Pumpkin chili

Occasionally I get brave and decide I have to try something that is outside of my comfort zone. This recipe certainly qualified. I mean, who normally puts pumpkin in their chili? Certainly not me. It sounded interesting to me, so I had to try it. I adapted a recipe a bit because I wasn't using the crock pot (but I will give those directions as well). I was going to, but I just ran out of time.

ingredients:

1 onion; chopped (this was actually too much for my family, so if you love onion, keep this amount..if you don't.. cut it at least in half.)
3 cloves of garlic; minced (I didn't have garlic, so I used about 1/2 teaspoon of dried minced garlic).
2 cups chicken broth (I used a can of swansons)
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 lb ground beef
1-15 ounce can of pumpkin
(2) 14 ounce cans of diced tomatoes. (I can't come anywhere close to this amount as I have `family that doesn't like tomatoes.)
1 tsp dried parsley ( used dried flat leaf parsley)
1 tsp oregano
1 1/2 tsp of cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder (I used crushed red pepper)


cook the onion and beef until the onion and burger are done. (I added teh garlic right away too, but the actual directions say to wait. add it and then cook for one minute) If you are doing a crockpot variety, put the meat mixture into the crockpot and remaining ingredients and cook on low for 5-6 hours.
I just left it in the pot, added the remaining ingredients and simmered it for about a half an hour to an hour.

I made this with copycat red lobster biscuits (already blogged about in here). This was a hit, with the exception that it had too many onions, and not enough spice for some of my family.

I adapted this recipe from www.lynnskitchenadventures.com

Artichoke and spinach dip

This summer I joined a CSA (Community Ag Association). I loved it, but I was getting veggies that I didn't have a clue what to do with. I learned much, and have found some new veggies that I like. One of those is artichokes. The biggest problem with artichokes was, I didn't even know where to begin. I was shocked upon the discover they are similar to a cactus. I searched high and low on the internet and found a blog that was very good at explaining how to clean them and keep them looking good.
http://becksposhnosh.blogspot.com/2006/05/how-to-trim-artichoke.html

I didn't have any actual lemon, so I did the best with what I had, and used a bowl of water with concentrated lemon juice. It browned a bit, but no where close to as bad as it did when I didn't use it.

I searched for a recipe (which for the life of me I cannot find) for something that I stood a chance of actually eating.
I THINK this is pretty close to the original recipe that I used.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/hot-artichoke-and-spinach-dip-ii/detail.aspx

I'm horrible about following recipes. Either I don't have all the ingredients, or I don't want to pay the money for the ingredients, or I want to make it healthier. This one was no different.

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
garlic, (I wanted to use fresh, but I only had minced garlic as a spice..I probably used about 1/2 tsp.
several crumbled leaves; dried basil
salt to taste
artichoke hearts, drained and chopped I used all I had, which probably amounted to about a cup if I was lucky.
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 bag shredded mozzarella cheese
1 or 2 dashes of dried red pepper

I threw it in a pot on the stove, heated it until the cheese was melty and gooey, and tossed it in a bowl and served it with tortilla chips. The kids loved it, my dad liked it and I was pleasantly pleased with it.

I'd have liked to have used other cheeses, but I simply didn't have any other kind in the house and forgot to buy any when I was out.

I will admit.. It was a LOT of work cleaning the artichokes for the little amount I got out of them ( I had to clean about 10 or so artichokes to get 1 c.. but mine were very small). I think canned artichoke hearts would be much easier, just not quite as healthy or give you that satisfaction that comes with making it completely from scratch.

cranberry and honey pork roast

I was on the search for a recipe for pork roast. My only real requirement was it need to be a crock pot recipe. I was hoping for something different, but I wasn't overly picky.
After much searching, I finally started looking at a couple, and decided to mesh a couple into one that I hoped would be rather tasty. Here is the recipe.

pork roast. I usually get boneless, it cuts up easier, and not everyone in my family likes meat on the bone, so it's just easier to go with boneless, but.. I'm sure you could do it with a bone in roast.

dried cranberries (I suspect fresh cranberries would work as well). I used about 3/4 of a bag or so, which is roughly about 5 oz or around a cup-1 1/2 cups

honey (I prefer local honey just because of the benefits it has.) around 1/2c to 1 cup depending on how big your roast is.

about a teaspoon of ground nutmeg

about a teaspoon of salt

many of the recipes I looked at suggested trimming most of the fat off (which I started to do, and then I got frustrated with it haha, so I stopped). They also suggest browning the roast in a fry pan with a bit of olive oil. I didn't do this, but at some point I'd like to try it.

I placed the pork roast in the crock pot. I sprinkled the cranberries on top, then drizzled the honey over top. Then I sprinkled the nutmeg and salt over top. Turned the crockpot on high, and cooked for about 8 hours. I really prefer my roasts to fall apart, so you can adjust your time accordingly.

I didn't add any water, and when I pulled it out, there was a fair amount of liquid in the bottom of the crock pot, so it isn't needed. I suspect you can make a gravy out of it, but I don't do good gravies, so I didn't bother to try.
The flavor is a good mixture of sweet and tart, and makes a wonderful fall treat. I would think you could add some apples to this and it would be just as good or better too.

enjoy!!

Pirate Stew

Arrrrrr Matey, do ye be looking for something to eat that be different than ye normal dinner fare? Well shiver me timbers have I a recipe for you!

Pirate stew popped up on Facebook for me, and I will admit, I wanted to try it simply because of the name. The ingredients list looked interesting, so I decided to give it a try.

This seemed a little on the dry side to me for being a "stew". I added a whole can of organic tomato sauce instead of the amount it called for. It still didn't seem quite moist enough, but I left it as it was.

Overall, I liked this recipe. On the page I got this recipe from someone suggesting substituting the kidney beans with pintos and washing the rice, which would help turn it more stew like. Someone else suggested adding carrots, zuchinni, chicken instead of beef, turkey burger. It seems the sky is the limit to change this up into your own little piece of heaven. I hope you enjoy! It was super easy to make, and who doesn't love a good and easy crock pot recipe!

Fix-It and Forget-It

Weekly Recipe: Pirate Stew

You don’t need a treasure map to find the ingredients for Pirate Stew. Plus, the long grain rice, kidney beans, and chili powder offer a delicious variation from other stew recipes. (Click “See More” for the recipe.) And if you have to feed your entire crew, Pirate Stew is easy to double.
Pirate Stew

Fix-It and Forget-It Diabetic Cookbook, pg. 144

Makes 4-6 servings
Ideal slow cooker size: 4-quart

Ingredients:
¾ cup sliced onion
1 lb. ground beef
¼ cup uncooked, long grain rice
3 cups diced raw potatoes
1 cup diced celery
2 cups canned kidney beans, drained
½ tsp. salt
⅛ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. chili powder
¼ tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
½ cup water

1. Brown onions and ground beef in skillet. Drain.
2. Layer ingredients in slow cooker in order given.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 6 hours, or until potatoes and rice are cooked.

Exchange List Values:
Starch 2.0, Vegetable 1.0, Meat, lean 2.0, Fat 0.5

Basic Nutritional Values:
Calories 310 (Calories from Fat 73), Total Fat 8 gm (Saturated Fat 3.0 gm, Polyunsat Fat 0.5 gm, Monounsat Fat 3.4 gm, Cholesterol 45 mg), Sodium 611 mg, Total Carbohydrate 38 gm, Dietary Fiber 7 gm, Sugars 6 gm, Protein 22 gm

Variation: Add a layer of 2 cups sliced carrots between potatoes and celery.

copycat red lobster biscuits

I haven't had a chance to personally try these yet, but I will be trying them in the very near future!

Garlic Cheddar “Copycat Red Lobster” Biscuits

adapted from Two Of A Kind Working On A Full House

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup milk

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400.
Combine all of your dry ingredients together.
“Cut” in the COLD butter using two forks or whatever technique works best for you. You want the flour to take on a crumbly consistency. Don’t overwork it, you don’t want the butter to warm.
Add your milk and cheese and mix until the flour is fully moistened (once again…don’t overwork it.).
Spray your muffin tin with cooking spray.
If you have a mini muffin tin, you can drop by the tablespoon full. I did not, so I made 10 biscuits just by eyeballing even portions.
I let it cook about 15 minutes and it was done perfectly. I say start checking at around 10 minutes. They should be slightly golden brown on top.
Eat and enjoy!

Be sure to check out all the frugal recipes here on Family Friendly Frugality!