Out of the can, into the pan brown bean Chili

This is the easiest chili ever.  If you can fry beef and open a tin can, you my friend can make dinner!

My Aunt Mere is the originator of this recipe - hers has a bit more variety in beans so change it up if you got a love fest for beans.  Personally I think beans and lentils were put on the earth just to torture me so the lack of beans here makes me happy :)

First up : Ingredients

1 can of tomato sauce

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 can of brown beans in tomato sauce (don't get the pork or molasses)

1 lb of beef

1 onion

2 tablespoons of brown sugar

Corn - I used frozen because I had that but canned works too.

Seasonings - I dumped one pack of chili seasoning, a few teaspoons of the tupperware chipotle seasoning, a teaspoon of beef/steak spice, and some fresh ground pepper.

Method :

Throw the beef in a frying pan, while this is frying, chop up the onion.  

In a bigger pot dump in all the canned goods and corn. 

Look at that can opening madness!!

Beans beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you...

When beef is looking mostly cooked, drain off excess fat, and season the snot out of it - I didn't add the chipotle seasoning to the meat - I added that later.  Seasoning is 100% to your taste so go wild if that floats your boat.

When onions are softened up and translucent dump them in the pot of goods(aka the tomato etc.) and giver a stir.  Taste.  Add a bit more seasoning & brown sugar.  Stir.  Taste.  Let simmer while you heat up some buns and yell for your kids to come set the table.

We thrown sour cream, grated cheese, green onions, and french's fried onions on top.  We've also been known to toss some cooked rice into the bowl.  The occasional tortilla chip makes a crunchy topping too!

Now let's eat!

Poor Man's Beef Stroganoff

Quick!  I have 5 minutes to write this before my next batch of the best ever Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies are coming out of the oven!


I want to know - what is YOUR go to recipe if you are in a quick jam to get some supper on the table?  This "recipe" was given to me when I was first married and I invited my aunt to hang out at our house in between work and her next activity.  I didn't have any plans for supper so she said that as long as she didn't have to move from the couch and make it, she would tell me what to make - and it was a hit!  I've made this as a meal to drop off at people's houses, and given the recipe to friends with the instructions "it looks disgusting, but tastes so good!"  And they agree afterwards!


Ready for this?  I call it...


Poor Man's Beef Stroganoff


- Brown 1 lb of ground beef
- Add 1 can of mushroom soup (no water) to the cooked brown beef & mix
- Boil a pot of water and cook a bunch of broad egg noodles.
- Add salt & pepper, the cooked egg noodles and a bunch of frozen peas (or in my case, corn, because I think peas are disgusting).


Wha-bam!  Dinner is served.  Cheap and easy.


And my cookie timer went.  So easy, it took less than 5 minutes to type!  Try it out!

See my fantastic web-cam picture?  I'm too lazy to upload from a real camera.  I didn't add peas/corn this time and boiled peas separately as having food not mixed together seems to better my odds in having the kids eat it - and it worked!  They asked for seconds of boiled peas!

Black Bean & Sausage Soup

Mmmmmm....my favourite soup of all time, from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

I introduced one of my best friends to this soup, and she fell in love with it as well.  It's our comfort food.  If we're down, one of us will whip it up for the other.  This soup makes me happy - I could eat it and eat it and eat it...hence why I double the recipe. 

My friend uses a can of mixed beans instead of black beans, which can be a nice colourful variation.

(Don't let my poor webcam picture throw you off!)

I use the quick version, with the black beans already cooked from a can (just remember to always rinse your beans & the extra salt off before adding them to your soup!).  Quick and easy!

2 - 15oz can Black Beans  (Canada, ours comes in 19 oz., so I use 3 cans when I triple the recipe)
1.5 c. chicken broth
2 c. water
1 c. chopped onion (one large)
1 c. chopped celery (2 stalks)
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp red pepper *
4 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp. already diced garlic)
8 oz cooked, smoked, Polish or turkey sausage (I usually can't find this, so I use garlic sausage)

*If you don't want it too spicy for your kids, omit this the red pepper or use black pepper, or add only little bits at a time until it's how you like.

Combine everything (except sausage) in a large pot, bring to boil.  Simmer for 15 minutes until veggies are cooked.  Add sausage and heat through.  Serve with dollops of sour cream (optional, but ever so yummy!).

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies

Did you ever think you could improve on chocolate chip oatmeal cookies?  Well I have finally found the end of the search for the best chocolate chip cookies ever!  Bet you can't eat just one!  These are so good, they are almost evil.  I'm about to make them right now!  I figure oatmeal cookies are equivalent to granola bars, which my son can't eat.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
(from The Frog Commissary Cookbook)  I don't own the cookbook, until now...I just ordered it off my new favourite used webiste, Biblio.com, for $5 (including shipping), based on this recipe alone.  I saw it had 5 stars on Amazon.com, and figured if everyone else loves it, and if a few of the recipes are as good as this one, it will be money well spent!

1 c. butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 Tbsp milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 c. oats (rolled or "quick," but not "instant")
2 c. chocolate chips (about 12-oz.)

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars until mixture is light in color. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the milk and the vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Either by hand or with the mixer on low speed, gradually beat the flour in to the sugar mixture until just incorporated.
Stir in the oats and chocolate chips by hand.
Drop 1-inch balls of dough onto the cookie sheet, placing about 1 1/2 inches apart so they have room to spread.
Bake at 350F for 10-13 minutes, until golden brown at the edges and light golden at the center.
Cool on baking sheet for at least 1-2 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 4 dozen.

Notes:  I reduce the amount of chocolate chips.  I also double the recipe, bake 1/3 of it, then put the other 2/3rds into two ziploc bags which I can pull out another evening and impress everyone with my no mess, freshly baked cookies.  Except that I love cookie dough, so not all of it makes it into the pan.

Picnic Chicken Salad

My whole side of the family was having dinner at the lake, so I found this recipe online and whipped it up just in time for the lake. (Phew!)

It was SOOOO good.  My brothers are generally picky eaters, but no one could get enough of this!

The only downfall I think, is that didn't have mayonnaise, so I replaced it with salad dressing, and also didn't have time to refrigerate it, so I think that played into why it fell apart a bit when slicing it.  Next time, I think I would just serve it on buns.  I love how they used the lettuce to line the bread so it didn't get soggy!

Ingredients: 
1 large round loaf of bread (boule or Calabrese loaf)  I used sourdough.
⅓ cup mayonnaise
½ tsp curry powder
¼ tsp paprika
3 cups cooked chicken, cubed (about 3 breasts)
1 cup green grapes, halved   I used red grapes - just as good!
½ cup celery, chopped
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted
¼ cup thinly sliced green onions
1 sweet red pepper, diced   I skipped the peppers - I hate peppers!
Salt and black pepper
Romaine lettuce

Prep and Cook

Slice off the top 2 inches of the loaf in one big piece and set aside.
Hollow out the bread, leaving a shell ½ inch thick.
In a medium bowl, stir together mayonnaise, curry powder and paprika.
Stir in chicken, grapes, celery, almonds, green onion, red pepper and salt and black pepper to taste.
Line the bread bowl with lettuce leaves and spoon chicken mixture into the bread.
Replace the bread top. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until picnic time.
To serve, using a bread knife, slice the boule into wedges, so guests have ready-made sandwiches.

*Good to know: Save time by buying ready-made cooked chicken and make the chicken salad the day before. Toast almonds in a dry frying pan over medium heat and toast the nuts for a few minutes until brown. Cube and save leftover bread to make stuffing, bread crumbs or homemade croutons at a later date.

Chickpea Tabbouleh Salad

My DH & I just love this salad.  Love love love!  It has everything you need in it, and it's so easy to just shove in a container and run out the door.

I'm all about simple meals, so I serve this as an entire meal (though I believe it's normally an appetizer).  My 2 sons are in a "I hate this" phase and are no longer obsessed about chick peas, so instead of serving this with toasted pita bread, I've started serving it with tortilla chips, which I only give out 3-5 at a time to bribe more bites of salad out of them.  My DD only 14 months, can't get enough of this salad - yay for one kid not complaining!

Here's my variation from the original recipe from Canadian Living.

Ingredients 

1 c. couscous (this is my variation - the original recipe calls for bulgur)

1 can drained and rinsed chickpea

2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 c. diced English cucumbers

1 c. minced fresh Italian parsley

1/2 c. chopped green onions

1/4 c. chopped fresh mint

Dressing

1/4 c. lemon juice

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

(Don't be too generous with your lemon juice - it can be very strong!)

Preparation:

In saucepan, bring 1-1/3 cups water to boil; stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and cook for 5 minutes or until no liquid remains. Transfer to large bowl, fluffing with fork. Let cool to room temperature.

Add chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, onions and mint.

Dressing:

In small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, garlic, salt and pepper; pour over couscous mixture and toss to combine.

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing

Such a big hit whenever I make it! I've adapted it since I originally posted it on a previous page (http://www.squidoo.com/canadadayparty), so if you need exact measurements, try the one on that page, otherwise, give the below salad a try!

- Raw spinach (optional, add romaine lettuce)
- Strawberries (I cut into 4 pieces)
- Feta cheese sprinkled on top
- Red onions sliced & cut into 1 in. pieces (I only like a small taste, so I use about 1/4 c.)
- Handful of *toasted walnuts (or any nuts)

Dressing:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
3 TBSP red wine vinegar
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions

1. In a large salad bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries, sliced onion, nuts & cheese.
2. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, milk and poppy seeds. Shake well and pour the dressing over salad or serve with dressing on the side.


*toasting the nuts brings out a better flavour - if you haven't had toasted nuts before, you've missed out! Throw some on a cookie sheet and put in a 350 degree oven for 5 - 10 minutes.