P-Dub’s Chili
I have really been wanting to like chili. I don’t mind the flavor or the meat, but the beans and tomato chunks scare me. I’ve been watching the Pioneer Woman’s cooking show, and I decided to make her chili, put on my big girl pants, and just try it! So I did, and I liked it (as long as there were fritos in every bite)! Next time, I would substitute another can of pinto beans for the kidney beans. They are just so much less noticeable for a girl who is not so sure about beans. I did like the addition of the masa flour mixed with water at the end. It made it taste richer and creamier. Here is her recipe:
Ingredients
2 pounds Ground Chuck
3 cloves Garlic, Minced (optional)
1 can (12 To 14 Ounce) Tomato Sauce
1 can (10 Ounce) Ro-tel (diced Tomatoes And Chilies)
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Oregano
1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
2 Tablespoons Chili Powder (more To Taste)
1 can (14-ounce) Kidney Beans, Drained And Rinsed
1 can (14-ounce) Pinto Beans, Drained And Rinsed
1/4 cup Masa (corn Flour) Or Regular Corn Meal
1/2 cup Warm Water
Individual Bags Of Fritos
Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
Diced Red Onion (Optional)
Preparation Instructions
Brown ground chuck with garlic in a pot over medium-high heat. Add tomato sauce, Rotel, salt, oregano, cumin, and chili powder. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 30 minutes.
Add drained and rinsed beans. Stir to combine, then cover and simmer for another 20 minutes.
Mix masa with water, then add to the chili. Stir to combine and simmer for a final 10 to 15 minutes.
Apple Crisp
Let’s pretend it feels like fall here in Arizona in mid-October. I thought making apple crisp might help, because the weather surely is not!
Apple Crisp
5-6 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
Combine apples and white sugar and pour into a greased 8×8 pan. Then combine the rest of the ingredients and top the apples. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. I doubled this recipe and put it in a 9×13 to feed a crowd.
I’ve never been able to master the traditional apple pie, but this recipe works for me every time.
First Day of School 2011
We started our morning with a special chocolate chip pancake breakfast. My new favorite recipe for pancakes is here (no more Bisquik for me!)
Then the boys got dressed and I got them all spiffed up for some traditional first day of school pictures. They were so excited that this day had finally come. I didn’t even have to ask them to smile!
Caleb and his cousin Aaron are in the same class this year. Hopefully they will keep their potty jokes to themselves! They always have a good time together and love to make each other laugh.
Noah’s Pre-K teacher is Mrs. Fox. She is also known as Aunt Debbe.
Caleb’s teacher is Mrs. Meldrum. Noah had her last year, and Caleb was so glad it was his turn to walk through that classroom door. I was a little worried he would panic at the last minute because he does this at church occasionally, but I didn’t even get a hug good-bye!
When I picked the boys up, they were all smiles! I asked Noah what his favorite thing about the day was, and he said, “That we got to have apple juice at snack time.” Caleb said his favorite thing was, “digging in the sand at the playground with Aaron.”
He looked so grown up when I dropped him off at school this morning. All curled up asleep in the big chair, he’s my baby again.
Dreamy Cream Scones
My sister sent me a text yesterday asking me to find her the perfect cream scone recipe. A jar of peach butter from a local orchard was crying out for a platform to lay its sweet little head. Not wanting the peach butter to have to compete, she knew she wanted a scone that was free of the standard mix-ins like cranberries, currants and such. So I was determined not to disappoint, and began to search for the perfect match. This is what I found from Smitten Kitchen. I only wish that I could send them all the way to Kentucky!
Dreamy Cream Scones
America’s Test Kitchen Cookbook
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour, preferably a low-protein brand such as Gold Medal or Pillsbury
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons chilled, unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup currants (I used dried cranberries, and chopped them into smaller bits)
1 cup heavy cream
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425°F.
2. Place flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in large bowl or work bowl of food processor fitted with steel blade. Whisk together or pulse six times.
3. If making by hand, use two knives, a pastry blender or your fingertips and quickly cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few slightly larger butter lumps. Stir in currants. If using food processor, remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover and pulse 12 times, each pulse lasting 1 second. Add currants and pulse one more time. Transfer dough to large bowl.
4. Stir in heavy cream with a rubber spatula or fork until dough begins to form, about 30 seconds.
5. Transfer dough and all dry, floury bits to countertop and knead dough by hand just until it comes together into a rough, sticky ball, 5 to 10 seconds. Form scones by either a) pressing the dough into an 8-inch cake pan, then turning the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, cutting the dough into 8 wedges with either a knife or bench scraper (the book’s suggestion) or b) patting the dough onto a lightly floured work surface into a 3/4-inch thick circle, cutting pieces with a biscuit cutter, and pressing remaining scraps back into another piece (what I did) and cutting until dough has been used up. (Be warned if you use this latter method, the scones that are made from the remaining scraps will be much lumpier and less pretty, but taste fine. As in, I understand why they suggested the first method.)
6. Place rounds or wedges on ungreased baking sheet and bake until scone tops are light brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Strawberry Freezer Jam
My husband grew up eating homemade strawberry jam. Once you try it, the store-bought stuff just doesn’t measure up. For years, my mother in law has generously supplied our freezer with jam, but recently I decided that we should give her a break and learn to make it ourselves. Strawberries were on sale for 88 cents a pound (thanks to my Walmart lady who informs me of all the things I should be price matching). Cory made a new batch last night so we’re good to go for a couple of months! I love mixing a spoonful into my plain greek yogurt along with some sliced fresh strawberries and granola. Fair warning: There is a crazy amount of sugar in this stuff!
We just follow the recipe in the box of Sure Jell for quick and easy freezer jam, which is found in the baking aisle.
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