Football, Family, and Amil's Chili

When my husband Zach was younger, he has fond memories of getting together with family during football season. He's from Colorado, and the Denver Broncos have been his team since he can remember. He even remembers where he was, and how sad he was when John Elway announced his retirement.

There was one meal that he had often when his family got together to watch the Broncos... chili. It was a recipe from his Grandpa Amil, and it brings back memories when we have it today. I was so grateful when he shared this with me, and excited when I got the recipe from his mom several years back.

Now I'm excited to get to share it with you all! I'm actually making some today, and plan to bring half of the recipe to a fellow teacher that my husband works with. The great thing about this chili is that it freezes really well! It makes a great big batch, so it would be plenty to make one batch for both your family and the family you're bringing a meal to. Plus, it's the perfect time of year for some hearty, yummy chili!

AMIL'S CHILI 
4 regular cans of chili beans (or 2 big cans)
4 regular sized cans of diced tomatoes (or 2 big cans)
1 white onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1lb ground beef
1/2 lb ground pork (I just usually use 1lb of whatever I have on hand- beef or turkey, and skip the pork)
salt and pepper to taste
1/8 cup (plus 1/8 cup more if you want it spicier) chili powder
Garnishes:
lettuce chopped
tomatoes chopped
sour cream
shredded cheese
extra onions, chopped
flour tortillas, buttered, warmed


-Brown beef and pork with the onions and green peppers, drain
-Add salt and pepper to taste
-In a big pot, add the beans and tomatoes with the beef mixture
-Add chili pepper (I usually just do the 1/8 cup first, then let others make it spicier in their own bowl if they want)
-Let simmer until green peppers are soft- 1hr or longer

Note: I'm using my crock pot with it today, and I will have it on low all day long to let the spices really get into the whole batch....

This is really, really yummy served with warm buttered flour tortillas to dip into the chili. We also serve it with lettuce, tomato, and cheese on top, plus a little dallop of sour cream. YUMMY, I can't wait for dinner!

Meal Idea Monday- Make it Kid Friendly

Many times, when we bring meals to our friends and family, they have little children. And if their kids are anything like mine, they have likes and dislikes. I don't blame them- I have likes and dislikes too! I'm always thinking about what I can bring that the kids would enjoy as well.

I was checking out What's Cookin In Mama Jan's Kitchen, and found these great bbq chicken tenders. From what she said, they were a hit with her family, and I think kids would love these! Click here for the recipe.

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Enjoy the many blessings you have in your life. God is so good!

Meal Idea Monday- Java Roast

I know- coffee in a roast? But it actually turned out great! This would be a great meal to bring to a friend. I got it from A Year of Slowcooking Blog... enjoy!

Java Roast In Crock Pot

Meal Idea Monday: Bring them breakfast too!

Gillian has graciously shared her recipes via facebook for her cream scones with lemon curd. She enjoys bringing friends and family dinners, and she brings them breakfast for the next day as well. Isn't that a great idea?! I love it. So here are the yummy recipes for you to try. Thank you, Gillian!!

Cream Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried fruit, chopped ( I use sweetened dried cranberries)
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream (CANNOT be substituted!)

For tops of scones:
3 Tbsps. melted butter
Sugar for sprinkling

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Combine flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and dried fruit in a mixing bowl. Pour in heavy cream. Stir until just combined. Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead lightly about 7-8 times-do not overwork the dough. Shape into a round about 1 inch thick and cut into 8 wedges. Place on a foil covered baking sheet. Brush tops of scones with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 12-15 minutes until just lightly golden brown.

I like to use a course ground sugar for sprinkling as it looks really pretty! You can also do a scented sugar. You can change up the flavor of the scones as well, here are a few ideas:

Cranberry Orange: Add 1 Tbsp. of orange zest to the batter. Sprinkle scones with an orange scented sugar or glaze them with an orange glaze.

Chocolate Chip: Add 1/2 cup chips...any kind to the batter

Chocolate Cherry: Add 1/2 cup chips and 1/2 dried cherries

Lemon: Add 1 Tbsp. lemon zest. Do a lemon glaze or sprinkle with a lemon sugar.


Lemon Curd

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. finely grated lemon zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 pieces

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugar, zest, and egg yolks; whisk in lemon juice and salt. Add butter and place pan over medium-high heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until butter has melted, mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, and small bubbles form around the edge of pan, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Remove pan from heat while continuing to to whisk. Pour curd through a fine mesh sieve into a glass bowl. Press plastic wrap against the surface of curd and refrigerate until cool.

Once cooled, you can spoon into small mason jars. I like to make pretty labels and wrap up in pretty papers and ribbon. Enjoy!

Meal Idea Monday: Inspired2Cook Blog

Hey y'all! It's Monday again, and that means it's time for some Meal Ideas... :) Lori, a member of our Food Tidings community, has shared an incredible website with us called Inspired2Cook.

I checked it out, and it's AWESOME! Lori's good friend and neighbor Andrea is the author of Inspired2Cook. I was reading a little about her on her site, and she says her hope is that people will leave her site inspired to get in the kitchen and cook. It was certainly true for me! This site looks perfect for those of us who are wanting to find great recipe ideas to bring to our friends and family!

There are tons of recipe ideas on the site, and I cannot wait to try some of them out. Thanks for the tip, Lori. And a double thanks to Andrea for creating Inspired2Cook. Check out her site today for some of Andrea's favorite recipes that she likes to take to friends and family. Thank you for using your talent in the kitchen, and putting it out there to share with all of us!

Meal Idea Monday- Cheese Enchiladas, Salad, and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Debbie and her daughter Jenna brought my family and I dinner after we had our fourth child, and it was delicious. Upon my request, they have shared the recipes with you all!

They brought us cheese enchiladas (served in a disposable container), a green salad (lettuce in a big ziploc bag, and all veggies cut up to go on it in their own separate snack size baggies- great idea!), homemade strawberry dressing for the salad (the most amazing dressing ever- my husband said he wanted to just drink it straight up!), and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. :)

Cheese Enchiladas

2 ¼ lbs. grated Cheddar or Monterrey Jack Cheese

1 28 oz. can of Macayo Enchilada Sauce (Use only Macayo brand)

12 medium Corn Tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat enchilada sauce on low.

Prepare 13x9 oven baking pan by spraying with Pam and placing a ladle full of sauce on the bottom.

Heat 3 tortillas at a time in microwave for 30 seconds (repeating until all 12 heated).

Dip each tortilla in the warmed sauce, place in pan add desired amount of cheese, roll and place seam side down. Repeat this step with each tortilla.

Bake 15-20 minutes.

Strawberry Salad Dressing

2/3 c. sugar

1 tsp. dry mustard

pinch of salt

1/3 c. honey

5 tbsp. cider vinegar

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tsp. grated onion (this will make you cry :))

1 tsp. celery seed

**1 cup oil….to be added later

** strawberries

Combine all but oil in blender & whirl until smooth. Gradually add oil with blender running. Add a few strawberries for color.

Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies

¾ stick Crisco Butter Flavor shortening

1 ¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tbsp. milk

1 tbsp. vanilla

1 large egg

1 ¾ cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 6 oz. package of semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Beat shortening and brown sugar in large bowl with mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk, vanilla and egg. Mix well. Stir in flour, salt and baking soda. Mix well. You will need to stir the chocolate chips in by hand.

Drop rounded tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 minutes. Makes 3 dozen.

Meal Idea Monday- Make Ahead Freezer Meals

How is it Monday again already? Time flies when you're having fun I guess! And the weather is getting cooler, how nice is that? For us here in AZ, it's AMAZING. :)

One of our blog readers, Renee, suggested a great resource for make ahead freezer meals. I've come across a few Food Tidings schedules that ask for freezer meals. I've even seen in the notes section that a cooler will be left out front, and to put the meal in there. These meal ideas could be perfect for that. Or maybe you signed up for a day, then realized you have something else going that day as well. I'm totally guilty of doing that! If you needed to bring the meal a day or two before your scheduled date, bring them a freezer meal.

Here's another great resource for make ahead freezer meals. I've blogged about Once A Month Mom before, but this site is worthy of getting another mention! :)

Meal Idea Monday- Apple Cinnamon Pull Apart Rolls

These apple cinnamon pull apart rolls from Once A Month Mom look AMAZING. This could be a wonderful dessert to bring with a meal, OR a yummy breakfast to bring for the next morning to someone!

Meal Idea Monday- Spaghetti and Cupcakes

Christina sent us a message via facebook about a meal she brought to someone...

"We did spaghetti for dinner and dessert one time... seemed to be a big hit! We made normal spaghetti (easy and inexpensive) and for dessert we made spaghetti cupcakes... the kids loved them. Yellow cupcakes with white frosting tinted yellow, drizzled over the cupcakes that were all very close together. The sauce was sugar free strawberry jam with Ferrero Rocher candies as the meatballs and shaved white chocolate as the cheese. Fun fun and easy. Got the idea out of the Hello Cupcake book by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson"

What a creative idea, Christina! Thanks for sharing. Enjoy your Monday, everyone!

Meal Idea Monday- Asian Noodle Salad

Jackie writes us via facebook about a meal she enjoys bringing to her friends and family.

"I like to bring Pioneer Woman's Asian Noodle Salad. Nice and healthy and crunchy! People tend to get a lot of casseroles so it seems to be a welcome change. :)"

Thanks for the recipe idea, Jackie!

UPDATE: Ok, so it turns out there are more than one Asian Noodle Salads on The Pioneer Woman's website. This is the one that Jackie loves to bring- but I'm sure the other one is delicious too! :)

Meal Idea Monday- Macaroni and Cheese

Diana sent us a great recipe idea via facebook. She makes Macaroni and Cheese from The Pioneer Woman's website. Along with it, she brings green beans, salad and cheesecake (store bought). That meal sounds incredible. Thanks for sharing it with us, Diana!

Feel free to send in your tried and true recipes that you bring to your family and friends. Email us at lisa@foodtidings.com or write us on our facebook page. Enjoy your Monday!

Meal Idea Monday- Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Here's our recipe for today's Meal Idea Monday...

Laura from our facebook page gave us a great idea for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches in the slow cooker. These look really yummy!

Thanks for sharing, Laura!

Meal Idea Monday- Easy Potato Soup

Wow, it's Monday again- how do the weeks go by so fast?! :) Here's our recipe for Meal Idea Monday... it's from Cary. Enjoy!

I have been taking potato soup for years. This is an easy and delicious meal.
-Cary

Easy Potato Soup

4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
2 oz blocks cream cheese-I usually do the 1/3 less fat.
1 small white onion chopped
30 oz package frozen cubed hash brown potatoes (plain)
1-2 packages cubed ham
1/2 tsp dill weed-I use the McCormick with the red top. You may have to play with this depending on what type you have.
1/4 tsp black pepper
French bread-topping
sour cream-topping
shredded cheese-topping
green onion chopped-topping

Heat water and broth to just boiling. Add cream cheese in chunks, pepper and dill weed. Heat until cream cheese is mixed. Add onion, potatoes, and ham. Cook for 30 min on med-low. Add toppings as desired and serve.

Meal Idea Monday- from Mama Jan's Kitchen

Good morning everyone! It's Meal Idea Monday, and I've gotten some great recipe ideas from some wonderful people in our foodtidings community. I'll be featuring a recipe idea each Monday that you can use to take to your friends and family. So if you ever feel stuck, like you can't seem to think of what to make after you've signed up to bring a meal, click "recipe ideas" on the right hand side of our blog to find some great ideas!

Our first recipe to be featured is from Janet at What's Cooking in Mama Jan's Kitchen. She has a food blog with lots of amazing looking recipes! Here's what she wrote to us on our facebook page...
I brought dinner to two families with new babies last night. I don't often do casseroles but found a recipe for a delicious, no-cans casserole with shredded chicken, mushrooms, peas and homemade stuffing. Sides of rosemary olive oil bread and a green salad with mandarin oranges and homemade vinaigrette. For dessert? Chocolate caramel meltaway brownies....

It was definitely a lot of work, esp. with two toddlers underfoot! But so worth it... and my boys love to bring meals to friends. The other day, my 2 1/2 year old even said to me "Mama, that was awesome" after we brought a meal to a new family. :D

How delicious does that sound?! And how awesome that she's showing her little ones the importance of helping others. Here are the links for these recipes. Enjoy!
Chicken, Mushroom, Pea, & Stuffing Casserole
Mandarin Tossed Salad
Chocolate Caramel Meltaways

Thanks for sharing, Janet! And as always, we would love to hear from you- send your recipes to lisa@foodtidings.com.

Meal Idea Monday

Hello to our Foodtidings family! We're currently working on adding to the recipe ideas section of our blog, and we need your help!!! We're officially calling this day "Meal Idea Monday." :) We're looking for recipes that have worked well for you when bringing them to someone- and feel free to even include the sides you brought with the main dish. You can email the recipes to us at lisa@foodtidings.com, you can leave a comment on here, or you can find our facebook page and comment with it. Thank you so much!

Fruit Kabobs!

I took my daughter to a birthday tea party for one of her friends, and they had these great fruit kabobs there. They were so good, looked so easy to make, and it made the table look so much more colorful and fun. I thought these would be a great side to take with a meal that you're bringing to someone. If you're anything like me, I'm always trying to find an easy and simple side to bring- and usually end up doing something like brownies. Well, these are much healthier and more fun!

Makes about 15 kabobs (so adjust amounts if you don't need that many):
-Kabob Sticks (I found these at Walmart- I'm sure you can find them anywhere)
-2 pints of strawberries, washed and tops cut off (but keep them whole)
-1 can of cut up pineapple (or you can just get fresh pineapple- I'm all about easiest, so guess which one I got?!) :)
-1 bunch of red grapes, washed
-about 4 or 5 Kiwi- peeled, cut into chunks

Then comes the fun- you just alternate each piece of fruit on the kabob until it's filled. I'm so bummed I didn't take a picture of the ones I made this past Sunday- sorry about that!

I'd love to hear from any of you in the foodtidings community who have some great recipes or tips you'd like to share with us- really anything you'd like to share, we'd love to hear! You can email me at lisa@foodtidings.com, and I'd love to post recipes, tips, or stories onto our blog for all to see! We appreciate you all, and are so grateful that foodtidings can be used to help you!

Tortilla Soup

I recently had this soup at our neighborhood Bible Study, and it was AMAZING! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I will for sure be making this now that I have the recipe! This could be an awesome, and inexpensive meal to bring to someone. Give it a try!

TORTILLA SOUP
Serves: 6-8

1 lb ground beef
10 cups chicken broth
1 med onion, chopped
1 29 oz can Pinto Beans
1 28 oz can stewed tomatoes
2 cups Frozen Corn
2 pkgs Taco Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 med potatoes, chopped
TORTILLA CHIPS

Garnish:
Cilantro, chopped
Shredded Cheese
Sour Cream

Brown Ground Beef, drain off fat. Add remaining ingredients, except tortilla chips and garnish, and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Crush several chips into each person's bowl, ladle in soup, and garnish with chopped cilantro, cheese, and/or sour cream. Serve with while tortilla chips on the side. ENJOY!!!

Easy Breezy Chicken Tacos

Here's a recipe for the easiest tacos you may ever make! It's a crock pot recipe, and for me, that makes it that much better! (I LOVE my crock pot!)

3 chicken breasts (can even be frozen)
1 jar of salsa
flour tortillas or corn if you'd like
shredded lettucs
cut up tomatoes
shredded cheese
anything else you enjoy on your tacos

Directions:
-Place the chicken breasts in the crock pot
-Pour almost one jar of salsa over the top (save the rest for the tacos)
-Let it go on low all day long- about 8 hours or you could do high for 5 hours

And that's it! Once the chicken is done, you can make tacos out of the tortillas (the corn probably need to be hardened in some hot oil, or just buy the already made taco shells), put on the lettuce, tomatoes, and cheese. And wallah! That would be a great meal to bring to someone too!

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful Fall season, and have a safe and Happy Halloween! :)

Pumpkin Pancakes

My husband Zach and I are visiting some of our best friends in Seattle, Washington this weekend. And, we're kid-less! Although we miss our three little ones terribly, we're enjoying time together as a couple. And we are having a blast with our friends! Yesterday we got to take an incredible hike through a rainforest, and ended up on the shore line of this beautiful body of water called Puget Sound. If you're local, they call it the sound. Today we plan to head into Seattle to hang out for the day.

This morning, my friend Jackie (the most amazing cook) made some amazing pumpkin pancakes for breakfast, and I wanted to share the recipe with you. Eating them made me excited for the fall season- Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas are right around the corner! The recipe came from allrecipes.com, a wonderful site. Click here for the recipe. Enjoy!!!

Yummy Mint Brownies

I brought dinner to my little sister and her husband last night. She just had her first little baby 5 days ago, and he's just precious! I tried all new recipes for the dinner and dessert (crazy! I was in the kitchen way too long, but it was fun!). I made them Crispy Skinned Chicken a l'orange, Perfect Crispy Potatoes, and these amazing Mint Brownies. I wanted to share the recipe for the mint brownies. They really do taste just like jr. mints- and watch out- they're dangerous! Dangerous for me because, I made a batch for us to keep here at our house, and they've been calling my name all day long!!! A sliver here, a sliver there, that doesn't count for calories, right?! :)
Mint Brownies:

Mix:
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 can Hershey Syrup (I couldn't find the can, so I used it from a bottle of Hershey's syrup and I guessed about 8 oz, but I think it should've been more like 10 or 12 oz)
1 stick butter
4 eggs
Bake at 350 for 30 min (or until done) in 9x13 pan (or I made 2 batches in smaller pans). Let cool completely and refeigerate for 10 minutes.

Blend:
1 stick butter softened
4 tbsp milk or enough to make desired consistency (like the mint in jr. mints- I used about 7 or 8 tbsp)
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp peppermint extract
green food coloring, add one drop at a time (I don't do this)
Spread on top of cooled and chilled brownies and refrigerate 20 minutes

Melt:
1 stick butter
6 oz chocolate chips (Tollhouse are best)
Spread on top and refrigerate until hard

These taste the BEST if they're kept in the freezer. It's a mix between an ice cream cake and brownies, and candy. SO YUMMY!

If any of you out there have any recipes you'd like to share, please feel free to leave them in the comments section! I'd love to try them out!