Vegitarian Chili

This is a thicker chili with no meat. I have often thought that chili would taste much better without all the meat...and now I know that its true ;-)

Ok, ok..I know most people prefer chili with meat, but this meatless one is quite good. I basically made up the recipe using my basic meat-filled version (omitting the meat of course) and then took a few things from a handful of recipes that I liked parts of. It is starting to get cold around these parts...and chili served with my sour cream cornbread (recipe to come) makes my house smell delicious and as a bonus it tastes wonderful!

 

VEGETARIAN CHILI:

 

2 28oz cans of crushed tomatoes

1 pkg chili seasoning

1 can black beans drained and rinsed well

1 can pinto beans drained and rinsed well

4 medium carrots, chopped small

1 yellow,green, or red bell pepper, chopped small (I used 1/2 green and 1/2 red)

1 medium onion, chopped fine

3 or 4 cloves of garlic chopped fine

2 stalks (are they called stalks?) of green onions, chopped all the way to bottom. (The onion-y part)

1 tbsp of butter

Sour Cream

~Add tomatoes, chili packet, and beans to pot

~Turn heat on low and bring to a simmer

~In a separate pan, saute the carrots, bell pepper, onions, and garlic in the butter for about 5-8 min..or until the carrots are slightly soft.

~Add mixture to the first pot and simmer on low for one hour

~Garnish with sour cream and green onions

~Enjoy!

 

Nutella-Peanut Butter Cookies

I have a Nutella addiction.  Its true.  If Nutella can be added to a recipe, i've probably tried it. 

My daughter and I were wanting a snack after church and she came with the idea of adding Nutella to our peanut butter cookie recipe.  Um.....OK!  (Yes, my daughter is coming up with her own recipes at 4!).  This is the same peanut butter cookie recipe found here, only I added a bit less sugar and exchanged the Hersey Kiss for Nutella.

Nutella Peanut Butter Cookies

1 Cup Peanut Butter

3/4 Cup sugar

1 egg

Nutella (not sure exactly how much total)

~Mix peanut butter, sugar, and egg

~Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart

~With the back of a teaspoon, make a small indent

~Add 1 tsp of Nutella to each cookie

~Bake for 10 min in a 350 degree oven

~Eat cookies warm with glass of milk  :)

Heavenly chocolate cookies

This recipe is from my friend Camille.  I begged the recipe off of her :)   Thanks, Camille for letting me share.

Chocolate, chocolate chip cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup white flour

1 cup whole wheat flour 

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp salt

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

~Combine the butter and sugars

~Add eggs and vanilla and stir well

~In a separate bowl combine flours, baking soda, salt, and cocoa

~Slowly stir into sugar mixture

~Add chocolate chips

Place on cookie sheet in 1 inch scoops

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 min

Enjoy! 

(And you should really share some...even though they taste great, it is not healthy to consume them all yourself).

Muffin Pan Quiche

Sometimes you just can't worry about the fat content/ calories in a recipe.  You just have to rely on your taste buds. As a warning, your butt and thighs will not like you for consuming this food.  Just sayin....

Muffin Pan Quiche

1 pkg store bought pie crusts (comes with two)

6 large eggs

1 cup milk

1 cup chopped broccoli florets

1 cup cooked sausage

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 garlic clove minced

1 tsp ground mustard

salt/pepper

~Spray muffin tin with cooking spray

~Cut pies crusts with a four inch biscuit cutter (I actually have no idea if they even make biscuit cutters that big, I just used the top of a four inch cup)

~Gently place each piece of pie crust in each muffin cup

~Evenly distribute the broccoli, sausage and cheese in each muffin cup

~In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, salt and pepper (just use your judgment with the salt and pepper...I added quite a bit of salt and it tasted great)

~Pour egg mixture evenly over the top of the other ingredients

~Saute the onions and garlic in a bit of butter and then evenly distribute over the tops of the muffin cups.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 22 min. Enjoy!

 

Vegitarian Stuffed Bell Peppers

As I mentioned in my last post, we are trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our diets and limiting the amount of meat we eat. So I have been trying to find yummy alternatives to our usual dinners. I came across this recipe and decided I would try it. (Although the Hubs doesn't like black beans OR bell peppers, I thought I would try anyway). I thought these were delicious...my kids loved the filling, and it passed the Hubs test (although he said they would be better with pinto beans next time.....um, YUCK). Here is the recipe...without pinto beans ;-)

3 bell peppers (I used orange)
2 cups prepared rice (I used brown, but I think any kind would work fine)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained well
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic powder

wash and cut the bell peppers in half length-wise

mix rice, beans, cheese, salsa, and spices together

fill the peppers up to the brim and then place them in a glass baking dish covered with foil

cook at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 30 min.


This recipe is super versitile...the original recipe called for green chilies and 1/2 cup frozen corn, but I didn't have either so I omitted both. Enjoy!

Butternut Squash Soup

My husband and I decided that we are going to incorporate more fruits and vegetables into our diet and get rid of most of the meat (more on this later). Anyhow, I have been looking for great recipes to make and I came across this Butternut Squash soup recipe....I tweaked it a bit and it turned out delicious! The only change I would make next time is making it a bit thicker and adding some heat to it (couldn't add the heat this time because of the kiddos). Also, the original recipe called for celery, but I don't necessarily like the flavor of cooked celery, so I omitted it. Enjoy!

2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion chopped
two garlic cloves, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 32 ounce container of chicken stock
Salt, garlic powder, and pepper to taste

Bake the squash at 350 degrees for 1 hour,
once its cool, you should be able to just peel off the skin and pull the squash away from the seeds.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and saute the garlic, onion, carrots and potatoes for five minutes
Add 1/2 of the container of chicken stock and simmer for about 20 min

Once the squash and the simmered veggies are cool (this is important so that the glass in your blender doesn't crack) put all ingredients into blender with another cup of chicken stock
and blend until smooth, adding more chicken stock as needed. Also, the chicken stock will either make your soup runny or thick depending on how much/little you add, so keep this in mind as you blend it.

This soup is usually served with sour cream on top, but I forgot it at the store and wasn't willing to go back out :) I served it with a fresh baked loaf of white bread and it was delicious!

Super Simple Peanut Butter Blossoms...(also Gluten Free)

These peanut butter blossoms are SUPER easy! They are really, really good too.



1 cup peanut butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

Hershey kisses or Reeses miniature peanut butter cups

Mix the first three ingredients and roll into one inch balls.

Place about an inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10 min.

When you take them out of the oven, push a Hershey kiss or peanut butter cup down into the cookies immediately.

Let cool on the cookie sheet and then transfer (to a serving plate, or straight to your mouth).