Chili with Tortellini

This fusion of chili and tortellini takes comfort food to a whole new level. It’s an upscale version of chili mac. You get all the robust flavors of chili combined with plump and tender, stuffed pasta. Any flavor of tortellini will work in this savory, quick and easy stove top casserole. This is food for the soul, simple, satisfying and flavorful, a surefire crowd pleaser. Serve this up on game day, and you’ll become the fan favorite. I can’t rave enough about this recipe; you’ll just have to try it for yourself. To go along with this, I baked some jalapeno cornbread muffins (which I will post tomorrow).

Don't let the number of ingredients scare you off. It's mostly just spices for the chili. You can make the chili with any ingredients you prefer. This recipe is totally adaptable to the tastes you are comfortable with.If you don't normally add one of the above ingredients in your chili, then leave it out.

The same goes for the tortellini. Choose tortellini with whatever filling your family prefers. Mike prefers a meat filling, so we usually opt for the larger tortelloni (which has a better selection of meat filling).

Chop red and green bell peppers. Mince garlic. Chop cilantro. 

Heat olive oil in large pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat. Sauté onion and peppers for about 5 minutes, or until they start to soften. Add garlic and sauté for one minute more.

Add ground beef, and cook, stirring often to break up the meat, until browned. I usually turn up heat just before done, and cook a few minutes more to burn off excess liquid (or you can drain).

Add broth (or stock), drained tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, kidney beans, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper (if using), garlic salt, paprika, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes (if using) and black pepper. Again, the seasonings you add are entirely up to you.

Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 60 minutes, to develop the flavors and cook off some of the excess liquid.

Meanwhile, in another large pot, cook tortellini (or tortelloni) according to package directions. Drain in colander. (You could probably even cook the tortellini right in the chili, before some of the excess liquid burns off.)

Stir cilantro into chili mixture (just before adding cooked tortellini).

Add tortellini to chili. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Serve hot. Goes great with jalapeno cornbread muffins.
 

CHILI WITH TORTELLINI
Source: Adapted from Picky Palate
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound frozen or dry tortellini (or 18 ounces Buitoni refrigerated tortellini or tortelloni)
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 2 cups chicken broth, or chicken stock
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can red kidney beans, drained   
• 1 can (10-ounces) Ro-Tel tomatoes (with or without chiles), drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
• 2 Tablespoons ground cumin
• 1-1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon Mexican oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

   
DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat olive oil in large pot (or Dutch oven) over medium heat. Sauté onion and peppers for about 5
    minutes, or until they start to soften. Add garlic and sauté for one minute more.
2. Add ground beef, and cook, stirring often to break up meat, until browned. I usually turn up heat just
    before done,and cook a few minutes more to burn off excess liquid (or you can drain).
3. Add broth (or stock), drained tomatoes, tomato sauce, black beans, kidney beans, cumin, chili
    powder, cayenne pepper (if using), garlic salt, paprika, oregano, crushed red pepper flakes (if using)
    and black pepper.
4. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for a minimum of 30 minutes, up to 60 minutes, to
    develop the flavors and cook off some of the excess liquid.
5. Meanwhile, cook tortellini (or tortelloni) according to package directions. Drain in colander.
6. Stir cilantro into chili mixture (just before adding cooked tortellini).
7. Add tortellini to chili. Stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Yield: Makes 8 to10 Servings
 

Stove Top Beans and Meatballs

I tend to get a little restless in January for some outdoor cooking. Normally, I wouldn’t hesitate to fire up the grill, even in the winter, but this year has been particularly cold. So, I have to satisfy my cravings by cooking some indoor alternatives. This is one of those meals. When I’m in the mood for hamburgers and baked beans, this is the next best thing. All the same flavors in a “one pot,” stove top casserole. It’s quick to throw together, hearty and satisfying; a perfect dinner for a busy day, with all the tastes of a cookout. Serve it up with some Bacon Ranch Potato Salad and you have an indoor tailgate party.

In large bowl, mix together lean ground beef, evaporated milk, bread crumbs, seasoned salt and black pepper. Shape into 16 balls (golf ball size).

Brown in deep skillet, or Dutch oven, in 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Cover, cook over low heat 10 minutes. Remove meatballs to platter and set aside.

Dice 1 cup onion.

Add onions to skillet and cook until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes, adding additional olive oil, if needed.

Add baked beans (go with the original flavor since you will be adding BBQ sauce and seasonings), 1/4 teaspoon salt, barbecue sauce or ketchup, dry mustard, allspice, and brown sugar (if using). If the brand of baked beans you are using already has brown sugar in it, then you don’t need to add additional. Stir well to combine.

Add meatballs to mixture. Cover and heat (about another 10 to 15 minutes).

Note: This does have a lot of beans. If you don’t want that much, cut the beans in half. Just remember to also halve the seasonings for the beans.

For that bacon burger taste, cook and crumble some bacon and sprinkle over the top, before serving.

 
STOVE TOP BEANS AND MEATBALLS
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 to 1-1/4 pounds lean ground beef
• 1/2 cup evaporated milk
• 2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil (plus more if needed)
• 1 cup diced onions
• 2 large (28-ounce each) cans Baked Beans (original flavored)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt   
• 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, or ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 2 Tablespoons light brown sugar (omit if baked beans you are using has additional brown sugar in it already)
• Bacon, cooked and crumbled, for garnish (optional)   

DIRECTIONS:

1. Mix well, ground lean beef, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, 2/3 cup soft bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon seasoned
    salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper.  Shape into 16 balls (about golf ball size).
2. Brown in deep skillet, or dutch oven, in 2 Tablespoon olive oil.  Cover, cook over low heat 10 minutes.
    Remove meatballs to platter and set aside. Add onions to skillet and cook until soft, about 3 to 4
    minutes, adding additional olive oil if needed.
3. Add Baked Beans, 1/4 teaspoon salt, barbecue sauce or catsup, dry mustard, allspice, and brown
    sugar (if using).  Stir well to combine. Add meatballs to mixture. Cover and heat (about another 10 to
    15 min).

Old-Fashioned Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes

When I first started teaching myself to cook, I relied heavily on The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. This was my cooking Bible. Of course, you have to realize the Internet didn’t exist back then (computers didn’t even exist back then). One of the first recipes I learned was scalloped potatoes. Of course, over the years, I have adapted this recipe to our tastes. But, I still use the old-fashioned procedure (If it’s not broken, why fix it?). For today’s busy moms, I would recommend trying this on a weekend, as it does require a little more time. It’s not difficult to make, but total time, including baking, will be about 2 hours. Oh, but it is so worth it! Nothing beats a good old-fashioned, down-home recipe. It's as if you could taste the love that goes into it. To the original version, I’ve added onions, Parmesan cheese, garlic salt and thyme (not major changes, just enough to really enhance the flavors). Hope you enjoy this “blast from the past.”

Missing from photo above: flour

Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 15x10x2-inch baking dish.

Chop onions. Set aside.

Thinly slice potatoes. I use the slicer attachment on my food processor, it saves so much time (especially with my poor knife skills). 

Place a layer of potato slices in the bottom of prepared dish (slightly overlapping if needed). Sprinkle with 1/3 of the chopped onions (about 1-1/2 Tablespoons). Sprinkle with flour (about 1-1/2 Tablespoons), Parmesan cheese (about 1-/2 Tablespoons), dried thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon), salt (I use garlic salt for this) and pepper to taste. Dot with small pieces of butter (about 3 Tablespoons). 

Place another layer of potatoes over the butter and repeat steps above. 

Repeat, again, for a total of 3 layers.

Pour milk over all, until level of milk is halfway up sides of pan (2-1/2 to 3 cups).

Bake in pre-heated oven for approximately 1-1/2 hours, or until evenly browned. 

Today’s method of preparation would be to combine the butter, milk and seasonings in a large saucepan, heat it, then pour over the sliced potatoes and bake. Yes, that is much easier (I have to agree); but part of the charm of doing it the old-fashioned way is it never tastes exactly the same each time you make it (because measurements aren’t exact, only estimated). Old cookbooks never gave you precise measurements (a dash of this, a pinch of that, dot with butter, etc.). So, when you’re feeling a little “adventurous” give this method a try.....you'll taste the love!

 
OLD-FASHIONED PARMESAN SCALLOPED POTATOES
Source: Adapted from The Fannie Farmer Cookbook
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 or 7 Russet potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• Flour (about 1-1/2 Tablespoons per layer)
• Grated Parmesan cheese (about 1-1/2 Tablespoons per layer)           
• Dried thyme (about 1/2 teaspoon per layer)
• Salt and pepper
• Butter (about 3 Tablespoons per layer)
• Milk (about 1-1/2 to 2 cups)

   
DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter a 15x10x2-inch casserole.
2. Place a layer of potato slices in the bottom of casserole dish. Sprinkle with
    1/3 of chopped onions. Sprinkle with flour, Parmesan cheese, thyme, salt, and pepper.  Dot with small
    pieces of butter.
3. Repeat, for a total of 3 layers. Add enough milk until level of milk is halfway up sides of pan (2-1/2 to 3
    cups).
4. Bake at 350° for 1-1/2 hours, or until evenly browned.

Serves: 8-10
 

Shepherd's Pie with Loaded Mash

This should probably, more appropriately, be called “Everything but the Kitchen Sink Shepherd’s Pie.” It is one of those sloppy, “I don’t care what it looks like on the plate” casseroles. If you love corn, this has plenty of it. If you love loaded mashed potatoes, you got that, too. This casserole has so many layers of flavor, who cares what it looks like when served? I call this a “fun” meal. It’s fun to prepare and fun to eat! It’s one of those “let your imagination run wild meals.” And, that’s exactly what I was thinking when I came up with this recipe. This is a thoroughly modern take on an old-fashioned comfort food classic. Despite the number of ingredients, this is really quick and easy to prepare, because you can multi-task (a phrase we are all too familiar with nowadays), or use shortcut ingredients, which I will suggest later in this post. And, you can always leave out the ingredients that don’t suit you. Anything goes!

Here goes the first shortcut, if you don’t have the time or energy to deal with making your own mashed potatoes, buy 2 bags of frozen steamed. Unless you are cutting the recipe in half, you will need 2 bags, or you will be scrimping on the loaded topping. 

Peel potatoes and dice. Chop onion and garlic (or use jarred minced garlic) for ground beef mixture.Add potatoes and 1 or 2 whole, peeled cloves of garlic to large pot of water. Bring to a rolling boil and cook for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.

In the meantime, in large skillet, combine ground beef, onion and 2 cloves chopped garlic. Brown beef, stirring occasionally and breaking up larger pieces. When beef is evenly browned, and the liquid has burned off, stir in 1 can cream of mushroom soup and mix thoroughly. I add the soup because I am thinking of the leftovers. Ground beef that has been cooked on the stove top then baked, tends to dry out; which means it’s especially dry by the time you get to the leftovers. Of course, this addition is optional. If you prefer your meat drier then leave it out.

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Spray a 10x15x2-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spread meat mixture evenly over bottom of baking dish. 

Spread a can of creamed corn evenly over meat mixture. Now spread a can of well-drained kernel corn (or equivalent amount of frozen kernels) over the creamed corn.

In colander, drain cooked potatoes with garlic cloves. 

Transfer to large bowl (including garlic). (I always mash my potatoes right in the same pot I cooked them in; easier clean-up.) Add butter, seasonings and egg. Yes, add an egg. This adds a nice texture to potatoes and keeps potatoes from “spreading” in the oven. (I even add an egg to baked stuffed potatoes.) Gradually, add some milk (not all of it). Beat well. Add additional milk, as necessary, until the potatoes are creamy. Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to potatoes and mix well to combine. Note: You can adapt the seasonings to suit your personal taste.

Evenly spread mashed potatoes over meat and corn mixture in baking dish, spreading out to edges (and touching edges to seal).

Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through.

Meanwhile, remove seeds and pulp from tomato (again, recommended for the leftovers, to keep the potato topping dry the next day). Chop tomato. Thinly slice green onions.

Cook bacon (or substitute store-bought bacon bits). When cool, crumble bacon. 

Remove casserole from oven. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Return to oven for another 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Remove from oven. Top potatoes with diced tomato, green onions, and bacon.

 Serve while hot.

SHEPHERD’S PIE WITH LOADED MASH
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com

INGREDIENTS:

Mashed Potato Topping:

• 8 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 to 2 (peeled, whole) cloves  garlic
• 6 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk (add more if needed)
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon kosher or coarse salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper freshly ground
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided  

Shepherd's Pie Ingredients:

• 2 pounds lean ground beef (90% or above)
• 1 small onion, chopped fine
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can whole sweet corn (well drained), or about 1 cup frozen or fresh corn
• 1 can cream style corn

Loaded Topping Ingredients:

• 1 Roma tomato, seeded and chopped
• 4 or 5 green onions, thinly sliced
• 8 to 10 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

  
DIRECTIONS:
1. Add potatoes and 1 or 2 whole, peeled cloves of garlic to large pot of water. Bring to a rolling boil and
    cook for another 20 to 25 minutes, or potatoes are fork tender.
2. In the meantime, in large skillet combine ground beef, onions and 2 cloves chopped garlic. Brown
    beef, stirring occasionally and breaking up larger pieces. When beef is evenly browned, stir in 1 can
    cream of mushroom soup and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350°F.
4. Spray a 10x15x2-inCH baking dish with cooking spray. Spread meat mixture evenly over bottom of
    baking dish. Spread can of creamed corn evenly over meat mixture. Now spread canned or frozen
    whole kernel corn over that.
5. Drain cooked potatoes (with garlic cloves). Transfer to large bowl (including garlic). Add butter,
    seasonings and egg. Add some of the milk. Using hand mixer, beat well, adding more milk (as
    necessary) until potatoes are creamy. Add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to potatoes and mix well
    to combine.
6. Evenly spread mashed potatoes over meat and corn mixture in baking dish, spreading out to edges
    (touching edges to seal).
7. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese over top of
    potatoes and return to oven for another 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted.
8. Remove casserole from oven. Top potatoes with chopped tomato, green onions and crumbled bacon.
    Serve while hot.

Tips:

You can prepare this casserole ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to bake. You will need to allow additional baking time if you refrigerate first.
If you are pressed for time, you can substitute two 24-oz bags of frozen Steam & Mash potatoes.

French Onion Pork Chops

Dinner doesn’t get any easier than this; only 4 ingredients and 35 minutes from start to finish. This simple oven-fried pork chop recipe will yield tasty, tender and juicy chops. Crispy on the outside, moist and tender on the inside and infused with a golden-onion flavor. This recipe is also very versatile, as adjustments can easily be made to suit your specific taste (and I’ll give examples below). Since Mike puts onions on everything (even eggs), I knew he would enjoy this meal; and he did. Rich, bold and satisfying is how I would describe these French Onion Pork Chops. 

Preheat oven to 400° F. 

The original recipe calls for two packs of French Onion soup mix combined with 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. This is where you can make adjustments to your taste. If 2 packs are too bold for you, cut back to 1 pack of soup mix combined with 1/3 cup breadcrumbs. If you want a flavor other than onion; substitute Savory Herb & Garlic soup mix; or substitute regular onion soup mix for the French Onion. 

In resealable plastic bag, combine bread crumbs and soup mix. Pour into pie dish (or suitable breading station dish). 

In separate pie dish (or suitable breading station dish) whisk eggs. Dredge pork chops in beaten egg; then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, thoroughly coating both sides of each chop. 

Place pork chops on a baking sheet. For oven frying, I prefer using a broiler pan as it never fails to produce a crispy coating on both sides of oven-fried meat and the breading always stays intact. 

 Bake for 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes.

FRENCH ONION PORK CHOPS
Source: Jamie Capella, PaulaDeen.com User
Posted by: www.meldingmagic.com


INGREDIENTS:

• 6 boneless pork chops
• 1 or 2 packs of French Onion soup mix, Savory Herb & Garlic, or regular Onion soup mix
• 1/3 or 1/2 cup breadcrumbs (if using 1 pack of soup mix, use 1/3 cup)
• 2 eggs
• Paprika, to taste
• Parsley, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. In one pan, crack the eggs and beat. In another mix together the breadcrumbs and soup mix (adjusting 
    quantities, as desired).
3. Coat the pork chops with the beaten eggs, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture, thoroughly coating both sides.
4. Place pork chops on baking sheet (preferably, broiler pan). Season to taste with paprika and parsley.
5. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, flipping after 10 minutes.