Drunken Chili, an idea from Kris

This is the revised recipe...

- 1.25 lb extra lean ground turkey breast
- 8 cloves garlic (more or less depending on your taste), minced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 large white onion or 2 small ones, diced
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 2 serrano chilis, with seeds and ribs, finely diced
- 3 jalapeno peppers with seeds and ribs, finely diced
- 2 heaping TBPS ground cumin
- 1/4 cup chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 2 teaspoons red chili flakes
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 large TBSP Better than Bouillon beef base (or 2 beef bouillon cubes)
- 2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 bottles dark beer (Guinness works well)
- 1 large can diced tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce (optional - makes it a little more tomato-y)

Sweat onions, garlic, peppers (spicy and mild ones) in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add ground turkey and brown over medium heat, mixing into the onion mixture. Add powdered spices when turkey is done. Mix well. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer chili for 1.5 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally. This allows the excess water to boil off, leaving more thick chili. Some like a chili soup, in that case add a little more beef bouillon (or more beer - who's keeping track?!)

This is what my chili recipe has pretty much become. Granted, I never measure anything so all measurements are guesses, not exact. It's mostly a cook by feel/taste thing... I like it spicy, if you don't, then omit and/or reduce the spicy ingredients...

Southwestern(ish) Orzo and Black Beans, an idea from Amy

Cook and then drain orzo pasta-return it back to the pot.

Drain 1 can of black beans, 1 can of corn, 1 can of mushrooms (I love those stinking things!)

In olive oil, saute some minced garlic, diced onion, and 2 diced tomatoes until the tomatoes are cooked, but not mushy.

Throw the beans, corn, 'shrooms, garlic, onions, and tomatoes in with the pasta and some butter, turn the heat on low so the butter melts. Add salt, cumin, and crushed red pepper to taste.
Squeeze some lime juice over it before you serve.
Next time, I'm making it with fresh cilantro.

Halushki, an idea from Stacy

It's something I grew up on, so I don't have a recipe. I usually make it with no meat. It's typically served with some kind of pork (pork chops, sausage, bacon).

Little butter, little olive oil, 1 onion and 1 small head cabbage. Saute.
Cook egg noodles separately and when they're done throw them in w/ the veggies.
Cook bacon and crumble in.

ETA: salt and pepper of course.

White Bean Chicken Chili, from Carrie

1 lbs ground chicken
2 cans of white beans (drained and rinsed)
1 container of chicken stock (I used a 32oz-er)
1 16oz jar of salsa verde
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp oregano
Garlic (I used Garlic Garlic form Tastefully Simple)
hot pepper flakes, salt, pepper to taste

Brown chicken, dump everything together, simmer until beans are soft. Serve.

Veggie Pasta, from Mel

1 head cauliflower, broken into bite sized pieces
2 medium zucchini, cubed
1 small-to-medium sweet onion, sliced or diced or whatever suits you
1 lb meat of choice: we like ground turkey or turkey Italian sausage or the like
thick pasta, such as linguine or fettuccine
roughly 1/2 cup parm. reg. grated or shaved
approx. 2-3 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped
salt, pepper, and garlic to taste
2-4 tbsp olive oil, butter, or margarine (fat, basically)

Lightly steam cauliflower in a large fry pan. Add some fat and the zucchini, onions, and seasonings to taste. Saute until nearly done, and then crank the heat. Let the cauliflower (and everything else) get ever so slightly golden brown. Sometimes this takes a while. Remove from heat and set aside in a bowl.

Start a pot of water for the pasta.

Add the meat of choice to the fry pan with a little more fat. Cook until done, breaking into bite sized pieces. It's good to leave it in kinda big chunks. (Nickel or quarter sized.) Boil pasta according to package directions.

Add veggies to the meat. Stir in pasta, parm, and basil. Eat.

Kick Azz Chicken Stir Fry, an idea from Kris

Lots of veggies - white onions, white and brown mushrooms, bean sprouts, cabbage, bok choy, water chestnuts and 3 jalapenos.

I had cut a couple of chicken breasts into thin strips and marinated them in sesame oil, soy sauce and oyster sauce. Cooked them with some onions and jalapenos. Then, removed from heat - cooked mushrooms with some onions and jalapenos, removed from heat.

Added the rest and cooked for about 3 or 4 minutes on high until the water had evaporated, returned the chicken and mushrooms to the pan, added remainder onions and jalapenos, threw some extra soy sauce, oyster sauce and a dash of schezuan sauce and served with white rice.

Soft Onion Breadsticks, suggested by Stephanie

I'm making these but as sub rolls instead of breadsticks.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Soft-Onion-Breadsticks/Detail.aspx

We have sweet italian sausage to put on them.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet, saute onion in oil until tender; cool. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 1 egg, butter, sugar, salt, 1 egg and 1 cup flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in onion and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Let stand for 10 minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 32 pieces. Shape each piece into an 8-in. rope. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes.
4. Beat cold water and remaining egg; brush over breadsticks. Sprinkle half with sesame seeds and half with poppy seeds. Bake at 350 degrees F for 16-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

Update: Well the bread was pretty awesome.I cooked the sausages this morning (on med-low, they take a long time) and then sauteed the onions in a little of the grease/olive oil from the sausages. The recipe has a typo and calls for 1 egg individually twice then an eggwash. I used one egg total and skipped the wash, bread flour instead of all purpose (needed an extra 1/2 cup) and only added the onions after kneading in the mixer. It took FOR. EVER. to rise because I wanted to leave it in the mixing bowl and the bowl was stuck on the mixer which is not as warm as, say, next to the oven or a heat vent. Plus my yeast was slightly old. Anyway, it still came out great. Yay.