Testing Pot

I've been looking for an excuse to use the big pot my brother got me for Christmas. So I made some chili to test my new pot.

Chili
2 onions, chopped
4 serrano peppers, chopped
1 Ancho Chile, chopped
20 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lb ground chuck
3 28oz cans of fire roasted tomatoes
4c dried kidney beans, soaked overnight and drained
2-6c stock or water
1/4c Fresh Oregano, chopped
2T cumin, ground
Salt to taste


Saute onions, garlic, serrano, ancho, and ground meat until the ground meat stays separated into crumb sized clumps. Add tomatoes, kidney beans, and stock. Add just enough stock or water to cover the beans with an inch of liquid. Simmer chili covered for 1h. Add oregano, cumin, and salt. Boil chili uncovered for 30m. Add salt to taste again (the beans will have absorbed some of the salt).

Chili

We got these fancy hot dogs and didn't have any chili in the freezer. So I ended up making some chili for our fancy hot dogs.

1/2 cup dried kidney beans
1 beer
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lb ground meat
2 T chili powder
2 T fresh oregano, chopped
1 T cumin
1/2 T red pepper
3-4 diced tomatoes
Salt

Soak the kidney beans in water for about 8-12 hours. Cook the kidney beans in the beer. (I use my pressure pot but, one can cook them in beer and water for 45-60 minutes and get about the same results.) Set aside the beans with their cooking liquid. In a different pot, cook the onions, garlic, bell pepper, ground meat, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and red pepper. When the meat is browned, add the tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes covered. Add the beans and their cooking liquid and boil until the chili becomes thick. (You're evaporating the excess water from the chili.)

Vaguely Healthy Omelet - at least it's not a donut

So lately, I've been attempting to make more nutritionally balanced meals. My success is not very encouraging, but I've decided to just keep at it until I get it right.

Goat Cheese Omelet with Green Onions and Oregano

1 Tbl Butter
3 Eggs
2 Tbl Green Onions, chopped
1 tsp Oregano, chopped
3 oz Goat Cheese, crumbed

Whisk the Eggs, Green Onions, and Oregano. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. When the butter starts to foam add the Egg Mixture. Gently shake the skillet until the bottom eggs are set. Add the Goat Cheese and gently stir the top of the eggs without scraping the bottom eggs. Continue to stir the top eggs occasionally until the omelet is cooked. When the omelet is cooked, you can either fold it in half or fold it in thirds.

Marinara - Skinned Tomatoes with Style

Ms. Shirley wanted Red Sauce for her birthday, so she gets Spaghetti and Meatballs. I ended up making it twice since I listen to my husband about how many tomatoes to buy. The good part about not buying enough tomatoes the first time is that I ended up with a more realistically portioned recipe. With minimal further ado, Spaghetti with Meatballs for 4-6 people - when they have salad and bread on the side.

Olive Oil
1 Onion, finely chopped
5 Cloves of Garlic, minced
6lb Roma Tomatoes, skinned and crushed
1 Bell Pepper, chopped
1 c Dry Red Wine
1 Tbs Fresh Oregano
1 Tbs Fresh Basil
1 Bay Leaf
Cooked Noodles

Use enough Olive Oil to lightly coat the Onion and Garlic. Cook the Onion and Garlic in the Olive Oil over medium-high heat until softened. Add the Roma Tomatoes; stir to combine; and cook on high heat until the sauce begins to bubble. When the sauce begins to bubble, cover the sauce and turn the heat to medium. Cook the sauce covered for an hour, stirring every 5-10 minutes. After an hour (the previously mentioned hour), remove the cover and add the: Bell Pepper, Dry Red Wine, Fresh Oregano, Fresh Basil, and Bay Leaf. Stir to combine and cook uncovered for another 1 - 2 hours, until most of the water boils off. Serve over Cooked Noodles.

Notes:
One chopped onion, in the south, is generally about 3/4 cup.
The 5 minced cloves of garlic are 1 1/2 - 2 Tbs of Garlic.
To skin a tomato:
Boil enough water to cover the tomato.
Add the tomato.
When the tomato's skin splits, put it in ice water.
Once the tomato is cool enough to touch, the skin should come off.
If the skin doesn't come off, repeat the process.
One chopped Bell Pepper is usually about 1/2 cup.
Dried herbs can be used. For me it's worth the extra money to buy fresh herbs, since it takes 3 hours to make this sauce.

In The Joy of Cooking, I used the "Italian-Style Meatballs" recipe for the meatballs in my "Spaghetti and Meatballs."

Happy Birthday, Ms. Shirley and I hope you enjoy your meal! :)