Award Winning Chili

I am always looking for new chili recipes. I love any kind and have several linked from this blog. A couple of my favorites are Skinny Taste's Sweet Potato & Turkey Quinoa Chili and White Chili. If you are looking for a good traditional tomato based chili, this is the ticket! It's not called "Award Winning" for nothing. I didn't have any venison on hand (no one hunts in my family, so if you have some lying around, we will gladly take it off of your hands), so I used ground beef. My six year old helped me make this chili. It's always so fun to have him in the kitchen, and this time was no exception. He told me that he pretends like our house is a restaurant everyday and that he calls our restaurant "Home." I thought that was a pretty clever name. I told him that maybe we should open a restaurant together; he informed me that we won't be able to do that until he turns 15. Deadpan. Try this recipe for a hearty, yummy, satisfying weeknight meal! And don't forget your toppings!

Recipe found on Food.com

Ingredients:
1 lb ground venison or ground beef or ground turkey
2 onions, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 T jalapeno, finely chopped
14oz can Rotel tomatoes
16 oz tomato sauce
2 T cumin
2 T chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
14 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
14 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup water

Method:
Complete recipe found on food.com, HERE.

Happy Cooking!

Creamy Parmesan Polenta

Wow! If you think you don't like grits, please try this Creamy Parmesan Polenta Recipe. It is so so yummy. I originally had it with The Pioneer Woman's Beef Short Ribs , but tonight I served it with Marinated Pork Tenderloin. I made it exactly as the recipe stated the first time, except for I used only half of the salt. Tonight, I improvised a bit. I used yellow grits rather than corn meal. I had some Queso Fresco left over from last week when I made Food and Wine's Silky Tortilla Soup so I used that rather than the Parmesan cheese. I did not have any creme fraiche (actually I didn't last time either, so I used mascarpone cheese) so I substituted half n half. Really, any cheese that melts well plus any sort of cream will probably work here. Use your imagination and make it suit your taste. Any way you do it, just try it!

Ina Garten's recipe from foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
2 tsp minced garlic
1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
1 T kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
1/4 cup creme fraiche
2 T unsalted butter


Method:
Complete recipe found on foodnetwork.com, HERE

Happy Cooking!

Beef Short Ribs aka Heaven on a Plate

Oh. My. Word. These truly are heaven on a plate. I was introduced to them by my dear friend, Erin, and I have made them twice since. These do take some time as they require 2.5 hours+ cooking time, but they are easy to prepare on the front end, and so so worth the time. Tonight I am serving them with The Pioneer Woman's Creamy Mashed Potatoes, and Roasted Brussels Sprouts. Last time I served them with The Barefoot Contessa's Creamy Parmesan Polenta and Roasted Broccoli (toss broccoli florets with olive oil, salt & pepper, and bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes until they start to turn brown). Whatever you serve this with, it will be out of this world. If you want to wow your friends/family next week during Thanksgivinng, make this ahead of time and warm it up when you're ready to serve it. It's delicious!

Recipe from The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

8 whole beef short ribs

Kosher salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

6 pieces pancetta, diced

2 T olive oil

1 whole medium onion, diced

3 whole carrots, diced

2 whole shallots, peeled and finely minced

2 cups red or white wine

2 cups beef or chicken broth 

2 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Method:

Complete recipe from The Pioneer Woman found on her website, HERE. 

Happy Cooking!