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).

Grilled Cheese

I was flipping through a Cooking Light Stacey let me look through and saw a recipe for a Sun-dried Tomato, Roasted Garlic, and White bean dip. I thought it would make a good soup instead.

1 recipe Heidi's Tomato Sauce:
[3 Garlic Cloves, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 olive oil
1 28oz can Crushed tomatoes
1 Lemon Zest] <--Heidi's Sauce ingredients
1 cup dried Navy Beans
3 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 Onion, quatered
1 head Garlic
Salt
Pepper

Soak the beans overnight. Then cook in water with Smashed Garlic Cloves and Quatered Onion for 1h-1.5h. Save about 2 cups of the Bean cooking water and drain the beans.

Spray the Garlic Head with Pam or rub with oil. Wrap the Garlic Head in foil and roast the Garlic Head @ 400 degrees for 1h.

Put the 1/4 cup of oil in a small (~2 qt) saucepan. Add the red pepper flakes, salt and garlic to the oil. Turn the stove to medium-high heat for ~45sec - 1m. Add the canned tomatoes, stir and heat throughly. When the Sauce is hot zest the lemon into the sauce, stir and remove from heat.

Puree the Beans and roasted garlic cloves (removing the papery skin), using the bean water to thin to your liking. When thinned, stir in the tomato sauce. Serve with Grilled Cheese.

Grilled Cheese

Mozzarella, sliced
Parmesan, grated
Bread
Butter
Fresh Basil Leaves

Lay mozzarella slices on one slice of bread; top Mozzarella with Basil Leaves. Melt butter in skillet. Place Mozzarella Bread in skillet, bread side down. Place Parmesan on second slice of bread. Broil Parmesan Bread, bread side down. [Watch the Parmesan bread closely and don't burn them like I did] Once the Mozzarella starts to melt add the Parmesan Bread, leaving the Parmesan up:

Parmesan
Bread
Basil
Mozzarella
Bread

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.)

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! :)