PB and J

A good friend of mine passed this recipe along to post on the page. This is also our first male contributor. It may be a good one to try on a day when you are tired, like after a New Year's Celebration. Enjoy!

Four Steps to a perfect PB&J Sandwich

Contributed by Todd Burris

1. Take two pieces of bread
2. Put peanut butter on both pieces (very important)
3. Add a little jelly in the middle
4. Press together and enjoy with milk!!!!!

Chicken Dinner Pie (Chicken Pot Pie)

I hope everyone has a Happy New Year and stays safe. Well, I am now on day three on stock the freezer. I am not cooking tonight, but I went ahead and made two meals to stick in the freezer. This is a recipe that I got from my mom. It is adapted from the 1972 Betty Crocker Cookbook. Mom starting making this when she and dad were first married, because it was a good way to make the chicken last more than one meal. We could all use a lesson in that now. I am using the chicken that I boiled yesterday, so that was a big saver on time. I have adapted the recipe to make two pies. I froze both of them today.

Supplies:
2 aluminum pie plates

2 boxes of roll-out pie crust (in the freezer section)
4 T of butter or margarine
4 T of flour
2 t of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1/4 teaspoon of thyme (key ingredient)
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of light cream
4 cups of cooked chicken
1 16 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables

Chicken Filling:

Melt butter in large saucepan over low heat. Blend in flour, salt, pepper and thyme. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in chicken broth and cream. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in chicken and vegetables.

Pie Crust:

Roll out one pie crust in the pie tin, forming it to the bottom of the pan. Do this for both pie tins. Spoon in half of the mixture into each tin. Top it off with the other pie crust. Seal of the edges but pinching the the edges from the two pieces together. Put small slits or crosses in the top for it to vent while cooking.

Fresh Pie: Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cover edge with 2 to 3 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning: remove foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 6 servings. (Mom said that the aluminum foil strip is key to not burning the edges!)

Freezer Pie: Cover with aluminum foil, date and label, and place in freezer. Store up to two months. Defrost in the refrigerator the day you plan on cooking it. Follow directions above for cooking.

Up to six meals in the freezer and it is only Wednesday!

Chicken Spaghetti

Day two of stock the freezer.

Today I made chicken spaghetti. It is an easy recipe that makes three meals out of one recipe. I started with a package of bone-in chicken breast. The package contained four pieces of meat with comes out to about 5 to 6 cups of chicken when cooked. I began by boiling the chicken, letting it cool, then pulling the pieces off. The recipe only calls for 3 cups of chicken, so I have enough for a meal tomorrow too.


Supplies:
3 freezer casserole aluminum plates (they look like tall pie tins- or you can use lasagna pans)

1 cup of diced onion
3 cups of cooked chicken
2 lbs of Velveeta cubed
1 can of rotel (drained)
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
2 12 oz packages of cooked spaghetti

In a skillet saute the onion and the chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Let them cook until the onion is soft. While that is cooking, place the cubed Velveeta (it melts faster), cream of mushroom soup, and rotel in a bowl. In your three casserole dishes, place spaghetti in bottom of dish, dividing it between the three dishes as equally as possible. Once the chicken and onion are cooked down, pour them into the bowl with the Velveeta, soup mix, and rotel, and stir. The mixture will still have cubes of cheese, but they will melt later. Pour the 1/3 of each mix in the casserole pans. Stir each casserole until noodles are coated with mixture.

Fresh casserole: Place in oven for about 20- 30 minutes on 350 until lightly browning on the top.

Freezer casseroles: Cover tightly with aluminum foil, label and date, and place directly in the freezer. When you choose to eat them, thaw in the refrigerator and bake 30-45 minutes, until the center is warm. (I would eat them within two months of freezing them.)

So, countdown is on: Two nights of homemade food on the table and four meals in the freezer for later.

Marinated Chicken Breast

As a working mom I am always looking for those things to help me out in the kitchen. I typically like to have dinner about 5:30, since the girls are so young. That does not give me a whole lot of time in the kitchen to prepare things. So, I like to help myself where I can to make more efficient dinners. Each day this week I am going to be doing meals that will make more than one entree so I can serve one and freeze one or two. Today was the first of that for the week.

Our family eats a lot of chicken during the week. At least one day a week I like to do a baked chicken. To change things up I like to marinate the chicken. The problem is I don't have enough time to marinate and bake after school. The following "recipe" allows me to have things ready when I get home from work. For my family I typically bake three chicken breasts. This recipe made three meals for us out of one bag of chicken. When I buy a bag from Sam's it will make 5 to 6 meals.

Marinated Chicken Breast

1 bag of FROZEN chicken breast from store

3-4 freezer bags

3-4 different marinates
(You can use the bottled marinates, salad dressing (Italian), or marinade packets found with the seasonings (this is the cheapest route- and typically all you add is water and oil, sometimes vinegar for two pounds of meat)

Some different seasoning ideas would be:

• Italian Dressing
• Teriyaki Marinade
• Chipotle Marinade
• Mesquite Marinade
• Lemon Pepper Marinade
• Bareque Sauce

Mix desired marinades in a bowl, or pour directly into the freezer bag. Place desired number of chicken breast (still frozen) in the freezer bag. Place a tight seal on the bag and place in the freezer.

On the morning of the meal place the bag in the refrigerator to thaw. When you ready to cook the meat is marinated for you. Bake or grill and enjoy.

Sage Sausage Bread

This is a recipe that Pam Nutter made for breakfast over the Christmas holiday. I thought it was really good and a different spin on things! It's good breakfast that can be made ahead of time.

1 pound sage pork sausage
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk
2 cups buttermilk baking mix
1/4 cup melted margarine
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook and stir the sausage and jalapeno until the sausage is well browned, about 10 minutes. Drain; set aside to cool slightly.
Stir together the Swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and milk in a large bowl. Stir in the biscuit mix, margarine, salt, and parsley. Add the sausage mixture; stir until well combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.
Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm or cold.

Pam used muffin pans instead of a baking pan. This turned out really well! You may not have to bake it as long in a muffin pan.

Pam's Baked Spinach

This is a recipe that Pam Nutter put together from a couple of other baked spinach recipes and then she added some other ingredients that made for a really good baked spinach. It had a nice rich flavor. This would be a good side for a family meal or entertaining.



2 (10 oz) packages of frozen chopped spinach

1/2 cup boiling water

8 oz cream cheese

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup Mozzerella cheese (Pam's addition - not neceesary but, addes a great flavor)

1/2 cup Feta cheese (Pam's addition - not necessary, but adds a great flavor)

1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs

2 tablespoons butter



Cook spinach in the water. Drain well.



Combine softened cream cheese, milk, cheeses and cooked spinach. Put mixture into a greased 1 quart baking dish. Melt butter and toss with bread crumbs. Add bread crumb mixture to the top of the casserole. Bake at 350F until heated through, 20 to 25 minutes.

Deep Dish Chicken Pot Pie

This is a recipe that my Mother-in-law, Pam, is making to use leftover turkey from Christmas. It's definitely a good way to use leftover mean and veggies too.

Prep - 20 min
Total - 50 min

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces (or any kind of leftover turkey or chicken)
1/4 cup Zesty Italian dressing
4 oz. Cream Cheese
2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen mixed vegetables, thawed (or whatever leftover veggies you have. Pam sauteed some fresh carrots and celery with the turkey)
1 pie crust - top and bottom (refrigerated or homemade)

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cook chicken in dressing in a large skillet on medium heat for 2 minutes.
Add cream cheese, cook and stir until melted.
Add flour, mix well, add broth and vegetables, simmer 5 minutes
Pour mixture into deep dish 10 inch pie plate.
Arrange pie crust over filling, flute edges.
Cut four slits in crust to allow steam to escape.
Bake 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

Cream Filled Cupcakes

I am very fortunate, I have two beautiful girls. I have two beautiful girls that were born on the same day. I have two beautiful girls that were both born on December 23rd. Needless to say, once the 23rd hits things don't slow down until the 26th. Every year we have a family birthday party in Fort Smith for the girls. It is always dinner and cake. This year I decided to make cupcakes- with the focus being on the grown-ups. (Don't worry, the girl's have their own!) I have modified a Paula Deen recipe for this one. It makes 24 to 36 cupcakes.

Cream Filled Cupcakes

• 24 to 36 cupcakes (I buy store-bought un-iced cupcakes to save time at Walmart- plus you get the nifty holders)
• 1 cup of whipping cream
• 1 cup of sour cream
• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 package of pudding (either chocolate or vanilla)
• Icing - for the top
• One Turkey Infuser (used on fried turkeys)

Mix the whipping cream, sour cream, whole milk and pudding in a bowl and mix on medium until it peaks (until it makes little mountains). Fill turkey infuser with cream mix and insert about one tablespoon into each cupcake (it will start spilling out when it gets too full). Top with icing.

Refrigerate up to 3 days. I am attaching pictures to help understand, but it is really quite easy- but messy. Your guest will love the surprise!

Beef Burgundy

This is one our family favorites. Mom loves to cook it for her son-in-laws, and they love to eat it. I have never made it until this morning, and I had no idea how easy it was. The cook time is the key. Her favorite time to cook it is on Sundays, when she would put it in the oven before church and come home for lunch and it would be ready.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs of stew meat (cut into bite size pieces)



• 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup



• 1 box of onion soup mix



• 3 T of Worcestershire Sauce



• 1/4 C of cooking Sherry

Mix all ingredients and cook for 4 to 5 hours in a 250 degree oven.

Serve over egg noodles (2 packages). Add a side and you are good to go!

Note: Looks beautiful when it comes out and awful going in! Great for entertaining!

Chicken Noodle Soup

This is a recipe that I use a lot in the winter. I bet by now you can tell I cook a lot of soups! They are easy, one pot meals that leave one feeling warm and toasty! What could be better? We got out of school at 1:30 yesterday so I had a little extra time for dinner preparation. This recipe allows for leftovers too!

10 cups of chicken broth- or 10 cups of water with chicken bullion cubes to taste (probably around 8)

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped onions

1 to 2 T of garlic (fresh or dried)

2 cups of cooked shredded chicken (great if you have left overs)

2 cups of pasta

In a big pot saute carrots, celery, onions, and garlic with about one or two tablespoons of olive oil until they are soft (about 10 minutes). Add broth and bring to a boil. Add in chicken. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Add noodles about 15 minutes before you serve. Serve with crackers or bread! Enjoy!

*you can buy chopped onions, carrots and celery at the store prepped for you- each back contains about 3 cups- right at what you need for this- it saves time. I do like to cook it down a bit more however!

Aunt Robbye's Chicken Enchiladas

Recipe by Kaye Hoggard

Mix together

1 stewed chicken (Let’s go with breasts) shredded into LITTLE pieces
½ c toasted slivered almonds
1 can chopped green chilies
1 onion finely chopped and sautéed
1 can chopped mushrooms
½ cup salsa
1t. oregano
½ c sour cream
½ can cream of chicken soup

Spray 8 ½ x 11 pan with Pam. Put 3T mixture in a tortilla. Roll. Put seam side down in the pan

Cover with this sauce

½ c sour cream
½ can soup
3T salsa

Bake 350 degrees for 30 min.

Top with grated cheddar and Monterey jack
Return to oven for 5 more minutes

Best I’ve ever eaten

Potluck Meal

I am in a book club with a wonderful group of ladies. Once a month we get together to discuss a book and share wonderful food. This month we had our annual Christmas party. I hosted this time and attached are a couple of pictures of the tables. We had a potluck meal that was wonderful. Some of us have shared our recipes from last week. You could make a wonderful spread with all, but each dish would be great make on its own! Thanks ladies for sharing your recipes with me. Kelli

Appitizers

Awesome Nacho Dip
Recipe by Becky Bagwell

2 blocks cream cheese
2 cans rotel
1 lb ground sausage (cooked)

Heat cream cheese until melted and warmed, add rotel and cooked sausage. Serve with tortillas. Done!


Spinach Dip
Recipe by Matty Ross

My spinach dip is easy as well. Drive to Catering to You hope that they have spinach dip and tortilla chips left. Bring a nice bowl to serve! Easy and delicious!
If you you want to make it yourself- here is an easy recipe:

Easy Spinach Dip (for real)

8 ounces cream cheese
1 cup sour cream1
10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 8 ounce can water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 cup finely chopped red pepper
1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer on medium speed, until smooth. Blend in sour cream. Add spinach, water chestnuts, red pepper and salad dressing mix. Mix until blended. Chill for about 2 hours to meld flavors together.

Cucumber Sandwiches
Recipe by Kaye Hoggard

Mix 8 oz. cream cheese with 1/2 package Italian dressing (dry)Spread on party rye bread (I used crackers)Score cucumber and slice it.Put slices on.Sprinkle dill on top.That's pretty simple.


Cheese and Sausage Plate
Recipe by Amy Lyn Jordan

And, I know you've all waited with baited breath for my recipe:
Drive to Kroger
Buy goat cheese, cubed cheese, and summer sausage
Serve on a platter

Meal

Vegetarian Bean Soup
Recipe by Kelli Gordon

1 bag of 15 bean soup
8 cups of vegetable stock
1 cup of each cooked down: carrots, onion, and celery
(I love using Recipe Beginnings at Kroger- they have all of the chopping done for you- it is in the frozen food section)
1 large can of tomatoes

Soak beans according to the directions on the package. Sauté carrots, onion in and celery in your soup pot (or cook until soft in with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil). Add vegetable stock, tomatoes, and beans. Cook down until beans are soft (about hour and a half). Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with bread or crackers.

Desserts

Chocolate Covered Peanuts
Recipes by Netta Schultheis

1 package almond bark
1 package semi sweet chocolate chips
1 or 2 cans Spanish peanuts (depends on how peanuty you want it)

Microwave almond bark and chocolate chips until melted, keep an eye on it melting it about 2 minute intervals, usually takes about 5 minutes. Add peanuts, drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper.

Matty Ross Asked: Hey! Could you use different kinds of nuts? Then your recipe turns into like 6 recipes! :D

Kelli Gordon Answered: Yes you can- I have now tried it with walnuts, almonds, dried apricots, and prezels!

Chocolate Crescents
Recipes by Netta Schultheis

1 can of Pillsbury crescent rolls
2 or 3 Hershey Chocolate Bars
Put three blocks of a Hershey chocolate bar in it, roll it up and bake as usual, kinda close up the sides after you roll it up so the chocolate doesn't come out. bake and cool a bit. drizzle with a powdered sugar glaze of butter, vanilla, little milk. mmmmmmmmmm

White Chili

This was a treat to receive from Becky Martin. The Martins were our across the street neighbors when we lived on "W Street" in Fort Smith. We moved when I was going into seventh grade. There are many memories with our families. I look forward to trying this recipe out myself.

White Chili

2 lbs lean ground pork
1 med. Onion—chopped and sauteed (microwave for about 2 minutes-stirring every 45 seconds)2 cans chicken broth
2 cans Great Northern beans—drained and rinsed
2 T ground cumin
1 T cumin seed
1 large garlic clove—chopped finely
2-3 tsp cayenne pepper
1 or 2 tsp. salt
1 tsp pepper
1 to 1 ½ lbs. white American cheese, cubed
1 lb. jalapeno Monterrey Jack, cubed
2 cups whipping cream

Cook ground pork until done (do not brown though). Add next 8 ingredients slowly at low heat. Simmer for 30 minutes. Add cheese and cream lastly and warm slowly.

Enjoy! Becky Martin

Greenbean Casserole

Sherry was also nice enough to send me her Greenbean Casserole recipe to share. We had this at Thanksgiving this year, and it was sooo good! This recipe is from the Cambell's Kitchen.

Prep: 10 minutes
Bake: 30 minutes
Serves: 6

1 can (10 3/4 oz) Cambell's Condensed Cream of Mushroom (Sherry uses Cream of Celery to please the picky eaters)
1/2 cup Milk
1 tsp. soy sauce
Dash of ground black pepper
4 cups cooked green beans
1 1/3 cups French's French Fried Onions

Mix soup, milk, soy, black peppar, beans and 2/3 cup onions in 1 1/2-qt. casserole.

Bake at 350F for 25 minutes or until hot.

Sprinkle with remaining onions. Bake 5 minutes

Tip: Use 1 bag (16 to 20 oz.) frozen green beans, 2 packages (9 oz each) frozen green beans, 2 cans (16 oz) green beans or about 1 1/2 lb fresh green beans for this recipe.

For a changes of pace, substitue 4 cups cooked broccoli flowerets for green beans.

For a creative twist, stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese with soup. Omit soy sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup additional cheddar cheese when adding remaining onions.

Ethel's Sugar Cookies & Glaze

My Aunt Sherry was kind enough to share one of her favorite cookie recipes. For those of you who don't know Sherry Hart, she is an AMAZING baker. She was kind enough to make my wedding cake and Joe's groom's cake and I must say they couldn't have looked or tasted better. I am quite jealous of her culinary skills and her custom cake room (yes, she's so good that she got to build her own "baking studio" separate from her kitchen). So, anyway, the next time you want to make some sugar cookies, try this recipe, since it is approved by the expert!!

This sugar cookie recipe is from the 1963 Betty Crocker's Cooky Book. The accompanying glaze recipe is of unknown origin. Sherry does warn that the glaze can get messy, but who doesn't like a little glaze in their hair every now and again.

Ethel's Sugar Cookies
Mix dough as directed. Using part of dough and keeping rest chilled, lightly roll dough to desired thickness; the thinner you roll, the crisper the cookies. Rub flour into rolling pin cover and cloth to prevent sticking.
To cut: dip cookie cutter in flour, shake off excess, cut with steady pressure. Cut as many cookies from each rolling as possible. Carefully lift cut-out cookies to baking sheet with spatula. Bake.

3/4 cup shortening (part butter or margarine)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. lemon flavoring or 1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, and flavoring thoroughly. Measure flour or by sifting. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together; blend in. Chill at least 1 hour.
Heat oven to 400F. Roll dough 1/8" thick on lightly floured board. Cut with 3" cookie cutter. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 6 to 8 minutes or until cookies are a delicate golden color. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.
Note: if you use self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt.

Sugar Cookie Glaze
6 cups powdered sugar
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup white karo syrup
½ cup water

Mix all of the ingredients well. Place cookie sheet underneath a cookie/cake cooling rack to catch drips. Pour, spoon on, and/or brush glaze on cookies. Add sprinkles before glaze sets. I take the rack off the cookie sheet and hold it over the sink to sprinkle. Scrape the drips from the cookie sheet back into the bowl for re-use. I use my one-cup or two-cup measuring cup that has a pouring indentation on it for the glaze. It’s easier to hold and pour from than a bowl. If glazing large quantities, keep a moist paper towel over your glaze in the measuring cup so that it won’t crust over.

NOTE: BUY POWDERED SUGAR IN 2 LB BAGS, NOT THE 1 LB BOX.

Tricia's Lasagna

Tricia’s Lasagna

This is a slightly modified version of a recipe my mother had in an ancient Betty Crocker cookbook. It freezes well and can be easily modified for vegetarians by substituting sautéed yellow squash, zucchini, onion and carrots for the meat in the sauce. The ingredient amounts are flexible. I tend to use a little more pork and a lot more mozzarella than it calls for (in my opinion, you can never have too much cheese).

SAUCE
1lb ground chuck6 oz. ground pork
¾ cup chopped onion
1-2 minced garlic cloves
28 oz. can petite cut tomatoes
15 oz. tomato sauce
2 Tbsp. parsley flakes
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. Basil leaves

RICOTTA MIXTURE
24 oz. cottage cheese
½ cup grated parmesan (from a bag or hand-grated--- not the canned version)
1 Tbsp. Parsley flakes
1 ½ tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano

8 oz. lasagna (cooked)
¾ lb. shredded mozzarella
½ cup grated parmesan

1. Cook beef & pork, onion, and garlic.
2. Drain.
3. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, 2 Tbsp. parsley flakes, sugar, and basil.
4. Heat to boiling.
5. Simmer uncovered until desired consistency (The recipe says to simmer for 1 hour--- I don’t think I’ve ever done that. I usually just heat it and move on.)
6. Reserve ½ cup sauce for top of lasagna.
7. Preheat oven to 350.
8. Combine ingredients for ricotta mixture.
9. In an ungreased 9x13 pan, layer the following:

• noodles
• sauce
• mozzarella
• ricotta mixture

10. Repeat this 2 more times.

11. Spread the reserve sauce over the top.

12. Sprinkle parmesan.

13. Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. (Add 10-15 minutes if refrigerated. )

*Sent in by Tricia Burris

Jason's Pineapple Chicken

A good friend of mine, Tricia Burris sent me two recipes in to publish. I know from personal experience that bother are amazing meals. This one is great over rice! Thanks Tricia!

Jason’s Pineapple Chicken

Frozen chicken breasts (the big flat ones in the bulk Sam’s bags work well)
Jelly – I prefer Smuckers Pineapple or Apricot/Pineapple…yummy…but anything will work.
Dry onion soup mix

1. In a large casserole pan, place 3 or four large frozen chicken breasts…whatever will lay flat on the bottom.
2. In a medium bowl, mix a jar of jelly, 1 packet of the soup mix, and a little bit of water. I usually put around half a cup of water in the jelly jar, shake it up real good, and then add that in the bowl. This uses all the jelly and cleans the jar! Yay!
3. Pour the mixture over the chicken, and bake uncovered at 375 for 1 hour.
4. Enjoy the tasty jelly chicken with your favorite sides. I like it with rice or mashed potatoes and a veggie.

*Sent in by Tricia Burris

NOT Simply Recipes

Well Kelli and I got an email this morning that the name for our blog has been trademarked, so as for now it will be called NOT Simply Recipes until we can come up with a good trademark free name!

In the mean time, I'm sure this trademarked website is a great one to find some good recipes--
http://simplyrecipes.com

Frank's Spicy Alabama Onion Beer Chili

Who's Frank? I have no idea, but I do know that he has a good chili recipe and it is also very easy...can't beat that. Since it's been kind of cold out (well cold for Houston anyway) I'm kind of craving some chili. This is a good Saturday or Sunday meal because you can start it in the afternoon and let it simmer for a couple hours and it'll make an awesome dinner. If this looks familiar, I did post it to my blog a while ago.


Ingredients


Meat and Onion

mmm...Beer... don't worry it cooks out.

The final product!

INGREDIENTS

2 pounds ground beef chuck (i use lean ground beef)

2 large white onions, chopped

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice

2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce

1 (12 fluid ounce) can beer

2 (15 ounce) cans spicy chili beans

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™), or to taste

1/3 cup chili powder

4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (i don't add these)

3 tablespoons red pepper flakes, or to taste (optional) (i don't add this either)

DIRECTIONS

Crumble the ground chuck into a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally until evenly browned. Drain grease. Transfer the beef to a large soup pot. Add onions, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beer and chili beans. Season with Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce, chili powder, jalapenos, and red pepper flakes, if using.Cover the pot, and simmer over low heat for 2 hours. Turn off heat and serve.

Potato Leek Soup

You will notice that I am all about time savers and quick meals in the kitchen. As a mom that becomes very important. I cooked this tonight for dinner. It is one of our winter favorites. I got home about 4:15 and began cooking and had dinner on the table a little after five- to top it off, while it was simmering I cleaned the kitchen. Can't beat that! Most of these items I keep at the house all of the time so all I have to do is pick up leeks that week at the store.

Potato Leek Soup Recipe (only 3 ingredients)

Ingredients
2 large leeks (Use only the white and pale green parts, chop)
6 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth for vegetarian option)
8 small/ medium potatoes, peeled, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
Salt & Pepper to taste

1 Put leeks in broth and bring to a boil to cook them down. (I do this while peeling potatoes)

2 Add in potatoes and cook until soft. (around 20 to 30 minutes). Then, I mash the potatoes with my "masher" until it thickens up. (You can do this in a blender if desired- to me it just adds dirty dishes)

3. Serve to hungry family.

I serve with shredded cheese on top and sometimes ham cubes. Put crackers (Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits are great!) on the plate and you are ready to go. It is very hearty and filling.


Serves 4-6.