Brother Staples' Chili Verde

Hatch's Green Chiles - 2 x 16oz cans
Diced Tomatoes - 1 x 12oz can
Onion - 1 - diced
Chili Powder - 4 T
Cumin - 1 t
Garlic - 4 cloves, minced
Chicken Stock - 1/2 qt
Pork Roast 1-1/2 to 2 lb cubed
Cayenne Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste

Cube pork & brown. Dice chilies and onion. Throw everything in a pot & cook on low for 5-7 hours. Eat it. Be happy.

(Especially good the next morning on breakfast eggs...)

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My Chili

I've started a new spice combination that works really well with chili.  I didn't tell Tom what was in it until he confirmed that he likes it, too.

Basically, dump this all in and simmer on the stove or go for the crockpot.  I prefer it in the crockpot.

2 jars home canned tomatoes or 1 can of tomato sauce and 2 cans of diced tomatoes.  If you use the home canned tomatoes, run a stick blender in there to break it up to whatever chunkiness your family prefers.
1/2 green pepper chopped
1/2 lb to 1 lb ground hamburger cooked with 1/2 yellow onion chopped
1-2 cups sweet corn
2 cans of beans (I like black and red kidney.  Today we are just using kidney because that's what I have)

Seasoning:
approx 2 tablespoons cocoa and 2 tablespoons ground chipotle pepper
mild chili powder to taste

Really, the cocoa and chipotle pepper combination is SO good. 

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Chicken and black beans

I was partially inspired for this by one of the posts here, and by some recipes on all recipes. It is a combination of several recipes, but it was a hit.

2-3 chicken breasts
1 jar salsa (we used homemade)

Dump in a crockpot together. You can put it on high if you want it done faster, or low if you want it done slower. I did it on low, and the chicken took 3-4 hours. When the chicken is done, shred it and stir.

Either in the crockpot or on the stovetop (depending on how soon you are serving it), mix in:

2 cans black beans, rinsed
1 can corn
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic salt, or garlic and salt
chili powder to taste

Heat together. Then, just before serving, add half a brick of cream cheese. Stir to combine.

We served this on chips with lettuce, tomatos, olives, and other normal taco topping. I used the leftovers on tortillas with spinach.

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Aaron's Chili

This is a good chili… a nice gentle burn that sets in slowly, and a definite deep flavor to it.

2 Yellow Onions Sauteed in Olive Oil
2 Lbs Ground Meat (Pork & Beef combined, coarse grind is best) Browned

28 Oz Crushed Tomatoes
28 Oz Tomato Sauce
12 Oz Tomato Paste
15 Oz Beef Broth

4 x 15 OZ Dark Red Kidney Beans

Heaped TBSP Each of
Cocoa Powder (Unsweetened)
Ground Cumin
Cayenne (Red Pepper)
Garlic Powder

Cumin and and Red Pepper are of course a critical constituent of any chili. The Beef Broth and the Cocoa are the 'secret' ingredients. Cocoa sets off the Cayenne nicely. It does not make the chili ‘chocolatey’, although if you know it is there you can detect it.

The balance isn’t perfect yet, it didn’t win the office competition, but I had three bowls of it myself, and my coworkers had kind things to say about it (even the ones who don’t report to me directly)…

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(Nearly) Vegan Mexican Goolash

Here it goes:

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 jar salsa
1 can rotel
1 can shoestring corn
1 can yello corn
2 cans black beans
1 can olives

Spray your crockpot with PAM first, trust me. Then put the chicken breasts in and cover with the jar of salsa and can of Rotel (undrained). Cook for 2 hours on high if not frozen, 4 hours if they are still frozen. After they're done cooking, remove and shred. To the crockpot add the corn and beans (drained and rinsed) and the can of olives (drained). Add the chicken and stir. Cook on low for a little longer, until heated through.

If you want to, serve it with some cheese and sour cream. Its really not necessary though, and it adds extra fat and makes it non-nearly vegan. This is also really good cold as leftovers. Mmm...

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Crockpot Apples

Baking apples
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup brown sugar
cinnamon

Slice and peel the apples, and put them in a crockpot. Slice the butter on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook on low for 8ish hours, or high for less than that. You do have to stir this! The apples will get all mushy and yummy and will produce a lot of juice. They taste a lot like Mom's baked apples.

Put on top of vanilla ice cream with a dollop of cool whip. Or, serve it however you want, but that is what we make it for.

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Cheesy Hash Browns

We have always believed in accepting truth regardless of its source, and one of the enormous benefits I have had by my association with Minnesota Lutherans has come in the form of food. When called upon to provide a side dish for a ward dinner, I went straight to the House of Hope cookbook for a recipe. This one has become (with some small alterations) a standard for Easter in my house.

2 Cans Cream of Chicken Soup
4 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
24 Ozs Sour Cream
2 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Melted Margarine
4 Lbs Frozen Hash browns.

Mix all the ingredients together except half the butter and the hash browns first, then add the hash browns in. Pour the remainder of the butter on top after putting it in the crock pot. It's supposed to bake for about an hour in the oven in two 13x9 pans, the nice thing is this can be kept warm for ever in the crock pot, so start it early and let it be. We do it in the crock pot because it goes well with ham, which takes up the whole oven.

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Slow Cooker Hash Brown Casserole

This is one I found online at southernfood.about.com. Its pretty good. I added meat (cubed ham), and it was yummy.

Ingredients:
30 to 32 ounces frozen shredded hash browns, thawed
1 cup chopped onion, optional
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed nacho cheese soup, undiluted
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed cream of celery soup, undiluted
8 ounces light sour cream
6 tablespoons melted butter

Preparation:Spray the crockery insert with nonstick cooking spray or lightly grease the inside surface. Combine the thawed hash browns, onion, soups, sour cream, and melted butter. Pack into the slow cooker insert. Cover and cook on LOW for 5 to 6 hours.Serves 6.

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Crockpot Chili

For MJ- this is a good one that uses mostly pantry items and is super easy.

Throw the following into your crockpot:

1 lb ground hamburger, cooked with onions
a few cans of tomato sauce (depends on how soupy you want it)
a few cans of diced tomatoes
a few cans of kidney beans, drained
a can of corn, drained (optional)
diced green peppers

Season with chili powder.

I suppose if you know how to do the whole soak beans stuff, you could use dried beans, which would make this even more food storage-esh. You can make it without the meat, but that is quickly rejected at our house. I use frozen green peppers. When I have green peppers that I won't use before they go bad, I just dice them up and put them in a ziploc bag and throw it in the freezer.

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