Wahoo! Chili

As the name of the products suggest it is fantastic to use in any chili recipe. There are so many other uses for it as well from tacos to chicken to fish seasoning.  This versatile product is a must have in your pantry. Stock up though, it is only available for a limited time.

Ingredients:

1 lb of ground meat, we use ground chicken

2 tbsp Onion Onion

3 tbsp Wahoo! Chili Seasoning

1 tbsp Garlic Pepper Seasoning

Cracked black pepper to taste

2 cans of chili hot beans

2 cans of red beans, light or dark

2 cans of black beans

1 6oz can of tomato sauce

1 can of petite diced tomatoes, use just diced tomatoes if you like it chunky 

1 can of vegetable juice cocktail (tomato juice

1 small can of tomato paste

Brown the ground meat with a splash of olive oil and Onion Onion.  Drain if you are using ground beef or pork. Stir in the Wahoo! Chili, Garlic Pepper Seasoning and black pepper. Stir and cook for a minute or two to "bloom" the spices. Add your tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir. Add each type of bean and stir between each type.  Do not drain the beans!  You need that liquid to thicken your chili. This I have learned over the years. Add about 3/4 of the juice. And stir. Cook on medium until boiling, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, turn down to low to medium-low and simmer for about an hour. The chili will thicken some. If you have added too much juice, add about half the can of the tomato paste and stir well to melt it into your chili. 

My husband likes a pasta or macaroni product so halfway through the simmering time, add not quite half a box of pasta.  Stir well. This may make your Hoosier style chili really thick, so add some more of the tomato juice. 

Serve with your choice of toppings and ENJOY!

Incredibly Simple Taco Dip

Made this for a work pitch in. Oh my goodness!!  Of course I had to use Tastefully Simple. Ha!

Ingredients:

2 cans of fat free or Vegetarian Refried Beans

1-2 tablespoons Wahoo Chili Seasoning or Fiesta Party Dip Mix if you like it spicy

1 8oz block of Neufchâtel cream cheese, softened 

1 cup light sour cream

1 tablespoon Garlic Pepper Seasoning

2 green onions, chopped

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 pound ground meat of your choice, browned and drained (we use ground chicken)

1 tablespoon Onion Onion

1 8oz package of mexican blend shredded cheese

1 8oz package taco blend shredded cheese, with seasonings
1 jar Corn and Black Bean Salsa

Brown your ground meat with the Onion Onion. Drain if needed and set aside. In a medium mixing bowl combine the cream cheese, sour cream, onions, cilantro and Garlic Pepper Seasoning.  Add beans, Wahoo Chili, and mexican blend cheese. Mix well and pour into greased 9x13 baking dish. Top with Corn and Black Bean Salsa and taco blend cheese. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until the dip is bubbly and the cheese is melted. Garnish if you like and serve warm with tortilla chips. 

Simple Ham and Bean Soup

We found a ham bone in the freezer, score!  Since it is starting to turn cool outside, what a perfect time for some bean soup. Yum!  

Ingredients:

Left over ham bone or ham hocks 

2 pound bag of great northern beans or your favorite, soaked overnight

2 Tbsp. Onion Onion

Cracked black pepper

8 cups water

Place your ham bone in a large slow cooker.

Add Onion Onion

Add your beans

Now your water and cracked pepper.  If you like more garlic use Garlic PepperSeasoning instead of the cracked pepper. 

Set your slow cooker on low and cook 6-8 hours. 

Serve with Bountiful Beer Bread or Bountiful Corn Bread (see Tastefully Simple website for the recipe).  

Light & Simple Hash Brown Casserole

My family is lightening our eating habits, so with the Independence Day holiday and all of the cookouts, I decided our contribution had to be lighter.  I took one of our favorite pitch in dishes, Hashbrown Casserole and put a light and Tastefully Simple spin on it. I live doing that!  Below is the resulting recipe.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:
One can of condensed lower sodium cream of mushroom soup
One 2 cup bag of 2% milk fat shredded cheese blend
One tub of light sour cream
1/4 cup diced onion (or Onion Onion, whatever you have)
One tbsp Garlic Pepper Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
One bag of frozen shredded hash browns
One cup of bran flakes, crushed
One tbsp light butter or margarine (whatever you have), melted

Preheat your oven to 400°. 

Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine first six ingredients.  Add frozen hash browns a little bit at a time until all incorporated.  Spread in the casserole dish and top with bran flakes.  Drizzle with butter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until bubbly.  Serve warm.  This could totally be made ahead and would be even better if made the day before you bake it.  Soooooo yummy!

Barbeque Tips

I found this on Pinterest and thought I would share for this grilling season.  Happy grilling!

Chipotle Shredded Chicken

I made this for a Cinco de Mayo pitch in at work.  Oh goodness was it yummy and everyone loved it! 

Ingredients:
1 packet of Chipotle Beer Marinade
1 bag of frozen chicken breasts, boneless
1 can of beer, your choice
1 can of water, use the beer can

Add beer, water and Chipotle Beer Marinade to a slow cooker.  I recommend using a liner as this does make a bit of a mess of the sides of your crock.  Add your chicken and toss to coat.  Cover and cook on low 8 hours or overnight which is what I did.  Remove the chicken, shred and remove any icky pieces (technical term, haha). Skim the liquid or strain to remove any of the floaties (also a technical term).  Save stray pieces of chicken.  Combine the shredded chicken and liquid.  Serve in burritos, tacos, nachos, etc.  This made enough for at least 20 people to have a taco or two.  I don't quite know exactly how many servings. 

Easy Chicken Soup

Hubby was feeling under the weather and didn't want canned, condensed soup, so i made him some homemade.  It doesn't require much work and is good on the tummy.

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed small
3 cartons of chicken broth (I used 2 reduced sodium and one regular)
Bag of dried egg noodles

In a soup, stock pot or dutch oven, bring the broth to a boil.  Add chicken cubes and cook until they float.  Once they have floated, add half or so of the noodles.  Add more if you want more.   Cook and stir for approximately 9-10 minutes.  Serve with saltines or oyster crackers.

Serves many!  Freeze what you don't eat now.  Easy weeknight dinner!