Beer Chili!

So, here it is, folks:  the much-anticipated BEER CHILI blog!  I met this challenge with some apprehension, because I already love my chili, so the idea of changing it or making something different kind of scared me a little bit.  Today was a great day for it, though. 
I went to Kroger the other day and picked out 6 different flavors of beer, because I really had no idea where to start.  Out of the 6, I had narrowed today's choices down to 2:  Shiner Bock and a Blue Moon seasonal.  I picked Blue Moon.
Here's everything I needed....except, I forgot to put the beef in the picture.......and I ended up not using the McCormick chili seasoning mix....oh well.

I'm still obsessed with my new KitchenAid meat grinder, so I ground my own beef for this chili.  I took Angus stew meat...I made sure to pick some with a little bit of fat on it.  If you don't have a grinder, or you have absolutely zero interest in using one, then use the ground meat of your choice.  Ground turkey would work, as well.
I tossed some salt & pepper on the beef *before* I stuck it in the grinder.  This way, the beef would have some seasoning from the get-go.

Look how cool that is!  Let me digress for a minute.  There are a couple reasons why I prefer grinding my own meat now:  1.  I know what's in it.  2.  I get to weed out any extra gristle and fat.
Okay...back to life, back to reality.
I got my trusty ole Dutch Oven back out.  I just love this thing.  Preheat that sucker on the stove top on medium-high heat, and brown the ground beef in it (also preheat your oven at 350 while you're doing all of this.)  No need to spray the pan unless you just want to...the beef will take care of that.  One important thing to note here:  you want to season the beef while it's browning.  I put about 3 TBS of my Wahoo! Chili Seasoning in there, along with some onion powder.  There's just enough fat in the beef to keep it moving around, but not enough to where you have to drain it.

After the beef was cooked, I added the chili beans (I prefer Bush's,) and the chili-ready tomatoes.  I took half the can of tomatoes and pureed them so it would give me sort of a tomato base.  Toss it all in, and add about half a jar of Chili Sauce.  It'll look nice and red and pretty.

This is normally where I would add spaghetti and let it cook for a while and call it a day, but alas, it IS beer chili day, so I must add the beer.  I added a little at a time, because you can always add more, but you can never take away.  The chili got all frothy and foamy and started smelling sooooooo delicious.

Pour, stir, taste.  Pour, stir, taste.  Pour, stir, taste...until you have used about 3/4 of the beer. Here's where you'll be glad you preheated your oven.  Cook the chili, uncovered, for 20-30 minutes.  This will allow all the flavors to incorporate and get married and become yummy.  Add the rest of the beer and let it cook for another 10-15 minutes.

*Caveat* Of course, you can adjust, change, add, or omit anything you want.  Cooking is personal, so you make it however you want!

That's pretty much it.  Here's a closer look at the actual beer I used.  It turns out that there was white pepper in it, so I made a good choice.  It added such a richness to the flavor, and while the beer isn't overwhelming by any means, you know it's there.

I always top my chili with cheddar cheese and Zesta crackers.   Voila!  Prepare to enjoy.

Food Therapy

It's been a roller coaster of a week for me.  Wednesday was my birthday (I turned the big 3-3) and I was having very mixed emotions about celebrating another year of life.  Loneliness has weighed heavily on me this week, and it's been difficult for me to want to just get out of bed every day.  I've been having some anxiety, and it's been intensifying....some nights, I just wake up for no apparent reason.  I have been struggling to find the motivation to do something about it; I know there are lots of things I can do to combat my anxiety.  Cooking is really probably the best remedy...and I know it's been a while since I've really cooked anything.  This morning, I needed a little retail therapy to get myself out of this slump, so I went to Kohl's, and BAM!  They had a meat grinder attachment for my new KitchenAid mixer ON SALE.  It actually rang up $5 cheaper than the posted sale price, too.  Score!  I also had a coupon....it's no secret that I'm all about the bargains.  But, I digress.
So, I couldn't just buy this new toy and not use it today, so I picked up a couple things from Kroger to whip together a meatball casserole. 
I had a tough choice between stew meat and a beautiful beef chuck roast....I went with the stew meat because A) it was already diced, and B) it was cheaper, so if I messed this whole thing up, I wouldn't be out as much money.  (I'll tell you at the end if I made the right decision.)
I already had several jars of Prego spaghetti sauce -- that's my personal favorite, until I master the art of making my own -- and so all I needed was a block of whole milk mozzarella, because I have a crap-load of spices and bread crumbs already. I cannot stress enough the importance of using WHOLE MILK MOZZARELLA.  It is so much creamier and melts so much better.  Skim-milk mozzarella leaves a lot to be desired.  Seriously.  Don't do it.  Get the whole milk.  Trust me.  For real.
Okay, back to reality.  I used my handy dandy new grinder to grind up the stew meat.  Really, this is the coolest thing ever.

Snap, clip, bing, bang, boom.  Turn that puppy on, push some meat down the doohickey, and out comes ground beef.  It was grossly fascinating.  Sorry, I forgot to take a picture.  

Okay, to the recipe......

FIRST:  Preheat your oven. For meatballs, I go to 400-Fahrenheit.  

Again, notice I don't really measure.

• Italian seasoning.  This is important.  It's your flava.
• Salt and pepper.
• My secret ingredient:  a little dash of my Tastefully Simple Everyday Grilling Seasoning.  You could easily substitute some pepper steak seasoning...obviously not too much, but it adds some depth of flavor.
• Bread crumbs (about a palm full.)
• A splash of milk.
• I had just over a pound of beef, and my rule of thumb for meat mixtures is 1 egg per pound. That may not be the Julia Childs way, but it works for me.  So, 1 egg. 

Now, preheat a skillet and spray it with some Pam before you have to get dirty.

Get your hands in there and get it aaaaaaalllllll mixed up.  Roll them into whatever size balls you want (giggity.)

Now, sear them.  If you're not into cooking terminology, "sear" means to brown on the outside.  So, pop those bad boys into the skillet for a few minutes, and make sure you flip them to get them browned all over.

I move them to a cookie sheet lined with non-stick foil (a life saver!)  They need space!  Crowded beef will NOT COOK.  Don't invade its bubble.  Then I cook them until I think they're done.....which usually ends up being between 20-30 minutes.  I just eyeball it, really.  

I move them to a casserole dish, also lined with non-stick foil, and dump the whole jar of sauce on them.  Let them cook in the sauce for another 10 minutes or so...the sauce will get all bubbly and kind of darken up a little bit. 

While the meatballs are soakin' up the sauce, dice up yo cheese!  Whole milk mozzarella will pull apart really easily, and it will look like strings.  Sometimes I cut the cheese (baahahahahaa) and other times I just chunk it up with my fingers.  Whatever strikes your fancy.  

Sprinkle it all over the top of the meatball/sauce mixture.  As much or as little as you like.  I happen to love cheese, so I go all out.  

I let it cook for about 5-6 minutes so it kind of melts down, then I turn on the broiler.  This is what gives you those brown spots of cooked cheese....oh, man, those are the best.  You REEAAAALLLLY have to watch it, though, because a broiler will burn it faster than anything.  You're looking at probably a minute or two, MAXIMUM.  Don't burn your cheese.  That's gross.

Then, voila!  Finito!  You get this beautiful picture:

My review:  the stew meat was a little too lean for the meatballs....I also realized post-cooking that I forgot to add my splash of milk!  So, the meatballs themselves were just a smidge dry.  Good thing there was all that sauce and cheese to soak them in!  Lesson learned:  go with chuck roast.  Or mix pork and beef next time.
This is some great comfort food. And it's low carb-friendly because you really only have a small dose of bread crumbs inside the meatballs.  Really, the trick is to flavor your meatballs, and to get WHOLE MILK MOZZARELLA. It's worth it.
That was my therapy today.  Well, that and the peanut butter cookies I made.....

Mystery Fridge Challenge

Captain Obvious speaking:  I love watching MasterChef....or any cooking show, for that matter.  My favorite part of MasterChef is the Mystery Box Challenge, because it often mimics my fridge and/or pantry.  Tonight was one of those nights where I had a crap load of crap that I needed to do something with.  Come to think of it, it's kind of what my week at work was like.  I had a pile of crap and nowhere to put it.  Anyway...I digress.  Here's what I had:

Ignore the two butcher blocks in the background...and the hot dog buns....and the Tupperware container.....and the bread....and the paper towels....I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT!   Okay. 
Then I got out my trusty cast iron skillet.  You can't go wrong when you use a cast iron skillet.  I'm telling you -- listen to me.  Cast iron FTW!

First step:  ALWAYS pre-heat your oven. I promise.  You will not regret it.  I chose 350-degrees tonight.

I browned the beef and drained it, strained it, whatevered it...and put in my packet of onion soup mix, and I did a round of beer to deglaze.  Let that simmer together for a hot second, stir it up some, and pour the rest of the beer in.  Turn the heat up on that burner, son!  Let 'er boil!

Just for kicks and giggles, I threw in a dash of seasoned salt and another dash of my Tastefully Simple Onion Onion. I let it cook down for a while; maybe 10-ish minutes.  I don't know, I was busy texting people.  After a bit, I added some of the frozen veggies.  Yep, just thrown them in.

Looks like Christmas!  Stir, set, stir, set.  The veggies have to cook a little bit because they are frozen, so let it go. (See what I did there?)  I had to thicken up this mix, so I whisked a little flour into a little cold water and tossed it in the skillet.  BAM!  Thickness.
I cut my pie crust with a pizza cutter - because duh - and had 8 triangles.  I spooned out some of the beer beef onto four of the triangle crusts.  I topped the little messes with the other triangles, spread some melted butter on the tops, and stuck them in the oven until they were light golden brown.

The beer mixed with the onion soup mix created such dense flavor.  The little hand pies don't look pretty, but they sure tasted delightful! 

Beer!

I don't drink beer because I think it's gross, but I do love to cook with it because it makes yummy bread and soup.  I have this app on my iPad called Food Holiday, where it tells you what each day is in the food world.  Today is "National Drink Beer Day."  I came close enough -- I ate beer today.
Not so long ago, I was a consultant for Tastefully Simple.  I recently became inactive due to my inability to retain parties....that's a whole other story for a rainy day.  I had a leftover sample of the potato soup and a brand new box of the multi-grain beer bread.  Sure, I could have made it from scratch, but I had the mix, and it's Sunday, so that's all the excuse to be lazy I need. 
After stocking up on some cream cheese, bacon bits, and potatoes, I decided to add a package of Bear Creek potato soup mix to it all, just to have a big pot's worth. 

 Here's the trick to tasty taters:  After you peel them, soak them in salt water for a while. 

I probably soaked mine for a good 30 minutes.  Then I diced them up and stuck them on the stove top to boil for about 25 minutes.  Nobody wants crunchy potatoes in their potato soup!

Guess what?  I used my bread to time my taters.  When the bread dinged, the taters dinged.  Drain the potatoes and set them aside for now.

**Side note:  I used Sam Adams Harvest Pumpkin Ale for this bread.  Ohhhhhh yum.

This is where it gets FUN!!  When you make a creamy soup, you can mix just about anything milk, broth, or water-related you want.  I had some leftover chicken broth (about 2 cups,) some leftover half & half (about 2 cups), and some leftover heavy cream (about 1 cup.)  Both soup mixes together called for 11 cups of water.  ELEVEN CUPS?!  That's waaaaay too watery for me.  To that 5ish cups of stuff, I added about 3-4 cups of water.  I always, always, always cut my liquid in soups by about 2 cups. 
Let the liquid heat up a little bit, then add in the soup mix.  Whisk it in slowly.  Yeah, yeah...one day I'll get around to doing it actually homemade...but not today.  Like I said, it's Sunday.  Let it all simmer for a while until it thickens up, stirring it so it doesn't stick to the bottom, then add the best ingredient of all:  cream cheese!  Swirl it around until it gets all melty and creamy, turn the heat off, then dump in the drained potatoes and the bacon bits.  I use bacon pieces because they're bigger.  And besides, everything's better with bacon. 

 Stir it all together and ladle it out.  I had some leftover Kraft Triple Cheddar shredded cheese, so I tossed some on top along with a piece of the beer bread.

It's creamy, cheesy, potatoey, and has just the right mix of salt and seasoning.  Talk about YUMMO.  Sure, this meal is full of carbs and fatty dairy, and beer -- but oh well.  It's all about moderation, people.  Actually, that kind of goes out the window with this dish, too....it's really tough to have just one bowl.  Just make sure not to try on clothes right after you finish eating.  You'll be really disappointed. 

Kick the Ick

I love fall.  I really do.  If I could find a place in the world that were fall all year-round, I'd go there and never ever come back to this pit of humidity on the Ohio River.  But, the first week that fall is here, I get the crud.  I feel like pure doody -- sore, scratchy throat, coughing, asthma attacks, the sniffles, fever, the whole nine yards.  It's pretty ridiculous.  I've been sick the past 3 days, but I finally woke up without a fever.
My original plan for tonight was to cook some comfort food, because what's better when you're under the weather?  (Haha, I rhymed there.)  But, my idea changed when I had Taco Bell for lunch.  Seriously....I caved.  Sometimes you've just gotta have the grease!  So, I got to thinking....I needed something light and fluffy for dinner...something that when it digests, brushes the cholesterol from my arteries as it travels through my system.
My wonderful hubby suggested a pork dish we had found online the other day, but I wanted to do it my way (of course.)  I present to you Grilled Sweet & Tangy Pork Chops with a Baked Sweet Potato and Steamed Broccoli.  Voila!

The best part of this meal is that there is NO MEASURING!  I really don't measure much anyway, but with this one, you can just throw stuff together.

1.  You need pork chops.  Why grocery stores sell them in quantities of 3, I will never understand.  That is so stupid.  But, it was either this, 2 massive bone-in chops for twice as much money, or a pack of 10 thin chops, which I didn't need.  So, lucky #3 all the way.

2.  You need the Sweet & Tangy.  Yep, you see it right:  Zesty Italian Dressing (I prefer Kraft, but you can use what ever strikes your fancy), and Apricot Preserves.  Yummmmmmmm.

3.  You need to mix this all together.  Use what ever balance of dressing and preserves you like.  Poke your pork with a fork a few times, throw it in the mix, cover it, and pop it in the fridge while your potatoes are baking.

4.  You need to bake your sweet potatoes.
     Wash 'em!  You don't want gritty, dirty taters.
     Stab 'em!  Poke some holes so the juice can escape a little bit.
     Oil 'em up!  Like a Greco-Roman wrestler.
     Foil 'em up!  Wrap those yams like a baby in a foil blanket.  I jab a few holes after the foil is on, too.  Just for kicks.
     Cook 'em up!  425-degrees for a solid hour.  Trust me.

5.  When you have about 15 minutes left on your sweet potatoes, start grillin' up your pork.  I have a trusty stove-top griddle that I got on clearance at Target a few months ago (score!)  I cooked my pork about 5 minutes on each side...and then I get the incessant need to flip and baste until I like the color on the outside.  You'll know when you see it.

6.  While your pork is resting, steam yo broccoli!   Throw it in a bowl with a dash of salt and a teaspoon of butter, and yummo! (My pork rested on this Diane von Fancyberg plate I got at a thrift store for $3.)

7.  Plate it up!  Add a dollop of butter, and a dash of cinnamon and sugar onto your sweet potato.

                                                                      PICK IT UP!

Survival Soup

It's been a busy weekend.  Saturday morning, I babysat my youngest niece.  I don't have kids, so it's always interesting to see what happens...Saturday night, I took my mom to see Bruno Mars at the Kentucky International Convention Center.  Sunday, I went to watch my oldest niece play softball, all the while, my sister and I were attacked by bees.  Don't worry; we got 'em.  Sunday night, my mom went with my brother, his wife, my middle niece, my oldest niece, and some in-laws to Disney on Ice. I watched the season finale of Naked and Afraid last night, so it made me chuckle when I thought of today's food theme as "Survival."  I've collected some odds & ends in the fridge and pantry over the past couple of weeks, and I drove myself crazy trying to decide what on earth to cook for dinner tonight. 
Of course, I took to the interwebs....you don't think I actually dusted off my cookbooks, did you? HA!  Maybe one day, but not this day...
I perused my Pinterest page and stumbled on this yummy-looking recipe that I think I've seen a hundred times, but never actually pinned -- you know, because I thought I had already pinned it.  Don't act like you don't know........
It's from the blog Six Sisters' Stuff, and it's called Tomato Tortellini Soup.  As luck would have it, I had everything but FOUR ingredients.  That makes for some easy shopping after work.  I love it when I have all this crap in my house, and I find a way to cook it to use it all up.  This is my Survival Soup night.

Here's the scoop:

Tomato Tortellini Soup
Ingredients:
1 (9 oz) package frozen or refrigerated cheese tortellini -- I used Bertolli 3-Cheese Tortellini
2 cans (10.75 oz each) condensed tomato soup -- I used Campbell's
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups milk
2 cups half and half
1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes -- Let me just say this: the ONLY place I could find these was in the authentic Italian section at Kroger.  The 6 oz jar cost me $5.79, but you can't put a price on authenticity!  I'm not a huge sun-dried tomato fan, but they add great flavor.
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese -- Aaaannnnd, I forgot I threw mine out because it had expired. Luckily, I had some leftover shredded Italian blend, which is fine.  It actually gives you more flavor.  Are you noticing the theme of survival here?  I've already had to improv!
Directions:
Cook tortellini according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. Drain tortellini and carefully add to soup. Stir in cheese. Sprinkle each serving with additional cheese if desired.
Makes about 8 servings.
 Pictures?  Okay!

Extra bit of yummy:  I made some bread.  Who has soup without crackers or bread?  I picked up a loaf of Tuscan ready-to-bake bread. Crispy crust and soft, chewy innards.  I made my own garlic butter using Butter (hello, Captain Obvious,) Garlic Salt, Sugar (yes, sugar,) and some of the same dried basil I used in the soup.  But, any Italian seasoning would do...or whatever green stuff in a jar you have.
More pictures? Got it!

It's EASY-PEASY. If you can't boil pasta and throw it in some tomato soup, what can ya do?!
Some notes:  You could easily swap some of this stuff out for what you already have.  If you have grated Parm, then use it instead of buying shredded...shredded parm is like 4-bucks a pop, for much less than what comes in a jar of grated, so don't make a special trip for it. That's silly. You can also use whichever brand of soup you have or prefer.  I would not recommend using Progresso, because it will be reeeeeeeeeaaaaaaallllllllly liquidy.  Unless you're just a stickler, then just cut back on the milk and stock.

So you want to know how it tastes?  It was creamy, and tomatoey (but not too tomatoey), and the tortellini added just the right texture to bulk it up.  The broth was fab by itself.  I'll be taking some leftovers to work tomorrow.  Fellow Paychex peeps, get ready to sniff and swoon!

Last, but not least, it got Mom's approval. 2 thumbs up! Uhhh, pardon the wreath in the background.  That's an unfinished housewarming gift.  Ooops.