Kitchen Sink Chili

Does anyone out there not like chili? Okay, there are a few of you. And you have my special permission to skip over this post (Oh don't, your call...), but if you do enjoy the rich tomatoey flavor of chili, and the buttery bread which you may dip into it, take note!

This one is a keeper.

I have posted about chili before (see here), and that recipe is still a great standby for me. It takes less ingredients and only about an hour from start to finish. It's very forgiving.

But for tonight's dinner I pull another recipe from theBite Me files, (Cookbook by Julie Albert & Lisa Gnat). Just wait until you see what lies behind it's rich flavor! I'll give you a hint...it rhymes with BOGO.

Can you guess??

The rich flavors are enhanced by many spices including cumin, chili powder (of course!), oregano, cayenne, Aaaaaaaaand....

Cocoa powder. If you can believe it. The cocoa gives the chili, not a chocolately taste, but a deepened rich flavor.

It's meaty (if you want--vegetarian works too!), vegetab-ly(?) and delicous, and I had a simple time preparing it. You can do it over the stove top if you prefer, or if you're like me and don't have time to spare, the slow cooker works perfectly fine! (Just remember to pre-cook your meat and onions.)

Serve with caesar salad, a ciabatta loaf, cheddar cheese, and red wine.

Ingredients:

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 Tbsp. canola oil

1 medium red onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 large red bell peppers, chopped

2 c sliced white mushrooms

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

1 large garlic clove, minced

1/2 c canned chopped green chili peppers, drained

1 (28oz/796ml) can diced tomatoes with juice

2 c canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 c canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 c canned red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 c mild salsa

1 c vegetable broth

1/2 c cous cous (optional)

1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp packed brown sugar

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed

Shredded Montery Jack or cheddar cheese, for topping

Directions:

1. This recipe can be cooked either in a large soup pot over medium heat, or in a slow cooker on high.

2. For a meat version (optional), brown ground beef prior to placing into the slow cooker. Also brown the onions in a small amount of canola oil. Add to the slow cooker/pot and season with chili powder, oregano, cumin, salt and pepper.

2. Next add the red peppers, mushrooms, carrots, minced garlic and chopped green chili peppers. (If using a pot, cook approx. 5 minutes before going on to the next step, stirring occasionally). Stir in diced tomatoes, black beans, chickpeas, kidney beans, salsa, vegetable broth, couscous, cocoa powder, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper.

3. Bring to a boil over high heat/allow to simmer in slow cooker. On the stove reduce heat to low, and in the s-cooker, to medium. Simmer gently covered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add corn and serve in bowls, topped with shredded cheese.

Gluten Free Pizza with Pizazz!

So I’ve had a craving for pizza for like... .two weeks. So I finally bit the bullet and made what I thought would be a really complicated recipe, but it turned out to be super simple AND I had most of the ingredients I needed!

The secret to this delicious delicacy is the crust. Its not ORDINARY pizza crust.... because its much MUCH better! Its a two cheese baked rice crust and it is ynummy!

So, y’all ready for this amazing pizza that might turn YOU off of gluten too?

As the Iron Chef says... ALLEEEEEEE CUISINE!

What You’ll Need:

Crust

¾ cup Uncooked Brown Rice or 1 ½ cups Cooked Brown Rice

¼ cup Mozzarella Cheese

1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

1 Egg White

Toppings

¼ cup Tomato Sauce

¼ cup Red Pepper

¼ cup Zucchini

2 Tbsp Red Onion

2 oz Pepperoni

¼ cup Mozzarella Cheese

Pinch of Oregano, Salt and Pepper.

1 Tsp Olive Oil

Crust

1. Cook ¾ cup rice and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grate ¼ cup of Mozzerella cheese, and mix with 1 tablespoon of parmesan cheese. Add 1 ½ cups of cooked brown rice, and egg white. Mix well.

3. On a greased baking sheet, mound the rice-cheese mixture and spread out evenly and gently with your fingers. The crust will be about ½ inch thick and will make an 8 inch circle.

4. Bake for 20 minutes.

Toppings

1. Chop Red pepper, zucchini, and red onion.

2. Sautee with 1 tsp of Olive Oil until tender. Add Oregano, salt and pepper.

3. Spread tomato sauce and sautéed vegetables on top of the baked crust, and add pepperoni and cheese.

4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes until cheese is melted.

5. Enjoy with a glass of red wine!

See? That wasn’t so hard! And I promise you won’t even miss the gluten with the scrumdidilyumptious crust!

Barbequed Potato and Onion Parcels

Crisis has been averted; tonight could have been a boring dinner! I came this close to making regular boiled potatoes, but thankfully Leah was present to save the day. (My regular boiled potatoes apparently don't make the cut anymore.)

Well excuse me! Apparently I missed the memo when they went out of style.

Leah insisted that these potatoes were the way to go, and you know what? She was absolutely right.

I'm just jokin' a bit, I didn't really need any convincing on this one. I just wasn't creative enough at the time to think of it.

Why not make exciting, flavorful potatoes if you can?

Students, if you don't have an accessible barbecue you can still make this side dish in the oven. My oven saved my bacon this year because I made almost everything in it. And it was so nice to just pop food into it and walk away. Mmmm...lazy cooking. You can also try this out in the oven during the winter. (Anywhere but the microwave!)

We packaged sliced potatoes, onions, and chives into cute little tinfoil parcels and popped them onto the barbecue for about 20 minutes.

The parcels that were not as jammed full seemed to caramelize the best. There was more room in the tinfoil for the onions to reach direct heat and they got nice and sweet.



Ingredients:

3 large Yukon gold potatoes, sliced
1 med size vadilla onion (or a white cooking onion is fine), sliced
handful of chives, chopped
2 Tbsp. canola oil
good pinch of salt and pepper

large sheet of aluminum foil

Directions:

1. Slice potatoes and onions into 1/2 cm slices and toss in canola oil, chives, salt and pepper.

2. Put a good handful or two of the potatoes into the center of a sheet of aluminum foil and wrap up into a parcel.

3. Place on the barbecue for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked.

Quick and Delicious (but Forgiving) Chili

Chili has become one of my favourite foods to cook. It is fast, delicious, filling, easy on the pocket book, and best of all, it feeds a crowd! You would be surprised at how many people just show up unexpectedly when I make it. Go figure!

This recipe is as its name suggests, so quick, and so delicious; which is funny because the first time I decided to venture into the chili world I actually had no idea how to make it. The basic ingredients were understood but in terms of amounts and those secret, what is in here? ingredients, I had no clue.

So, suffice to say, from the tomato base to the spice mix, I just about guessed on everything.

And it actually turned out really well! I have been working on the recipe ever since, playing around with different things, and have found chili to be such a forgiving dish. You don't really need to know how much chili powder to add...just throw some in there, taste it, and chances are it won't be half bad. (Let's be realistic of course!)

Here is the go-to recipe that I use. Feel free to change around the beans or meat, add or subtract flavors, and make it your own. (I have tried different spices like Chinese 5 spice for richness, cayenne for heat, etc.)

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground turkey (Note: Turkey is much leaner than beef and bonus, in chili you can hardly taste the difference)
1 small can tomato paste
1 c. tomato sauce (amt can be adjusted depending on how thick you like your chili)
1 can kidney beans (not drained)
1 small cooking onion
1 green pepper, diced
1 can tomatoes (or use the regular ones-- the canned ones just have great seasoning already "built in")
1 pre-packaged chili seasoning mix (Or use regular chili powder)
black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Sautee onions in a large pot at medium heat until softened. Add your green peppers and (preferably) defrosted ground meat. Cook the meat until it is no longer pink and has been broken into small ground bits.

2. Add chili powder, the entire can of kidney beans (including the liquid- it adds flavor), the can of tomato paste, extra tomato sauce, canned tomatoes, and black pepper. Stir.

3. Simmer chili at low heat for at least 30 minutes and serve with cheese, nacho chips, sour cream, garlic bread, and/or cesar salad.

Note: Chili freezes great, but only freeze the chili after it has come to room temperature.

Photo courtesy of http://lukehoney.typepad.com/the_greasy_spoon/images/2007/10/04/chili_3.jpg

My First Attempt at a French Onion Soup

This recipe I have to admit, is not one that I conceived out of thin air--I found it on Laura Calder (a Food Network Chef)'s page on foodtv.ca. Brilliant website by the way! If you have never ventured into the Food Network World, you must.

I have been wanting to make it since the winter but despite its simple recipie, it calls for a few ingredients that I have had to slowly aquire: cognac, and red wine. I don't usually have any alcohol my kitchen other than white wine so recipies like this one get pushed to the back burner.

One day a few weeks ago, my room mate Natalia announced that she had a bottle of cognac stowed away in the back of her room and she generously donated it to my food endeavors! Its a brilliant bottle that looks like something a pirate or retired professor would drink. (I think so anyway). So that was one ingredient down, and the red wine was the only missing element. Luckily my best friend Leah came up for a weekend and absolutly FORCED me to get a bottle of Jackson Triggs red wine. (Complete lie...It was my idea- I felt it would be classy to also invest in some stemless wine glasses!) Safe to say I had it in the back of my head the entire time that the remaining wine was getting chucked into the soup. And that is exactly what happened.


But after all of that, I ended up using only 1 Tbsp. of cognac, and 1/2 Cup of Red Wine. It was worth it.

The soup was simple, but really yummy. Definitely would make a great winter afternoon dish.

Ingredients:

3/4 pounds onions, very thinly sliced
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. cognac
1/2 cup red wine
3 cups beef stock
Salt and Pepper
Some crusty bread
Grated gruyere cheese, for garnish

Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a soup pot and saute the onions until very soft, at least 15 minutes.

2. Add the cognac and red wine and wait one minute.

3. Add the stock. Simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Check the seasonings.

4. Ladle the soup into oven proof bowls and set on a baking sheet. Top each with a slice of crusty bread and sprinkle the top generously with cheese. Broil until the top is lightly brown.