Chili

I first made this chili recipe on Christmas Eve but I forgot to photograph the results. Oh well, I guess I would have to just make it again! It was zero degrees here in Denver last night so eating homemade chili sounded like a perfect idea. I also got to use the powerful chili powder that came in a set of Penzey's Spices. Thank you, Susan!

I browsed many recipes online and settled on this one. I did leave out the oregano but that is the only change I made. Peter LOVED it and I have a feeling he will be fighting me over the leftovers! I whipped up a quick batch of corn muffins to accompany the chili. This was a wonderful cold weather meal and now I wish I had made more. It's four degrees here today!

Chili
1 pound ground beef or turkey
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons chili powder*
1/2 teaspoon cumin*
1 teaspoon hot sauce (I used this one)*
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar

* Start with these amounts and then taste after simmering.

Crumble the ground turkey into a stock pot or large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and cook stirring frequently until turkey is evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.

Season with chili powder, cumin and hot sauce. Stir in the tomatoes and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 1 hour – or longer if you have time. Stir occasionally to prevent burning on the bottom.

Crack Brownies

Your eyes do not deceive you. These are called crack brownies...because they are addictive like a drug. No, seriously you won't be able to stop eating them.

When Peter and I first started dating we loved to pick up a Pink's Pizza at least once a week. If you have never tried one of their pizzas and you live in Houston, you are really missing out. Our regular order was a large with tomatoes, onions, mushrooms and artichoke hearts. BEST PIZZA EVER. One of the first times we picked up a pizza we noticed that they were selling a dessert called "crack brownies" by the register. Peter wanted to try one, this was before he knew he had Type 1 diabetes, so we took a few home with us. They were amazing and I wanted to know how to make them at home. I literally disected the last few bites of mine to figure out how to make them, The next week I gave it a try and we thought they turned out better than the brownies at Pink's.

We used to eat these way too often but it's been about a year since the last time I made them. Peter likes to tease that these brownies caused his diabetes, of course we know that is not the case, but we did eat them A LOT in the months before his diagnosis.

There are a lot of versions of this recipe all over the internet. I tinkered with a few, made changes and finally settled on this (my own) version. Enjoy!

I found that using a disposable aluminum pan works better than one you want to keep. I have had to cut the sides to get the brownies out...

Crack Brownies
1 box German chocolate cake mix
10 caramel candies
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix and melted butter. Mix by hand until dough forms. It will kind of resemble a big tootsie roll. Divide the dough in half.

Take one half of the dough and spread it thinly on the bottom of the pan. Make sure the edges rise up about 1/2 inch along all sides of the pan. The raised edges will act like walls that will keep the caramel from spilling over the sides.

In a saucepan over medium heat, mix the caramels and evaporated milk, stirring continuously until completely melted. Immediately pour the caramel mixture over the first layer of dough. Make sure the dough is completely covered. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

On a floured work surface, roll out the remaining dough to the dimensions of your baking pan. Gently press the dough over the caramel and chocolate chips, until completely covered.

Bake for twenty minutes, remove from over and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Serve cold.

Spinach, Ricotta and Mushroom Ravioli with Homemade Marinara

Thanks to Mike and Cindy, I am the proud new owner of a new pasta maker! I decided to try it out but I had a hard time deciding which type of pasta to make. I have done the goat cheese thing and I hate marscapone, so I settled on ricotta. I searched for a yummy recipe but in the end I went with what I like. I kind of just made this up as I went along and it turned out great! I also had a new, smaller ravioli stamp. Now I don't always have to make the GIANT raviolis!

I know I have posted a pasta sauce recipe before, but I wanted to try something different. The other one is still very good but also very time consuming to make. This one only takes about thirty minutes from start to finish and is just as delicious! Peter said he still likes the other one better but he's not the one spending hours in front of the stove so sometimes he will have to deal with the easier version!

For the pasta dough recipe, please see this post.

Spinach, Ricotta and Mushroom Ravioli
1 1/2 cups chopped spinach, thawed, patted dry
2 cups button mushrooms, sliced
2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan reggiano cheese, grated
1 tablespoon olive oil
pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

In a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Just before it begins to smoke, add the mushrooms and saute for ten minutes. Add the chopped spinach and cook for three minutes.

Move the mushroom and spinach mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until course. In a large bowl, combine the mushrooms and spinach with the ricotta and parmesan reggiano. Add the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Mix thouroughly.


Homemade Marinara Sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed black pepper

In a medium stockpot, heat the olive oil, add the onions and simmer until translucent, five to ten minutes. Add garlic and simmer for one minute. Add wine on high heat and cook until the liquid evaporates. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, parsley and salt and pepper for three minutes. Simmer fifteen minutes.

On one half of the pasta dough, drop a teaspoon of the filling, 2 inches apart. Fold over the other half of the dough, like a blanket. Press air out of the pockets. Use knife, or ravioli stamp, to cut into squares. Crimp edges with fork, unless you have used a stamp. Brush ravioli with egg wash. Dust ravioli and sheet pan with cornmeal, lay out to dry.

Bring 3 quarts of salted and oiled water to boil in a large pasta pot. Add three or four ravioli at a time, as not to crowd them, and cook for two or three minutes. Remove, plate and cover in a foil tent until you have finished cooking all of the ravioli.