The Long-Awaited Chili Recipe

Yes, indeed, the long-awaited recipe. Not that you've been waiting for it, but I sure have! Over the years, I have tried so many recipes I've lost count of them all. But none of them were just right. They were ok, the family said they enjoyed it, but it just wasn't "it."

Let's face it, if you ask 100 people for their chili recipe, you'll get 100 different recipes. I tried to mimic my favorites, but they were always off on the consistency or taste. I also have to take dietary needs into account. Do you know how hard it is to make chili with no seeds? 

I started a little research project. I polled a group of long-standing online friends, friends I work with on the social committee, favorite cooks, the spice seller guy (who shall from now on be referred to affectionately as "Old Spice", but I'm getting ahead of myself) and anyone else who would listen. I wanted to know if they had a specific recipe, a secret ingredient, something that made their chili stand out in a crowd. Everyone had a different answer, and none of them went together. When I told Old Spice that my chili needed some serious help, he asked, "Well, what kind of chili do you make?" And that's when I realized I missed the most important question. "How do you define chili?" 

After talking with Old Spice for a couple of minutes, we refined my definition, and he recommended a spice blend. I was a little leery, because I'm not fond of mixes and I really hate a recipe that reads, "Open a can of soup, add it to a box of XYZ mix and bake for 7 hours." However, this blend is just right, and he adds NO fillers, no MSG, no nasties. Just pure spices. So I had narrowed down my search.

I took all of the suggestions, and played with recipes until I got the taste I wanted, but the texture was still wrong. My husband likes a good brothy chili, and I just could not find a way to get that without crushed tomatoes, which are full of seeds. But I found a way, and it turned out exactly like we wanted. My husband hid the leftovers so he could have them himself. That's a good sign. 

Leni's Chili with sour cream and slices of sharp cheddar, because I was to tired to shred it.

Leni's Notes:
~The spice blend I'm using is Cool Chili Seasoning from Stuart's Spices in Rochester, NY. It's got a tiny bit of kick, but I can tell you I don't enjoy hot food, and this is not spicy. It is a blend of ground chili peppers, cumin, garlic, oregano and salt. If you don't have the pleasure of living locally, you can order from them, just click on the Contact Us button. Or, mix up your own blend!
~Adjust the meat and bean ratio to your own liking. We like a good amount of protein in ours.
~Turn up the heat accordingly, or leave spices on the table for folks to adjust the taste themselves.
~This can certainly be done on the stove, but it is nice to throw in the crock pot and forget about.
~The amount of masa listed will thicken it slightly, but still leave a very soupy texture. Adjust amount to your liking.
~Serve with some rolls or corn bread.

Ingredients:
32 oz Vegetable Juice (like V8)
2 lbs. ground beef
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 small onion, diced
6 large mushrooms, diced
1/4 C Cool Chili Seasoning

2 Tbls masa (corn flour)
salt and pepper

Instructions:
~Brown the ground beef with the minced garlic, then drain.
~Add everything except masa, salt and pepper to the crock.
~Let cook on low 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.
~Half an hour before serving, taste the broth and add salt and pepper to your liking.
~Sprinkle masa over the chili, and stir in.
~Cover and let cook until you are ready to eat.

Blessings to you from my kitchen in the frozen tundra of Western New York,
Leni

Twice Baked Potatoes for the Freezer

Here I am, alive and well! I've been working on revamping my techniques for cooking ahead. Somethings, like lasagna, are really good when you freeze and then thaw and bake. But for the most part, I prefer to have things fresh-made. That does not quite fit with my current lifestyle. ;) 

So I have been filling my fridge and freezer with foods that are prepped for fresh cooking. It's a great time saver during the week. My veggies are prepped, my meat is butchered and brined, broth is frozen...you get the idea. 

Today I worked on a side dish. What you see below is one of the trays of twice baked potatoes that I made today. (I made 2 1/2 trays.) It was a lot of work, but I made enough for 6-8 meals, depending on how many are here for dinner. 

Leni's Notes:

~As I was making these, my family came along and put sloppy joes on top of them. Big hit! I'll have to remember that for later.

~I flash freeze them on these trays, then move them to ziplocs for long-term storage.

~The filling is very versatile. Make them with whatever flavors you like. But I recommend always using the cream cheese and sour cream, otherwise the potatoes tend to get kind of gritty when they thaw.

 ~I mashed mine down because I wanted mine level, so we can add toppings  You could mound it up if you want to. (If you make them level, you'll have extra mashed potatoes to enjoy!)

Ingredients:

10# Russet baking potatoes

1 8oz. block cream cheese, softened

1 lg container sour cream 

1 stick butter

2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp sea salt

2 tsp garlic salt

2 C shredded sharp cheddar

2 -4 Tbls dried chives

Instructions:

~Preheat oven to 350 degrees.(If you're eating them that day.)

~Wash the potatoes, and pat dry.

~Prick the skins, and rub skins with oil. 

~Place potatoes on a foil-lined pan. (I fit all of them on two large cookie sheets.)

~Bake until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, depending on size.

~Let cool until you can handle them, then scoop the middles out, leaving a small layer of potato in the skin.

~Put the scooped out middled in a large bowl, and put the potato skins back on the trays.

~To the bowl, add cream cheese, sour cream, butter, pepper and salts.

~Mash or blend until desired consistency. 

~Mix in cheese and chives.

~Use an ice cream scoop to put filling back into the skins, and mash down. 

~Cover with plastic wrap, and freeze.

~When ready to serve, place desired amount of potatoes in baking dish. (Temp is variable, put them in with whatever you are already making.)

~If putting them in the oven frozen, cover with foil. If thawed, you can leave them open. 

~Bake until heated through and slightly browned. 

Meatballs in Bulk

Despite today's scorching heat, I had to do some cooking. By the time we get home from work, no one cares about cooking. Time to restock the freezer so we have some wholesome meals to enjoy again!

This has become my favorite way to do meatballs. I do not have the time or energy to pan fry them, and I don't really care for the texture when they are oven baked. So I cook them in the sauce. I normally use regular sized crock pots, but today I was doing a very large batch, so I used my 18 Qt. Nesco Roaster. My dad got that for me years ago, and I love it! Perfect for bulk cooking (and Thanksgiving turkeys!)

Leni's Notes:
~You can cut this recipe down if you don't want to make such a large batch. As written, this recipe makes 8 - 9 dozen meatballs, with a lot of extra sauce for serving with pasta.
~Next time I do this, I might throw a couple links of Italian Sausage in, just for a little bit different flavor.
~24 meat balls will fit nicely into a gallon sized freezer bag, and lay flat for storage. I throw a couple cups of sauce in, also.
~The original recipe for the meatballs came from this cookbook. I used to have a link for the recipe online, but the page seems to be missing.
~Great with pasta, but my family's favorite is meatball subs. ;o)

Ingredients:

Meatball Mixture:

2 C panko

2 C milk

4 eggs

3 C parmesan

1/4 C dry chopped onion

1/2 C dry parsley

2 tsp jarred minced garlic

2 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

6 1/2 - 7  lbs lean ground beef

Sauce:

3 jars marinara sauce (I use Wegmans Smooth Marinara)

3 (28 oz.) cans tomato puree

2 C water

2 T oregano

2 T raw sugar

1 T basil

1 tsp garlic salt

Instructions:

~Mix meatball ingredients in a large bowl until evenly combined.

~Mix sauce ingredients in a large bowl, place a quarter of the mixture in the bottom of the roaster.

~Use a standard cookie scoop (about 1/4 cup? Maybe a little less?) to make meatballs uniform.

~Gently drop them into the sauce, so they kind of make craters in the sauce. 

~When you have one layer, cover those with another quarter of the sauce mix evenly over the meatballs, enough to cover them completely.

~Start your next layer of meatballs, and continue on until all meat mixture is used.

~Make sure all meatballs are completely covered in sauce. 

~Cover, set to 250 (or low, if you're using a crock pot) and let cook for 5-6 hours.

~When done, gently stir them to loosen any that have stuck to the sides or cooked together.

~Let cool a bit before packaging.

Blessings from my wonderful-smelling kitchen to yours!

Leni

Filling the Freezer

I admit it, I HATE cooking when it gets hot. I don't even want to eat! Alas, my family insists on eating every single day.

This week I'm working on stocking up the freezer with pre-made meals. That way all I have to do is throw it in a crock pot or the oven and be done.

Here's the lineup:
Meatballs
Twice-baked potatoes
Enchilada Casserole

Today I made 8 1/2 dozen meatballs that are cooking away in my roaster pan. I'll post the recipe later tonight. With only three of us at home this summer (and an occasional drop-in from the newly-weds) these should last us a while.

I also have the VBS closing picnic to put together on Friday. It will be fun to serve everyone. I'm not able to help with VBS during the week this year, so at least I'll get to enjoy the closing program and see what they did all week. My contribution for the week was to make pinatas of their bug mascots. Forgot to take pictures. Whoops. My apologies to those who asked for final results. I'll see if my daughter can get pics before they are destroyed. ;o)

Stay safe in the heat, everyone. This stuff is dangerous.

Freezer Cooking - Lasagna

My youngest daughter is on Spring Break, so I don't have to drive her to the college this week! I decided to take this opportunity to restock my freezer meals as we are completely out.

There is just nothing like being able to pull a healthy, home-cooked meal from your freezer, pop it in the oven and walk away. I'd like to think this would let me relax for a couple of minutes, but really, it frees me up to go work on something else. I'll take what I can get, though. My schedule is maxed out right now, so any break I can get is worth it.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, I have become a huge fan of disposable steamer trays. These half trays are just the right size for when the whole family is visiting, or when it's our smaller group (with a couple of lunch servings left over.) The foil lids let them stack beautifully in the freezer. When dinner's over, throw them out. ;o) I get mine in bulk at Sam's Club.

Leni's Notes:
~Adjust the recipe to include your family's favorite ingredients.
~Cooking has to be flexible with this one, as there are a lot of determining factors. Was it completely thawed before baking? Partially frozen? Did you have other things in the oven? When did you uncover it? Always check with a thermometer or by poking a metal butter knife in the middle and feeling the temp on the end of the knife. (Very scientific, don't you know!)
~Always put a cookie sheet under these pans. Not only will this save your oven should there be any boil-over, but these pans can be very flexible, and you do not want hot cheese and sauce spilling down your legs. Safety first!
~I know you can buy no-boil lasagna noodles. I personally don't like the result. It leaves all that starch in the finished product and everything tastes gummy. Not a fan.
~When I cook the lasagna noodles, I only partially cook them. (about 3/4 of the amount of time instructed.) When they come out of the water, I rinse them and then layer them between sheets of aluminum foil until I'm ready to use them. This works really well!
~I'm using some convenience items here, but I have found that if you do small things like buy block cheese and shred it yourself, you can make lasagna pretty economically. Everything costs time or money, so it depends on what you have available to spend!
~I am not a fan of chunks in my sauce, so I tend to buy smooth marinara. Feel free to buy your favorite sauce, or to throw in some crushed tomatoes with your marinara.

Ingredients:
2 packages whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked, layered on foil
3 lbs browned ground beef (give or take) cooked with onions, salt and pepper
6 Italian sausages, cooked, cooled and chopped (optional)
1 (3 lb) container ricotta cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 eggs
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 Tablespoon each: oregano, basil, parsley
2 ( 24 oz) jars of your favorite marinara
1 (24 oz) jar of water
1 (20 oz) can of tomato puree
2 cloves of garlic
Extra mozzarella for topping


Instructions:
~Combine beef and sausage in one bowl.
~Combine ricotta, mozzarella, eggs, parmesan, oregano, basil and parsley in another bowl.
~Combine marinara, water, tomato puree and garlic in a third bowl.
~Prepare three 13x9 pans with cooking spray or a little olive oil and a pastry brush.
~Start with a thin layer of sauce.
~Follow with layers of: noodles (3 will fit perfectly,) cheese, sauce, noodles, meat, sauce.
~Repeat until all ingredients have been used up.
~Top with extra mozzarella.
~Top each pan with it's lid, seal tightly.
~Label with item name and cooking instructions (including thawing times.)
~Stack neatly in the freezer. (Don't let them tip at all until they are solid frozen or you will have a MESS!)

~When ready to cook, my suggestion is to thaw completely first, then bake at 375 for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
~I usually bake for one hour with the lid on, then take it off, check for doneness and decide if it needs more actual cooking time, or just a little time to brown the top a smidge.
~Remove from oven when done, and let it cool for 15-20 min. This gives the fluids time to settle a bit before serving.

Blessings from my busy kitchen to yours,
Leni

Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

Ice Cream cake? In February? In Upstate NY? No, I haven't lost my mind, it was a special request from my daughter.

Yes indeed, this weekend we celebrated my baby girl's sixteenth birthday! 

Isn't she beautiful? More importantly, she's got a beautiful spirit.  My baby is growing up. *sniff, sniff*  To mark the special occasion, I made her a cake I first made over 20 years ago for her big sister's first birthday. Come to think of it, that might have been the last time I made it!

We had planned a day of shopping with the Thrift Store Teen Queen, but the snowy weather kept us from leaving town.  So instead, we stayed home and ate ice cream cake, of course. ;o)

Leni's Notes:
~While my family loved the way I made the peppermint layer, I think if I make it again, I will cut down on the amount of peppermint patties. Only because it makes it kind of chewy when it's frozen. I seemed to be the only one who noticed.
~This will fit into 2 13x9 pans or one larger pan.

Ingredients:
2 containers chocolate sandwich cookies (Oreo type)
1 half gallon chocolate or vanilla ice cream
1 regular sized bag of York Peppermint Patties
1/2 - 1 Cup cream
2 T coconut oil (You could use shortening if you need to)
4 C whipped cream

Instructions:
~Crush cookies in a plastic bag, and place into the bottom of the pan, reserving a cup of crumbs.
~Slice or scoop ice cream and put on top of the cookies.
~Let the ice cream melt over the cookies while you make the chocolate sauce. (Not completely to liquid, just til it's soft enough to push down over the crust.)
~In a double boiler, place the candies and oil, and turn on the burner to medium. (I break the candies up a bit.)
~As they start to melt, add in the cream, and stir occasionally.
~When the sauce is smooth, dump the hot water out of the double boiler and set the sauce aside to cool a bit.
~While the ice cream is melting, press it down over the cookies.
~Drizzle peppermint sauce over the ice cream, reserving about half a cup.
~Cover with whipped cream.
~Lightly drizzle with remaining sauce, then sprinkle cookie crumbs over the top.
~Cover with plastic wrap, and place on an even surface in the freezer.

~When ready to serve, remove from the freezer half an hour before cutting.

Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Leni

Sloppy Joes for the Freezer

Currently Mondays are turning out to be the worst possible day for me to post recipes. Or to cook. To be fair, I don't really have a good day to cook, unless I get to it on the weekends. So I've gone back to my old practice for stocking the freezer. Once a week, I pick one meal to make in bulk and I put 3 of them in the freezer. Right now, my deep freeze has a nice stock of lasagna, enchilada casserole, chicken in gravy and sloppy joes.

Thankfully, my family is willing and able to help out. This goes really well, right up until I get distracted while writing down a recipe. My husband got a huge kick out of today's recipe calling for a good measure of black powder. You know, to give it some kick! lol. It would be fair to say my brain is a bit muddled. 

Today's recipe is a crock pot recipe that freezes well. Two of my favorite things. Not a lot of notes on this one, it's simple, yummy, and makes the masses happy. 

Leni's Notes:

~This recipe serves 3 meals for my family, with leftovers for lunches.

~Tater tots are the traditional side dish in our household. 

~Freeze the leftovers quickly, or your family will eat more than you intended and it won't stretch as far!

~This is also a great meal for kid's parties.

Ingredients

6 lbs ground beef, browned and drained

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 T. paprika

1 1/2 T chili powder

3/4 C brown sugar or raw sugar

6 tsp cumin

6 tsp salt

6 tsp corn starch

3 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 1/2 tsp pepper (not black powder!)

29 oz can plain tomato sauce

Instructions

~Dump everything in a large crock pot (I used my 8 quart.)

~Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours.

~Serve over split rolls, with slices of cheddar or colby jack cheese.

~Freeze extras in gallon ziplocs. 

Chipotle Chicken Chili

Happy Monday everyone! Before I get started today, I wanted to extend a hearty welcome to all of our new readers. Hope you're enjoying the recipes, and that you'll introduce yourselves at some point. 

These past couple of weeks, I have been working on some soup recipes. I must confess, I am not a big fan of soup. My mom loved making soups, and I was always suspicious of what she was hiding in there. (Probably zucchini and stewed tomatoes.) I also was not a fan of gravy, salad dressing, sauces, condiments...I wanted to see my food. Obviously, I got over that, but my aversion to soup remained. 

You know of course, that I married a man who loves soup! We've been married almost 21 years, and I figure it's about time I make peace with the fact that my man is over the moon when he comes home to a pot of yummy soup and some rolls to go with it. 

I had the best intentions of sharing an original recipe, but my attempt at Minestrone went horribly wrong. They ate it, after we fixed it up a bit, but it's definitely not blog-worthy yet. So for today, I am sharing a Pinterest find that was a huge hit with my family. I tried a bite. It was good! Not enough for me to want a big bowl of it, but definitely a keeper. 

The original link to the recipe can be found here. I made a couple of changes, so the recipe below is the version I made. They used items that were lower sodium and fat-free. I can do lower sodium if I have to, but I do not do fat-free. Seriously, what IS fat free half-and-half?! Cream is milk fat, if it's fat free, it is NOT half-and-half. Blech. Use real ingredients! But I digress.

Leni's Notes:
~I doubled the amount of chicken, thinking my hubby would want more protein. His only complaint was there was too much chicken. Huh.
~I've heard it freezes well. It didn't last long enough for me to find out.
~I used my pressure cooker pot to make this. (Without the pressure feature.) Those pots make terrific stock pots! Nothing scorched.
~I somehow found myself without any frozen or fresh onions! It a fit of desperation, I reconstituted 3/4 C of dry onions (1/4 cup for each onion called for.) Amazingly, it worked.
~This cooked up very quickly. I came home from work at 5, and had dinner on the table by 6 with time to spare. If you pre-cut your chicken and onions ahead of time, it's practically an instant dinner.
~Original recipe says it serves 8. Eight children, maybe. With grown ups in the house, more like 4.
~ If you want to prepare your own cooked white beans for this recipe, you'll need 4 1/2 cups (from 2 1/4 cups dried).

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 medium onions, chopped (I buy frozen chopped onions.)
4 large garlic cloves, minced (Jarred in water or olive oil, 2 tsp)
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon chipotle chile powder or chili seasoning
4 teaspoons ground cumin
salt
3 cans (19 ounces each) cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups Better than Bouillon chicken broth, or your favorite stock
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions


~In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-low heat.
~Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to soften, 4 to 5 minutes.
~Push the onions to one side of the pan, add the chicken, and sprinkle with the chipotle chile powder, cumin, and salt to taste.
~Cook, stirring, until most of the chicken is opaque on the outside, 5 to 6 minutes.
~Stir in 3 cups of the beans and 2 cups of the broth.
~Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer.
~Partially cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.
~Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the remaining beans and remaining 1 cup broth.
~Process to a smooth puree.
~Stir the bean puree and half-and-half into the soup.
~Dish up soup, and top with cheese and cilantro. 


Blessings from my kitchen to yours,
Leni

Shredded Chicken for the Freezer

My life has been hectic lately. Crazy, even. As much as I love to cook, I am rarely home to do so, and it makes me long for my stay-at-home-mom days. Honestly, I love having a day to spend in the kitchen. Probably why I love Thanksgiving so much. One day of the year set aside for  cooking more food than a house full of people could consume in one day! Bliss!

With my free time so very limited I've been challenged to find ways to still put home-cooked meals on the table with about 30 minutes to prep. The real challenge has been to find a way to pre-prep the food without losing any of the quality. Some veggies lend themselves well to pre-slicing, some side dishes can be made ahead and warmed, but the real stinker is meat.

I'll admit, I am picky about meat. I like a good cut of meat to begin with, and I can't stand meat that has that 'old' taste to it. Whether it's from sitting in the fridge or from freezer burn...I just can't stomach it. So what's a girl to do when she does not have the time to stop by the market every day to get fresh meat?

I have finally found my answer when it comes to chicken! It's been a lot of trial and error, but I found the method that produces a good post-freezer result.

I started off by getting four good roasting chickens. In the picture below, you'll see all four in one pan, but for roasting, I split them into two pans, so they weren't crowded.

We cooled them completely, and then I set Noelle to work on getting every bit of meat off of them that she could. (She has requested that next time we do two chickens at a time. ;o)

Once she had all the meat off the bone, I started making gravy. Now you could just do chicken broth, and if you're going to use the chicken in something non-gravy based, that's a good option. But for quality purposes, I really prefer the gravy method. Broth freezing was ok, but the meat texture was better with the gravy. (Gravy recipe below.) 

I made enough gravy to just cover the chicken, mixed it up and let it cool down a bit. Then we packaged it up in gallon size freezer bags. (Be sure to label and date your freezer food...no one wants to play the "How Long Has This Been In Here?" guessing game!)

Here's what we use this chicken for, usually in the crock pot.

Chicken and biscuits

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Noodle Soup (add more broth) 

Chicken/broccoli/stuffing casserole

Chicken and Mashed potatoes

Chicken Stew (with dumplings, yum!)

Gravy Recipe (May take more than one batch, depending on how much chicken you have)

1/2 C Butter

3 Tbsp bouillon concentrate (Better than Bouillon is my favorite)
1/2 C Flour
2 Quarts water

Melt butter and bouillon, slowly incorporate flour until smooth.

Cook, stirring constantly for about one minute.
While whisking, begin to drizzle in water, pouring slowly until all water is added. 

Continue to whisk til smooth, stir until it starts to thicken.

Remove from heat, and it's ready to use.

Hope this is useful for you. I have been delighted many times to open the freezer and find that my dinner issues were solved because I'd already done the work!

Blessings from my kitchen to yours, 

Leni

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes for a Crowd

Finally, I get to share some wedding recipes with you!

I made a lot of these. 200 pumpkin cheesecakes...I was swimming in cheesecakes! lol

This was what we put on our cupcake tower for the wedding. They really were not terribly hard to make, and once you get the process going, it goes quickly. These would be great for Thanksgiving or Christmas, also. They freeze wonderfully, and my older kids have discovered they like them straight out of the freezer like a pudding pop. (Remember those?)

Because I was making so many of them, I bought 3 oz paper cups to bake them in. These are the type that stand straight up, and don't spread out when you fill them. I had to order online to find them, but they were worth it.

I played with this recipe for a while before I found just the right dimensions. I hope you enjoy!

Fresh out of the oven.

On the cupcake tower at the wedding.

Leni's Notes:
~Baking times will vary, but lean toward undercooked rather than over cooked. If they over cook, they get really dried out.
~Remember that when it comes to cheesecake, less is more with the mixing. You want to just combine your ingredients, without incorporating a bunch of air into it. Over beating will also give you a tough texture.
~These can be dressed up with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon or a drizzle of caramel sauce.
~They freeze well, but if they get thawed and refrozen, the cookies will go to mush.
~You can make these gluten free by leaving out the gingersnap, however without it, you will not get a nice level surface. Without the cookie, they tend to sink in a bit.

Mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes for a Crowd
This recipe makes 3 dozen servings.

4 (8 oz.) packages of cream cheese, softened (Full or low fat, don NOT use fat free)
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
32 Gingersnap cookies (one box is usually enough)
32 paper baking cups
1 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg

Beat cream cheese and sugar together.
Add eggs one at a time, beat just until smooth.
Add pumpkin and spices, beat just until combined.
Line cupcake pan with liners. Place a gingersnap flat side down in each liner.
Fill with cream cheese mixture, leaving about a centimeter clearance at the top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
Allow cheesecakes to cool and store in the fridge or freezer.
To serve: Remove from freezer, but keep chilled until ready to serve.

Crockpot Enchilada Casserole

First, an apology for the delay with this week's post. I fear as the wedding gets closer there may be more instances of this happening. 24 days to go!

Now I know that the picture below might cause confusion. I admit, I am recycling my photos! Today I'm sharing the recipe for the casserole that uses the sauce I posted last week. 

Who doesn't love an enchilada? Who loves taking the time to roll each enchilada? Always looking for a way to speed the process, we developed this crock pot casserole. It's cheap, it's filling, and if you've got a household full of teenagers, they will leave the table satisfied and not be back in 10 minutes claiming hunger again.

When we go camping (in a cabin, I do not do tents any more!) I make these either in the crock or in individual servings in foil cake pans. They can be popped in an oven or over coals to cook. I make them ahead and freeze, just thaw before cooking. 

Leni's Notes:
~Very versatile, feel free to change up the ingredients. Pick and choose from the lists below. Go wild and throw in whatever floats your boat!
~This can be done in the oven also, it's very much a "cook until done" recipe. When the cheese is melty and starting to brown, it's done.
~This is a terrific meal to keep in the freezer for those occasions when you want to send a meal to a friend who is laid up or for those nights when you just didn't have time to pull dinner together.

Ingredients
(for an 8 qt crock pot)

1/2 recipe of enchilada sauce (link above)
1 package whole wheat tortillas
1 large can fat free refried beans
2# browned ground beef
Shredded cheddar
Sour Cream and Salsa for serving

Instructions

~Grease your cooking container of choice
~Spoon some sauce into the bottom of the container
~Combine the refried beans with some enchilada sauce to make it easier to spread
~Combine the meat with some enchilada sauce to make it easier to spread
~Layers:
Tortilla
Meat mixture
Cheese
Tortilla
Bean Mixture
Cheese
~Repeat until your cooking container is full, ending with tortillas
~Top with a good healthy dose of sauce, so it runs down in and saturates the casserole.
~Sprinkle some cheese on top, cook until done. (It can handle high for 4-5 hours, if it's going to be on longer than that, cook on low.)

Serve with sour cream and salsa.

It's not pretty to look at on the plate. My kids say that just scares off the people who don't know any better, leaving more for them. ;o)

Alternate Ingredients
Whole canned beans (black, pinto, navy...)
Rice (makes a great filler for stretching a budget!)
Grilled chicken (or leave the meat out altogether)

From my home to yours, enjoy!

Meatball Evolution Meatloaf

It's been a hectic week. My youngest daughter has been keeping the kitchen moving and making sure we don't all starve to death while we get through the end-of-semester crazies. This week she tackled a favorite of ours that she'd never made before. It was such a hit, we had her make it again two days later.

Before I found this recipe, meatloaf was one of those things that everyone loved, but the leftovers ended up getting thrown out. Nothing gets thrown out now, and my kids are very put out if they happen to miss out on dinner that night. There are no pictures today...they ate it all! I found one pan of leftovers! As you can see, our wee Irish hearts love potatoes, too.

I picked up this cookbook because the title promised so many good things. Dollars to Donuts: Comfort Food & Kitchen Wisdom from Froute 66's Landmark Rock Cafe. How do you pass that up? Then I started reading it, and it spoke to my heart. Cook once, make two or three different meals. Good meals. Cheap and irresistible. A working mom's dream. IF the recipes were good.

I tried a couple, and they turned out well. But the meatballs...they went beyond good. I had to chase my family out of the kitchen when I cooked them! I had a link for the meatballs, but the link seems to be dead. It also doesn't give the instructions for the meatloaf, so I'm going to post that here. Best meatloaf. Best ever. Trust me.

Leni's Notes:
~Something I don't think I've ever posted before. Don't change anything. I tweak everything to our liking. This recipe is perfect exactly the way it is.
~These meatballs freeze really well, and are great for stocking up the freezer.
~Double the glaze recipe for dipping.

Meatball Evolution
from Dollars to Donuts, pg 24

1 C dry bread crumbs
1 C milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 C parmesan
1 lg onion, chopped
1/4 C parsley
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1 T olive oil for frying

Meatballs

Make the meat mixture. Place the bread crumbs and milk in a small bowl, stir together, and set aside. Whisk the eggs and 1 cup of the Parmesan together in a large bowl. Stir in the onion, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper and then add the beef and the breadcrumb mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon or your hands until the mixture is well combined. Use your hands to roll golf ball–size pieces into smooth balls.

Cook the meatballs. Heat the oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add enough meatballs to fill the pan without overcrowding and cook, covered, until browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes total. Transfer the meatballs to a paper towel–lined plate, sprinkle with some of the remaining Parmesan, and set aside. Repeat with the remaining meatballs. Stir the meatballs into sauce or serve as is, sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan.

(These also bake well...wing it, bake until they are done. ;o)

Meatloaf
1/2 of meat recipe from meatball evolution
(Recipe calls for 6 fresh sage leaves which I didn't have so I left out.)
3 Bacon slices

Glaze
1/2 cup ketchup
1T honey
1 tsp hot sauce
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

Place the meatloaf mixture in a bread pan or on a broiler pan, poke down through with a wooden spoon handle to help it cook evenly. If you're using bacon, place it on top.

Bake at 350 for about 1 1/4 hours. Remove from oven, and slather with glaze. Bake 10-15 more minutes.