Category Archives: Recipes

Real Men Do Eat Quiche

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Want to hear something stupid? In 1982, a popular book came out called “Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche”.

I never read the book. But it’s satirical message — that masculine men should avoid feminine-type things like eating quiche — took hold during those Reagan-era, flag-waving days.

The early 1980s were the beginning of the New Age movement. And Bruce Feirstein’s book, which was supposed to be a send-up of the anti-feminist pro-American mood that was sweeping the nation at the time, instead found an audience among people who didn’t get the humor and who took its message at face value. The book was on the best-seller list for 55 weeks and sold 1.6 million copies.

The book also had the unfortunate side effect of single-handedly ruining quiche for a generation of American men forever.

Well, I’m bringing it back!

After all, quiche is simply an egg and bacon pie. There’s nothing anti-masculine about it. In fact, it’s quite delicious, easy to make, and extremely cost-effective.

In this version, I used egg whites instead of whole eggs and skim milk, making it a little lower-fat. I kept the bacon, though. Getting rid of it would be unmanly!

Vegetable Quiche

One 9-inch deep dish frozen pie crust

4 slices bacon

1/2 of a 10 oz package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1/2 medium onion, medium dice

1 cup broccoli florets

2 tomatoes, ribs and seeds removed, medium dice

8 oz egg whites (or 4 whole eggs, whisked)

1 cup skim milk

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

1/2 tsp dry dill weed

Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

2 oz goat cheese

1/2 cup shredded chedddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking pan with foil and place pie crust on the sheet.

2. Cook bacon until crisp, then let cool on a paper towel. Chop into small peices then combine in a mixing bowl with spinach, onion, broccoli, and tomato and toss together. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the bottom of the pie crust.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk, then add the granulated garlic and dill weed. Season with salt and pepper then pour over the vegetable mixture.

4. Drop the goat cheese peices into the mixture evenly then sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top.

5. Bake for one hour. Let cool for a few minutes before cutting. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Quiche is great because you can put anything that you have leftover in the refrigerator in it and it will taste great. The goat cheese was expensive — about $4 for just 2 ounces — so you can substitute a less expensive cheese if you wish or leave it out altogether. I would keep the shredded cheddar on top, however, because it adds a nice top crust.

Have you ever been intimidated by a food because of the way it was viewed by popular culture? Share your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Red Sauce

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On busy nights, pasta with red sauce is a great go-to dinner. It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s inexpensive.

A box of pasta and a jar of red sauce can serve at least four people, and together they cost less than $2.50, or about $.63/portion, which is not bad.

What is bad, however, are most jarred tomato sauces. Both the name brand sauces that cost more — like Ragu and Prego — and the store brand or packer brand sauces usually are bland, tasteless and disappointing.

But I’ve been using this recipe to fortify ordinary pasta sauces for years and the result is a tangy, delicious and nutrition-packed red sauce that will please your family and spare your pocket book. Because most of the flavor is added during cooking, you can start with any brand of red sauce. I usually pick up a couple of jars just to keep on hand whenever they go on sale.

This red sauce can go with any pasta, from spaghetti to ravioli to stuffed shells or manicotti. You can even put it on a pizza, although I prefer my extremely simple pizza sauce recipe.

I used rigatoni, one of my favorite pastas. I just love to use it when I’m including Italian sausage in my pasta because they are both about the same shape and it just looks better. I always have plenty of grated parmesan on hand as well.

Whole Wheat Rigatoni with Italian Sausage and Red Sauce

1 box dry whole wheat rigatoni noodles

1 jar red pasta sauce, any kind

3 TBS EVOO, separated

1 onion, medium dice

1/2 green pepper, ribs and seeds removed, medium dice

6 to 8 white button mushrooms, sliced (you can use canned if you want)

3 cloves garlic, rough chop

1 lb Italian sausage, either spicy or mild

1 TBS Italian seasoning

Fresh cracked black pepper

1/4 cup grated parmesan (or more)

1. Cook rigatoni according to package directions, usually 10 minutes. Drain but don’t rinse. Return to pot, drizzle generously with EVOO, season with salt and pepper and toss. Cover and set aside.

2. Put cast iron skillet on the fire. When hot, add EVOO. When smoking, make a slit down the sausage casing and remove sausage from the casing and add to the pan. Use a spantula to break up the sausage into 1″ chunks. Brown about 5 minutes, stirring frequently so that all sides are browned. Set aside.

3. Put sauce pan on the fire. When hot, add EVOO. When smoking, add onions and green pepper. Cook until onions translucent, about five minutes, then add mushrooms and the Italian sausage, making sure to include all the flavorful oil from the bottom of the cast iron pan. Cook until mushrooms browned, about 3 minutes, then add garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook another minute, then pour jar of red suace into the pan and stir. Fill empty jar with a little bit of water, replace lid and shake to get all the excess sauce out, then pour it into the pan and stir. When it begins to bubble, reduce the flame to a simmer and cook about five minutes. Turn it off.

4. To plate, spoon a little of the pasta into the center of a pasta bowl. Then spoon a generous amount of sauce on top of the pasta, making sure to display lots of big chunks of sausage. Sprinkle generously with parmesan cheese.

If you have a small can of sliced black olives lying around, they go great in this recipe as well. I normally serve this with garlic bread and with hot sauce on the side. This makes a great mid-week mid-winter meal.

What fast, inexpensive dishes do you make for your family this time of year? Share your ideas in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog.

Almond Crusted Chicken

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This is a low-fat heart-healthy variation on the classic nut-crusted chicken. Except instead of breading the chicken breasts, they are simply dredged in a mixture of chopped almonds and Panko bread crumbs.

The result was a light yet crispy coating that perfectly complemented the tender meat of the chicken breast.

This is a variation on a recipe I found on one of my favorite blogs, We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat. I served it with steamed long grain rice and broccoli. You practically lose weight looking at this, it’s so good for you.

Panko bread crumbs are just Japanese bread crumbs that are little larger than regular bread crumbs. They are now available in most supermarkets.

Almonds, incidentally, are one of those miracle foods that many nutritionists claim have health benefits, including improving complexion and reducing risk of cancer and heart disease. I have used them while dieting as an appetite supressant. A handful of almonds is usually good enough to keep hunger pangs at bay for at least a couple of hours.

If you have lived in or traveled through Southern California, you know that almonds trees are everywhere. In fact, California produces 80 percent of the world’s almonds and 100 percent of all the almonds consumed in the US are grown there.

Harvesting almonds is fun to watch because the trees are hooked up to these big machines which violently shake the trunks so that all the nuts fall off the tree. They kind of look like those weight belts people used to use.

Best of all, almonds are delicious. I used roasted almonds for this recipe, but raw, smoked or even candied would have been great, too. Almonds just have a very pleasant, distinct slightly sweet flavor.

Almond Crusted Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, about 8 oz each

1 cup roasted almonds, whole

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

Pan spray

1 TBS EVOO

Sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Put almonds in food processor and pulse until chopped fine. Don’t let it run by itself or the nuts will form a paste with the consistency of peanut butter. If you don’t have a food processor, just chop them by hand until fine. Combine in a mixing bowl with the bread crumbs and toss together.

2. Season each chicken breast with salt and pepper then spray with pan spray and dredge in almond/bread crumb mixture until completely covered. Reserve the remaining mixture for later.

2. Put cast iron pan on the fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, add chicken breasts to the pan skin side down, being careful not to splash yourself with hot oil. Sprinkle with some of the remaining almond/bread crumb mixture. Carefully cook chicken breasts until golden brown and turn over. Sprinkle the chicken with more of remaining almond/bread crumb mixture. The almonds will burn easily, so watch them closely.

3. When both sides of chicken are nicely browned. Transfer them to a sheet pan fitted with a baking rack. This will allow the breast to cook more evenly. Sprinkle the remaining almond/bread crumb mixture over chicken and bake at 350F for about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breasts.

There’s nothing complicated about this recipe. It is quick, simple and delicious!

I served these with long grain rice I made in my rice steamer, and fresh broccoli I made in my vegetable steamer. There was a whole lot of steaming going on in my kitchen, I assure you!

What low-fat heart-healthy recipes do you like to make? Share your ideas in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Meat Free Mondays — Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

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We love enchiladas. It’s one of our favorite meals to make and we have it at least twice per month.

The great thing about enchiladas is that you can fill them with anything you want. They are particularly great for using up leftovers or if you want to make a vegetarian dish.

So when I found this enchilada recipe — which I found on this blog by the2beths, one of my favorite blogs — I just knew I had to try it. It had some funky ingredients and even the way it was assembled was way different from my enchilada recipe.

The good news: It was delicious. The sweet potato did not overwhelm the complex flavors of the enchilada as I suspected it would. Instead, it kind of complemented the mushroom-pepper-onion-jalapeno-spinach filling. I also thought the sweet potato would make it too dense, but it didn’t at all. It was light and moist.

The bad news: With the enchilada sauce on the bottom of the casserole dish, instead of mixed in with the filling like I normally make it, the enchiladas stuck to the bottom and fell apart as I tried to plate them.

This may have been because I made them a few hours ahead of time and held them in the refrigerator until we were ready to have dinner. Or it may have been because I used generic store-brand whole wheat tortillas. But next time, I will assemble them the way I normally do.

But despite the plating disaster, I loved the flavor of these enchiladas. Plus, it gave me an excuse to make our guacamole, which I think is why we have enchiladas (and quesadillas, for that matter) so frequently: We can’t get enough of our guacamole.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped

1 TBS EVOO

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed, small dice

8-10 button mushrooms, chopped fine

1 green bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, medium dice

1/2 red onion, medium dice

2 cups fresh spinach, stems removed and cleaned

1 tsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

Sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

1 12-oz can enchilada sauce

6 8″ whole wheat tortillas

1 cup salsa, plus more on the side for service

1/3 cup shredded Mexican cheese

1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped (full disclosure: I bought this but forgot to put it in)

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil then add the sweet potato and boil until soft, about 10 minutes. Drain and mash.

2. Preheat oven to 375F. Put cast iron pan on the fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, add onion, green pepper and jalapeno and cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms browned, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and spinach and cook until spinach is wilted, about 3 more minutes. Add black beans, cilantro, cumin and chili powder and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through, about 2 minutes, and remove from heat.

3. In a casserole dish, spread 1/2 of the can of enchilada sauce around the bottom. One by one, fill the tortillas a schmeer of mashed sweet potato topped with a dollop of the filling, then a TBS of salsa. Roll up like a burrito and place seam side down in the casserole dish. When all tortillas are filled, pour remaining enchilada sauce over them and sprinkle with the cheese. Cover with foil, bake 35 minutes then remove foil and bake another 10 minutes to brown up the top.

I serve my enchiladas with homemade guacamole, salsa, fat free sour cream and baked tortilla chips. This is one of our favorite meals.

What dishes do you love so much you make them at least a couple of times per month? Tell us about them in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Tex-Mex Tuna Casserole

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Wow, it’s already February! Where has this year gone?!

Both my wife and I have been extremely busy since pretty much Thanksgiving, so I have been looking for meals that are fast and delicious, but will also hold well to accomodate our ever-changing schedules.

Tuna casserole is always a good fall back option, but it feels like we’ve done it to death. So I decided to spice it up a little with this recipe I adapted from one I found on The Cooking Blog. It takes only a few minutes to prepare, it can be held in the refrigerator until we were ready to eat, and it cooks fast. Plus, it was pretty rich and creamy — despite being low-fat — so I was able to hold it in a 200F oven until we were both ready to eat.

This spiced-up version of tuna casserole was delicious and – like traditional tuna casserole – it tastes even better the next day heated up.

So if you’re looking for a new take on an old favorite, you should give this recipe a try. Most of the ingredients are probably already lying around your kitchen, plus it’s super fast, super easy, and super tasty! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to get back to work!

Tex-Mex Tuna Casserole

1 large can chunk tuna in water, drained

2 cups fat-free cottage cheese

3/4 cup fat-free sour cream

1/2 red onion, small dice

1 small can diced green chiles

2 TBS chipotle salsa (or just regular salsa)

1/2 bag egg noodles, cooked

Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

1/2 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup cashews, chopped fine

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Boil egg noodles according to package instructions, usually about 7 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.

2. In mixing bowl, combine the tuna, cottage cheese, sour cream, onion, chiles, salsa and noodles. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to casserole dish.

3. Combine bread crumbs and cashews in small bowl then sprinkle over casserole. Dish can be stored in refrigerator up to a day, or in freezer for up to a week, until you are read to serve it.

4. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until casserole is brown and bubbly. Allow more time if cooking from frozen, or better yet allow to defrost first.

I served mine with spicy Sriracha sauce. My wife normally puts ketchup on her tuna casserole (I know, right?) but she said this one was so good it didn’t need any! Yay!

What quick and easy meals do you like to prepare for those days when you’re too busy to spend a lot of time in the kitchen? Share your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Italian Beef Sandwiches

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Philadelphia has the cheesesteak sandwich. New Orleans has the muffaletta. But Chicago is home to the Italian Beef.

We have an embarrassment of riches here in Chicago when it comes to Italian Beef sandwiches because there are literally hundreds of beef stands throughout the city serving this delicious and inexpensive sandwich, and I have yet to find a bad one.

The Italian Beef sandwich was invented in Chicago and was the result of the combination of two events that occurred simultaneously in the city around the turn of the 20th Century — the rise of the meat packing industry and the wave of Italian immigration.

At one time, Chicago was the nation’s largest meat processor, with millions of cattle passing through its famed Union Stockyards on the city’s South Side. Although the industry moved out West more than 50 years ago, the smell of cattle still lingers in that area even today.

Not far away, in the Italian neighborhood around Taylor Street, newly arrived immigrants struggled to create a new life for themselves. Although most were poor, they still celebrated weddings and other important events the same way they did back in Italy — with enormous feasts.

Unable to afford the choicest cuts of meat, the immigrants would pool their money and buy more affordable, yet tougher cuts, from the meat packing houses. Then they would roast them off smothered in traditional Italian seasonings.

In order to feed hundreds of guests, they sliced the beef extremely thin then kept it from drying out by holding it all day in an au jus sauce. The beef was then served on a hinged roll made of soft Italian bread and the Italian beef sandwich was born.

Today, you can get your Italian Beef any way you want it – with red sauce and sweet peppers, or dipped in au jus, or even topped with melted cheese.

As we host our own feasts — this time to celebrate the big game – Italian Beef is still an affordable crowd pleaser. This recipe can be held in the crock pot so your guests can serve themselves throughout the day.

Italian Beef Sandwiches

4 to 5 lb eye or round roast or any less expensive boneless beef cut

1 TBS EVOO

1 TBS sea salt

1/2 TBS fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 TBS granulated garlic

1 tsp onion powder

1 TBS Italian seasoning

32 oz beef stock

1 onion, julienned

1 TBS EVOO, separate

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 TBS Italian seasoning, separate

Provolone cheese slices (if desired)

Hinged sandwich rolls

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Use a sharp knife to cut away excess fat and silverskin from the outside of the beef roast, rub with EVOO then season on all sides with salt, pepper, granulated garlic, onion powder and Italian seasoning. Spray the bottom of a roasting pan with pan spray then lay the roast in the pan and cook for about 1 hour or until internal temperature reaches 140F or higher (medium). Remove from oven and let rest until cool enough to carve. This can be done the day before.

2. Put cast iron pan on the fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, add onions. Saute for five minutes, stirring frequently, then add 1/2 cup water and cover. This will make the onions carmelize faster. Cook until onions are brown, stirring occasionally.

3. Meanwhile, use a sharp carving knife to slice beef roast as thin as you can. Place all meat slices in the crock pot, add the beef stock, garlic, onions and Italian seasoning. Cook on low for at least 6 hours. Serve on sandwich rolls with au jus from the crock pot on the side. If desired, place cheese over beef and melt under the broiler for a minute or two.

Italian beef also can be served with a marinara sauce and giardiniera — pickled sweet peppers and other vegetables available jarred in Italian markets — on the side.

Is there a particular food your hometown is famour for? Tell us all about in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Hoppin’ John and Johnny Cakes

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I love it when a dish comes with a side plate of history.

Hoppin’ John is one of those dishes. In the Deep South, this stew made with black eyed peas is traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day because it is believed to bring good luck throughout the rest of the year.

There are all sorts of rituals that come with this practice, including leaving a coin under the bowl or even in the stew itself, or counting the number of peas to see how many lucky days you will have during the coming year, or leaving three peas in the bowl at the end of the meal — one for luck, one for money and one for love.

Whew! But that’s not all. Hoppin’ John is usually served with brasied collard, turnip or mustard greens because they are the color of money, and with corn bread because it is the color of gold.

Finally, leftover Hoppin’ John is eaten again the following day — only this time it is called Skippin’ Jenny — to show how frugal you are.

The name Hoppin’ John may refer to a legendary character, or it may simply come from the Creole French for black eye peas, “pois pigeons”. No one knows for sure.

Back in the northern states, our food rituals are not nearly as interesting. Johnny cakes are what people from New England used to call corn bread around the time of the Revolutionary War. Because they would stay edible even during a long day’s journey on horseback, with the flat, nasal Yankee accent “journey cakes” became ”johnny cakes.”

I may have been a couple of weeks late with this dish, but I hope it brings me luck for the rest of this year!

Hoppin’ John

4 TBS unsalted butter

1 white onion, medium dice

1 green pepper, ribs and seeds removed, medium dice

2 stalks of celery, ribs and leafs included, medium dice

3 cloves garlic, crushed

4 cups dried black eyed peas (soaked 6 hours)

32 oz chicken stock

1/2 lb sausage (any kind, your choice, I used chorizo)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fresh cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

2 TBS red wine vinegar

Rice or bulgur, cooked

1. Soak black eyed peas in cool water for at least 6 hours to soften. Rinse before using.

2. In pot, melt butter then add onions, pepper, and celery and cook until onions translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Remove sausage from casing, add to pot, break apart and cook until brown, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute or two.

3. Add black eyed peas, chicken stock and seasonings and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve over rice with braised greens and corn bread on the side. Good luck!

What recipes do you make that come dripping with history? Share your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Pork Roast Pinwheels

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In the restaurant business, recipes are only half the equation when it comes to making food people enjoy. The other half is presentation.

As the culinary school mantra goes, “People eat with their eyes before their mouths.” As a chef, you are always thinking of new and interesting ways to plate the food so that it will be unique.

For this recipe, I took an ordinary pork loin and dressing and combined them in a way that should delight your family. And it is really simple and fast to do.

All you need is a boneless pork loin, about 3 lb.

Using a chef’s knife, make a horizontal cut across the loin about 3/4 of the way down, leaving enough meat to act as a hinge, then open it up.

The make another horizontal cut across the top 1/2 of the loin, again leaving enough meat for a hinge, and open it up again. What you have now is one flat peice of pork loin.

Now simply take your pre-cooked stuffing (any kind will do) and add a layer on top of the pork loin, trying to stay about 1/2 inch away from the sides.

Then you roll it up like a Ho-Ho.

Use some kitchen twine to truss it.

Spray it with a little pan spray and season it all over with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper.

Spray a casserole dish and place the roast in the dish.

And roast it off uncovered for one hour at 375F. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting it.

Cut off the twine then cut vertical slices to get pinwheel disks. Stand these up on the plate on top of a small pile of remaining stuffing to emphasize the pinwheels, nap only the bottom with a pan gravy, add a little steamed broccoli, garnish with some chopped parsley and you are done.

What kind of food presentations do you like to use to make your plates look more impressive? Feel free to tell your story in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

 

Coq Au Vin

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Coq au vin is a very old dish. I mean really old.

Purportedly, it was a favorite dish of Julius Caesar after his gladiators came across it while invading Gaul.

While I can’t confirm that, I can confirm that coq au vin (French for “poultry in wine”) is one of those dishes you would find on the menu of a French fine dining restaurant in the 1950s and ’60s. While it was celebrated by famous chefs of that era as the epitome of classically French cuisine, it actually is super easy to make, tastes great and is relatively inexpensive as well.

Traditionally, coq au vin is made with a rooster or capon, which is an older chicken with tougher meat. The long braising process breaks down the connective tissues between the bird’s muscles to make the tough meat tender. But for this version, I just use chicken.

Coq au vin also is traditionally made with wine from the Burgundy region of France, which are made from pinot noir grapes. Any pinot noir will do, or any red wine for that matter.

(An aside on cooking with wine: The rule of thumb is never to cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink. That makes sense to me because the only wine I have hanging around is wine I drink! Why would I keep wine I wouldn’t drink?)

Finally, the traditional coq au vin is made with pearl onions. I couldn’t find any pearl onions this time of year other than those little pickled cocktail onions you sometimes see in martinis. I opted to use diced white onion and it turned out just fine, although I’m sure the French would be outraged!

Coq Au Vin

2 TBS EVOO

2 slices of bacon cut into 1-inch peices

12 oz package of white button mushrooms

1 medium white onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp dry oregano

1/2 tsp dry thyme

1 whole chicken, about 3 lb

1 cup chicken stock

1 cup dry red wine

2 TBS tomato paste

1/2 tsp sea salt

Fresh cracked black pepper

2 TBS all-purpose flour

1. Use poultry shears to cut backbone out of chicken. Lay flat on cutting board skin side up and press down so the breastbone breaks and the chicken lies flat. Season both sides with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Put cast iron pan on the fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, carefull place chicken in pan skin side down, being careful not to splash yourself with hot oil. Cook until brown and crisp, about three minutes, then flip over and brown the other side.

2. Preheat oven to 350F. Put Dutch oven on the fire. When hot, add bacon and cook until bacon is crisp and all oils have been released, about 4 minutes, then add onions, carrots and celery and cook until onions translucent, about five minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about three more minutes. Add garlic, oregano and thyme and cook about another minute, then put chicken on top, skin facing up.

3. Combine stock, wine and tomato pase in a small mixing bowl and whisk together, then pour mixture over the chicken. Bring to boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and place the entire Dutch oven in oven and bake for one hour.

4. Remove from oven. Carefully remove the chicken and let rest on sheet pan. Use a ladle to remove about one cup of the liquid from the pot and whisk in flour. Return flour/liquid mixture to pot and put on flame until boiling. The sauce will thicken as it boils, so stir frequently. Remove from heat.

To plate, carefully separate breast/wing and leg/thigh peices from the chicken. They should be falling off the bone. Place onto bed of rice or potatoes and spoon the sauce/vegetable mixture over the top. Voila!

What classic French recipes do you like to make? Share your ideas in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog!

Texas Black Bean Chili

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Here in Chicago, we had been enjoying a mild winter up until this week. But the Arctic blast that has settled over the city is making us forget all about those warm temperatures and sunny days.

At least cold weather means it’s time for chili!

Our crock pot has been working overtime this month, with nearly four out of five meals being slow-cooked. It’s not only convenient — everything seems to be busier right now — but the enticing aroma wafting through the house all day makes the frigid weather easier to tolerate.

This time I decided to try something a little different. Texas black bean chili is similar to my standard chili recipe, but with a few twists. Besides using black beans instead of kidney beans, of course.

For this recipe, I substituted my barbeque dry rub for the standard chili powder/cumin flavoring. The barbeque dry rub contains a wide variety of different spices, but no cumin or chili powder. So the chili ends up tasting radically different, both sweeter and spicier.

If you have store-bought barbeque rub or dried barbeque seasoning, that works fine, too.

Texas black bean chili is also mas caliente than standard chili because of the addition of canned diced chile peppers. You can spice it up even more by including the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno, if you want. But be careful, once you add the heat, you can’t take it out. Another option would be to just let people add their own hot sauce if they prefer flaming hot chili.

Hope you’re staying warm where you are!

Texas Black Bean Chili

1 medium white onion, diced

1 green pepper, seeds and ribs removed, diced

2 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, diced

1 small can diced green chiles

2 cans black beans, drained

1 large can of whole peeled tomatoes

2 TBS EVOO

1 lb ground turkey (or ground beef)

2 TBS Barbeque Dry Rub

1/2 cup water

Sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

1 12-ounce can spicy V-8

1. Put cast iron pan on fire. When hot, add oil. When smoking, add half of the onions. Saute until soft, about five minutes, then add the turkey and cook until brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add barbeque dry rub and water and cook an additional minute.

2. In crock pot, combine beans, the other half of the diced onion, green pepper, jalapeno and chiles. Add the turkey and stir together. Add the juice from the whole peeled tomatoes, then hand crush the tomatoes into the pot. This is important to get the right texture for the tomatoes. Pour in spicy V-8 and stir.

3. Cook on low for 8 hours, stirring once or twice. When fully cooked, adjust the flavor by seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

I usually serve my chili with oyster crackers, shredded Mexican cheese, cooked macaroni noodles, diced onions and fat free sour cream, but you can just use whatever condiments you like best.

What sort of meals do you like to make when the temperatures start to fall? Share your ideas in the comments section below. And thanks for looking at my blog.