Quick Cooking Chili

This is very easy, and it is very quick. It is perfectly satisfying and makes great leftovers, too, since the flavors just blend even more (as with most soups or chilis). I have a more complicated chili recipe, and there's a reason it's so deluxe, but this one is a great recipe to go to for the regular shortcut.

Quick Cooking Chili
printable version

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, diced
1 fresh green pepper, diced (optional)
2 cans (10.75 oz each) tomato soup
1 can water
2 cups cooked red beans, rinsed and drained (close to 2 cans, 15 oz. each)
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce (or taco seasoning)
1 TBS molasses OR brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef in pan. Drain.
Add diced onion and cook until tender.
Add green pepper, soup, water, and cooked red beans.
Add spices to taste.
Cook for 20 minutes on low heat on stovetop, stirring occasionally.

No-Cook Playdoh

Maybe it's just that my pantry is the wrong place for playdoh, but up until I tried this recipe, all my playdoh batches went moldy. And that's annoying, because playdoh should last forever.This stuff does! So besides that, what makes this superior is that it's really easy to make several colors from one batch--you just knead the color in as opposed to coloring the water during cooking.

No-Cook Playdoh
printable version

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
2 TBS cream of tartar
2 TBS oil
1 cup boiling water

Mix dry ingredients, add wet, stir.
Knead in color. (Separate before kneading for different colored batches).

Mandarin Orange Salad

Technically, this is a jello salad...Utah Mormons are notorious for those. But you use the dry jello powder, so don't worry. It's safe. :D And it's so adaptable that a better title would be Fruit Jello Salad, except that sounds like what I said it's not: Utah Mormon Jello Salad. Nope, this stuff is scrumptious.

Mandarin Orange Salad
printable version

1 small carton (16 oz.) cottage cheese
1 small package (.6 oz) dry orange flavored jello
1 small carton (8 oz.) cool whip
3 cans (11 oz. each) drained mandarin oranges

Mix cottage cheese, jello and cool whip. Fold in mandarin oranges.

Variations: Endless! Fresh/frozen strawberries with strawberry jello
mini marshmallows with any jello/pudding
pineapples with pistachio jello/pudding
Etc! Any fruit with any accommodating jello/pudding!

Grandma's Granola

Grandma Drinda Hansen has perfected her granola recipe over the years, and even though I can't capture her exact idiosyncrasies, I can get close! I've watched her make this and made it with her, and it is the most satisfying granola I have ever had. My favorite way to eat it is on some vanilla yogurt with berries...and my second favorite way to eat it is all by itself, warm from the oven.

Grandma's Granola
printable version

Melt and stir together:
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup honey
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp mexican vanilla
~1 cup peanut butter (pref. "Adam's")

Mix together and add to butter mixture:
4 cups oats (2 c rolled, 2 c quick)
1/2 cup coconut flakes
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds

Pat into 11x15 pan (cookie sheet/jelly roll pan)
Bake at 300--
20 minutes, break enough to flip pieces over
15 minutes, flip
10 minutes, flip and break up remaining pieces into small chunks

Let cool (or eat warm--it's like cookies).
Amazingly delicious!!!

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

Doesn't everyone have a recipe for this dish? Seems like it's one of those meals. This is my own compilation, adapted from other versions of the recipe. It is quite good, and it has a little more flavor to it than some of the simpler versions.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

printable version

4 skinned boneless chicken breast halves
1 lb. broccoli florets, cooked/steamed
* * *
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of mushroom soup
1 (10.75 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup milk
* * *
1 minced garlic clove
1/8 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp italian seasoning
tiny pinch of powdered ginger
* * *
1 cup dry stuffing mix (or crushed Chex)
1 cup cheddar cheese, grated

Boil chicken and cut or shred.
Layer in 9x13 pan: chicken, steamed broccoli.
In separate bowl, mix soups, milk and spices. Spread over broccoli.
Sprinkle cheese over mixture.
Sprinkle stuffing mix or cereal over cheese.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

Buttermilk Scones

Pictured with Deluxe Homestyle Chili. This isn't the most flattering picture-- it was taken with my phone. But these scones are delicious as you could want them to be! 

Buttermilk Scones

printable version

1 qt. hot buttermilk (4 cups)
2 TBS cooking oil
2 TBS instant yeast
4 TBS honey (or 1/2 cup sugar)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
4 cups bread flour
* * *
4 additional cups bread flour

Mix everything together very well; add last 4 cups of flour, mix till dough pulls away from the sides of mixing bowl (not too dry). Let rise until double.
Heat oil in electric skillet or fyer to 375-400. (Or heat in frying pan and use dough test when ready).
Roll dough out on a lightly oiled countertop to about 1/4" thick. Cut into slices with dough/pizza cutter (plastic recommended to avoid scratching counter). Rolling dough on oil instead of flour keeps the frying oil from getting messy).
The dough can rise a little after it's rolled and cut, but it doesn't have to (doesn't matter)!
If it's too thick, stretch it out before slipping it into the oil or the inside won't cook fast enough.
Fry about a minute or so till golden, flipping to fry both sides.
Set on paper towels when done.

I have made these with regular flour by accident, and they turned out just fine. If you don't have buttermilk, you can substitute it for sour milk (or make your milk sour by adding lemon juice or vinegar, approximately 2 tsp per cup I think? It's not something that has to be exact).

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

This is a really summer-y salad, and even though it might sound like one of those old-people salads, it's actually very tasty. It's got a sweet flavor, and just the perfect balance of chewiness and crunchiness.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad
printable version

2 or 3 heads broccoli
1 head cauliflower
fresh spinach leaves
chopped bacon
cashews
sunflower seeds
raisins
red onions, chopped

Dressing:
1 cup mayo
1/4 cup sugar
1 TBS vinegar

Breadsticks

These are so easy, and they work perfectly as a side for pizza, pasta, chicken, soup, etc.! Anything you'd use breadsticks with! They are delicious. I have no picture...we got to them before the camera did.


Breadsticks
printable version

Stir together and let sit for 10 minutes:
2 cups lukewarm water
3 TBS sugar
1 TBS yeast

Add and beat until smooth and glossy:
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TBS oil

Knead in 2 1/2 cups flour. Let rise till double, approximately 30 minutes.
Roll into greased 11x15 pan (cookie sheet).

Brush on topping:
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup mayo
2 TBS parmesan cheese
dash of salt or onion/garlic salt (really, any seasoning you prefer!)

Let rise until double. Cut with pizza cutter.
Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes.

Black Bean Salsa

This salsa has a sort of tangy flavor with the lime and cilantro. I love it so much! Most salsas are a little too spicey/hot for me, and this one is just perfect...so perfect that I eat a lot of it.


Black Bean Salsa
printable version

~12 servings
prep: 15 minutes
total: 45 minutes

1 can (15 oz.) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (10 oz.) original diced tomatoes and green chilies, drained
1/2 cup whole kernel corn, frozen or canned and drained
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 TBS lime juice
1/4 tsp ground cumin

Mix altogether in medium bowl, cover and refrigerate 30 minutes to allow flavors to blend.