Chili Mac

I am a huge connoisseur of all things chili. Even though it gives me heart burn like you wouldn't believe, I still love it and will eat it anyway. Because of my love of all things chili, I'm a huge fan of Hamburger Helper's Chili Mac. But damn those boxes are expensive and they never make enough for left overs. So I went on a quest to make my own and found a recipe for it here: Southernfood.about.com. I was skeptical at first looking at the ingredients. I mean, I make a pretty mean chili so I wasn't positive that this would turn out all right. But what the hell I love to experiment in the kitchen. Even if it turns out to be a huge flop at least I got to try a new recipe. And well, as it turns out, this recipe was a huge hit even though I didn't have all the ingredients. It tastes 5 times better then Hamburger Helper ever could.

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground chuck, browned and drained well

2 cans (14.5 oz each) diced tomatoes with juice

1 can tomato paste (6 oz)

1 envelope taco seasoning mix

2 teaspoons ground cumin (I didn't have cumin so I substituted with cayenne pepper)

1 can (15oz) beans (pinto w/jalapenos, black, etc.) - (I used a can of black beans)

1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, or 1 (16oz) can whole kernel corn, drained

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

Crushed red pepper to taste (optional)

2 tablespoons instant tapioca (I couldn't find instant tapioca at the store so I left this ingredient out)

1 package macaroni and cheese or shells and cheese, deluxe type (I didn't have the deluxe, so I used two boxes instead of one.)

Directions

Combine first 10 ingredients in a 3 1/2-quart or larger Crock Pot; cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours. Cook macaroni and cheese according to package directions and combine with Crock Pot mixture after it is done cooking (may need a separate large bowl). Add salt and pepper as desired.

Serves 6 to 8.

Anyway! Enjoy this meal. I'm sure it will be huge hit with the kids as it was with mine!

Oh My God, Mommy, You Weigh A LOT!

One of the blogs I follow, Moms Who Drink and Swear, shared this: Oh My God, Mommy, You Weigh A LOT! on facebook. I think this a must read for every parent.

What a very meaningful post to all parents as body image effects boys just as much as they do girls. I see it in my 7 yr old son when he talks about healthy foods and all the things his grandparents taught him about exercise and being healthy. In fact, a few months ago he told me he was fat. He barely weighs 50lbs... I think what this mom posted, is what I need to start doing with the boy child as well as I don't want him to have an unhealthy relationship with his body like I do.

Gold Fish Cracker Fail

I think it's safe to assume that we all love the little yellow fishy shaped crackers of cheesy goodness. I know in our house that if I buy a bag, it doesn't last a day. Because these suckers are expensive to buy, I scoured the internet to find a recipe for them. I was thrilled when I found the recipe here. It seems so simple to make. Especially with my nifty Ninja food processor. (By the way, if you don't own a Ninja, you must buy one. I don't know how I lived without mine.) I made several mistakes while trying to make these, but I'm positive now that I know what I did wrong, I should be able to make this again without ruining them in the process...or so I hope. One thing to make note of for myself. Trying to bake when tired equals some serious issues.

Here is the recipe and where I went wrong.

Ingredients

8 ounces weighted sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 Tbsp of butter, cubed
1 Cup flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp of water

Directions

Pulse everything together (except water) in a food processor until the dough resembles coarse sand. (Mistake #1...I had shredded 8 ounces of cheddar cheese...it wasn't enough.)

Pulse in water 1 Tbsp at a time.
(Mistake #2...I didn't use enough water, resulting in a crumbly dough)

Remove dough from processor. Wrap in plastic and chill for 20 minutes.




Roll out the dough and cut into desired shapes. You can use a toothpick to make the eyes and the smile. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until crispy.
(Mistake #3...I should have set my timer for 10 minutes as 15 was too long.)

As you can see by the picture on the right, the crackers look a little over cooked and are not exactly the right color. My husband thinks they are great. I, however in my perfectionism think they could be sooo much better.

 I will try this recipe again in a couple of weeks after I get over the fact that I can't be perfect in the kitchen 100% of the time.

According to the recipe, the dough should make close to 7 dozen crackers. I didn't count, but I'm assuming I got close to that.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

I've been on a huge kick to try and reduce our grocery bill each week by as much as I possibly can. So to help reduce that cost, and to enjoy a more organic way of cooking, I decided to try my hand at baking Hamburger Buns. I was daunted at first like I usually am when dealing with baking breads until I stumbled on this recipe from allrecipes.com.

Burger or Hot Dog Buns

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (.25 ounce) package of instant yeast
 2 Tbsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 egg

Directions:

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm, 120 degrees F (50 degrees C).

2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix milk mixture into flour mixture, and then mix in egg. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.









3. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on a greased baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Cover, and let rise for 30 to 35 minutes.

4. Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

**For Hot Dog Buns: Shape each piece into a 6x4 inch rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly and pinch edges and ends to seal. Let rise about 20 to 25 minutes. Bake as above. These buns are pretty big. I would make 16 instead of 12.

I'm looking at the pan of hamburger buns right now and thinking that I should have made 8 instead of 12. The buns are about average size. I usually like mine a little bigger then this, but that's alright. They smell and taste delicious! 

Bisquick Oven Fried Chicken

One night I was trying to decide what to make for dinner. I was browsing through the cupboards and saw on the side of a Bisquick box a recipe for Oven Fried Chicken. Well unfortunately I didn't have all the ingredients but I decided to make it anyway with what I had on hand. The boy child loved it and asked me to make it again the very next day. Here is my adapted recipe:

Ingredients

2/3 cup Bisquick
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1tsp italian seasoning
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1 egg
3 - 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F. Grease 9x13 or 8x8 baking dish. (I used Pam Extra Virgin Olive Oil spray.)

2. In a small bowl whisk egg until slightly frothy.

3. In a medium sized bowl, mix together Bisquick, paprika, garlic salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning and cayenne pepper.

4. Dip chicken in egg, drain off excess then coat in powder mix. Place chicken in greased baking dish.

5. Bake 30 minutes. Turn chicken; bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until juice of chicken runs clear.

I unfortunately didn't get pictures of all the steps, but at least the finished project looks nummy!

Ten Troubleshooting Tips for Yeast Breads | Care2 Healthy Living

I'm making a couple of new recipes today, so check back later this week for those posts. Until then, here is a little filler for ya'll.

My french bread wasn't rising correctly, (no surprise there as yeast and I go together like oil and water) and of course I freaked out and decided I needed to find answers. I of course went to the one source I always do, google. I ended up finding this fantastic resource and thought I would share it with you guys.

Ten Troubleshooting Tips for Yeast Breads | Care2 Healthy Living:

'via Blog this'

The Oreo Peanut Butter Brownie Cake

For my son's birthday, he requested a peanut butter cake. So I scoured the web and found several recipes, including a great recipe from a friend of mine (which I am so going to try at a later date) but then I stumbled on this great recipe from Instructables.com . It looked easy and I thought I could make these no sweat... 

Oreo and Peanut Butter Brownie Cakes

1 box brownie mix, 8x8 inch size
24 Oreo Cookies
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a 12 muffin cup baker with paper liners.

Prepare brownie mix according to package directions. For each cupcake cup spread 1 teaspoon of peanut butter over 2 Oreo cookies and stack them on top of each other. Place oreo stacks into the cupcake lined muffin cups. Spoon 2 tablespoons of brownie batter over each stacked oreos and let it run down the sides of the cookies. If you have left over brownie batter, bake separately in a separate baker or muffin tin. Bake cookies and brownies for 18 to 20 minutes, until brownies are cooked through. Let cool completely then serve.

Makes 12 servings

It turns out that I may have made the batter just a little too runny, but that's okay. They still tasted great with some chocolate frosting!