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Cold Weather Cookin’

Chili_edited-1After 17″ of snow the last couple of days, I decided to make chili! I have a go to recipe I use which would not win any Chili cook off competitions but I like it. The original recipe comes from a Better Homes and Garden cookbook my mom gave me back in the 80’s. I love that cookbook! I don’t really follow the recipe anymore, I just throw the stuff together. Below is basically what I do. I will tell you that I usually add more chili powder than what I have listed. The original recipe calls for 2 tsp. but who would put only 2 tsps. in chili!?!

My Chili

Ingredients

  • 1 pound extra lean ground beef
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • Olive oil I use a WW oil sprayer
  • 1 green pepper chopped (I didn’t have a green pepper so I left it out)
  • 1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
  • 1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 1 15 oz can red kidney beans drained
  • 1 tbsp chili powder more or less to taste
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • salt to taste
  • black pepper to taste

Directions

 Brown ground beef along with onion and garlic in a sauce pan coated with olive oil. Drain and add remaining ingredients. Cook at least 30 minutes.

Cooking, Recipes

Indian Snack Mix – aka Spicy Chex Mix

When I was in college, too many years ago, I knew a woman from India. She was a student and was living with her aunt and uncle. Her uncle was a professor at Oklahoma State. I never had him, he was a math professor and I was not a math person at all! I took college algebra and that was it. As a teacher, stats was required but I found a class that met the requirement but was not a complete stats course. It was much easier and my brain did not explode as it may have if I had to take stats.

But I digress. I started this post to tell you about the India Snack Mix recipe I got from my Indian friend. Her aunt created the recipe based on a recipe from India but it used product she could find in the U.S. such as corn chex. It is soooooo good and I make it for my classes during Discover Languages Month in February. The kids always love it and ask for the recipe. It does have one ingredient, hing, that I have never included because I haven’t found it in the small town stores I shop. However, with Internet shopping, I can buy it online. I’ll have to do that.

If you try it, let me know if you liked it (or not).

The picture is one that someone took and posted on my recipe on Food.com.

Chex Mix with a kick!
Chex Mix with a kick!

Indian Snack Mix

INGREDIENTS

2 cups Corn Chex
2 cups shredded wheat cereal, crushed
3 cups Rice Krispies
1 (12 ounce) package chow mein noodles
1 tablespoon red pepper powder or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/8 teaspoon hing (Can be found in international grocery stores or omit)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
12 ounces Spanish peanuts
3/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped onion, added to each serving
1/2 cup lemon juice, added to each serving

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large bowl, mix cereals together. Do not mix in noodles.
  2. Heat oil in a large skillet. Fry mustard seeds and cumin seeds well.
  3. Add noodles and heat for approximately 2 minutes.
  4. Add other spices and mix well. Mix in peanuts. Add two handfuls of the cereal mix and mix well. Add oil mix to remaining cereal mix in bowl and stir well.
  5. Place in baking dish and cook in 250 degree oven for 25 – 30 minutes.
  6. Serve in individual bowls. For each serving, stir in 1 tablespoon chopped onions and 1 tablespoon lemon juice, more or less to taste.
  7. You can also add more red pepper if you like foods that are EXTREMELY hot. Serve with something cold to drink.

Read more at: http://indian.food.com/recipe/indian-snack-mix-30490?oc=linkback