Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beef. Show all posts

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Seven-Chile Texas Chili

Chocolate and beer and chiles, oh my!

Who wouldn't fall in love?



As I thumbed through The Homesick Texan Cookbook, I marked recipe pages with my fingers that I was in love with and wanted to try. Soon I was out of fingers.

The world for a sticky note!

I had to start narrowing down my pick for Week 3 of the Cookbook Spotlight and Cookoff. Would it be the Radish and Cabbage Slaw? The Seven-Chile Texas Chili? The Queso Cookies? Tortilla Soup?

I kept coming back to the Seven-Chile Texas Chili.

Fall is definitely arriving here in Alaska; leaves are changing, crabapples beg picking, and the night air is bone-chilling cool, even when the days have a little warmth to them. To top it off, K has been moose hunting (and I sure hope I get to blog about moose recipes soon), and when he's home, I would sure love to have a hearty meal to warm him up.

Did I mention I kept coming back to the Seven-Chile Texas Chili? The only potential problem I faced was that it takes about half a day to make, which meant that I couldn't cook it while I was at work, so the One Hour Texas Chili was tempting. I persevered and opted to go with the whole shebang. I mean, why not?

I ran into a few snags when I couldn't find some of the chiles, but life is about improvisation and I really wanted to try this tasty treat. You'll find my substitutions below, and I think you'll love this dish too.

Seven-Chile Texas Chili
adapted from The Homesick Texan Cookbook, page 139

6 dried ancho chiles (I substituted 5 chipotles in adobo, and adobo sauce)
2 dried pasilla chiles
2 dried guajilla chiles (I substituted 1 dried chile de arbol)
2 dried chipotle chiles (I used 2 chiles in adobo)
4 dried chiles de arbol
4 pieces of bacon
4 pounds chuck roas, cut into 1/4" cubes
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup brewed coffee
1 bottle beer (I used 16 oz of K's Oatmeal Stout homebrew)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground clove (I used 3 small whole cloves)
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon grated Mexican hot chocolate (I used 1 teaspoon granular Mexican hot chocolate)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste (I used sea salt)
4 dried pequin chiles (I substituted with a poblano chile)
2 tablespoons masa harina
Ground cheddar and chopped onions for serving

Remove the seeds and stems from the dried chiles and toast the dried peppers for 10 seconds on each side in a dry skillet. Cover with water and leave heat on until the water starts to boil. Then remove the heat and let soak for 30 minutes.

Cook the bacon in a deep skillet or dutch oven over medium heat until done. Remove from the pan to a plate covered with a paper towel. Brown the cubed beef in the bacon grease and remove from the pot (this may need to be done in batches). In the same pot, cook the onions until translucent (about 5 minutes), then add the garlic for another 30 seconds or so. Add the beef back in.

Here, because I did have to leave the house to accomplish a few things, I transferred everything to my 6 quart slow cooker and turned to high.

Add all other ingredients except for the masa harina and the cheddar and onion garnish. While waiting for the chili to boil, combine all peppers in a food processor with a cup of water and process until a thick paste. Add to the chili.

The original recipe calls for turning the heat to low when the chili begins to boil, and simmer uncovered for 5 hours. Because of my slow cooker alteration, I covered the chili during its first 3 hours of simmering, and checked periodically, adding water and adjusting spices as needed.

After five hours, scoop out 1/4 cup of broth and mix with the masa harina; pour the mixture back into the pot and stuir until thickened. Simmer another 30 minutes. When done, serve with the cheddar and onion garnish.

Voila!

This is some tasty chili, with a perfect bite!




This post is part of The Homesick Texan Cookbook Spotlight and Cook-Off sponsored by Hyperion and hosted at girlichef.

Here are the recipes that my fellow cooking adventurers tried this week:

girlichef: Pasilla Garlic Shrimp + Fried Catfish & Hushpuppies
Kahakai Kitchen: Green Chile Chowder
EKat's Kitchen: Seven-Chile Texas Chili
Stirring the Pot: Mexican Fried Potatoes + Carnitas, Jalapeño Pinto Beans, & Red Chile Rice + Breakfast Tacos & Refried Beans + Chorizo Stuffed Jalapeños + Chipotle Pimento Cheese
Sweet Life: Fried Shrimp
Miz Helen's Country Cottage: Pasilla Garlic Shrimp  + Tomatillo Cheese Grits
Mangoes and Chutney: Cheese Enchiladas w/ Chile con Carne
Foodness Gracious: Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
Cooking for My Peace of Mind: Pan de Campo
Nutmeg Nanny: Sweet Potato and Fig Muffins  
Fudge Ripple: Spinach and Mushroom Enchiladas
Rook no. 17: Pumpkin Empanadas
Year on the Grill (posting at other blog): Corn Chowder w/ Roasted Jalapeños & Bacon
Life in the Slow Lane at Squirrel Head Manor: Tomato Cobbler
Creative Kitchen: Migas
Anchovies and Butter: Smoky Deviled Eggs
A Platter of Figs: Mexican Chocolate Chewies  
Bo's Bowl: Carne Guisada   

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Ranch Style Hash -- Recipes on a Budget

After K and I got married, it didn't take long for me to learn that our ideas of what comprised a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal were a ways apart.

We're talking the Grand Canyon of ideological rifts.

I have since learned that Wisconsin cooking is all about meat, cheese, and potatoes. And more meat. And more potatoes.

Before my mid west friends are up in arms, I need to share with you that I know this is not true of all in the mid west. That some of you like a nice big salad full of fresh veggies.

All kidding, and 30 pounds aside. I've learned that meat, cheese, and potatoes are pretty danged good!

I'm sharing with you K's mother's Ranch Style Hash. Though it doesn't have potatoes, it's Wisconsin to the heart!

K even cooked it for us today. I'm such a lucky girl!

Ranch Style Hash
1 lb hamburger, browned and drained
3 1/2 cup tomatoes (or one can diced tomatoes in juice)
1 chopped green pepper
1/2 cup onion
3/4 cup uncooked rice (not minute) -- we used brown so needed to cook this a little longer
1/4 tsp basil
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
pinch of garlic

Simmer all ingredients in a large frying pan for 25 minutes, then top with cheese until melted.
Serve!

YUM!

Linking this up to:





Miz Helen’s Country Cottage


Foodie Friday @ Designs for Gollum


Sunday, April 3, 2011

Erin's Fabulous Spaghetti Sauce (for Carnivores)



Awhile back, K assisted me in what I deemed to be the monumental task of canning tomatoes. After reading the amount of preserving and canning that some people do every year, I feel that I have no room to whine, but it was a lot of work.

Fast forward; all of our soups are gone as are one of our chunky tomato basil sauces. I hadn't yet broken into our canned tomatoes, which were just plain tomatoes. The other night though, I decided to make spaghetti for Klark using some of the fantastic grass fed beef that we brought up from CO.



MMMMM.

Erin's Fabulous Spaghetti Sauce 
(for Carnivores)

1 quart canned tomatoes (all sauce)
3 fresh tomatoes, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 one white onion, diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
2 T red wine
1 dozen baby bella mushrooms
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp cornstarch
olive oil
1 tbsp dried basil
spices


In a large, deep skillet, saute garlic and onion in olive oil for a few minutes. Add beef in and brown.


Open the lovely jar of homemade and canned tomato sauce. I wish I could describe to you just how amazingly delicious it is. SO amazingly delicious and aromatic.


Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes and basil to the pan, along with the wine and balsamic vinegar.

Toss in the mushrooms, I found that chopping them in half or quarters worked best. Simmer until sauce is thickened. If you're impatient you and your husband are really hungry, and the sauce just doesn't seem to thicken up, toss in a teaspoon of cornstarch to thicken up.


Serve over pasta and top with parmesan cheese (fresh grated of course). I discovered that we didn't have enough spaghetti, so we served over penne. Yummy... and carnivore approved.

I just love that we made the tomato sauce ourselves!!!

I'm bringing this recipe to
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Thursday, October 21, 2010

Slow Cooker Pot Roast Stew & Friday Potluck #6

I love pot roast. I didn't know that I loved it until last year when I had some in an au jus gravy at a friend's house. Yummy pot roast! My friend Heather taught me just how easy it can be to cook pot roast, and she also gave me an undying love for slow cookers.

I've since tried a few different recipes for a slow cooker pot roast stew, and this is the latest, and greatest. Though I'm not a big fan of using pre-made sauce packets because of the extra salts and preservatives, I do need to use up what I have, and they make it so gosh-darn easy.

So after a long day at work and delivering dinner to K who was working a 24-hour shift, I got home exhausted at 9:30 and realized I STILL had to get the roast ready for cooking the next day. Fortunately, I'd remembered to take the roast from the freezer the evening prior and it was all thawed. About 15 minutes later I was in bed and well on my way to snoozing.

Have I mentioned that I LOVE my slow cooker. Thank you to K's mom, she's a really awesome mother-in-law (are you reading, K's Mom?) who gave me the slow cooker for Christmas last year. It's from Hamilton Beach and has not one, not two, but three bowls of different sizes to choose from.

I know you're itching to see all the yummy ingredients in this recipe, so without further ado, I give you (in a deep announcer voice)

SLOW COOKER POT ROAST!
(with veggies and a red wine beef broth)

1 McCormick Seasoning slow cooker pot roast packet with the amount of water it calls for
32 oz low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup red wine (or more if you like)
3 large carrots, sliced
6-8 small red potatoes, cubed
3 large celery stalks, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons gumbo file' powder (a very random, hmmm, this will be good, last minute addition)
1 4lb roast, with as much fat trimmed as possible

Place liquids and spices in a 6 quart slow cooker. Mix together well. Add the roast, followed by the veggies, so that the veggies are stacked around the roast. The roast and veggies should be mostly covered by the liquids. If not, add more liquid of your choosing; I will almost always choose wine because I like it a lot it adds such great flavor to the red meat. 

Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 8-9 hours (or on high for 4-5). If like me, you set the slow cooker in the morning before you leave work and get home more than 9 hours later, that's fine. The longer the meat cooks and simmers in the broth, the more tender it will be. Meat should fall apart easily.
Serve in bowls so that each bowl receives a few chunks of meat and lots of broth and veggies. I completely forgot to make biscuits and K and I were starving so we used some partially stale kaiser rolls, which totally did the trick. BUT, I recommend making fresh biscuits to serve with and soak up the broth, as they seem to really enhance the flavor.

Enjoy!

Also, as it's already almost Friday again, so you know what that means!


Friday Potluck





grab the code!


The rules are so simple, it's almost like there are no rules --
  1. Your blog post must be published before you link up; and you must link to that post (not your general blog address).
  2. In your post, use either a link or the code above to link up to Friday Potluck.
  3. Have fun! Check out some of your fellow potluckers' entries; maybe you'll find some new inspiration or make a new friend or two!

And, finally, please drop me a comment to let me know that you've posted, and tell me what you think!

I'm also linking this up to the following blog parties
The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Exchange @ The Grocery Cart Challenge, Foodie Friday @ Designs By Gollum, Inspiration Friday @ Southern In My Heart, Friday Favorites @ Simply Sweet Home, Family Food Fridays @ Get Healthy Cheap, Food Trip Friday, Family Friendly Friday @ Mommie Cooks


This linky list is now closed.

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