Chili Cook-off!

We are having a chili cook-off at work tomorrow (Friday), and I am happy to announce that I'll be bringing my white chili and from what I can tell I'm the only white chili (although I should probably call mine "Off-White Chili" or "Not-So-White Chili" because the tomatoes make it a little less white, but not much. I'll let you know how it all turns out. I could probably eat this chili every day of my life. I always make a ton in hopes that I can freeze some for later use, but this one NEVER makes it to the point of having enough left over to freeze.



I must say that although this is currently my favorite chili, I've been torn as to whether or not I should distribute the recipe because it will probably be one of my dishes if I can get my dinners-to-go business started. So maybe this is probably both the first and last time it ever gets posted. Just don't tell anyone (shhhhh)... This makes a pretty big batch, so you can easily half for one meal for 4 people. I know that the ingredients may seem a little strange, but just give it a try before you curl your nose up at it.

Gina's White Chili

• 1 large onion, chopped


• 4 cloves of garlic, minced


• 2 lbs ground turkey


• 2 cans diced tomatoes with green chilies (aka "Rotel")


• 6 cans navy beans (you can also use great northern, or canellini, but I prefer the navy)


• 3-5 cups chicken broth (depends on how thick or thin you want your chili)


• 2 tbs cumin


• 2 tbs oregano


• 2 tsp cinnamon


• ground white pepper to taste (about 1 tbs for me)


• 1 lb shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Sauté onions with turkey and garlic until turkey is browned. Blend 3 cans of navy beans with some of the broth (I've found it easier to do one can at a time - I blend with the broth so that it is thinner and easier to pour into the pot). Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low for 6 hours or so, adding cheese one hour before the end. This is such a good chili, it really doesn't need any toppings(, but it's pretty good with corn chips of course if you want the crunch).



Two notes -

*If you don't want to crock pot it all day, just simmer on the stove for 30 minutes of so and don't add as much of the broth. It won't be as rich as the all day version, but still very tasty!



*I tend to just start the soup in the morning and leave it on all day to simmer, so basically, the cooking time correlates to the amount of broth. If you aren't cooking all day, just start with the 3 cups and go from there. It's always easier to add more than start with too much!

Beware of Garbage Trucks - The Law of the Garbage Truck

Hey guys. I know that this has nothing to do with cooking, but this is SUCH a good analogy. For those who haven't read "The Law of the Garbage Truck", please click on the link. It will truly make you think about the way that you react to others.

The Law of The Garbage Truck

The Law of the Garbage Truck™Copyright 2007 David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people’s nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you’re the Terminator, you’re probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of your success is how quickly you can refocus on what’s important in your life. Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. And I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here’s what happened. I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, the car skidded, the tires squealed, and at the very last moment our car stopped just one inch from the other car’s back-end. I couldn’t believe it. But then I couldn’t believe what happened next. The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. How do I know? Ask any New Yorker, some words in New York come with a special face. And he even threw in a one finger salute! I couldn’t believe it! But then here’s what really blew me away. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly. So, I said, “Why did you just do that!? This guy could have killed us!” And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, “The Law of the Garbage Truck™.” He said:
"Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they look for a place to dump it. And if you let them, they’ll dump it on you.

So when someone wants to dump on you, don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Believe me. You’ll be happier."
So I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the street? It was then that I said, “I don’t want their garbage and I’m not going to spread it anymore.” I began to see Garbage Trucks. Like in the movie “The Sixth Sense,” the little boy said, “I see Dead People.” Well now “I see Garbage Trucks.” I see the load they’re carrying. I see them coming to dump it. And like my taxi driver, I don’t take it personally; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time was Walter Payton. Every day on the football field, after being tackled, he would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground. He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Over the years the best players from around the world in every sport have played this way: Tiger Woods, Nadia Comaneci, Muhammad Ali, Bjorn Borg, Chris Evert, Michael Jordan, Jackie Robinson, and Pele are just some of those players. And the most inspiring leaders have lived this way: Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. See, Roy Baumeister, a psychology researcher from Florida State University, found in his extensive research that you remember bad things more often than good things in your life. You store the bad memories more easily, and you recall them more frequently. So the odds are against you when a Garbage Truck comes your way. But when you follow The Law of the Garbage Truck™, you take back control of your life. You make room for the good by letting go of the bad. The best leaders know that they have to be ready for their next meeting. The best sales people know that they have to be ready for their next client. And the best parents know that they have to be ready to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses, no matter how many garbage trucks they might have faced that day. All of us know that we have to be fully present, and at our best for the people we care about. The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their life. What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here’s my bet: You’ll be happier.

Brunch is the best...

OK, so I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves a brunch. Love the time of day, love the food, etc. You just can't go wrong, and it's easy schmeezy prep-ahead stuff. So, I hosted a brunch for my friend Tonya's birthday this past Saturday and it was really good and really fun if I may say so myself. And since the last guests left after 3:00, I'll take that as a success.

Tonya didn't want gifts, so I emailed everyone ahead of time with a list of questions to fill out about her and that we would share at the party. That guest's favorite thing about Tonya, funniest thing about Tonya/that I’ve done with Tonya/that I’ve seen Tonya do, most memorable Tonya moment and last but not least, 5 words that best describe Tonya. I had sheets printed out that everyone could fill out during the party (but Tonya didn't know). It ended up being really fun and we all laughed our pants off about the mouse hysterectomy story (since that was down for more than a couple of people's funniest thing about Tonya).

We also played a goofy game that was actually fun and kept the whole group talking instead of it being 2 talking here and 2 talking there... I was concerned that there were a couple of people who really didn't know everyone else and I didn't want them to feel excluded. It's a good mingling game if you ask me. When a guest got there they got a name tag stuck to their back with the name of a famous person. The goal was to ask yes/no questions about who they were until they could guess. It was pretty funny. The ones I thought would be really easy ended up being harder and there were a few that I thought would be hard that were guessed pretty quickly. Pamela Anderson was the one that took ALL DAY and I thought it was going to be one of the easiest.

So now for the good part - the food. Peeps, let me tell you that if you have a breakfast or a brunch, MAKE THIS CASSEROLE. Remove the others from your repertoire!! It is super easy because you make it ahead of time and it only takes about 5 or 10 minutes of prep time, at that. Just don't forget to put it in the oven in time because it takes an hour. I had it the first time at a recipe shower that was thrown for me by the Falls. Everyone had a fit. I figured that I had to give it a try and there wasn't one single bite left. I cannot believe that we finished it off - it was HUGE.

I served it with cheese grits (I think this is one of those things you can't mess up, regardless of how you make them), but I'll post the recipe for this as well. I used pepper jack because of Asheley. I also had fruit, and had some other girls bring orange rolls and cinnamon rolls. I have a fabulous recipe that due to the fact that I don't have a double oven yet (one day, one day!!). It's for the best freaking french toast (also a make ahead that ROCKS and takes no time to prepare, and the fact that you make it in a disposable lasagna pan lends itself to easy clean-up. Tonya - I'm so sorry that we didn't have this because you would have LOVED it.

I served the same two punches that I had at my Christmas cookie swap as well (Bellini punch and SoCo or Southern Comfort punch). Of course both were finished off because these girls love their adult beverages! Richard was pretty bummed that there wasn't anything left besides a bite of cheese grits, but I made Leslie's pot roast on Saturday and served it with the left over cheese grits and it was fabulous. I never would have thought about doing that, but may have to do it again!

All in all, happy birthday to Tonya and thanks to the heavens for making brunch such a lovely, fun and delicious time!

Cheesy Brunch "Quicherole"

• 2 lbs mild pork sausage
• 3 cups milk
• 9 eggs, beaten
• 5 slices white bread, cut in 1" cubes
• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (I used a 2% mix sharp white and swiss)
• 1.5 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Pepper

Brown sausage until fully cooked and crumbly, drain.
Add other ingredients and mix well
9x13 baking dish - For best results: chill overnight
Cook on 350 for 1 hour or until firm

Carla's Decadent French Toast

• 5 T. light corn syrup
• 1 Cup light brown sugar
• 5 T butter
• 3 Layer no crust white bread
• 5 eggs
• 1 ½ cp milk
• 1 T. vanilla
• * I add cinnamon and sometimes nutmeg.

Combine syrup, butter and light brown sugar and boil until bubbly in a sauce pan (I have doubled the original amounts to make extra, so the recommended portion is half of what is above, but you will see THAT is the best part and what makes this soooo yummy!).
Pour mixture into disposable lasagna pan. Layer bread over syrup mixture. Blend milk, eggs, vanilla, etc. and pour EVENLY over mixture. For best results, chill overnightBake 350 until brown.

Cheese Grits

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups whole milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (omit if using pepper jack cheese)
• 1 1/4 cups grits (quick is fine, but not instant)
• 2 cups grated cheese
• White pepper to taste
• *Optional 3 to 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

Bring milk and broth to a boil on med-high heat. Add grits and simmer stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Add butter (if desired) and cheese - season accordingly and serve immediately.

If you are interested in the punch recipes, just post a request and I will pass them on!

Later!

Gina

I hate spinach

OK, not really but have you ever been stupid enough to try a new recipe before taking a dish to a dinner party. EVERYTIME I do this, I regret it. When will I learn?

We were going to meet have dinner at Scott and Stacy's house with a bunch of friends. I was the last one to sign up for something to bring, so I had a tough time deciding on a side that would be good with beef tenderloin and parmesan potatoes and then I thought of creamed spinach. I've made it as well as spinach souffle in the past and always loved it, so why not? That would be fine if I hadn't thought that I could improve my existing recipes by using the Ruth's Chris Creamed Spinach recipe (they publish all of their recipes on their website), but now I'm convinced that it is just a sick joke because if I had served the creamed spinach as published, it would have been a bland, dry mess.

Since my previous spinach recipes took 20 minutes max from start to finish and I wanted to have warm food when I arrived at Stacy's, I waited until the last minute to make my spinach. And to add insult to injury, I had already added my spinach to the roux when I realized it was going to be a monumental failure. Anyway, long story short I ended up having to empty my 'fridge of any and all dairy (with the exception of Velveeta), just to make it salvageable. Lucky for me I keep garlic on hand because without fresh garlic, it would have had the flavor of old socks. So the moral of this story my friends, is to NOT EXPERIMENT before dinner with friends and under NO circumstances should you trust any recipe on R.C.'s website!

Here's my stand by recipe with no certain measurements because good creamed spinach is just easy and there's no need to measure.

EASY SCHMEEZY SPINACH

• olive oil or butter (no substituting with a spread please)
• 2 packs frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
• fresh garlic
• minced onion
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 4-8 oz cream cheese (reduced fat OK, but no fat free)
• 4-8 oz milk or half and half
  

Heat olive oil on medium high, lightly saute garlic and minced onion
Add spinach and continue to saute until spinach no longer has a "raw taste" (about 7-10 minutes)
Add equal parts cream cheese and milk (or half and half), until you reach desired consistency.

Sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese before serving.

For a good souffle or casserole, add 2 eggs lightly beaten with a little milk and bake for 15-20 minutes until set.

And the winner is...

OK, I actually have a few recipes to post today. But first things first!!! Back to last week's cliff hanger. "Who won the battle of the soups??!!", I'm sure all two of you have been asking yourself daily, checking my blog in disappointment when you saw there was nothing there. Well, here's what you've been waiting for. I think that my "revised version" of the soup really tasted like the original, but it had more veggies and that's always good, so I'm going to go with version #2 as the decided winner. It is quite a delicious and healthy soup either way. I will post that recipe below.



Now onto the rest of my cooking adventures. I always cook dinner on Sunday. "Supper" for clarification since Sunday is the only day of the week when we folks in the south refer to lunch as "dinner" - I've never understood that. Anyway, wanted to try something new and wanted to do a pork roast so I found a recipe for Pork Chile Rojo. Sounded good and had high ratings on allrecipes, my recipe "holy city", if you will (I'm not being blasphemous here, please note). If allrecipes.com had a frequent flyer club, I'd have several free round trip tickets to anywhere around the world. I'm what you would call and addict. Anyway, I digress.



I made the pork, it was good, but not something that you want to eat the leftovers several times because it is soooo delicious. It was a one time meal kind of "I like it". Well, obviously we had a little left over since it was a 4.25lb roast and there are only two of us. So, I went to my recipe holy land and found a KILLER Pork Chile Casserole to make with the leftovers and it KILLED. Very, very yummy. Richard had his as burrito stuffing, and I ate mine as casserole with a salad. I topped with low fat sour cream and some taco sauce. Well, Richard only got the taco sauce because he thinks that sour cream is evil (weirdo). Asheley came over to help me decide on the hanging of artwork and the final (or at least final for now) furniture placement before we take the overstock to storage, and she had some of the casserole and like it too. Could be that she was famished from a day of no eating, but I'm going to cling to the idea that it's because the casserole was so friggin' good.

Here are the recipes that mentioned in this post:

Pork Chile Rojo
· 1 (4 pound) boneless pork shoulder roast, trimmed
· 3 tablespoons chili powder
· 1 cup chopped onions
· 4 cups water
· 2 (16 ounce) jars salsa
· 2 (10 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
· Juice from 1 lime

1. Place the pork roast into an oven roasting bag set inside a slow cooker. Sprinkle the chili powder over the roast and arrange onions on top of the roast. Loosely close the top of the bag with a nylon tie. Use scissors to cut 3 vents, 1-inch long in the top of the bag. Pour the water into the bottom of the slow cooker, around the bag, so that it is at least 1 inch deep.
2. Cover and cook the pork on Low for 6 to 8 hours.
3. Remove the pork and onions from the bag and place in a large Dutch oven; reserve 3/4 cup of liquid from the bag. Shred the pork by pulling it apart using two forks. Stir the salsa, tomatoes, and cooking liquid in with the shredded pork.
4. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Gina's Turkey Vegetable Soup
· 1 package ground turkey ( I believe the Butterball packages are 1 ¼ pound)
· 6 slices turkey bacon chopped
· 1 onion, chopped
· 2 cloves garlic, minced
· Salt, pepper, coriander, Italian seasoning
Brown in a little olive oil until turkey is done – DO NOT DRAIN
· 2 ½ cups frozen vegetables (I used the mix of corn, carrots, green beans and English peas)
· 2 cups of gumbo vegetables (okra, red peppers, peppers, onions and corn)
· 3-4 fresh yellow squash chopped (I used chunky pieces)
· 1 large can diced tomatoes
· 1 can rotel
· 1 medium can tomato sauce meatloaf seasoning (I believe this was made by Del Monte)
· 4-5 cups Chicken stock/broth (I always use Swanson’s organic, low sodium)
· Ketchup to taste (I probably used almost ¼ cup)
· Worcestershire sauce to taste (I probably used almost a ¼ cup)
Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour, or cook on low in a crockpot for 6 or so hours.

Pork and Green Chili Casserole
· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
· 1 1/2 pounds boneless pork loin chops, cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 1/2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked
· 1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
· 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
· 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
· 2 (4 ounce) cans diced green chile peppers
· 3 tablespoons chunky salsa
· 1/4 cup water
· 2 tablespoons ground cumin
· 1 cup shredded Colby cheese
*I modified this recipe slightly because my pork was already cooked with tomatoes and salsa in it, so I just used 1 can or rotel. Also, mine was pulled and not cubed.
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or stock pot over medium-high heat. Add pork, and saute until browned. Drain off grease. Add the rice, cream of chicken soup, black beans, tomatoes, green chiles, salsa and water. Season with cumin. Stir to blend, then bring to a boil. Simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). When the pork mixture is cooked, transfer to a 9x13 inch baking dish. Sprinkle cheese over the top.
3. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until cheese is melted. Serve with tortillas

Well - that's all for now. Have a great weekend!

Veggie Soup day & fabulous freezer storage for soup

OK, everyone knows that Richard and I eat a LOT of soup during the fall and winter, so I'm taking my not yet famous "Gina's Vegetable and Turkey Soup" and trying a few new things in it tonight to see if I like it better, like it the same or if I've "messed with perfection" and end up screwing it up. I'll post tonight or tomorrow and let you know how it turns out.

I've also found the PREFECT freezer containers finally. They have a double seal and so far, NO FREEZER BURN on leftovers at all. I think that's another reason I'm so "soup". It's so easy to freeze and have later. They actually have them on sale at Bruno's this week (25% off), so I picked up a few more. They aren't much to look at, but I haven't found anything that was so good about keeping my soup from getting freezer burned.

http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd220001

Anyway, wish me good luck on my veggie soup experiment and I'll post the winning recipe tomorrow (the existing champ or the new challenger). Ha ha!

Williams-Sonoma Professional Multi-Chopper

OK, so I have been so blessed with great wedding gifts, gift cards, etc. This has enabled me to get a TON of the kitchen tools and gadgets that I'd always wanted. I thought that all of you cooks out there would be interested in the ones that have completely changed my life. This is my ultimate favorite gadget. I try to cook with vegetables as often as I can and have several recipes that require a god deal of chopping (veggie lasagna, vegetarian chili, pasta primavera, etc.), so when I came across this little gem while registering at WS, I was sold. The video online is what really sucked me in. I have to testify that this little gem makes chopping a million veggies like a 5 minute job. I don't use it if I just have one measly onion to chop, but when I've got things to slice, or several things to chop, I wouldn't trade it for anything. LOVE IT!!!! If you do anything with vegetables, I HIGHLY encourage you to go to the WS website and watch the video demo (click here) and then go buy one! AS the video will point out, it stores very easily. The only downside is that it's slightly tedious to clean up (but no more so than anything else that does the same thing like a grater).

The Best Bean and Ham Soup EVER

This is sooo cheap to make and is delicious on a cold night. It's great served with garlic cheese biscuits. Yummmm...

Ingredients:

• 4 (15.5 ounce) cans great northern beans
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cups of matchstick carrots (or chopped carrots, but I'm lazy sometimes)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2-3 cups chopped ham (my favorite is leftovers from a smoked ham, the smokey taste is FABULOUS)
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (I use the organic, low sodium kind)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbs white pepper
• 2 tsp mustard powder
  

Directions:

Puree 2 cans of the beans in a food processor or blender. Put everything in the crockpot and cook all day on low. The longer it cooks, the better. I've left it cooking through the day and night and it just gets better and better the longer it's in there. Of course if you want a quicker version, just saute the onion and carrots,throw it in the crockpot and cook for a couple of hours on high. It is a totally different soup, but is still fabulous.