Two Guests and a Pot Full of Chili

We raise chickens around here.  We try to avoid roosters.  In the past six years raising fifty or so chickens, we have only ended up with one rooster by mistake.  Just one.  Until this week.   These two just showed up out of the blue.

We have checked with neighbors, but no one seems to be missing these two boys.  Apparently, they think this is home.  They hang out all day around here and don't seem to be in a hurry to leave.  They are beautiful to look at and I like seeing them outside the window.  I even like hearing them crow.  I guess they can stay...for awhile.  As long as they leave the ladies alone!

So...on to the recipe. 

Today was one of those days.  Snowy.  Rainy.  Cold.  Nothing beats homemade soup and bread on one of those days.  So chili and cornbread hit the spot.
 

I use the Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Cornbread Mix for my cornbread.  I use almond milk instead of regular milk and olive oil instead of butter to make it dairy free.  It is yummy!  It is definitely a family favorite. 

Chili:

2 onions chopped
8 cloves of garlic minced
2 lbs hamburger
2 cans of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups of frozen corn
1 can tomato paste
1 large can (29 oz) tomato puree
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
6 tsp Mrs Dash Fiesta Lime (you may want to adjust this to taste)
2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
Water

In a large pot, brown hamburger over medium heat.  Add garlic and onions and cook til translucent.  Add salt and pepper.  Mix tomato paste into the hamburger mixture.  Add beans, corn, tomatoes, and tomato puree.  Mix together.  Add Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning to taste.  Add enough water to your desired thickness.  Mix in brown sugar.

Bring chili to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for an hour.

This was delicious.  Using the Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime seasoning gave the chili such an amazing blend of flavors.  The addition of the brown sugar was a last minute thought that turned out to be absolutely wonderful.  It mellowed the tomato taste and really added a rich note to the chili.

I also used tomatoes that I had diced and froze from my garden this past summer instead of canned tomatoes.  This is something that is so easy to do and definitely worth while. When the tomatoes are on in full force during the summer months I freeze the abundance for that fresh garden flavor in the winter.  I freeze cherry tomatoes whole and then bag them in quart size bags.  They are great to add to soups.  For diced tomatoes, I dice 1 3/4 cups of tomatoes and pour all the contents into a quart size bag.  This is equivalent to a can of diced tomatoes.

This recipe made 14 servings.  I freeze the leftovers in individual serving size bowls to be used for lunches later on in the month. 

I hope you enjoy!

Because Sarah Asked.......The Soup Recipe

This is such a busy time of year!  I am currently working on my Christmas menus, trying to make everything gluten and dairy free.  I will start baking and cooking/freezing what I can a head of time trying to leave only what is necessary for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

I do have to say that Christmas cooking absolutely destroyed my budget.  Well, that is not exactly true.  I haven't even bought most of that and I have already shattered my budget.  I found myself in the position of being so busy that I actually did not have time to go to the grocery store.  I adapted my monthly menu and used up staples on my pantry shelves.  When I did make it to the store, I was out of a lot of items that I needed.  Not good.

I am excited to start pulling out recipes and planning.  That is the goal for today.  Before I go though, Sarah from Amongst Lovely Things asked me to post this recipe :)  So, here it is!  The recipe comes from another good friend, Angela, who made this for a surprise baby shower. It was a big hit!  I have adapted it a bit and it has become a new family favorite.

This recipe makes a large batch and we had plenty leftover to freeze in individual containers.  The last batch I made had 14 servings and cost $11.69 to make.  That is only 84 cents a serving.  Making a large batch and freezing a portion is a great cost effective way to have soup on hand and is healthier than the canned soups which are quite expensive.  I hope you enjoy!

ANGELA'S SOUP:

1 large onion chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
3-4 carrots chopped
salt and pepper (to taste)
2 Tablespoons of olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic minced
Sausage (I have used venison German sausage sliced, Aidells Chicken & Apple Smoked Chicken Sausage from Costco, and Amylu's Kickin' Cranberry Chicken Meatballs with Jalapeno Peppers from Costco.  Our favorite is the cranberry meatballs.  I quartered each meatball and used only one individual pack from the larger package.)
3-4 small potatoes peeled and diced
1-2 sweet potatoes peeled and diced
2 cans of beans (I have used kidney beans, black beans, and cannellini beans.  Use what you have on hand.  I usually use two different kinds.)
4 cups of chicken broth
3 cups of water
2 large cans of tomato sauce
Bay leaf
2-3 cups of frozen veggies (I have used peas, corn, and cut green beans)
2-3 handfuls of fresh spinach, chopped


In a large stock pot, saute onions, celery, carrots with the olive oil.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Cook until the onions are translucent.  Add the garlic and sausage.  Add the potatoes, canned beans, broth, water, tomato sauce, and bay leaf.  Cook on low several hours.  The smell is delicious!  An hour before serving, add your frozen veggies.  You can add more water if needed due to evaporation.  Twenty minutes before serving add the chopped spinach. 

I have made this on the stove top and in a crock pot.  You need to adjust times for the crock pot.  Cook on low all day or several hours on high.

The Perfect Autumn Day For Soup!

Today was your typical fall day.  The day started with very crisp air and a fine fog weaving its way through the pine trees.  The colors by mid-afternoon were vibrant against the monochromatic grey sky.  By evening the deer had gathered down the hill where I could see them from my kitchen window.  A mama and her fawn nosing through the yellowed grasses.  The smells of onions and garlic wafted through the air.  The perfect day for soup!

When I make soup, I make soup; lots of soup!  This is the perfect meal for batch cooking.   I usually make two different kinds at the same time.  Tonight I made a chicken vegetable rice in one pot and a vegetable beef in a second pot.  I figure since there are many ingredients that overlap, it is just easier to make two.  Clean up is easier too, especially since it is Allspice's night for dishes!

Tonight we had soup and biscuits.  The best part: after eating 10 bowls of soup, the rest is ladled into individual containers which I put in the freezer to use for lunches.

There are 17 lunches ready to place in the freezer!

 I have a hard time spending $2.00 or more for a can of soup when I can make homemade soup for so much cheaper.  Tonight's vegetable beef cost $10.50 and made the equivalent of 15 cans of soup.  That's 70 cents a serving!  The chicken vegetable rice cost $7.19 and made 12 servings.  Each serving is only 60 cents.  Good for you and the budget!

I hope you enjoy these recipes.  I do want to apologize though.  I am one of those cooks who tends to not measure things or just throws things in at the last minute.  Sometimes, in trying to write the recipe, it may reflect that a bit.  I don't follow a recipe when I make soup either.  Most of the time I make it from what I have on hand.  So with that, if you have any questions, let me know and I will try and clear it up!

CHICKEN VEGETABLE RICE SOUP:

1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbsp olive oil
4-5 celery stalks with leaves, chopped
2 medium carrots chopped
1/2 bag of frozen broccoli florets
1/2 bag of frozen peas
1 container (32 oz) chicken broth.  I use this kind.
1 can of chicken (12.5 oz) or 1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken
1 1/2 cups of Minute Rice
Water
Bay leaf
Seasonings (I use salt, garlic pepper, basil, oregano, and Italian seasonings to taste)
 
In a large pot saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.  Add celery and carrots.  Add broccoli and peas and continue to cook over medium heat until thawed.  Add chicken, broth, and rice.  Fill the rest of the pot with water.  Add bay leaf and seasonings to taste.  Bring to a boil.  Turn down heat to simmer for approximately 20 minutes.  If two much evaporates during this stage you can always add more broth or water. I added both.

 My pot is not as big as I would like and so after we ate dinner I added more water and some seasonings to balance the ratio of liquid and solids in order to freeze it.

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP:

1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 1/2 to 2 lbs of hamburger
1 small can of mushrooms
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 can of tomato paste
1 can of kidney beans; drained and rinsed
1 can of black beans; drained and rinsed
2 cans of diced tomatoes with their juices
2 cans of tomato sauce
Water
Bay leaf
Seasonings to taste (I used salt and garlic pepper, basil, oregano, garlic salt)

Brown your hamburger along with the onions and minced garlic.  When the hamburger is cooked drain the meat.  Add frozen vegetables and mushrooms.  Stir in the tomato paste.  Add water to rinse the can.  Add kidney beans, black beans, and diced tomatoes.  Add tomato sauce.  I add water to rinse the cans.  Fill the remainder of the pot with water stirring to incorporate all ingredients.  Add your bay leaf and seasonings to taste.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for approximately 20 minutes.