Chili with Beef

Hearty Black Bean Chili

Made: January 29, 2011

Ingredients:

1 pound dried black beans
1 pound ground beef
2 boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cubed
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cups water
1 can (15oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 1/2oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 & 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Shredded cheddar cheese & thinly sliced green onions - optional

Directions:

- Sort beans & rinse with cold water.
- Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water to cover by 2 inches.
- Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes - remove from heat, cover & let stand for 1-4 hours or until beans are softened.
- In Dutch oven, cook the beef, chicken and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
- Add the water, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes & seasonings; mix well.
- Add the beans & bring to a boil. Reduce heat.
- Cover and simmer for 3 1/2 - 4 hours or until beans are tender.
- Serve with cheese and green onions if desired.

At the beginning of making this recipe, I didn't have a dutch oven and planned to make this in a slow-cooker. So I sorted, rinsed and cooked my beans in a slow-cooker on low for about 4-5 hours as I had a couple things that had to be done while cooking. This worked out well for the beans, as they were nice and soft by the time I was home and ready to start making the chili.

To my surprise today, my Dutch Oven arrived early! So I was able to finish the recipe in there. Which really saved me a step from cleaning out the pan of the bean goo. (Or whatever it may be called, it's kinda gross to be honest). So I used a slow-cooker bag/saver and it worked to my advantage with draining the beans into my strainer to rinse/drain.

The Dutch oven is pretty amazing, as this was my first time cooking with one. I'll definitely be using more recipes requesting it. :)
(Recipe used came from Taste of Home)

Beefy Tomatoes

Stuffed tomatoes

Made: January 25, 2011


I didn't make it exactly as the recipe, mainly since I made Granny's slightly different, and I liked how that way came out. So I stuck with it.

Ingredients:

6-8 medium tomatoes
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons dried basil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Cut a thin slice off the top of each tomato and discard & remove the core.
- Carefully scoop out the pulp; reserve 1 cup for later use (leave a nice 1/2 inch shell of the tomato)
- Invert tomatoes onto paper towels to drain.
- In a non-stick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
- Stir in the basil, salt, pepper and reserved tomato pulp; bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 10-12 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated.
- Stir in the rice, cheese and egg; heat through.
- Spoon into tomato shells.
- Place shells into 2-quart backing dish coated with non-stick cooking spray.
- Bake, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes or until the tomatoes are heated through.
- Top with shredded cheese


I had bought 2 4-packs of tomatoes, and I was able to fill all 8 with the meat and rice mixture I had made. So that may vary with how much ground beef/rice you use. I tweaked the recipe for my liking.

I had 1/2 cup of uncooked rice, cooked it through and then added it to the beef. I didn't use it all, but enough to see that it was well mixed/spread around all throughout. I also used the pulp of all the tomatoes instead of just 1 cup. I found that it made the beef and rice more flavorful.

Since I was pressed on time for my Granny's single tomato ... instead of baking it in the oven, I put it in the microwave for 30-45 seconds. It seemed to heat it throughout and even made the tomato softer. I liked it better and did that for ours as well. :)
(Recipe used came from Taste of Home)

Ricey Chicken

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Made: January 11, 2011

Ingredients:

1 can (18.5 oz) Progresso® chicken enchilada soup

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 can (15 oz) Progresso® black beans, drained, rinsed

1 box (9 oz) Green Giant® Niblets® frozen corn

1 package (1 lb) boneless skinless chicken breast halves

1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese blend (4 oz)

Directions: 

 - Heat the oven to 375°F.

- In ungreased 2-quart glass baking dish, mix soup, water, rice, cumin, pepper, beans and corn.

- Top with chicken. 

- Cover & bake about 30 minutes.

- Stir rice around chicken.

- Top with cheese.

- Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

I had to tweak the recipe a bit as I couldn't find the chicken enchilada soup ... so I substituted that for Chicken Tuscany. I also used any brand of frozen corn & black beans. I had a little bit of a mishap while cooking. My middle chicken breasts were still pink all over while only the outside breasts were cooking. Turns out that when I ripped my foil while putting it back on to cook for another 30 minutes (My one fear is serving raw chicken) it worked a lot better. Everyone said it was delish! So that makes me happy. :)

(Recipe used came from Pillsbury)

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog! :D I've been debating about a blog for sometime and having it separate from my livejournal. Mini-backstory. My name is Kimberly, but everyone calls me Kimmi. I'm 25 and I love to cook and bake. :)

This will be a mix of things, but really about what I bake or cook. :)

And I really suck at intro posts! :P But enjoy your stay!

~Kimmi