Cowboy Chili

You know you live on a ranch when the activity for the day after Thanksgiving is not Black Friday Sales, but working calves because the 'kids' are home. That was our plan and daughter and her husband were the crew. Since I got to stay in where it was warm and clean, my activity was lunch. The cool day called for a special chili. This recipe is from my friend Sharolyn, she calls it "Wendy's Chili", we called it Cowboy Chili, in reference to the day's activities.

Recipe for “Wendy’s Chili”

2 lbs. lean ground beef (browned and rinsed)

1 – 14 oz. can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)

1 – 14 oz. can pinto beans (drained and rinsed)

1 – can Ranch style beans

1 – 10 oz. can Rotel

1 – 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes

4 – 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

1 – onion, chopped

1 – bell/sweet pepper, chopped

Garlic to taste

1 package chili seasoning

Optional:  1 Tablespoon brown sugar 

 (I omitted the kidney beans, didn't have those in the pantry, and used 1 -15 oz. can of tomato sauce with 1 -12 oz. can of tomato juice instead of the 4 - 8 oz cans of tomato sauce)

Saute onion and pepper, add garlic; combine remaining ingredients and simmer or place in crockpot.  (Cook on low for 4-6 hours)

Rich Italian Bread

More from the National Festival of Breads contest of last summer (blog of June 24, 2013 ). This is one I've been wanting to try and waiting for an Italian menu to go with it. Our after-Thanksgiving Saturday dinner was the time. With lasagna, tossed salad and green beans, this bread was just right.
Jane Hinrichsen, from Minnesota, was the contestant who submitted this recipe which was a finalist. She developed it when she was a Family and Consumer Sciences teacher and her class was preparing a meal for the football team.

Photo from the National Festival of Breads website

Rich Italian Bread

Prep Time: 1 hour
Bake Time: 50 minutes
Yield: Makes 2 large loaves, 24 slices each

Ingredients

6-6 ½ cups King Arthur Bread Flour, divided 


1 package Fleischmann’s® Rapid Rise™ Yeast 


2 ¼ cups low-fat milk 


2 tablespoons granulated sugar 


3 tablespoons olive oil 


2 teaspoons salt 


2 teaspoons dried Italian seasoning 


2 teaspoons garlic powder 


½ cup finely chopped onion 


¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese 


25 pepperoni slices (1.5 ounces), finely chopped (turkey or original) 


1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic and oregano, (no salt added), drain well 


1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced black olives, drain well 


1 tablespoon cornmeal, divided 

Instructions

1. In large mixer bowl, using paddle attachment, combine 2½ cups flour and yeast. 



2. In microwaveable bowl, heat milk, sugar, oil, salt, Italian seasoning and garlic powder until very warm (120° to 130°F). Add to flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Add onion, Parmesan cheese, pepperoni and 1½ cups flour; stir in well-drained tomatoes and olives. Gradually add enough of the remaining 2½ cups flour to make a soft dough. (If tomatoes are not drained well, the dough will be very sticky and extra flour may be needed.) 



3. Knead with dough hook 10 minutes. Cover bowl; let rest 10 minutes. Sprinkle two 16 x 14-inch baking sheets with cornmeal. On work surface, divide dough into two equal pieces. Shape into two round loaves and place on baking sheets. Cover loaves with plastic wrap that has been lightly coated with nonstick cooking spray. Let rise in warm, draft-free place until double in size, about 45 minutes. Using a fine, sharp serrated knife or baker’s slashing tool, make slashes about 1/8-inch deep, slashing the top in quarters. 



4. Bake in preheated 350°F oven 45 to 50 minutes or until golden brown and its internal temperature registers 204°F on an instant-read thermometer. 

Note: Dough may be used for pizza crust, sandwich buns, rolls or soup bowls.

Nutrition Information

One slice provides approximately 133 calories; 8 g protein; 16 g carbohydrates; 1 g dietary fiber; 4 g fat (1 g saturated); 21 mg cholesterol; 39 mcg folate; 1 mg iron and 435 mg sodium.

I kneaded the dough by hand as I have better luck getting a manageable dough with that method. It is a very moist dough, even after draining and pressing the liquid from the tomatoes. I made the dough into rolls (25-30, it is a big recipe), and baked about 30 minutes. After baking the product is very soft, we actually liked the rolls better after they were frozen and reheated in the oven with the baking lasagna, they became a bit more crispy. 

Start the Party - Appetizers

There was quite an array of things to see and taste

And the table decorations were great

Recently I had the opportunity to go over to a county I'd worked in as Extension educator, and present a program for an annual event that I helped start many years ago. It was fun to revisit one of the favorite parts of my career. The event was Holiday Happenings, a get-you-ready-for-the-season series of demonstrations, presentations and ideas. I remember doing past programs of wreaths, gingerbread, salads, children's toys and many more topics complete with showing how to decorate, serve and gift the various themes.

My 'return engagement' talk was about family food traditions and I shared some food history and trivia and had a good time visiting with the women. But, as much fun as I had doing this, it was even more fun to watch the other part of the program! Lori, who teaches middle school FCS and is a special events chef in a historical town a few counties away, showed some of the appetizers she makes for the season. She also shared some tips for setting up the buffet table. Like placing foods at different heights by using cake stands, stacked plates and bowls, wrapped boxes, baskets and other decor. She recommended having the drink station separate from the food table to get people to mingle and move. Use everyday items in different ways - canning jars, horn of plenty baskets, flower pots and such. And of course, she stressed food safety - keep hot food hot and cold food cold with the help of iced bowls, warming trays, and other appliances. Of of the best tips was to label the food! She even suggested that besides the name of the food/recipe that the cook's name could be included at a shared buffet to make it easier to trace the recipe for sharing. It would also be helpful to those with food allergies to know what type of food was being offered.

I came home with lots of ideas to try for future gatherings. Here are two that will be taken to our family's Thanksgiving dinner.

Wonton Wrapper Appetizers
1 (16-oz) pkg wonton wrappers (could use egg roll wrappers)
1 lb. sausage, cooked
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup Ranch salad dressing
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a min-muffin pan with cooking spray. Inset wonton wrappers into the muffin pan and press to sides to form small cups. Bake 5 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow the baked wrappers to cool. Remove from the pan. In a medium mixing bowl, mix the sausage, cheeses and dressing. Fill the cups with the mixture. Bake 10-15 minutes, until the mixture is bubbly and slightly brown. Watch closely so the wrappers do not burn.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Tartlets
1 sheet Puff Pastry, thawed
6 tbsp peanut butter
4 oz bar sweet baking chocolate pieces (or  chocolate baking melts - I'm going to try milk chocolate chips)
2/3 cup miniature marshmallows
    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll into an 18x9-inch rectangle. Cut into 24 squares. Press the pastry squares into mini muffin pans. Spoon 1/2 teaspoon peanut butter into each tartlet shell. Top each with 1 semi-sweet chocolate baking melt and 2 mini marshmallows. Bake at 400 degrees for approximately 7-8 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown. Let the pastries cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
   For a larger version (the original recipe before Lori tweaked it) cut puff pastry into 18 squares. After pressing into regular muffin pan cups, add 1 teaspoon peanut butter, 1 square chocolate and 3 mini marshmallows. Bake for 10 minutes.

Here are some other appetizers Lori showed. More to come in future blogs!

Cheese ball shaped as an igloo.
Penguins made from black olives, cream cheese and carrots.

Mini sugar cookies on tiered plate, puff carmel corn in large bowl.
Chocolate chip cheese ball frosted with cream cheese and
 'wrapped' with ribbon of fruit rollups to look like a package.

Unusual serving containers and presentations made it all look festive! 

A Good Day for Cats, but not Frogs!

Go Cats! Beat the Horned Frogs!

This was an exciting weekend in Manhattan as our K-State Wildcats played the TCU Horned Frogs (yes, really!). After a tight game, the Cats won 33-31. A big part of the fun was tailgating with friends before the game with a frog inspired menu.
My contribution was Frog Cupcakes (thank you, Pinterest).

Frog Cupcakes

These froggies are ready to go to the game.

Ingredients:
1 (18.25 oz) package white/yellow cake mix
1 (16 oz) can prepared vanilla frosting
6 drops green food coloring, or as needed
1/4 cup green decorator sugar
12 large marshmallows
48 semisweet chocolate chips (or decorator gel)
decorator gel for face features

cupcakes, baked and cooling

eyes, ready to put on frogs

Directions:
1. Bake cupcakes according to directions on package. All to completely cool.
2. Mix frosting with green food coloring. If you like, you can reserve some frosting to mix with red to make mouths and tongues. Sprinkle some green sugar over tops of frosted cupcakes.
3. Cut marshmallows in half to make 2 circles. Dip each half in water then green sugar to make eyelids. With a little white icing attach chocolate chip for center of eye. Place eyes on cupcakes.
4. Add face features with red tinted frosting or decorator gel.
My tips: I made the eyes the evening before so they had a chance to dry before attaching them to the frosted cupcakes. Cut the marshmallows with kitchen scissors dipped in water. I used black decorator gel to add the black center of the eye instead of a chocolate chip. Also, I added a couple of tablespoons of meringue powder to the can of frosting to make it a little firmer when set. And, I used dark green decorator gel to draw the mouth.

The cupcakes went well with the menu which included grilled frog legs (for real) and Frog's Eye Salad (Acini de Pepe pasta and fruit salad - see a similar recipe in my blog of July 17, 2011).

The meal deal

Church Chicken

Because "Church Chicken" sounds better than "Funeral Chicken". But that may be the new informal name for this recipe. We've often joked about the favorite hash brown potato casserole recipe we call "Funeral Potatoes" (Aug. 13, 2011 blog "Collecting Cookbooks" - UMW Party Potatoes), it was even served at the musical "Church Basement Ladies" dinner theater. But some recipes are comforting, tasty, and easy to prepare for a crowd or extended family attending a funeral.
So when our UMW was asked to serve a dinner for the family after a funeral service at our church this week, this recipe - officially called "Glorious Chicken", from a Garden City community cookbook was suggested by the UMW president. And it did turn out to be a favorite, I'll even make it at home - just won't tell the family its "Funeral Chicken"!

Glorious Chicken

4 – 6 chicken breasts, cooked and diced

1 can (10 oz) cream of chicken soup

1 can (10 oz) cream of celery soup

1 carton (8 oz) sour cream

1 small onion, chopped

1 pkg (8 oz) chicken & herb dressing mix

½ cup margarine

1 ½ cups chicken broth

Place chicken in bottom of greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Mix soups, sour cream and onion; pour over chicken. Sprinkle stuffing mix over soup mixture. Combine margarine and broth in a small saucepan and heat until margarine melts; pour over stuffing. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes

Makes 8 (or more) servings. 

Here are the four basic steps of the recipe (from the top): 1 - chicken on bottom of pan; 2 - soups+sour cream+onion over chicken; 3 - stuffing mix on top; 4 - broth+margarine added to top.