Black bean chili

1/4 c. oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bell peppers, diced (the original recipe calls for red and green. I usually get at least two colors.)
1.5 tbs minced garlic
2tbs paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/3 tsp salt
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, very finely chopped
1 tbs cumin seed
1 tbs dried leaf oregano
2 cups cooked black beans
1.5 cups canned chopped tomatoes in puree

Heat oil in large saucepan. Add onion, bell peppers, garlic, paprika, cayenne, salt, and jalapeno peppers. Saute until onions are soft.
Add cumin, oregano, beans, and tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook slowly for an hour.

We eat this over rice with cheddar cheese, sour cream and sometimes avocados.
I usually use 2 cans of beans to one can of tomatoes, and I don't think I get them in puree. I think they're just chopped, and if I have the option, I will buy the ones with mexican spices, or chilis or whatever already in them, but not always. If it's cheaper to buy beans fresh cook them yourself.. that's a good option too.

The girl who gave us the recipe puts hers in the blender and purees it, but we like the texture of the chili instead of soup.

Plus, it freezes great!

Turkey Chili

1 pound ground turkey

1 red bell pepper
1 onion
Rough chopped garlic (however much you want)
1-2 can(s) of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1T chili powder
1t salt
1/2t black pepper
Optional: 1 can of green chilis

Brown ground turkey with onion and garlic. Add all ingredients to the crock pot. Cook on low 8 hours. Serve.

Green Chili a la Colorado

Green chili is a dish I had never encountered before I moved to Colorado. It's eaten as a main dish and used as a smother for burritos (especially breakfast burritos! yummmmm).  When Aunt Kathy was doing research for this recipe, she found out that asking for a green chili recipe was like asking an Indian for a curry recipe! There are hundreds of different versions; one for each abuelita! In any case, here is Aunt Kathy's recipe, which may not be the Definitive green chili recipe, but it's certainly the best one I've ever tasted.

Green Chile a la Colorado

 

3T vegetable oil (have more oil in case you need to adjust the thickening)

2-3 lbs boneless pork butt cut into 1/2 “ cubes

1/2 c flour (have more flour in case you need to adjust the thickening)

Salt and pepper to taste

1 white onion, chopped

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced

30 oz bag frozen hatch green chiles, chopped

14 oz can tomatillos, drained and smashed (or pureed if you don’t want the chunks)

2 c chicken broth (I often use up to 6)

Optional:  1/2 to 1 small can diced jalapenos-cook in for extra zip or serve as a garnish

Sour cream to garnish

Shredded cheese to garnish if you want

Cilantro to garnish if you want

Chopped avocado to garnish if you want

Warm flour tortillas to serve it with

 

--Dredge meat in mixture of flour, salt and pepper, and brown in the oil.  Let it get a beautiful crust on it. Remove from pan and set aside.

--In the same pan sauté onion and garlic till soft.

--Add all the rest of the ingredients except the garnishes and tortillas, bring to a boil, then cover and simmer 30-45 minutes, till the pork is tender.

--Adjust thickening if necessary by heating oil in a little frying pan and stirring in an equal amount of flour into it till smooth and browned (This step of dissolving it in the hot oil is crucial to the taste, the brown really enhances the flavor!), then slowly stirring this roux into the chili. (I start with 2T, and if it isn’t thick enough, I do 2 more T, etc.  The amount totally depends on how much flour is sticking to the meat, and how much broth you ended up using.)

--Put out the garnishes and heat the tortillas

--Ring the dinner bell!

 

Turkey Vegetable Chili

This recipe comes from Curtis Stone. He made a guest appearance on one of my favorite shows, the Biggest Loser, and he made this dish. He baked some potatoes, topped them with this chili and some yogurt. Becky and I tried it out; it is DELISH and super healthy. One serving is about 290 calories.

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

For the chili:
1-½ tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, medium diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 small red chili, seeded and small diced (I used serrano chilies because I couldn't find red chilies. Next time I think I might use a jalapeno instead.)
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 large carrot, peeled and small diced (I didn't peel the carrots, it made no difference)
1 large celery stalk, medium diced (and by medium, he means SUPER tiny small)
1 small yellow bell pepper, seeded and medium diced
12 ounces 1% lean ground turkey
4 medium size ripe tomatoes, medium diced
8 oz cooked white or black beans (I think I will add more beans next time I made this. We used great northern beans, I recommend.)
4 cups baby spinach (I just bought a bunch from the store, it came out to around 3 cups)
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup plain fat free Greek style yogurt (we used light sour cream because we didn't have any yogurt, but we decided that the tangyness of the yogurt would be really good)
Micro cilantro to garnish, (can substitute with chopped chives or chopped cilantro) (an even better garnish is Tabasco sauce)

METHOD

• Place a large saute pan over medium high heat, then drizzle with the oil.
• Add the onion, garlic, and red chili and sauté for 2 minutes, or until tender.
• Sprinkle the cumin over the onion mix and stir well, then add the carrot, celery, and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the vegetables begin to get tender.
  

• 
• In a separate saute pan, brown the turkey in the remaining oil over medium high heat, then transfer to the vegetable mix.

• 
• Add the tomatoes and the beans and cook for a further 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the tomatoes have broken down and most of the liquid has evaporated.

• 
• Stir in the spinach and remove from the heat.
• Season the chili to taste with freshly ground black pepper
• Spoon the chili into serving dishes
• Spoon a tablespoon of the yogurt onto each garnish with the micro cilantro and serve.

• 

{bonnie's black bean chili soup photos}

have you all tried my sister ellie's black bean chili soup ?
i had never made it before the other night
i had eaten it
cooked by ellie while we were in denver
but never cooked it myself

i decided to double the recipe so i'd have leftovers to freeze
and i'm glad because it was freakin' delicious !!!

here's the onion, red/green/yellow capsicum (bell peppers) all chopped up

and now with the garlic

oh man, my mouth is watering ...
good thing i'm having leftovers for lunch !

i didn't serve this on rice
just as is, with corn chips
and topped with avocado, homemade greek yogurt
and grated cheddar cheese

go get the recipe ... it's on this blog already ... and try it

try it ! try it !
and you may.
try it and you may, i say ...

like it that is
green eggs and ham ... if you haven't read it, you need to.

Spicy Pork Ribs

I thought about posting some of my food.
Finally I did took some pictures . 'Spicy Pork Ribs' I named it.

Chilly is actually from Portugal in 16c to Korea.
Since then, Chilly is big part of Korean food

Sesame Oil
Chilly Paste ( GochuJang in Korean)
Garlic
Sugar

Pork Ribs



[How to Make the Chilly - Garlic Source]
Measuring is always tricky in Korean cooking so I will use ratio of each ingredients










Per 1 Rib : 1 Spoon of Chilly Source
1/4 Sesame Oil
1/4 Spoon of Sugar
1 chopped Garlic


``
Put the coat of the Chilly Source on Both sides of Ribs
I normally let the ribs marinate with Chilly Source in the fridge for a day before I grille in the oven.
It helps the source in the ribs.





Don't forget turning around the ribs when you grille the ribs!!!

Spicy Potatoes

I can't believe I have never posted this recipe before. It is a favorite around here.

900g / 2lb potatoes

1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp salt

2 tbls oil
1/4 tsp black mustard seeds
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbls sesame seeds

So ... I never measure the potatoes for this. I just get out a big baking dish, line it with baking paper, fill it with chopped potatoes, cover with oil and bake in hot oven .... 200C. I stir them a couple of times so that they all get done and not just the top ones. It takes a while ... maybe 30 minutes ? Maybe longer ? Just keep tasting testing them ...

In the meantime. Get yourself a little bowl and mix up the turmeric, chilli powder and salt. Set aside.

Also in the meantime ... chop up the garlic and chilli. I don't always have a chilli. So, sometimes I don't use one. The time I took the photo, I had a red chilli ... used that. Makes no difference. I like the garlic chopped fine, rather than crushed but you can do what you like. I also use a fair bit more than one garlic clove like the original recipe called for !!

Ok ... get your smallest frying pan and heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds. I use more than 1/4 tsp and I use a combination of black and yellow seeds. Fry the mustard seeds a couple minutes ~ til they splutter. Add the chilli and garlic. Fry for a couple of minutes. I like the garlic to begin to turn brown. Then add the sesame seeds. Fry for a couple of minutes ~ til they begin to turn brown. Remove from heat.

When the potatoes are done, pour into serving bowl. Sprinkle the spice mixture on the potatoes and toss to coat. Then add the chilli/garlic mixture.

Voila !

Serve straight away. They are best piping hot !!

PS ... I pull out the servings of potatoes for the kids before I put the spices on. They prefer them that way ... just a bit too spicy for their little taste buds !

Turkey Chili

Another favorite I tore out of my favorite magazine!
Best tasting chili,and easiest to make! You can put all ingredients, minus the beans, in a crock pot on low all day. About ten minutes before serving, add all beans to pot. EASY!

Serves 8

1 pound extra-lean ground turkey breast
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
6 teaspoons chili powder
½ onion, diced
½ teaspoon ground red pepper (add more for hotter chili)
2 teaspoons flour
1 12-oz. can crushed tomatoes (without paste)
1 15-oz. can red kidney beans
1 15-oz. can garbanzo beans
1 15-oz. can black beans
1 can water

Brown ground turkey in a pot. Drain fat. Add crushed tomatoes and water, and all spices. Mix thoroughly. Cover and simmer 25-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.
Uncover pot, add flour, and mix through.
Add all beans, mix and let simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.

262 calories, 6g fat, 34g carbohydrates, 19g protein, 10.5g fiber

*I made this the other night with ground buffalo. Buffalo (or bison) is significantly lower in fat than beef. Ground turkey is even better! We just wanted to try something new. I couldn't really tell a difference in the buffalo vs. beef. It's kind of pricey too, so I think I'll stick with turkey.*

Chicken and More ..

Macadamia Chicken
Broccoli with Garlic and Chilli
Lemon Roasted Onion and Carrots

.............................

Macadamia Chicken.

I got this recipe from a lady named Megan who participated in one of those email recipe exchanges.

• 600g - 1kg chicken breast fillets - sliced.
• 1 cup crushed macadamia nuts
• 3 cups of fresh breadcrumbs (Just chuck bread into the food processor and process til it looks like breadcumbs ... I used whole grain bread)
• 250 g of shredded parmesan cheese (I just used the stuff I always keep in the fridge ...)
• 2 tablespoons wholegrain mustard
• 2 tablespoons of fresh parsley
• 120 g melted butter ( I used olive oil instead of butter )

1. Grease baking dish (I used baking paper instead )
2. Place sliced chicken pieces evenly across bottom of dish.
3. Combine all other ingredients and spread evenly across all the chicken.
4. Bake in moderate oven (180C) for 30-45 min.
5. Cut into squares and serve with salad. (is really nice with cranberry sauce or mango puree)

I didn't serve with salad ... or the sauces.

I served with the following :

Lemon Roasted Onions and Carrots (from:The Great Vegetarian Cookbook)

• 2 large brown onions
• 2 medium lemons
• 5 small carrots
• 4 unpeeled cloves of garlic ( I, of course, used many more than 4 ! )
• 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Cut onions and lemons into eight wedges
2. Combine onion, lemon, carrot, garlic and rosemary in baking dish. Drizzle with oil, stir gently.
3. Bake, uncovered, in moderate oven about 1 hour or until tender.
4. Increase overn temperature to hot, bake vegetables about 10 minutes or until browned. ( I skipped this last step as I didn't think it was necessary ... )

AND THIS :

Broccoli with garlic and chilli (from: Super Food Ideas magazine April 2007 edition)

• 800g broccoli, cut into small florets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced ( uh, yeah ... more than that )
• 1/2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1. Bring large saucepan of water to the boil. Cook brocolli 3 minutes or til bright green. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat iol in a large, deep fying pan or wok over low heat. Add garlic and chilli. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic. Increase heat to medium. Add broccoli. Toss until well coated.
3. Season with Salt and Pepper. Serve