ground beef

Chili With a Twist

Our PA weather is chilling down. Need something to warm up your tummy? Try some homemade chili. So easy; one pot, if you like beans in it this is your recipe. And a little something different; cubes of butternut squash or yam. Yeap yam, it picks up all those spicy flavors, as does butternut squash. Really great with cornbread, I made some fresh southern style using both cornmeal and gf flour, baked them in an 8 ear cast iron corn cub mold and 6 silicone sleeve muffins. I used ground venison, but you can use beef, turkey, venison, or use a plant-based ground meat substitute. This is somewhat spicy but not too much, my tummy can no longer handle the really spicy stuff. You can up the spice or tone it down a bit.  Your chili, your choice.

I make a basic cornbread, but a tasty version. Enjoy!

Need something special!

Angie’s Sort of Spicy Chili Con Carne

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/3 lb. ground beef, 90 percent is what I used

Cooking spray

1 medium onion; chopped into ½ cup dice

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium poblano pepper diced (I used half a good sized one as I can’t do spicy so good anymore)

2/3 cup diced green or red bell pepper

3 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. coriander

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

¼ cup red or white wine (one you would willingly drink!) or broth

roughly 1 and 1/3 cups peeled and cubed yam or butternut squash;

1-2 cups water

1 tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper (more if you want it)

1 14 oz can large kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 14 oz can small red beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Spray large wide 4 qt. pot with cooking spray, heat and add chopped onions. Let cook on medium for 3-5 minutes until softening. Push to edges and add ground meat. Let brown as you break it up and spread out the meat. After turning it once, cook, stirring a lot, until meat isn’t pink. Add minced garlic; stir in, cook 30 seconds. Add all spices, stir well; cook a minute. Add wine or broth, stir, Add crushed tomatoes. Use cup of water to rinse tomato can and add all to pot. Add diced yams and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer on low at least 30 minutes; I cooked mine for more like an hour. I stirred it a lot, at least every 10 minutes taking care to scrape the bottom, so nothing is sticking. I had to go out so I shut it off, put the lid on and restarted it when I returned. It’s flexible that way. Then add kosher salt to taste; I put in 1 tsp. Add the beans. Stir in carefully and cook 15-25 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt, add more ground black pepper if wanted. Honestly it is even better after a good rest in the fridge; the flavors will blend further. So good with corn bread. I didn’t add any toppings; it was just right without any additions, but you can go to town with scallions, grated cheese, or whatever you like. Enjoy!

Here are the ingredients for a delicious Cornbread, ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup Cup4Cup flour or a measure for measure flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1.5 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 lg eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup melted butter. Mix the dry ingredients; add beaten eggs, milk and butter, Stir just until blended. Be sure to let your batter rest 5-10 minutes before pouring into a hot baking dish; I have a cast iron 7 ears of corn one and I do 6 muffin tins too; liberally buttered right before you dump in the liquid mix. Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Get a hunk of cornbread and dive in!

Chili Con Carne with a Twist

Our PA weather is chilling down. Need something to warm up your tummy? Try some homemade chili. So easy; one pot, if you like beans in it this is your recipe. And a little something different; cubes of butternut squash or yam. Yeap yam, it picks up all those spicy flavors, as does butternut squash. Really great with cornbread, I made some fresh southern style using both cornmeal and gf flour, baked them in an 8 ear cast iron corn cub mold and 6 muffins. I used ground beef, but you can use turkey, venison, or use a plant-based ground meat substitute. This is somewhat spicy but not too much, my tummy can no longer handle the really spicy stuff. You can up the spice or tone it down a bit.  Your chili, your choice.

I make a cornbread by Mama Gourmand which is a basic but tasty recipe. Enjoy!

Need something special!

Angie’s Sort of Spicy Chili Con Carne

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/3 lb. ground beef, 90 percent is what I used

Cooking spray

1 medium onion; chopped into ½ cup dice

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium poblano pepper diced (I used half a good sized one as I can’t do spicy so good anymore)

2/3 cup diced green or red bell pepper

3 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. coriander

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

¼ cup red or white wine (one you would willingly drink!)

roughly 1 and 1/3 cups peeled and cubed yam or butternut squash;

1-2 cups water

1 tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper (more if you want it)

1 14 oz can large kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 14 oz can small red beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Spray la arge wide 4 qt. pot with cooking spray, heat and add ground meat. Let brown as you break it up and spread out the meat. After turning it once add the onions. Cook, stirring a lot, until meat isn’t pink. Add minced garlic; stir in, cook 30 seconds. Add all spices, stir well; cook a minute. Add wine, stir, Add crushed tomatoes. Use cup of water to rinse tomato can and add all to pot. Add diced yams and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer on low at least 30 minutes; I cooked mine for more like an hour. I stirred it a lot, at least every 10 minutes taking care to scrape the bottom, so nothing is sticking. I had to go out so I shut it off, put the lid on and restarted it when I returned. It’s flexible that way. Then add kosher salt to taste; I put in 1 tsp. Add the beans. Stir in carefully and cook 15-25 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt, add more ground black pepper if wanted. Honestly it is even better after a good rest in the fridge; the flavors will blend further. So good with corn bread. I didn’t add any toppings; it was just right without any additions, but you can go to town with scallions, grated cheese, or whatever you like. Enjoy!

I strongly suggest you visit her website but here are the ingredients for her delicious Cornbread, ingredients:

1 cup cornmeal, 1 cup Cup4Cup flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 lg eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/4 cup melted butter

Be sure to let your batter rest 5-10 minutes before pouring into a hot baking dish; I have a cast iron 7 ears of corn one and I do 6 muffin tins too; liberally buttered right before you dump in the liquid mix.Bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Get a hunk of cornbread and dive in!

Un-stuffed Cabbage ‘n Beef Stew in my IP

Stuffed cabbage rolls are definitely a Pennsylvania treat. But making this recipe can be time consuming and complex; you have to cook the whole cabbage leaves and separately cook the filling and roll up it inside the half cooked leaves, sauce it and bake it. This is just way, way easier and pretty much better in my opinion. Less work, less heat in my kitchen (I did it in my Instant Pot but you could use a slow cooker or bake in the oven.) It isn’t a pretty dish to photograph and I frankly forgot to take pictures of making it. I debated even sharing it due to this but the flavor is so delish I knew I was gonna make it again so I wanted you to have the option to give it a try.

cabbages

Here is my entire cabbage crop. These fat leaves will make a great batch of this casserole.

This recipe is very homey; great in these trying times. I used some outside cabbage leaves but any fresh cabbage will do.  I used ground chuck but lots of people swear by ground pork or even ground turkey. The amount of spices is variable and you can use any sort of tomato product you wish to get that wonderful tomato flavor in there. I added some smoked paprika and a few raisins to make it like my old recipe. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar to zip it up a bit. Fiddle with the ingredients as you wish. It will still be a comfort meal your family will appreciate. Makes about 6 servings.

cabbage n rice casserolle

Told you my photo was lousy! Trust me it tastes better than it looks. And it looked better the first time we had it.

Angie’s Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

3 big garlic cloves, minced

1 med-large onion diced

2 bay leaves

About 4-5 cups of cabbage cut into 1-2 inch squares/chunks

1 can (13.5 oz) diced tomatoes in juice

8 oz can plain tomato sauce (can leave out and use another cup of broth)

2 to 3 cups beef or chicken broth (Do 3 cups if you want it soupier)

2  tsp paprika

½ tsp. smoked paprika

1/4 tsp. oregano

A Tbsp brown sugar (optional…some folks love, some hate this) or 2 tsp. regular white sugar

2/3 cup long grain white or parboiled brown rice (package will say cook time is 20 minutes), uncooked

1.5 tsp kosher salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce

1 Tbsp. tomato paste

¼ cup raisins (optional)

Directions: In instant pot or big pan brown ground beef: I sprayed it with cooking spray before starting. Or use a tsp or two of mild olive oil. While it browns chop the onions, the cabbage, open the can of tomatoes and get the spices out. After the beef is half browned add the onions, stir a couple minutes; add the garlic too.  Add the spices, bay leaves and stir. Add the tomatoes, broth, tomato sauce and paste, vinegar, Worstershire sauce and cabbage, stir, then add the sugar, rice and salt/pepper. Stir well so nothing is stuck to the bottom. Cook in IP under pressure for 9 minutes. Let rest 10 min before depressurizing and adding optional raisins. Correct seasoning; add more salt and pepper as desired and serve. You can bake it in oven for 45 minutes. Slow cooker for maybe 6 hours? I don’t use that function often but I am sure it would work fine for this recipe.

Enjoy!

Originally published in 2020. This is an updated version with a number of ingredient additions and less cooking time.

Chili Con Carne with a Twist

Our PA weather is chilling down. Need something to warm up your tummy and tired of turkey? Try some homemade chili. So easy; one pot, if you like beans in it this is your recipe. And a little something different; cubes of yam. Yeap yam, it picks up all those spicy flavors. Great with cornbread, I had some leftover from Thanksgiving; put it in the freezer and it tastes fresh. I used ground beef, you can use turkey, venison, or use a plant-based ground meat substitute. This is somewhat spicy but not too much, my tummy can no longer handle the really spicy stuff. You can up the spice or tone it down a bit.  Your chili, your choice. Enjoy!

Need something special!

Angie’s Sort of Spicy Chili Con Carne

Ingredients

1 1/3 lb. ground beef, 90 percent is what I used

Cooking spray

1 medium onion; chopped into ½ cup dice

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 medium poblano pepper diced

2/3 cup diced green or red bell pepper

3 tsp. chili powder

½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. smoked paprika

½ tsp. coriander

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes

¼ cup red or white wine (one you would willingly drink!)

1 1/3 cups peeled and cubed yam; roughly that amount

1 cup water

1 tsp. kosher salt

¼ tsp. ground black pepper (more if you want it)

1 14 oz can large kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 14 oz can small red beans, rinsed and drained

Directions:

Spray la arge wide 4 qt. pot with cooking spray, heat and add ground meat. Let brown as you break it up and spread out the meat. After turning it once add the onions. Cook, stirring a lot, until meat isn’t pink. Add minced garlic; stir in, cook 30 seconds. Add all spices, stir well; cook a minute. Add wine, stir, Add crushed tomatoes. Use cup of water to rinse tomato can and add all to pot. Add diced yams and Worcestershire sauce. Cover and simmer on low at least 30 minutes; I cooked mine for more like an hour. I stirred it a lot, at least every 10 minutes taking care to scrape the bottom so nothing is sticking. I had to go out so I shut it off, put the lid on and restarted it when I returned. It’s flexible that way. Then add kosher salt to taste; I put in 1 tsp. Add the beans. Stir in carefully and cook 15-25 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt, add more ground black pepper if wanted. Honestly it is even better after a good rest in the fridge; the flavors will blend further. Great with corn bread. I didn’t add any toppings; it was just right without any additions but you can go to town with scallions, grated cheese, or what ever you like. Enjoy!

Get a hunk of cornbread and dive in!

Un-stuffed Cabbage n Beef Casserole

Stuffed cabbage rolls are definitely a Pennsylvania treat. But making this recipe can be time consuming and complex; you have to cook the whole cabbage leaves and separately cook the filling and roll up it inside the half cooked leaves, sauce it and bake it. This is just way, way easier and pretty much better in my opinion. Less work, less heat in my kitchen (I did it in my Instant Pot but you could use a slow cooker or bake in the oven.) It isn’t a pretty dish to photograph and I frankly forgot to take pictures of making it. I debated even sharing it due to this but the flavor is so delish I knew I was gonna make it again so I wanted you to have the option to give it a try.

cabbages

Here is my entire cabbage crop. These fat leaves will make a great batch of this casserole.

This recipe is very homey; great in these trying times. I used some outside cabbage leaves but any fresh cabbage will do.  I used ground chuck but lots of people swear by ground pork or even ground turkey. The amount of spices is variable and you can use any sort of tomato product you wish to get that wonderful tomato flavor in there. I added some smoked paprika and a few raisins to make it like my old recipe. Sometimes I add a tablespoon of red wine vinegar to zip it up a bit. Fiddle with the ingredients as you wish. It will still be a comfort meal your family will appreciate. Makes about 6 servings.

cabbage n rice casserolle

Told you my photo was lousy! Trust me it tastes better than it looks. And it looked better the first time we had it.

Angie’s Unstuffed Cabbage Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef

2 big garlic cloves, minced

1 med-large onion diced fine

About 4 cups of cabbage cut into 1-2 inch squares/chunks

1 can (13.5 oz) diced tomatoes

16 oz can plain tomato sauce

1.5 cups beef or chicken broth

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp. smoked paprika

A Tbsp brown sugar (optional…some folks love, some hate this)

2/3 cup white or parboiled brown rice, uncooked

  • sea salt

¼ tsp ground pepper

¼ cup raisins (optional)

 

Directions: In instant pot or big pan brown ground beef: I sprayed it with cooking spray before starting. Or use a tsp or two of mild olive oil. After the beef is half browned add the onions, stir a couple minutes; add the garlic too.  Add the spices and stir. Add the tomatoes, broth and cabbage, stir, then add the sugar, rice and salt/pepper. Stir well so nothing is stuck to the bottom. Cook in IP under pressure for 35 minutes. Let rest 10 min before depressurizing and adding optional raisins. Then serve. You can bake it in oven for 45 minutes. Slow cooker for maybe 6 hours? I don’t use that function often but I am sure it would work fine for this recipe.

Enjoy!