Happy Halloween: Chilli night

Chilli just seems to be the standard Halloween supper, right?

Tonight we are making my dads 3meat, 3bean chilli!

Start off by sauteeing onion, bell pepper, celery and jalapeño (I only used 1 so it's not too hot for the girls)

Then add 1lb of ground beef, veal and pork. 

Brown those so it's cooked through

Season with salt, garlic powder, red pepper, paprika and chilli powder.

Then add 1 can of black, pinto and kidney beans 

And 2 cans of whole tomatoes that I crushed by hand while putting into the pot

Then stir really well and reseason

Let it cook on a simmer for 3 hrs...

This is currently on my stove for tonight's Halloween!

I like to serve it with cornbread, Fritos, rice, sliced avocados and shredded cheese. Put it all out and let everybody build their own bowl!

Happy Halloween everybody!

Chicken Cacciatore

Being the one who does the grocery shopping and cooking means I also always make the decision of what we are eating. I'm always asking Jerry what he wants for dinner and he never gives me a real answer...which is frustrating but this morning he actually gave me a straight answer...chicken cacciatore! Ok awesome! Hadn't cooked that in a while...good call

So here's my version

Browned chicken breasts seasoned with salt, lemon pepper, garlic powder, red pepper, oregano and basil in a little bit of olive oil.

Then added 

Celery, bell peppers, carrots and onions

Let those cook down 

Then added cherry tomatoes 

Once the vegetables were all cooked down

I added

This box of tomatoes

Stirred and seasoned again with same seasonings then just let it simmer for 2 hrs.

Served it over cappellini pasta (we just like it better than spaghetti, it's very thin)

Bon apetite!

What, it's not chicken?

Lezzzz be honest...I cook a lot of chicken! Probably 99% of my recipes have been chicken...

So how about some Beef???

This is what I came up with tonight...

Started with a flank steak that I cut in chunks

Seasoned with a little olive oil as it started to brown, then added lemon juice, Worsteshire, salt, garlic powder, lemon pepper, and red pepper. 

I let the meat cook for about 20 mins then added

1green pepper, 1onion and 3 carrots

Seasoned again with same seasoning 

Then covered and let cook for two hours

I served this over rice (of course) but it would also be very good over mashed potatoes or mashed cauliflower!

The meat falls apart!

Yummy fall supper!

Don't know what to cook?

In a food rut? Don't know what to cook. 

I feel like this all the time!

Well Jerry and I were in cabo the past five days and today is my first day home and getting things back in order. We had ballet and other fun stuff so getting to the store isn't going to happen until later. 

And this is what my frige looks like

EMPTY!

So I'm making the most of what I have. Momma always taught me, pull something together with what you've got. And you know what...sometimes our fav meals have been discovered from these times! My caprese pasta salad (Jerry's absolute fav) came from one of these nights!

So here is my make something from nothing recipe for today. 

I pulled the last three chicken breasts out of my freezer. Seasoned with olive oil, little lemon juice, salt, red pepper, garlic powder, oregano and basil

Then one chicken was cooked through

Then added the only veggies I had

1 zucchini, 2 small squash and a couple of sweet pepper

Also the last if some cherry tomatoes

Through it all in the pot

Let it cook, smashed some of the tomatoes 

Then added quinoa penne pasta

Hopefully this gives you some inspiration to dig in your pantry and fridge and make something up using what you got!!! You might make up a new fav recipe!

Sunday Supper: Chicken Stew

Slight crispness in the air, something warm and hearty on the stove.... It's fall! 

Waking up to a chilly rainy day put me in the mood to make a pot of chicken stew for supper.

Start by browning your chicken( turkey also works well) 

I used chicken thighs 

I just cut them in chunks and browned them in a little olive oil and seasoned with salt, garlic powder and red pepper.

Once it was browned I took the chicken out and put it to the side for later

Then I added a stick of butter to the drippings in the pan and let it melt

Then I added flour until it made a thick paste to make my roux 

Cook on medium heat and continually stir your roux

Cook until a golden brown. You can cook it and brown it more if you like. Since I'm doing a stew I did a golden brown. This takes a while and you need to stir it constantly so have patience! Gumbo you continue to cook it until it is dark dark brown.

Then I added chopped onions, celery and carrots

Then I added 2 boxes of chicken stock and added the chicken back.

Stirred really well esp bottom of the pot

Seasoned with salt, red pepper, garlic powder and brought up to a boil, then turned it down to medium low and let simmer for 2 hrs.

At the end I added half a bag of frozen peas. 

I served it over rice of course!

Enjoy!