Spicy Chorizo Chili

This past weekend I was in an annual chili cook. As ever, I did not win but placed well, 4th of 13. In spite of my non-podium finish, thought I'd share the recipe!

In a crock pot or large stove top pot, combine the following:

1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 can hot Rotel
2 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
2 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt

Then in a skillet, brown 2 pounds of ground chuck. Drain and discard the fat. Add to the crock pot.

Brown 1 pound chorizo sausage, crumbled. Drain and reserve the fat. Add the sausage to the other ingredients.

Combine one diced onion and 3 minced garlic cloves with some of the reserved fat in the pan over medium high heat. Salute until soft and add to the crock pot.

Simmer for an hour or so and enjoy!

Cauliflower Blue Cheese Mash

One of the best paleo dishes I've found if cauliflower mash. While it isn't mashed potatoes, it is delicious and an excellent way to eat more veggies!

Start by boiling cauliflower until fork tender. (If you rest a wooden spoon over the top, it helps prevent overspill when the bubbles start.)

Then crumble some blue cheese. If you're not a fan of stinky cheese, you can substitute feta or just leave it out. Most any cheese with this texture will work well. 

When the cauliflower is soft, drain the water. Add butter, cheese, salt, pepper, and, if you are really feeling, heavy cream.

Blend with a stick mixer (or a hand masher.) 

That's it! Not much to look at, but I promise it will be a new side-dish favorite!

Snow Day Means Buffalo Chicken Pizza!

Last night we had about 10 inches of snow, making it a perfect day to make some pizza. One of our favorite toppings is buffalo chicken. 

Start with 3 tablespoons of butter and 1/2 of hot sauce.

Add 4 tablespoons of honey.

2 tablespoons of white vinegar.

Then 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Cook over medium high heat until bubbly. Then add the shredded chicken from one rotisserie chicken.

Then use as you would any other topping. (Pizza recipe here.)

I had to take the picture fast, it was gone quickly!

Spiced Mixed Nuts

I had a craving for spiced nuts today and made these. Easy and so good I had to walk out of the kitchen so I leave some for others!

1 lb mixed nuts (unsalted was called for but I used some salted and it was fine)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey)
1 table spoon melted butter

Mix these ingredients in a bowl and the add:

2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder

Line a baking sheet (one with sides) with parchment paper. Spread nuts out and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. So yummy!

The Best Brussels Sprouts

We tried a new recipe for Thanksgiving and it was the best! (As an aside, I planned to do a whole Thanksgiving post but I neglected to take pictures so all you get is this.) First, take a pound of brussels sprouts and cut them in half. Put them on a large baking sheet with sides.

Next, pour 3 tablespoons of melted butter over them.

Cut up 3 strips of bacon and distribute over the sprouts.

Bake at either 350 convection roast or 400 regular bake until roasty and delicious (about 15-20 minutes.)

Drizzle with balsamic glaze (or just vinegar if you want less sugar.)

Sprinkle with kosher salt and enjoy!

You can do the same thing with asparagus and it is just as delicious. When I make it and Tim is not home from work, I have trouble saving any for him!

[Hat tip to Nom Nom Paleo for the recipe.]

Fall Means Soup!

Isn't soup one of the best things about fall and winter? When we are making soup, rarely is thee an actual recipe involved. Sometimes this works out, other not. But after many rounds with butternut squash soup, we have a plan that is creamy and delicious!

Butternut Squash Soup
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
Chicken stock (homemade or commercial, both will work)
Butter
Heavy Cream
Cayenne pepper
Salt

Dice the onions and garlic. Set aside. Then peel the squash.

Remove the seeds and cube the squash.

Now that everything is prepped, start cooking! Cook the onions and garlic in a generous amount of butter over medium high heat until soft.

Add the squash and pour in stock until covered.

Then bring to a boil. Continue to boil until the squash is fork tender.

I leave the stock in when the cooking is done and puree the whole thing with a stick mixer. But a blender would work too!

At this point, you want to add some extra flavor. I add a pinch of cayenne pepper, several generous pinches of kosher salt, ground black pepper, and liberal amounts of heavy cream. If I have fresh thyme around, I throw some of that in too. Combine and you are ready to eat! 

Nancy's Banana Bread

My kids had a serious addiction to Eggo frozen waffles. They were eating them four at a time. As we were trying to clean up our own eating, this seemed like something that had to go too. Lots of processed, lots of 16 letter words in the ingredients. Ideally, they would want some fruit or eggs in replacement. But you know things just aren't ideal most of the time. So we compromised with my mother in law, Nancy's, banana bread. It is closer to a cake than health food, but I can pronounce all the ingredients!

Nancy's Banana Bread

1 stick butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 brown bananas (This is important - they need to be over-ripe. When they are getting too brown, I put them in the freezer to save for when I am making bread. If you get them out at the same time as you take out the butter, both will be ready at the same time.)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
(chopped nuts optional)

Turn the oven on to 350. Cream the butter and sugar together. Then add eggs and bananas and mix. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Grease an 8x4 loaf pan with butter. Add the bread mix. Put in the oven for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

For my oven, I find if I start to preheat and put in the bread as soon as it is ready, even if the oven is not up to 350, it takes exactly 55 minutes.

Whenever I bake it, the kids say how great it smells, to which I reply, cake usually does!