Thick and Hearty Chili

A few weeks ago, I was making a crockpot full of soup, and my husband asked if it was Chili that I was preparing. I told him no, but that I had chili planned for a night later in the month. He responded with "Good. I like Chili". Fast Forward to yesterday morning. I was pulling the ingredients out to make the promised pot of chili, and my husband walked over and asked what I was fixing. I told him chili, and he responded with "I don't like chili." WHAAAAAAAT??!??? I reminded him of the previous conversation, and he said "Well, I like chili. Just not yours. I prefer for there to be tomato chunks. And for it to be REALLY thick. And lots of hamburger". Okay. I can work with that. So I put away all of the ingredients for the original chili recipe I was going to use, and concocted this recipe for a thick, hearty, chunky chili. It was a hit!

Ingredients

1 (16 oz.) can Tomato Sauce

2 c. Black Beans

1 lb. Ground Beef, Browned

1 (16 oz.) can Refried Beans

2 1/2 T. Chili Seasoning

1 (16 oz) can Stewed Tomatoes, cut into chunks

Directions

Combine all ingredients into a large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and let simmer on low for one hour.

Go check out more great recipes at Foodie Friday, Friday Feasts and Fun with Food Friday.

Slow Cooker Beans 'N' Weenies

When the weather outside is frightful...this dish is quite delightful!

There is no doubt in my mind that at some point so far this school year, you have had your kids at home with you due to a snowday. Therefore, you've had some hungry voices asking "whats for lunch?" and you want to be sure to fill them up with something tasty, warm, and kid friendly. I don't have kids (yet! Due in May!) but on one particular snow day evening, we had a few people end up spending the night due to untravelable roads...so when I found out that our house would be full, I turned to Stephanie over at A Year of Slowcooking for a quick and easy crockpot recipe that was sure to please on a chilly day. And it did.

Except, I advise you to think ahead on the whole serving beans to a group of grown men...enough said.

How 'bout some beans 'n' weenies? You can't go wrong with this dish when there are kids involved. Actually, you can't go wrong with this dish, even when kids aren't involved :) This is the perfect snow day meal, just pair it with some warm homemade bread and you've got yourself a tummy filling, heartwarming winter meal!

Ingredients...

...4 cups beans (they're in the crock already. That's why they aren't in the picture)
...2 pkg. hot dogs
...4 cups bbq sauce

Directions...

Place cooked beans, cut up hot dogs and bbq sauce in the crockpot and stir until well combined. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or on high for 2-3.

Black Bean Medley

This is a simple skillet dish that makes a great meal on it's own, or as a filling in tortilla shells! If you are anything like me, you love to make taco's, but need a way to stretch out that taco meat for your family...this is an option. Instead of making up taco meat, make up a mixture like this and everyone will love it! It's a little runnier than taco meat, but it's got great flavor and really packs a nutritional punch! This is a must try...I'm sure that you'll love it!

But if you don't, please don't send me hate mail :)

Ingredients...

...1 can black beans (if you cook your own beans like I do, it's 1 1/3 cups of those)

...1 cup green pepper, chopped

...1 cup onion, chopped

...1 1/2 cups corn

...1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

...1/4 tsp. garlic powder

...1 T. olive oil

...2 T. cider vinegar

...1/4 tsp. salt

...1/4 tsp. pepper

...1 pkg. taco seasoning

Directions...

In olive oil, saute peppers and onions until tender. Add corn, tomatoes and beans to the skillet and then add garlic powder, cider vinegar, salt, pepper and taco seasoning and stir until all ingredients are well coated. Bring mixture to a boil and continue boiling for about 5 minutes. Serve over rice or on a tortilla shell. Add shredded cheese if desired.

Bean Bake

If anyone were to ever ask what my favorite food is, this would hands down have to be it. This is another one of those dishes that I grew up eating and I have loved it all my life. It is such a simple recipe and many don't understand why it is my favorite...until they taste it. Basically, this is doctored up baked beans...but oh my it is wonderful! This was a recipe that my grandma always made, it reminds me of growing up, being in her warm and inviting kitchen where cookies were always in the cookie jar and something delish was always in the oven. I've noticed I've been making a lot of my grandma's recipes lately, but I think it's because it's fall and they are all such a warm, comfort food to me. I hope you love this as much as I do!

Ingredients...

...1 lb. ground meat

...2 (15 oz.) cans pork and beans

...1/4 cup ketchup

...1/4 cup brown sugar

...2 tsp. ground mustard

Directions...

Brown ground meat. In an oven safe casserole dish, stir together all ingredients until well combined. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes. See...I told ya...simple.

To see other great recipes, check out Tasty Tuesday over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam!

Cheesy Mexican Beans and Rice

I've been wanting to try a beans and rice dish for the longest time now. I've always held back though, because hubs is very anti-meatless. I can get him to eat a meatless meal every now and again, but to go meatless on a regular basis...unh-unh. I'd get called out on it sooo fast! I made the mistake last summer of telling him that we were having meatless Monday each week. Each Monday he would come home from work with a bad attitude towards the meal, and would of course "hate" it and end up eating a bologna sandwich. Kind of defeats the purpose of frugal cooking if he's going to make something else anyways. So now I just don't tel him what I'm making. And although I'm sure he notices the absence of meat, he never says anything negative. He actually told me that this was good. He didn't want it in our regular rotation, but he liked it. I, however, loved it! I thought it was great! So go ahead and whip this up for your next meatless meal, I'm willing to bet your family won't have any complaints!

Ingredients...

...1 cup uncooked rice
...1 can black beans (or 1 2/3 cup if you cook your own beans up)
...1 large onion, chopped
...1 T. olive oil
...14 oz. Pasta or Tomato Sauce
...2 tsp. chili powder
...1/4 tsp. salt
...Shredded Cheese

Directions...

In a saucepan, cook rice according to package directions. In a skillet, saute onions in olive oil. In a medium bowl stir together beans, sauteed onions, pasta or tomato sauce, chili powder and salt. Stir in Rice. Pour into a greased 2 quart oven safe baking dish and top with a few handfuls of shredded cheese. Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Mexi-Pita's

This recipe was orginally called Beef & Bean Pockets. How boring. So I renamed it. Because I changed the recipe too, so it was deservant of a new name. And I think that the new name describes it well. When I gave hubs a choice the other night between the baked spaghetti or this, he chose the baked spaghetti. Little did he know this was still going to be made, just not that night. I don't think he liked it. Oh well. I did, he ate it anyways, and it was good!

Ingredients...

...Taco Meat (I used leftovers and it worked wonderfully!)
...1 can black beans
...1 onion, chopped
...2 cups tomato, chopped
...8 oz. tomato sauce
...1 teaspoon garlic powder
...1 tablespoon brown sugar
...1 teaspoon chili powder
...1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
...1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
...1/8 teaspoon marjoram
...1/8 teaspoon oregano
...1/8 teaspoon parsley flakes
...Pita breads

Directions...

Place meat, tomatoes, tomato sauce, onion, brown sugar and seasonings in a deep skillet. Simmer for 1 hour. Add beans and continue cooking on a higher temperature until heated through. Serve in pita breads.

The Verdict...

I liked this! I thought it was really good! I added a dallop of sour cream to the top of the pita and it was delish! It had spice, but not so much that I wanted to cry. It was just enough to keep things interesting. I will definetely be making this again, and I really do believe that this would be a great meatless meal as well! Oooo, and maybe add some corn! That would just make this dish!

Cooking Beans in Your Crockpot!

I love making my own cooked beans to have on hand for dishes! They're so easy to make, and the crockpot makes it a "fix it and forget it" task! Cooking your own beans is alot cheaper than buying them canned. A can of beans costs upwards of 99c around here, while a single bag of uncooked beans costs 99c, and I can get 3 cans worth out of a bag. So thats only 33c!

Don't be afraid of cooking your own beans, the crockpot makes it a snap!

First, pull out all of the split, wrinkled and misshapen beans....

Then, place in a large bowl and cover with 2-3 inches of water. Cover and let soak overnight. If you live in a warm climate or if your furnace is on, let them sit in the refrigerator overnight while they soak. This will prevent bacteria from forming!

On a side note, I have heard that this step can be omitted, it doesn't do much for the softening of beans, it is just a way to release the gasses that come along with beans. So this step is up to you!

Then, strain and again look through for misshapen, wrinkled and split beans. Place in the crockpot. Cook in the crockpot on low for 8 hours. As with the bowl, fill the crock with enough water so that there is two to three inches covering the beans.

Once done, measure out 1 1/3 cups of the cooked beans (1 1/3 cup cooked = 1 can storebought). Place in a Ziploc bag or plastic container. Freeze until ready for use.

I love cooking beans this way, mostly because using the crockpot only costs pennies per hour to run versus the stove! So not only is it frugal to cook your own beans, but it is also frugal on your energy bill too!

For more great kitchen tips, check out Kitchen Tip Tuesday over at Tammy's Recipes!

Crockpot Chili

So, I know that summer hasn't even started...we're still in spring, but I want sooooo badly to skip right over summer and go to fall. I think it's because fall is my favorite season, and also usually when we're busy with moving back up to school and so I don't get to enjoy it. So, I think I just want it here so badly so I can actually enjoy it! Well, at any rate, I have to suffer through three months of sweltering heat (hopefully not though. maybe it will just stay unseasonably cool this summer? I would be content with that!) before I can enjoy fall.

Saturday was one of those (very) unseasonably cool days, with dreary skies and lots of rain. I decided to just pretend it was fall, and I made a big pot of slow cooker chili to enjoy. It sufficed me. For now.

The ingredients....

...1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
...1 (large) can tomato juice
...1 onion
...1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef
...Green Pepper (as much or as little as you'd like)
...2 cans worth of beans (I used 1 part navy beans and 1 part black beans)
...1 T. chili powder
...1/4 t. garlic powder (or 2 garlic cloves. whichever you prefer)

Directions...

Brown ground beef. Put everything in the slow cooker, stir together and cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4.

My Thoughts....

Chili is one of my favorite fix it and forget it recipes...plus it just always reminds me of the fall as that's the only time my grandma made it. I could eat chili everyday! This was the first time I tried my chili with green pepper, and it proved to be good! This chili was especially good with a slice of homemade Amish Bread straight from the oven. Talk about warming the heart!

Cheesy Bean Enchiladas

I love me some enchiladas! But I'm not such a fan of the sauce unless it's creamy, ooey, gooey and cheesey (great on the diet, I know, right). I found a recipe for an enchilada that fits all of my criteria, and then I altered it to fit my tastes. Here ya go...it's a definite keeper in my book!

Ingredients...

...1 can Cream of Chicken soup
...1 can Nacho Cheese Soup (I didn't have any, so I melted up velveeta and mixed in some milk to make my own!)
...1 1/2 C. Milk
...1/4 C. Salsa
...1/2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
...Beans (I used about 1 cans worth, but they were ones I had precooked and frozen)
...Tortillas (I only used 4-5)
...1 can Enchilada Sauce
...1/2 C. Sour Cream

Directions...

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease 9x13 pan (I used one just a bit smaller). In a bowl mix together soups, milk, sour cream and salsa. Pour enough of mixture to cover the bottom of greased pan. Add beans to remaining mixture. Use remaining mixture to fill tortillas and roll up tightly in pan. Pour enchilada sauce on top of enchiladas. Top sauce with shredded cheese. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes.

My Thoughts...

This was delicious! It's definetely a keeper and I'm glad I came upon this recipe and then altered it to my tastes! It's probably not the healthiest of all enchiladas, but it sure is yummy! This will be our "splurge" meal for nights we don't want to eat super healthy.