Easy Cheater Chili

1 onion diced
1 clove garlic
2 cans of chili- any kind will do. I love Trader Joe's Turkey Chili
1 can of chili beans
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot saute your onion until translucent. add the tomatoes and tomato sauce and let simmer. Add everything else into the pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Adapted from Favorite Family Recipe's blog.

Caramelized Grape Pie

Food Network: Alton Brown Recipe. 

Prep: 30 minutes/ Inactive: 9 hours

Ingredients

Grapes:
1 pound seedless green grapes, rinsed, dried and halved
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Crust:
40 vanilla wafers
4 ounces toasted walnuts
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
16 ounces sour cream
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Topping:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Directions

For the grapes: Combine the grapes, honey, brandy and lime juice in a zip-top bag, seal and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.

For the crust: Process the vanilla wafers, walnuts and salt in the bowl of a food processor for 15 seconds or until finely ground. Add the butter and pulse 6 to 8 times to combine. Press into the bottom of an 11- by 7-inch glass baking dish. Set aside.

For the filling: Whisk the sour cream, brown sugar and vanilla together in a large mixing bowl. Drain the grapes and reserve the liquid for another use. Add the grapes to the sour cream mixture and stir gently to combine. Pour the grape mixture on top of the crust and set aside.

For the topping: Combine the brown sugar and butter in a 1-quart saucier and place over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir constantly and boil for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and pour over the grape mixture. Do not stir into the sour cream mixture. Cool at room temperature for 5 minutes, and then sprinkle the sea salt on top. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour before slicing.

Honey-Whole Wheat Bread

Makes 3 loaves or 6 mini loaves.
Adapted from Jamie Cooks it Up

5-7 cups Hard White Wheat, ground
3 cups Hot Water
1/3 cup Honey or Sugar- I prefer Honey
1/3 cup Canola Oil
1 Tbs. Dough Enhancer
2 1/2 Tbs. Vital Wheat Gluten
1 Tbs. Salt
1 1/2 Tbs. heaping Yeast
1 Tbs. Butter

1.Grind up your wheat and preheat your oven to 170 degrees.
2. Pour 3 cups of hot water into your heavy mixer. You want your water to be hot, but not so hot that you can't stand to touch it.
3. Add dough enhancer, vital wheat gluten, honey, oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour. Mix for 30 seconds then add your yeast while it's mixing.
4. Continue adding 1 cup of flour at a time until the dough is coming off the sides of your mixer. About 5-7 cups. It really depends on your elevation and time of year. I usually add 6 cups. Then mix on high for 8 minutes. If you are using a kitchen aid, you should not go past 2 on your mixer, otherwise it will overheat your motor and that would be really sad.
5. Spray your bread pans and separate the dough equally. Smack each dough ball to get the bubbles out and then shape it.
6. Place your dough in the oven at 170 degrees and proof your bread for about 15-25 minutes, just enough so the dough is about 1" above your pans. Then turn up your oven to 350 degrees while your bread is still in and cook for 25-35 minutes or until golden brown on top and bottom. Let rest for 5 minutes and spread softened butter over top decrease the hardness of the crust. I usually don't add the butter and my bread is fine. Enjoy!! You can freeze the bread for up to 3 weeks in your freezer.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fondue

Recipe from Taste of Home
Takes less than 10 minutes
Serves 12

1 cup of milk chocolate chips (semi-sweet if you like dark chocolate)
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk

Place all ingredients in pot and place on stove top on low. Stir until nice and creamy. Transfer to a fondue pot and serve with strawberries, bananas, pineapple, pretzels, marshmallows and whatever else your heart desires.

Cream Based Soup

When you don't have cream of chicken or any cream condensed soup for that matter this recipe is an excellent substitute. I found it from Southern Food.com and it's a yummy substitute!!!! I bet it would be a great start to any cream based soup.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup low-fat or fat free milk
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir in flour; keep stirring until smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat and add the chicken broth and milk, a little at a time, stirring to keep smooth. Return to heat. Bring sauce to a gentle boil; cook, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Taste and add salt and pepper, as needed to taste.

Use in casseroles in place of condensed cream soups.
This cream soup base can be varied by using vegetable broth, sauteéd chopped celery, celery seed, or sauteéd chopped mushrooms. Add herbs and or seasonings, as desired.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

Krusteaz Recipe
1 pouch quick bread Krusteaz Pumpkin mix
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 cup quick oats
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 Tbs water
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven 375 degrees. Place quickbread mix and butter in medium bowl. Using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Add egg, oats, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and water. Continue to mix on medium speed until dough forms. Stir in chocolate chips. Used rounded tablespoon dough for each cookie, form balls. Place 2" apart onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake 11-13 minutes. Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Paula Dean's Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

 I wanted to make sure that I had this recipe. It's my favorite Butternut Squash Soup and I was afraid the Food Network would take it off their website. So here is this fabulous soup. Serves 4. Takes aprox. 15 minutes for prep and 40 minutes to cook. Enjoy!!

2 pounds butternut squash, halved, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups diced onion
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 (13 3/4-ounce) cans chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup light cream or heavy cream
Sour cream, for garnish

Directions

In a medium saucepan, combine squash, onion, carrots, broth and salt. Simmer, uncovered, until squash is very tender, about 40 minutes. Puree soup in a blender or food processor with the butter. Whisk cream into soup. Serve in wide, shallow bowls with a dollop of sour cream, if desired.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/creamy-squash-soup-recipe/index.html?oc=linkback

Sweet Cafe Rio Pork

Recipe from http://jamiecooksitup.net/2010/01/sweet-cafe-rio-pork/

Time: 5-8 hours slow cooking

Yield: 8 servings 

1   3 lb pork loin roast (be sure the roast is completely thawed)
1   16 oz jar salsa (2 C salsa)
1 can green chilies
½ C brown sugar
1 can black beans, undrained
Tortillas
Cheese
Lettuce
Tomato
1. In the bottom of a large crock pot mix salsa, green chilies, brown sugar, and black beans.
2. Add the pork roast and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 7 hours depending on how hot your crock pot cooks things. 
3. Take the meat out of the Crockpot and shred it up with a fork.
4. Return meat to the Crockpot and cook 1 more hour.
5. Serve on tortillas with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes.

I like to serve this as a build your own salad/burrito. It's so yummy and I love this version of Cafe Rio Pork because it uses no soda. 

Black Bean Soup

Recipe by Our Best Bites

1 T olive oil

4 large cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3/4 C diced carrots (about 2 med carrots)

3/4 C diced celery (about 2 ribs)

1 C diced onion (about 1 sm-med onion)

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained- I use dry beans.

1 3.5oz can green chilies

2 cans low-sodium beef broth

1 t kosher salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 t chili powder

1/4 t cumin

1/2 t dry oregano leaves

1 bay leaf

Optional Toppings: sour cream, tortilla chips, grated cheese, chopped cilantro, etc.

**If you use dry black beans, make sure you prepare them in the morning, otherwise you'll need to use canned. What I usually do is take about 1/2 cup dried beans and rinse them. Then I place them in a pot and boil them for 10 minutes and then turn off the heat and let them sit covered  for the rest of the day. It usually takes 6 hours to soften the beans, if you want to speed it up, just boil them for another ten minutes after you let them sit for 3 hours. That should do the trick. 

Place a large stock pot on the stove-top and set to medium-high heat.  When pan is warm, add olive oil.  Add carrots, celery, onion, and garlic and saute 4-5 minutes.

 

Add in the black beans, chilies, and beef broth. Stir to combine and then add the salt, pepper, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and bay leaf.

Simmer uncovered for about 20-25 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf from soup. 

Place soup in a blender. (You could use an immersion blender in place of this step) Place lid on blender, but remove the stopper in the lid to let heat escape. Place a paper towel over the hole to avoid splatters. 

Puree soup until completely smooth.  Optionally you could pulse until a semi-chunky soup is achieved. Squeeze in the juice from one lime and pulse to combine.

Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. Serve with extra lime wedges.  Makes about 8 C soup.

Nutritional Information (1 C soup, w/o toppings):

125 calories, 2g fat, 8g fiber

2 Weight Watcher points

Grilled Fish Tacos

This has probably been my favorite way to cook Mahi Mahi!!! When you buy it fresh, the fillet usually has skin on one side of it, which grosses me out. I have a hard time with fish to start with and the less I have to deal with the skin, the better. Grilling the fish makes it easy to flake off the fish and disguard the skin. Yeah!!! Plus the marinade is wonderful. I love recipes that make the fish taste non-fishy!! And this one definitely meets that criteria. I usually tell my kid they are eating chicken. Surprise!!!

Time: about an 1 hour 20 minutes

Recipe adapted from the Food Network/ Bobby Flay

Serving for 4-6 people

 

Tacos:
1 pound white flaky fish, such as mahi mahi
1/4 cup canola oil
1 lime, juiced
1 tablespoons ancho chili powder
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped, or a dash of red pepper

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 flour tortillas 

 

Pureed Tomato Salsa:
3/4 teaspoon peanut oil
1/4 small red onion, coarsely chopped
 1 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 jalapeno, sliced, or 1/4 tsp red pepper

 1 teaspoon chipotle hot sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and pepper

Garnish:
Shredded white cabbage
Hot sauce
Sour cream
Thinly sliced red onion
Thinly sliced green onion
Chopped cilantro leaves
Pureed Tomato Salsa, recipe follows

Directions
Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Place fish in a medium size dish. Whisk together the oil, lime juice, ancho, jalapeno, and cilantro and pour over the fish. Let marinate for 15 to 20 minutes. Remember, if you marinate it longer than that, the lime will cook your fish, and you don't want that. 

 

While your fish is marinating put together your pureed salsa. Preheat grill or use side burners of the grill. Heat oil in medium saucepan, add onions and garlic and cook until soft. Add tomatoes, serrano and jalapeno and cook until tomatoes are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Puree the mixture with a hand-held immersion blender until smooth and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Add the hot sauce, cilantro and lime juice and season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

Remove the fish from the marinade place onto a hot grill, flesh side down. Grill the fish for 4 minutes on the first side and then flip for 30 seconds and remove. Let rest for 5 minutes then flake the fish with a fork.

Place the tortillas on the grill and grill for 20 seconds. Divide the fish among the tortillas and garnish with any or all of the garnishes.

Per serving: Calories: 418; Total Fat: 20 grams; Saturated Fat: 2 grams; Protein: 26 grams; Total carbohydrates: 33 grams; Sugar: 2 grams; Fiber: 3 grams; Cholesterol: 83 milligrams; Sodium: 502 milligrams

Layered Rainbow Jello

5 small boxes Jello
1 pint sour cream (I've also used plain greek non-fat yogurt)
whipped topping

Mix one box jello with 1 c. boiling water.  Divide portion in half.  To one of the portions add 3 T. cold water and pour into 9 X 13 pan refrigerate about 1 hour to set.  To the other half add 1/3 c. sour cream while hot and beat with a wire wisk.  Pour onto 1st layer after in sets. Refrigerate until set.  Continue with each box of jello.  Frost with whipped topping.

Tomato Walnut Tilapia

 Prep/Total Time: 20 min. 
Yield: 4 Servings
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
4 tilapia fillets (4 oz each)
salt and pepper
lemon pepper
1 Tbs butter
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced

Topping:
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tbs lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp butter, melted

 Rinse fillets with cold water and pat dry. Sprinkle fillets with salt, pepper, and lemon pepper. In a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook fillets in butter over medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. 
Transfer fish to a broiler pan or baking sheet; top with tomato.
Combine the topping ingredients; spoon over the tops.
Broil 3"-4" from the heat for 2-3 minutes or until topping is lightly browned and fish flakes easily with a fork.

Nutritional Facts 1 fillet equals 205 calories, 10 g fat (3 g saturated fat), 67 mg cholesterol, 265 mg sodium, 7 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 24 g protein. 

Loved this recipe!! It wasn't fishy at all and I was concerned because the fish didn't have any lemon juice on it. What I really liked was the crunchy walnut topping. 

Grilled Chicken with Tomato and Cucumbers

Recipe from : family.com
Hands-On Time: 15 minutes
Ready In: 30 minutes
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
oil as needed
1 medium tomato, seeded and chopped, about 1/2 cup
1/2 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped, about 1/4 cup
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Heat grill over medium flame, or coals.
2. While grill heats, toss together tomato, cucumber, onion, cilantro, lime juice and salt. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
3. Brush chicken breasts with oil and grill until no longer pink; about 7-8 minutes per side. 

Loved this recipe!! I was surprised I liked the cucumber salsa. My husband even added some green peppers and I didn't mind it.  I bet it would be great with some mild fish such as Tilapia or Mahi- Mahi.

Peanut Butter Balls

2 lbs Peanut Butter (3 1/2 cups)
1 lb butter (2 cups)
6 cups powdered sugar

Combine butters in mixing bowl and mix until creamy. Add powdered sugar until blended well. Chill for 1 hour, roll into balls and dip into chocolate.

3 Bean Chili

1 lb ground beef
1/2 med onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 15.5oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15.5oz can great northern beans, drained
1 15.5oz can black beans, drained
2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes
3 Tbs. BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Rays)
1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
grated parmesan cheese
sour cream

Brown your beef in a skillet, drain fat, add the onion and garlic. In a separate pot add the beans, tomatoes, BBQ sauce, oregano. Add your beef and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer for 2 hours. Serve with parmesan cheese and a dollop of sour cream. You can also cook this in a crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or 4 hours on high. 

Oatmeal Pumkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 cups oatmeal
2 cups chocolate chips


Preheat oven 350

Cream butter in mixer, add sugars and blend until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time and then add vanilla and pumpkin. In a separate bowl combine flour, soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin pie spice and whisk together. Add flour mixture a cup at a time to pumpkin mixture. Add oatmeal and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Scoop heaping Tbs. of cookie dough on sprayed cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes or until edge is lightly browned. Cool on wire racks and enjoy!!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 Tbs soy sauce
2 Tbs rice wine vinegar
2 Tbs ketchup
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/8 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbs hot mustard
2 tsp water

Dissolve sugar in water in a small bowl. Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice, and sesame oil, mustard and water. Mix well and refrigerate sauce until ready to serve.

Ingredients
3 Tbs Olive Oil
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup celery, chopped
3 Tbs onion, chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
5-8 leaves of lettuce, (Iceberg, Romaine, but I prefer Butter Lettuce)
You can also use any variety of vegetables you want. I like to add chopped carrots.
**vegetables should be chopped about the size of peas)

Bring oil to high heat in wok or large frying pan. Saute chicken for about 4-5 minutes. Add vegetables and turn down heat. Start to prepare the stir fry sauce.

Stir Fry Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp rice wine vinegar

Mix soy sauce, brown sugar and rice vinegar in a small bowl. Add stir fry sauce to the pan and heat for a couple minutes. Serve it in the lettuce cups. Top with special sauce.

Brownie Caramel Cheesecake

1 9oz pkg brownie mix
3 egg
1 T cold water
1 14 oz pkg caramels, unwrapped
1 5oz can evaporated milk
2 8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate fudge topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan.
2. In a small bowl, mix together brownie mix, 1 egg and water. Spread into the greased pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
3. Melt the caramels with the evaporated milk over low heat in a heavy saucepan. Stir often, and heat until mixture has a smooth consistency. Reserve 1/3 cup of this caramel mixture, and pour the remainder over the warm, baked brownie crust.
4. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour cream cheese mixture over caramel mixture.
5. Bake cheesecake for 40 minutes. Chill in pan. When cake is thoroughly chilled, loosen by running a knife around the edge, and then remove the rim of the pan. Heat reserved caramel mixture, and spoon over cheesecake. Drizzle with the chocolate topping.

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake

Crust:
2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter

Filling:
3 8·ounce packages cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1 pint of fresh raspberries, or frozen raspberries, mashed

Combine cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into bottom and 1/2″ up sides of an 9-10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool in refrigerator while making the filling.

In a large mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth, add eggs one at a time beating until smooth and scraping down sides. Continue to beat and add the sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla. Stir in lemon rind. Pour into cooled crust. Take the mashed raspberries and swirl them into the cheesecake with a knife. Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes. Leave in oven to cool for 30 minutes and then cool on rack. Chill overnight. Can also be frozen.

PINA COLADA CHEESECAKE

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
½ cup shredded coconut, toasted
1 stick butter, melted
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together the crust ingredients and press into bottom and up sides of aa 8 or 9" springform pan. Set in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Pineapple filling:
1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup water
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/8 cup rum
½ cup toasted coconut
½ cup toasted macadamia nuts or pecans, chopped

Place pineapple in a small saucepan. Stir the cornstarch and sugar together and add to the pineapple. Heat to boiling. Cook and stir until clear and thick, about 2 minutes. Take off heat and cool. Add the rum and stir until combined. Set aside.

Filling:
3 8oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup coconut milk(I used the thickest part from a can of coconut milk)
½ teaspoon lemon zest
 3 tablespoons dark rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer (or in a large bowl if using a hand-mixer). Cream together until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, fully incorporating each before adding the next. Be sure to scrape down the bowl between each egg. Add coconut milk, lemon zest, and rum. Blend until smooth and creamy..

Pour half the filling into prepared crust and tap the pan on the counter a few times to bring all air bubbles to the surface. Take the pineapple filling and place spoonfuls into the filling and swirl it around. Pour more of the filling and then the pineapple filling and swirl it around again.

 Bake 45 to 55 minutes, until it is almost done. This can be hard to judge, but you're looking for the cake to hold together, but still have a lot of jiggle to it in the center. You don't want it to be completely firm at this stage. Close the oven door, turn the heat off, and let rest in the cooling oven for one hour. This lets the cake finish cooking and cool down gently enough so that it won't crack on the top. Let it finish cooling on the counter, and then cover and refrigerator until overnight.

Sprinkle the toasted coconut and chopped nuts on top. Garnish with a pineapple slice in the center.