one different from the heavy traditional kinds.

Easy to adjust for the veggies you have on hand, but I do like to focus on the green veggies.  This would also be good with fresh green beans, or peas.

Makes about 6 cups
Ingredients


1/2 cup onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 can of diced tomatoes, drained
1 can of white beans, drained
3 Tbsp Small Pasta, like ditalini
4 cups chicken, or vegetable stock
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium Summer Squash 
2 cups fresh spinach, or kale 
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp Fresh oregano, chopped
1 tsp Fresh thyme, chopped
1 tsp Fresh basil, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste
Fresh Parmesan, if desired

In a medium size stock pot, add a little olive oil and saute the onions, celery and bell pepper over medium high heat until starting to soften.  Add the chicken stock, drained tomatoes and the beans.  Bring to a boil and add the noodles.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add the zucchini, summer squash, spinach and the parsley.  Cook until just heated through and starting to soften the veggies. Serve at once with a little fresh parmesan cheese, if desired

Enchilada Spaghetti Squash Boats

I saw this on Facebook.
Yep, one of those silly little "recipes" where the video shows some hands throwing things together in like, 30 seconds, or something.  I must say I like those silly little videos.  Usually they have some great ideas, and simple inspiration.  Well, it worked on me.  I saw this one and wanted to try it.

Though, I struggled calling this Enchilada Squash Boats... sounds awful, doesn't it?
We loved this. It was kind of liked Mexican baked spaghetti, very satisfying and good for you.  No one at my house even mentioned that there was no meat in it.... success for a meatless meal.

It's super easy to make your own enchilada sauce too!  Here's my recipe

Serves 2 (but easy to double)
Ingredients

1 small spaghetti squash
1/2 cup Enchilada sauce
1/4 cup Cilantro
1/4 cup Green onions
1/4 cup Chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup bell pepper
2/3 cup Shredded cheese


Bake a small spaghetti squash in a 400 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Using a pot holder, take a fork and shred each side, leaving it in the shell.  It should shred easily.  

Here's what I used in mine, green onions, cilantro, pickled jalapenos and orange bell pepper.  I chopped it all up and added about half to the "boats" and reserved the rest for topping the dish before serving.

I just layered it on top, but you could also mix it in.

Add the enchilada sauce, I like a lot, so I used about 1/4 cup per shell. I had preheated the enchilada sauce just to reduce the amount of time to finish it in the oven and melt the cheese. However, I don't think it really makes that much difference, you could use it right out of the can too.

Add cheese... I had both some grated and some slices, so I used both.

Add back to the 400 degree oven and bake until the cheese is melted and getting bubbly around the edges. Top with some more of cilantro, green onions, whatever you like.  Avocado and sour cream would be nice too.

Chickpea Panzanella with capers

Leftover bread.
A yummy expensive hunk of bread sitting there, staring at you.
You haven't the heart to throw it away.
But whatever will you do with it?
Bread crumbs? Stuffing?  Feed the ducks?

Now salad made out of leftover bread made sound a little weird to you, but this happens to be one of my favorite salads.   I've done one before but when I saw this recipe in Sunset in 2009, using the old bread with some arugula, some chickpeas, capers and tomatoes? 
Yes, I was IN for trying it.

Yum, the chickpea (or garbanzo's) are a nice filling addition to the salad with some of their creaminess and texture, perfect with a salty taste of capers, fresh tomatoes and peppery arugula.  

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

3/4 pound day-old crusty whole-grain bread, cut into 1-in. chunks

2 large heirloom tomatoes, cut into 1-in. chunks(or cherry tomatoes)

2 cups lightly packed arugula

1/2 cup thinly sliced red onion

1 can (15 oz.) chickpeas (garbanzos), drained

2 Tbsp capers

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

3-4 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

12 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Toast the bread if it is fresh and soft for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
If it's a dense or stale bread, you can skip this step. 

Mix all the ingredients and ideally let sit for 1-2 hours before serving.  If it tastes good right away, go for it!  Eat it now.

  

Creamy Mac & Cheese

New York Times recipe with 5 stars and over 781 reviews... well, that got my attention.

But, I had to read the recipe a couple of times...
Wait a sec- - you throw uncooked noodles into the mix and bake it?
Well, that's crazy!
Crazy smart and talks straight to the lazy woman within me.

This... my friends... brings cooking dinner to a whole 'nother easy level.
We loved this and I will definately use this technique again to make a super easy Mac & Cheese.


Here's a link to the original recipe.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

2 Tbsp butter

1 cup cottage cheese 

2 cups half & half or whole milk 

1 tsp dry mustard

Pinch cayenne

Pinch freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 pound sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 pound elbow pasta (or other tubular small pasta), uncooked.

Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. 
Use 1 tablespoon butter to butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan.

In a blender, purée cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. Reserve ¼ cup grated cheese for topping. In a large bowl, combine remaining grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. 
Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with reserved cheese and dot with remaining tablespoon butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned.  Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

 

Here it is before I covered with foil and threw it in the oven.  See that I have retained about 1/4 -1/2 cup of cheese to add on in 30 minutes when I uncover it.

After the second 30 minutes in the oven uncovered, I wasn't sure the noodles were really cooked.  So I turned off the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes in the hot oven....  interestingly enough, it was that additional 15 minutes that made some of the top noodles kind of hard from over baking. 

Here's what I've been making:

One year ago: Arizona Botanical Gardens
Two years ago: Strawberry Spinach Avocado Salad