My Boys Favorite Chili

This is one of my husband and son's favorite things I cook.  If I tell them I'm cooking chili for dinner they will cancel or change whatever plans they have to be home for dinner.  A woman couldn't ask for more!  What mom and wife doesn't love feeding her family well and knowing that they really and truly appreciate it?  As usual, this recipe is fairly simple.  I've learned over the years how to make tasty meals in an hour or less with readily available ingredients.  As any working mom knows, it's not always easy to get in from work and put together a quick and savory meal in a timely fashion.  So I do my best to bring you dishes that will please your family and get you in and out of the kitchen quickly. 

This recipe incorporates on of my favorite chili seasoning mixes and lots of canned ingredients that give the chili a simmered for hours kind of flavor.  It's also something that could be thrown in the crock pot and kept warm if you are having a football party or other gathering where people will be arriving and eating at different times. Here's a picture of the chili mix I use:

Wick Fowler 2 Alarm Chili Mix

It comes with all of these pre-measured seasoning packets.

Recipe:

2 lbs. Ground Beef

1 large onion chopped - reserve about 1/4 of it for garnish

28 oz can of Diced Tomatoes

29 oz can Tomato Sauce

1 15 oz can Chili Beans (I used Bush's brand this time but sometimes I use Ranch Style brand)

1 package of  Wick Fowler 2 Alarm Chili Mix

Garnishes:

Grated Cheese

Onions

Corn Chips

Sour Cream

Whatever you like on your chili!!

Directions:

Brown beef and onions together until meat is cooked and onions are wilted.  Drain off any excess liquid and fat.  Add all remaining ingredients and simmer for 30 minutes.  Serve with your favorite garnishes.  This will serve between 8 and 12 people, just depends on how hungry everyone is! 

Pretty simple and quick!!!  Now for the best part, the pictures!

Chili simmering

Garnishes

The finished product!

Deliciousness in a bowl!!

This recipe would also be very easy to convert to a vegiterian version.  Just substitute the meat for more beans and throw in some squash and zucchini and voila, a veggie lovers dream!





Sausage Jambalaya

There are probably as many variations of Jambalaya as there are people in Louisiana!  This just happens to be my husbands favorite so it gets cooked the most often in my house.  You can use literally any kind of meat you have on hand and left overs work particularly well in jambalaya.  If you have any left over meat with gravy in your fridge or even a combo of a couple of different meats you can make jambalaya with them.  My brother sums up the concept of jambalaya pretty well, it's just meat, rice and gravy already mixed up for you.  To give it more of a creole flair, you would simply add diced tomatoes after you add the rice.  This is a fairly simple version of Jambalaya and as always, don't be afraid to experiment at home with different ingredients.  You may just come up with a new and fantastic dish that will become one of your family's favorites!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds of Smoked Pork Sausage
4 cups Cooked Rice
1 large Onion
1 1/2 cups water
Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:
Slice sausage into small discs and brown on a medium-high heat in a 5 quart pot.  Chop onions coarsely (or finely if that is what your family prefers) and add to sausage once it has started to brown a bit and has released some of it's fat.  Stir occasionally and keep an eye on your pot as you want to get the mixture a dark brown but not burnt!  We often refer to this in my family as a "controlled burn" because you are going to nearly burn the mixture, but not quite.  What you are doing is making a dark brown crust on the bottom of the pot that will serve as the base for your gravy.

 (This shows the beginning of the brown crust on the bottom of the pot that will serve as the base of your gravy.)

 

If you feel like your mixture is starting to burn or you need to walk away from your pot for a bit, just add enough water to cover the bottom of the pot, this will stop the browning until the water cooks out.  Once you've achieved a nice layer of browning on the bottom of the pot, add the water and turn your fire down to a medium-low and let simmer for 10 minutes.  This will allow the water to become infused with the flavors of your meat and onions.  Also, add your seasoning at this point.  Be careful when adding your salt, the meat is already seasoned and it would be easy to over season your mixture.  Add a little at a time and remember, you can always add more if needed. 

 

(This is what you're mixture should look like after the water has simmered a bit.  If you like a darker gravy you can add a small amount of browning sauce, but not too much)

 

After simmering add the cooked rice and stir it in well.  Turn your heat to low and cover pot with lid.  Let steam for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the rice time to absorb the liquid and flavors.  Serve with your choice of vegetables and sides.  I served mine with smothered corn and biscuits with strawberry jam (love my salty sweet combos!) This served 6 hungry people in my house. Bon Appetit!

 

 



Shrimp and Egg Stew

Eggs are used in many cultures as an affordable and accessible source of protein and are often incorporated in stews and other dishes to make them more hearty.  When using eggs in a stew you can get by with less meat making the dish more economical yet still filling.  Shrimp and egg stew is one of my family's favorite dishes.  The use of eggs in the dish allows me to use less shrimp (which is quite expensive) and still have an appetite pleasing dish.  The eggs are wonderful because they will absorb the flavor of what they are cooked with.  I've had friends tell me that they've added various ingredients to this basic recipe, such as chicken, potatoes and diced canned tomatoes.  The point is, have fun and experiment! This recipe will make a large stew but can easily be divided in half to accommodate less people.  Forgive me for the measurements as I usually eyeball the ingredients until they taste right.  You may use more or less according your taste buds.

Recipe:

Approximately 3 quarts of water
1 jar (16oz) of Roux (dark browned flour)
1/4 to 1/2 cup of Granulated Bouillon, Chicken Flavored
3 lbs. peeled shrimp
12 Hard Boiled Eggs Peeled
Salt and Pepper to taste

Fill 6-Quart Pot 1/2 full with water and add about 1 tablespoon of salt and chicken bouillon.  I add approximately 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper.  Bring to boil and add roux.  Allow to continue boiling until roux is completely incorporated in water.  Add shrimp and eggs and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  Serve over cooked rice.  This recipe fed eight hungry people at my home.