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.

Stuffed Cabbage Bowl

We both agree, how can this be comfort food if you never even had it as a kid?

I can't actually say I really even like Stuffed Cabbage, but I do love this!I  know lots of people remember their mom's stuff cabbage rolls for dinner.... I assure you, my mom made many, many amazing dishes in my childhood, but I never specifically remember her making these. My husband's mom was definitely more challenged in the kitchen, so she never made something exotic as stuffed cabbage rolls! I seem to remember making them once, decades ago, and I thought they were fussy and not that great. So, in other words, a recipe NOT to be repeated.

We're trying to reduce how many carbs we eat, so when I saw this recipe it really intrigued me. We were both instantly in love with this.  A couple months went by, but I remembered we liked this, so I bought the ingredients again to see if it was a fluke, or did we really like this?  Guess what? We so LOVE this! 

Easy, fast, comforting and cheap.  Something to enjoy in this uncertain times of a pandemic. Let's call this one a dinner hug.

Serves 4-6 (makes great leftovers)
Ingredients

1-2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 to 1 cup diced red bell pepper (optional)
1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef, low fat
4-6 cups shredded cabbage
1 can diced tomatoes plus juices
1 tsp granulated garlic
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Red pepper flakes (optional)
Salt & Pepper

Chop the onions and pepper into a dice, saute over medium high heat in a large saute pot or dutch oven, for about five minutes. Add the pork and the beef and cook breaking into medium size chunks while it cooks. Add the Italian seasoning and the garlic, plus some generous salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (as desired).  Add the canned tomatoes and the shredded cabbage.  Cook until the cabbage starts to wilt, about 3-5 minutes.
Serve in a low bowl as the meat/veggie mixture, or over steamed rice.

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Spanish Albondigas Meatballs in Tomato Garlic Sauce

Tapas Party! After a great trip to Spain recently with friends, we were excited to get together and swap photos, talk stories and re-live some of the yummiest food we've had in a long time. Might have wanted to sip wine too.  You know. Four couples, each couple bringing 2-3 dishes for us to recreate the feeling a lots of small, succulent tastes. 

This photo only shows a small portion of what we enjoyed that night.
In fact, the very top photo is what I made with the leftovers I had to bring home! 
Way too much food... isn't that always the way at the best parties?

Here's a shot of my plate...

It's rare that I change so little in a recipe.  This is one of those.  I did three things different from the original- I used a red bell pepper, reduced the salt and added fresh ground pepper.

Makes enough for 8-10 as a tapas (small dish)

Ingredients

Meatballs:

1 large onion, chopped fine

1 large bell pepper, chopped fine

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds ground beef (not lean)

1/2 pound ground pork (not lean)

2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs

2 teaspoons salt

Fresh ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

Sauce:

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 (33 1/2-ounce) can whole tomatoes, including juice

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled

I use my food processor to cut up the peppers and onions in a small mince

In a 9-inch heavy well-seasoned skillet (preferably cast-iron) cook onion and bell pepper in 2 tablespoons oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Cool mixture. In a large bowl combine well onion mixture, ground meat, bread crumbs, salt, nutmeg, and parsley. Form level tablespoons of mixture into balls (about 90 1" meatballs or 45 2" balls). In skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown meatballs in batches (about 16 at a time), shaking skillet frequently so that meatballs maintain their shape and adding remaining 3 tablespoons oil as necessary. Transfer meatballs with a slotted spoon as browned to a bowl. I added the drippings to the sauce too, they looked too delicious to waste.

Here's the sauce simmering as I brown up the meat balls

I used a big cookie scoop to make the meatballs, rolling them smooth before browning

Toss the browned meatballs into the simmering sauce.  Don't over stir at this point, while  your meatballs are browned on the outside, they are still soft inside

Sauce: In a heavy kettle (at least 6 quarts) cook garlic in oil over moderately low heat, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add tomatoes with juice and oregano and simmer, breaking up tomatoes. Add meatballs and simmer, covered, gently stirring occasionally, 25 minutes, or until meatballs are tender and sauce is thickened slightly.

Transfer meatballs with slotted spoon to heated serving dish. If sauce seems thin, boil gently, stirring frequently, until thickened to desired consistency. Season sauce with salt and pepper and spoon over meatballs. Meatballs and sauce may be made 2 days ahead. Let it cool uncovered and chill covered. reheat meatballs before serving.

Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Magazine, on FoodNetwork.com- LOVED this one!


Yummy to eat as an appetizer (tapas) or as main dish served tossed with some pasta.

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Lazy Girl Pot Roast with Easy Molé Sauce

Yummy tender pot roast with a terrific but easy molé sauce.
Molé sauces are known for their complex flavors, each one adding some nuance to the sauce.  Chocolate, fruit, spices, nuts- every cook has her version.  This one was an easy one that I came up with one day when I had a pot roast I wanted to make on a chilly day.
 
This is perfect for tacos, burritos, over rice, over polenta, as filling in tamales.... how do you want to eat it?

Servings: 10 to 12

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Mexican Style Chili Powder

2 tsp Dried Oregano

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1 tsp Ground Cumin

2 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1 chipotle pepper (canned in adobo sauce), minced

2 1/2 – 3 lb Beef Pot Roast, visible fat trimmed

1 Medium Onion, chopped

1 - 28oz can diced Tomatoes With  Juice

3 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

8– 10 cloves  Garlic, peeled

6 dates, or 1/4 cup raisins (optional)
3 Tbsp peanut butter


Cook on low for 6-8 hours. The meat should be very tender and will shred easily.
Carefully remove the meat from the crockpot and put on a platter.  Add the liquids to a blender and let it settle a bit.  Skim off as much of the fat showing on top as possible.  Blend the remaining liquid into a great sauce.  You will have more sauce than you might need, but this would be great on top of enchiladas, or other grilled meat.

Serve the meat with extra sauce on the side, or shred the meat and mix the sauce with it.

With the meat, I removed whatever fatty bits I could see and then "chunked" or shredded the rest of the meat.  You could also slice it, or serve it whole, serving at the table.

Savory Moroccan Pot Roast with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Lemony, salty, briney- yummy exotic flavors with all the comfort of Mom's pot roast.
Okay, maybe someone's Moroccan Mama.
I decided to call this "savory" Moroccoan because most Moroccan dishes have an element of sweetness, but not this one.  I've done a very different Moroccan Pot Roast before in 2011.  It's one of our family favorites, however it has different flavors for sure.

You can buy Preserved Lemons, or make them with my recipe here.

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

1 pot roast (2-3 lbs)
Olive oil
salt and pepper

1 small onion, diced
1 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp grated ginger
3/4 cup water or broth
1-2 quarters of preserved lemon
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
2-3 garlic cloves
2-3 Tbsp olive brine (optional)

1/2 cup of olives, sliced of quartered
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Salt and pepper a pot roast, cutting some slits into the roast and pushing the garlic into them.  In a large dutch oven over medium high heat, sear the roast getting some brown crust on each side.  Put on a plate and reserve for later.

In the same pan,  saute the onions until starting to soften and brown.  Add in the turmeric, ginger, minced preserved lemons, broth (or water) and the tomatoes.  Bring to a boil, add the meat back to the pan.  Cover and remove from the stove top. 

Bake at 350 for 2-3 hours.   The pot roast is done when it's very tender and slices, or shreds easily.   Taste the sauce, adjusting for more salt and pepper, if needed.  Add the cilantro and the olives.  Serve over cous cous.

Here's the sauce simmering

Seared pot roast

Here it is ready to go

The finished dish, served on a bed of pearl couscous

Ground Beef Stuffed Zucchini Boats

I love zucchini!
Someone else at my house?  Not so much.
But here's a satisfying dish to serve that may not make your zucchini haters so hateful.
One thing I have noticed is that people who hate zucchini usually hate the squishy over cooked kind.  These zucchini boats are firm enough to hold a ton of tasty, spicy meat and get some lucious melted cheese on top.

A very satisfying dish for dinner.  It's quick and easy to do and low carb too.
We found this to be very tasty and filling. I may try this one again with ground lamb and feta to give it a Mediterranean flare.

Serves about 4-6
Ingredients

4 med zucchini, hollowed out, insides cooked and drained- mix with ground beef
1 1/2 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup grated cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic, crushed and minced
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup salsa
3-4 Tbsp chopped cilantro
1-2 jalapenos, seeds removed and minced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
salt & pepper

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
Cut zucchini in half lengthwise, scooping out the middle, leaving the sides.  

You could use a melon ball tool, or even a small cookie scoop, like I did.  
Bake the empty zucchini boats for 7-8 minutes while making the filling.
With the zucchini you scoop out, chop it into small pieces. 
  

Over medium high heat in a large fry pan, or dutch oven, saute the onions, garlic, zucchini and minced jalalpeno until the onions are softened, about 4-5 minutes.

Add the burger and stir to cook with the vegetable until there is no more pink, about 5 minutes.  If there is a lot of fat, or water from the meat, drain it off.
Add the salsa, the spices and the cilantro.  Cook for another 1-2 minutes. Taste and add salt and pepper. Add about half the cheese 1/2 to 3/4 cup and stir. Adding some of the cheese here helps to "glue" the mixture together.

Add the meat mixture carefully into the boats, top with cheese and return to the oven until the cheese is melted, about 3-4 more minutes. 

NOTE- I like my zucchini on the undercooked side, but if you like your zucchini softer then you may want to bake longer.