Chili

 

It's Fall and that means Football (Go Cowboys! Even though y'all stink!) and Chili! It's our tradition to have chili and cornbread for supper on Halloween. I usually make it in the crockpot so it's quick and easy and ready when we are. This year, I thought I'd make an estate sale recipe for chili. This one only called for 2lbs of meat, so I thought that would be a good amount for my family of 4 with some for leftovers. I cooked this one ahead of time because it has to simmer for 2 hours. Then we just warmed it up when it was time to eat.

It wasn't bad. I usually add beans (oh the audacity!) and some zucchini skins to "beef" it up. This recipe is all meat. I did have to thicken with a cornstarch slurry when the tablespoon of flour didn't thicken it up. We like our chili thick, not soupy. I'd probably make this again, but add some extras to it :)

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Chili

2 lbs meat

1 small can tomato sauce

1 can whole tomatoes with juice

2 cloves garlic

6 Tbs. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin powder

1 bay leaf

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

½ onion chopped

Use tomato  sauce can and add 5 cans of water

Brown meat & drain grease. Put water, tomatoes & tomato sauce in pot. Chop up tomato. Stir, then add rest of ingredients except meat. Bring liquid to simmer & add met. Cover & simmer 2 hours. 

If you want juice a little thicker add 1 Tbs. flour mixed with to be about like milk, & simmer 15 minutes.

*I used 90/10 ground sirloin

*I had to add a little seasoning to the meat to cook it. I can't stand the smell of unseasoned meat cooking.

*Next time I would use diced tomatoes instead of whole and then chop them up. I would also add more fresh garlic and cook it all in one pot. Cook the meat first then add everything else. Less clean up is always a plus!

*Thicken with cornstarch if you can instead of flour.

 

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Butter Rum Cake

The batter

Decided to use a Bundt pan.

Boiling the sugar water.

Fresh out of the oven.

Adding the Rum flavored "icing".

I can't decide if I liked this cake or not. I liked the flavor and how the outside was a little hard. The inside, though is where I'm torn. It's very dense. I'm still not sure how I feel about it or if I'd make it again. There was no baking powder or soda to make it light and fluffy. Just flour. Maybe it just needed real rum and not the extract? Well, that's a given :P Maybe it would be good as a dip in your cup of coffee kind of cake? I don't know.

I didn't feel like digging out my cake holder so I turned it over into my deep dish stone and it had plenty of room. The "icing" was just a flavored simple syrup. I still have a good amount left after brushing the entire top of the cake with it. Maybe drizzling more over a warmed up slice would be good? I don't know! If you feel daring, please make this and let me know what you think!

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Butter Rum Cake

2 c. flour

1¾ c. sugar

5 eggs

½ lb. margarine

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. butter flavor

1 tsp. rum flavor

Bake slow 1 hour*

(over)

Butter Rum Icing

1 c. sugar

½ c. water

1 tsp. rum flavor

Boil sugar & water, cool. Add rum. Apply to warm cake with pastry brush.

*The recipe said to bake for 1 hour but didn't mention the temperature. So I baked it at 350º for 1 hour and I think that was just perfect.

*I brushed the entire top of the cake with the "icing" and still had a lot left over.

 

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Carmel Pecan Nuggets

Caramels with whipping cream.

I didn't have enough wax paper so I used my Silpat.

Caramel. Pecans. Chocolate. Is there a better combination?!? These totally gave me Turtle or Millionaire vibes! Yes, they are written as "carmel" because I imagine that's how the author pronounces the word. To each their own :) So the recipe didn't say what to do with the 2 cups of pecans, so since they're called nuggets, I opted to chop them up. This recipe was super easy to make and so delicious! Everyone in my family loved them! 

I never got them to set though. I let them sit for 24 hours on my dining table, and then decided to throw them into the fridge while we went to Church. Came home and they were still super sticky. So, I went ahead and did the chocolate step. I wasn't sure what was meant by dipping them in the chocolate. I completely covered the first one, then decided that you couldn't tell what was inside. So I dipped the majority of each one and just left the tops exposed. Perfect. Y'all these are so good! I'm currently storing what's left in an airtight container in the fridge. I normally share the recipes I make but these? These are staying here! Let me know in the comments how you pronounce caramel. Is it Care-A-Mel? or Car-Mel? I'm guilty of saying both! haha!

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Carmel Pecan Nuggets

Recipe by Dean White

September 10, 1997

24 Carmels

¼ cup Whipping Cream

2 cups Pecans

Melt carmels & whipping cream in microwave for 3* minutes or until melted. Cool a few minutes. Drop on wax paper until set (overnight) usually (not sure if that actually says usually). Melt almond bark in double broiler, dip. Let dry, eat & enjoy.

These are good & easy to make. Hope you can read this I can't write to good.

*I melted the carmels for 1 minute then stirred them. Added another 30 seconds so it wouldn't burn and stirred. Then after one more round of 30 seconds in my microwave, it was all melted. A total of 2 minutes for me. 

 

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Cherry Salad Supreme

The first layer

The top layer barely fitting in my dish.

A side view of the layers after setting.

I know, this isn't a handwritten recipe. My thought in choosing to make it, is that someone still had to take the time to type it all out on an index card. Plus, I haven't made anything Jell-O based yet. It was time. Although I wanted to make this during the summer. The reason being that no one in my family is a fan of Jell-O. I, myself, am not a huge fan but I'll eat it if I have to. As long as it doesn't have that nasty hard layer at the bottom. Yuck! haha! 

Honestly, I kind of liked how this turned out. The husband said it wasn't bad and the boy only liked the top layer because it wasn't as Jell-Oy, if that makes sense. I don't think the girl has tried it yet. I think the only thing I would personally change is to add toasted pecans on top instead of raw walnuts. I'm from Texas. We love our pecans. And it's pronounced Puh-cons! Let me know in the comments how you pronounce it and do you prefer pecans or walnuts?

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Cherry Salad Supreme

1 - 3oz pkg Raspberry Jello

1 - 3oz pkg Lemon Jello

1 - 21oz can Cherry Pie Filling

1 - 3oz pkg cream cheese*

1/3 cup Mayonnaise

½ cup Whipping Cream

1 - 8¾ oz can Crushed Pineapple*

2 Tbs Chopped Walnuts

1 cup Small Marshmallows

Dissolve raspberry gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Stir in pie filling. Turn into 9"x9"* dish. Chill until partially set. Dissolve lemon gelatin in 1 cup boiling water. Beat together cream cheese and mayonnaise. Gradually add lemon gelatin. Stir in undrained pineapple. Whip ½ cup whipping cream. Fold into lemon jello mixture with 1 cup tiny marshmallows. Spread atop the cherry layer. Top with nuts. Chill until set.

*I had to cut 3oz off of an 8oz block of cream cheese.

*I measured out 8¾ oz of pineapple with a kitchen scale.

*I didn't have a 9x9 inch dish, I thought the one I have was 9x9. Mine was 8x8 and it barely fit!

 

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Cornbread Salad

The only package of cornbread I could think of.

Everything chopped and ready to mix.

All mixed together.

Who loves cornbread besides me? I love all kinds. Sweet, not sweet, jalapeno, messican style, all of it. As a side note, there's a healthy store here called Sprout's and they make a jalapeno cornbread that's more like a cake. Y'all it's so stinkin' good! Anyway, this recipe definitely caught my attention. I didn't know what packages of cornbread were used. The only one I know about is Jiffy, so that's what I used. I made it the day before and completely forgot to take a picture...oops! After baking it, I HAD to cut a little corner and taste it (for quality control of course :)) and I totally forgot it was a sweet cornbread. I was worried how the sweet and savory would work together but it totally worked in my opinion. I was thinking this would be more like a Thanksgiving side but after tasting it, I think it would be great as a side for Easter. The one thing I would change would be to cut back a bit on the green onion. I love onions, but my bunch must have been super strong. Total onion breath! Haha! Anyway I really liked this recipe! I'll definitely make it again :) 

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Cornbread Salad

2 packages cornbread (cooked & crumbled)

1 bunch chopped green onions

3 stalks chopped celery* (see note at the end)

1 chopped bell pepper

8 slices crisp bacon, chopped

1 cup mayo

2 chopped tomatoes

Combine all ingredients.

Chill & enjoy!

*I baked the cornbread the day before.

*The recipe calls for 3 stalks of celery. Technically when you buy a package of celery, you're buying one stalk of it. The pieces you break off are called ribs. I usually follow these recipes exactly, but after discussing it with my mom, we both decided that 3 packages of celery would be a bit much. So I used 3 ribs of celery and it was the perfect amount. 

 

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

The best picture I could get :)

Cream cheese and milk mixture

Pudding and milk mixture

cream cheese with whipped cream added

pudding mixed with pumpkin

bottom layer

finished product

The mangled mess of trying to get a good slice for pictures

It's Fall! That means it's time for the argument of who is team apple and who is team pumpkin. I'm team...both! Although I only like apple pie if it has a slice of sharp cheddar cheese on it, thanks Dad (I miss you!) So, aside from always having a slice of Anthony's grandma's pecan pie (find the recipe here) at Thanksgiving, I also love a slice of pumpkin pie. I do prefer it cold though, don't ask. I don't know why. Anyway, I saw this recipe for a double layer pumpkin pie and instantly said, I'm making it! 

Now, this recipe was definitely interesting to make. This is a no bake pie so that's a plus if you like those. While I still prefer a traditional pumpkin pie, my family loved this one. It's good, just very creamy. I think that if I make this again, I might make the first layer and freeze it before adding the much thicker and denser pumpkin layer. It just seemed to sink into the whipped cream layer. Or, perhaps make 2 pies out of it? Try it and let me know what you think! Also, let me know if you're team apple or pumpkin:)

Here's my interpretation of the recipe:

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

1 pkg 3oz cream cheese (softened)

1cup + 1 Tablespoon cold milk

1 Tablespoon sugar

1½ c thawed cool whip

1 graham cracker pie crust

2 pkgs (4 serv size) vanilla instant pudding

1 16oz can pumpkin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

½ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon cloves

Mix cream cheese, 1 Tablespoon milk & sugar with wire whip (whisk) until smooth. Gently stir in whip cream. Spread on bottom of pie crust.

Pour 1 cup milk in mixing bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whip until well blended, let stand 3 minutes.

Stir in pumpkin & spices, spread over cream cheese layer. Garnish with additional whip topping & nuts if desired.

*I cut 3oz off of an 8oz block of cream cheese

*The pudding boxes were the small 3.4oz ones

*The pumpkin was a 15oz can

*The cream cheese wasn't completely smooth after whisking the heck out of it.

*I mangled the poor pie trying to get a good clean slice for pictures. I had to freeze it and then try to slice it, which was a bit better. The final picture was as good as it was going to get :)

 

I hope you enjoy and give this recipe a second chance in your kitchen too.