Three Bean Chili with Shredded Pork

We had our first snow last week.  Snow = chili.  I (Daughter) had some leftover pork tenderloin and some leftover Dutch oven pinto beans (both made by Papa Kidd), so I threw together this chili that was a big hit...Mama & Papa Kidd both went back for seconds!  Here's how you can make it if you don't have leftovers on hand.  Serve with fresh baked cornbread for a dinner that'll warm you right up!

Three Bean Chili with Shredded Pork

Ingredients:

2 (1 lb) pork tenderloins

2 pkg Lipton onion soup mix

Water

1 tsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 Anaheim peppers, diced

2 cloves garlic, diced

3 cans chopped green chiles

1 can RoTel

2 cans white beans, do not drain

1 can black beans, do not drain

2 cans pinto beans with jalapenos, do not drain*

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.       Combine first 3 ingredients in the slow-cooker, cook on low heat for 6-8 hours, or until pork is cooked and tender.

2.       Heat olive oil in stock pot or Dutch oven on medium-high heat.  Saute onions, peppers, and garlic until onions are opaque.  Add green chiles & RoTel and heat through.

3.       Add beans, and bring to a boil.  Boil for one minute, and reduce to low heat.  Cover and let simmer.

4.       Shred pork, and add to stock pot or Dutch oven.  Add cumin, oregano, and black pepper.  Simmer on low heat until chili is desired consistency, stirring occasionally.  I like my chili thick, so I simmered for about 1 hour.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

Back when I (Daughter) was in college (the first time), I lived in Missouri where a wonderful family welcomed me into their home as sort of an "adopted" daughter.  I spent most Sunday afternoons in their home, gathered around the kitchen table, socializing, and of course enjoying some good ol' home cooked meals...a welcome change from dorm "food" for sure!  A main staple of Sunday dinners at their house was this Hot Fudge Sundae Cake.  Super easy to make, and similar in concept to a molten lava cake...maybe not as pretty, but twice as tasty! This oldie but goodie recipe comes from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook, the 1996 version.

Hot Fudge Sundae Cake

1 cup all-purpose flour*

¾ cup granulated sugar

2 tbsp baking cocoa

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup milk

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts, if desired

1 cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup baking cocoa

1 ¾ cups very hot water

Ice cream or whipped cream, if desired

1.        Heat oven to 350°

2.       Mix flour, granulated sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, the baking powder and salt in ungreased square pan, 9x9x2 inches.  Mix in milk, oil and vanilla with fork until smooth.  Stir in nuts (I don't normally include nuts).  Spread in pan. 

3.       Sprinkle brown sugar and ¼ cup cocoa over batter.  Pour water over batter. 

4.       Bake 40 minutes or until top is dry.

5.       Spoon  warm cake into dessert dishes.  Top with ice cream or whipped cream.  Spoon sauce from pan onto each serving.  

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and soda

Pumpkin Scones

I (Daughter) love pumpkin anything, and I especially love fall because it gives me a good excuse to add pumpkin to everything!  Yesterday, I bought some pumpkin butter at the store, and needed something besides a traditional biscuit or English muffin to spread it on (although either option sounds pretty darn good...).  I looked for a pumpkin scone recipe online when I got home, and of course, didn't like any of what I found.  So I took inspiration from several different recipes.  They turned out a little more moist and dense than a traditional scone, and I attribute that to the moistness of the pumpkin.  Here goes!

Pumpkin Scones

Ingredients:

¼ cup butter

¼ cup sugar

1 egg

1 can unsweetened pumpkin puree

¼ cup milk

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 ½ tsp salt

2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Topping:

2 tbsp milk

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ cup cinnamon

Directions:

1.       Preheat oven to 400° F.  Prepare a baking sheet…I like to use a Silpat silicone mat on a cookie sheet, but if you don’t have a Silpat, spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

2.       Cream together butter and sugar, then add egg, pumpkin puree, and ¼ cup milk.  Beat until smooth. 

3.       In a separate mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.  Add pumpkin mixture, and knead together with a pastry blender until all ingredients are incorporated.  The dough will be sticky and somewhat gooey.

4.       Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet.  Combine brown sugar and cinnamon.  Brush the tops of the scones with milk, and sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the top.

5.       Bake until golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.  Allow to cool before serving.

Makes about 18 scones.

Green Chile Mac & Cheese

A few weeks ago, I (Daughter) started thinking about green chile mac & cheese.  Comfort food with a touch of New Mexico flavor.  It became a little bit of an obsession, and here's what I came up with.  In my humble (HA!) opinion, this one's a keeper!

Ingredients:

2 c whole wheat rotini pasta

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cans peeled chopped green chiles

Olive oil

Cheese sauce:

2 tbsp butter

¼ c all-purpose flour

1 can green enchilada sauce

1 can evaporated fat free milk

1 tsp ground mustard

Fresh ground black pepper to taste

1/2 brick Neufchatel, (or reduced-fat cream cheese) cut into small cubes

1 ½ c pepper jack cheese, shredded

1 ½ c Mexican blend cheese, shredded (I used reduced-fat, and it worked well)

Topping:

½ c bread crumbs

¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper

¼ tsp cumin

¼ tsp ground mace

2 tbsp butter, melted

1.        Preheat oven to 375° F

2.       Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook 10 minutes or until al dente.  Drain pasta.

3.       While pasta cooks, sauté onion and garlic together until onion is crisp-tender and opaque in color.  Add cooked onion & garlic and green chiles to cooked, drained pasta.  Spritz with olive oil to keep from sticking.  Set aside. 

4.       In a large saucepan over low heat, melt 2 tbsp butter.  Whisk in a little flour (about 1/4 of the total amount) and cook, stirring 1 minute.  A little at a time, whisk in green enchilada sauce, milk, the rest of the flour, ground mustard, and fresh ground black pepper.  Stir constantly.  Whisk in cheeses little by little until smooth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in cooked pasta and pour into shallow 2 quart baking dish.  I sprayed the baking dish with nonstick cooking spray first for easier clean-up.

5.       Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter.  Stir in bread crumbs, cayenne pepper, cumin, and mace.   Sprinkle over pasta mixture.

6.       Bake, covered in preheated oven 10 minutes.  Remove cover, and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I was FAR too eager to taste the final product, so I didn't get any good pics!

Serves: 8

Dutch Oven Monkey Bread

We've fallen down on the blog job the last few days!  Daughter Kidd went to visit friends in Seattle this past weekend, and leftovers of this masterpiece by Papa Kidd were waiting for Daughter when she arrived home.  Such a sweet surprise, because usually NO leftovers exist when this monkey bread is made!

Ingredients:

4 cans (10/pkg) plain buttermilk biscuits

1 cup white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

4 T cinnamon

1 stick butter

Directions:

1.  Cut biscuits into quarters.  Mix both the white and brown sugar and the cinnamon in a reclosable plastic bag.  Drop some of the quartered biscuit pieces into the bag and coat them by shaking the bag. 

2.  Loosely place the coated pieces in the bottom of a foil-lined #14 Dutch oven.  Melt the butter and pour over the biscuit quarters.  

 3.  Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes, or until done. 

Cooking time may be a little longer for this recipe, because of the thickness of the entire mass in the Dutch oven.  Note that the baking time for regular biscuits is shorter, because the mass is not as thick.