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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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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Pepperoni Soup

Large Can of Canned Chicken Broth
Package of Hormel Sliced Pepperoni
Can of diced tomatoes (or - spicy version - can of diced tomatoes with green chiles)
Small Chopped Onion (or 1c rehydrated food storage onions)
Chopped Celery
Season to taste (Basil, Black Pepper)
Macaroni Noodles

Directions: Sautee Onions and Celery in Olive Oil. Dump other stuff in. Simmer.

Variation: Substitute white northern beans for the macaroni. It's actually better and healthier this way, but prepping white northern beans from food storage is an all-night job, so macaroni is easier when you need something quick.

Another Variation: Substitute frozen tailless shrimp for the pepperoni. If you do this, definitely do the spicey version with the green chiles - the onions are overpowering otherwise.

I have been in soup-inventing mode lately. THis is my favorite base so far: A veggie base (carrots, onions, celery) with a broth made from chicken broth and diced tomatoes. Just be sure you get the onions and celery nice and sauteed first. Once the broth is in they'll never soften up.

This one is based on a soup I had once at Sister Thomas's house in the Shingle Creek Ward - Stef and I were invited to a dinner for a Ward PEC planning meeting, and I loved the soup. Always meant to get around to asking for the recipe, it was a minestrone with pepperoni in it, but never did. Finally decided to try to recreate it myself.

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Potato Soup

This is a great winter comfort food. It is quick and easy whether you are making it to feed just a few people or a crowd. The basic recipe feeds about 4.Ingredients 6 medium peeled potatoes cut into cubes1/2 yellow onion diced1 stalk celery diced4 strips bacon diced1 can yellow corn (drained)2 cups milkPut the potatoes in a small stock pot and cover with water, cook until fork tender. While the

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Cheesy Corn Chowder

This is a favorite from my in-law's.

1 lb bacon
Onion
6-8 potatoes
carrots
2 cans creamed corn
1 can evaoprated milk
salt and pepper
cheddar cheese

This is all done in one pot. Fry bacon. Remove bacon and then saute the onion in bacon drippings. Add water, potatoes and carrots and cook until tender. Drain off water, if necessary. Add creamed corn and evaporated milk. Simmer until heated through. Top with cheese and crumbled bacon.

You can use ham. Just saute the onion in butter instead of bacon grease.

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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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