Chili Con Carne and White River Sour Cream Cornbread

Both of these recipes were pretty tasty. The Chili is a good blend of mild flavors, not to spicy for kids even though mine wouldn’t touch it. They rarely eat anything I make though. I was a little nervous with the cornbread which was a little thicker than I’m used to so I thought I accidentally put in an extra 1/4 cup of cornmeal but it turned out moist and yummy so I think it’s just a lumpy batter.

Chili Con Carne (Don’t Panic Dinner’s in the Freezer)

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup green pepper, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1-16oz can tomatoes, cut up
• 1-16oz can kidney beans
• 1-8oz can tomato sauce
• 2 t chili powder
• 1/2 t dried basil, crushed
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper

Cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and garlic until meat is browned. Drain off fat. Stir in undrained tomatoes, kidney beans, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, salt, and pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer about 20 mins or longer. Top with grated cheese, sour cream, chopped onions or your favorite condiments.

White River Sour Cream Cornbread (Don’t Panic Dinner’s in the Freezer)

• 3/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used sucanat)
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 1/4 cup cornmeal
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1/3 cup oil

Preheat oven to 400° Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a med bowl. Stir in cornmeal. In a separate bowl, combine egg, sour cream and oil. Add to dry ingredients until moistened. Pour into greased 8” square pan. Bake for 15-18 mins. For muffins, bake for approximately  12 mins or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake.

Chicken Cacciatore

Chicken Cacciatore  from Don’t Panic-Dinner’s in the Freezer

• 2 med onions, sliced thin
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-15oz can diced tomatoes
• 1-8oz can tomato sauce
• 1 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 2 t oregano
• 1/2 t basil
• 1/2 t celery seed
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 c white wine
• 6 boned chicken breast
• 2 bell peppers, I used orange and yellow (not included in original recipe)
• 1 lb mushrooms, quartered (not included in original recipe)

Mix onions, garlic, tomatoes, tomato sauce, salt, pepper, herbs and wine. Place this mixture together with chicken breast in Crock Pot and cook on low 6-8 hrs or on high 2 1/2-4 hrs. 
You can also freeze this mixture in a freezer bag before cooking and then cook in the crock pot on the day you want to eat it. I used my frozen chicken breast with the mixture and it turned out super yummy at the end of the day!

Menu Plan Monday 4/26/10

• 
  
  
  Chicken Cacciatore (Don’t Panic-Dinner’s in the Freezer cookbook) *new*
• 
  
  
  Chili Con Carne and White River Sour Cream Cornbread (Don’t Panic-Dinner’s in the Freezer cookbook) *new*
• 
  
  
  Beef Pita Tacos (Don’t Panic Dinner’s in the Freezer cookbook) *new* and Whole Wheat Pita Bread *new*
• 
  
  
  Macaroni and Cauliflower Cheese Bake (Jamie’s Food Revolution) This was ok but the kids didn’t like the cheese sauce with the Parmesan so next time I’ll make it full cheddar. *new*
• 
  
  
  Zuppa Toscana (not even sure where I got my original recipe for this Olive Garden clasic, recipe for how I make it at the bottom of the post)
• 
  
  
  Breakfast  for dinner pancakes or muffins, eggs of choice (scrambled or omelet) and bacon (looking for a pancake or muffin recipe I want to try this week will post when I find one that I have the ingredients for)

I’m trying to post more so I plan on coming back and posting pictures and recipes as I make them. My husband always jokes when I ask if he liked what I made because he says I won’t make it again since I always have new meals we’re trying with few favorites in between.  If you want to check out more menu plans check out Orgjunkie!

 

Zuppa Toscana

 

• 1 lb  italian sausage ( I use turkey or chicken italian sausage)
• 4-6 bacon, cut into 1/2” slices (can use turkey bacon but I prefer the good stuff)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 10 cups chicken stock
• 2-3 potatoes, cut in half lengthwise and slice into 1/4”-1/2” pieces
• 1 cup cream (I use whatever I have on hand, cream, half n half or milk. I do prefer cream or half n half)
• 1 bunch of Kale, cut or tore into pieces

Brown crumbled italian sausage, drain and set aside. Cook bacon, be sure not to crisp, drain and set aside. Cook onion in a little olive oil until translucent, 5-10 mins, then add garlic and red pepper flakes until fragrant. Add chicken stock, sausage, bacon, and potatoes, cook until potatoes are tender. Then add cream, simmer for 5 mins. Add kale and simmer a few minutes longer. Salt and Pepper to taste.
I know these aren’t the best instructions but I’m a cook by taste type of person and it really just comes together.

Beef Pita Tacos and Annie’s Whole Wheat Pitas

The main recipe from “Don’t Panic Dinner’s in the Freezer” started with the first 3 ingredients. I thought it was a little bland so I added a few more seasonings and cooked it longer to blend the flavors. Served with some of Annie’s Whole Wheat Pita’s
Beef Pita Tacos (4 servings, 3 cups of mixture, enough for 8 tacos)

• 1lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup salsa
• 1-8 oz can stewed tomatoes
• 1 T chili powder
• 1/2 t cumin
• 1/2-1 t garlic powder
• 1/2-1 t onion powder
• 1/4 t red pepper flakes
• 4 pita breads, cut in half

Brown ground beef, drain. Stir in salsa, stewed tomatoes, and seasonings; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 mins, until thickened.

Yummy!

Yummy

I changed my blog. I'm going to leave it like this for a bit while I decide what template I want to customize.

I've subscribed to tons of recipe blogs lately and ran across this yummy Soft Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe that I made today. Even threw together a recipe card for it to print out next time I order pictures. If you would like the full version to print just leave me a comment with your email address, I'll be happy to email it to you!

Not surprising lately but this is the first time I've opened photoshop since my last post...so sad!

It was a nice weekend and we got outside with a kite Matt got from one of his customers. Tally loved it!







That's all for today folks!