Chili and the 2011 Chicago Blizzard...

Even though it's mid-April, I decided to post my go-to chili recipe because it's so freaking cold in Chicago today!  When I woke up this morning, there was actually a tiny bit of snow on the ground :(  WTF!  Why won't spring just come already?

Here's a look back at a few pictures I took around our condo during "The 2011 Chicago Blizzard."  I'm so glad that it's (hopefully) going to be warm soon!   Here's a picture of all of the snow accumulating on our deck mid-way through the blizzard:

It took a couple of days before the city even plowed our side street.....I was student teaching at the time (which I drove to in the suburbs), and I was so glad that school was cancelled for two days because there's no way I could have gotten my car out!  Luckily we have an enclosed garage spot, but there was no way I would have been able to get through our alley. 

The sidewalks were too deep to walk through at first, so we took Windy down the tire tracks in the middle of the street for her walks.

I had to take a picture of the car below because I couldn't believe how high the snow drift was!  I feel bad for whoever had to dig this car out....

There were gigantic piles of snow everywhere after our sidewalks got plowed.....

Windy's loving the snow :)

Anyway, back to the chili.....if it's cold where you are, and you want one last pot of chili before it gets warm for good, give this recipe a try.  This is my favorite basic chili recipe (with no beans, but you could certainly add some if you like that).  As always, make sure to taste while you cook and season with plenty of salt and pepper!  I love making this on a Sunday so that we can eat up leftovers during the week.  I have also frozen leftovers to eat later, and this freezes very well.

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. chili powder
1 T. cumin
1 T. dried Italian Seasoning
3 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 bottle or can of good beer (IPA's are my personal favorite for drinking and cooking)
salt and pepper, to taste
shredded sharp cheddar cheese, saltine crackers, and cilantro (for serving)

Directions:

1.  Drink half of your bottle of beer.....yummy....then set the other half aside.  Combine ground beef, onion, and garlic in large stockpot. Cook and stir over medium heat until beef is brown. Drain.

2.  Stir in chili powder,cumin, italian seasoning, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and the remaining half of your bottle of beer; break up tomatoes while stirring. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste (sometimes I'll also add more chili powder and cumin if it needs it).  Heat to boiling, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.  Taste again and re-season as needed.

3.  Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, saltine crackers, and cilantro.

Source:  Adapted from Allrecipes

Cioppino

For dinner Friday night, my mom showed me how she makes her Cioppino, which is basically an Italian seafood stew.  Most recipes I've seen use a variety of different fish and shellfish, but we only used shellfish because I'm not a huge fan of salmon or cod (which is usually the fish my mom adds in I think).  This is definitely a dish for a special occasion since the seafood can make this an expensive meal, but this turned out really good and the broth was to die for!  The broth was just so flavorful that I think next time I decide to make mussels mariniere I'm going to use this broth with it.

Ingredients:

1 green bell pepper, finely diced

1 cup shallots, diced

1 bunch scallions, chopped

3 tablespoons minced garlic

salt, pepper, and italian seasoning to taste

3 cans italian flavored diced tomatoes

1 can beef broth

1 jar of clam juice

1 cup white wine (we used a Savignon Blanc)

2 sweet italian sausages

3/4 - 1 lb mussels

3/4 - 1 lb bottleneck clams

3/4 - 1 lb shrimp, peeled with tail removed

3/4 - 1 lb sea scallops

Directions:

1.  Steam and brown the italian sausages until almost cooked through.  Slice up and set aside.

2.  Sautee onions, green peppers, shallots, scallions, and garlic until translucent.  Season to taste with salt, pepper, and italian seasoning (be generous with your seasoning).  Add the white wine and let cook down a bit.

3.  In a large stockpot, heat up italian diced tomatoes, beef broth, claim juice, and slice italian sausage.

4.  Transfer the sauteed onion and pepper mix to the stockpot and heat over medium heat for 45 minutes to an hour.  At this time taste the broth and season as needed.

5.  Sautee the shrimp and scallops (seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic) in a little EVOO.  Be very careful not to overcook.  It's best to pull them off the head when they are just slightly underdone.

6.  When almost ready to eat add the bottleneck clams first, then mussels about 2 minutes later.  After clams and mussels open, stir the shrimp and scallops in the pot for just a minute and serve immediately.

We served the cioppino with crusty toasted bread on the side so we could use it to soak up all the yummy broth!

This was a great meal!  Just make sure the broth is seasoned the way you like it before you add any seafood in and be really careful not to overcook the seafood.

Chicken, Noodles & Dumplings

I'm a little late on this post, but about a week and a half ago my husband requested one of his favorite comfort meals that I make - Chicken, Noodles & Dumplings. I grew up on this meal, and my mom would make it often when it was cold outside. It's almost like chicken noodle soup but with a little less broth and it has dumplings on top. It's sooo good and really easy to make. I've changed it just a little bit from the way my mom makes it.

Ingredients:

1 rotisserie chicken, meat removed from the bones and chopped up into bite size chunks
1 package of frozen egg noodles (I use the 12 oz. Reames brand noodles - if you can't find these you can also use dry egg noodles and adjust the cooking time, but I really like the texture and thickness of the frozen ones)
6 cups chicken broth
3-4 stalks celery, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2-3 tablespoons minced garlic
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon EVOO
1 can refrigerated biscuits (any variety you like - I usually use Pillsbury homestyle biscuits)
Seasonings to taste (I use salt, pepper, vegetable supreme, and garlic pepper)
Optional - cornstarch and a splash of heavy cream or half and half

Directions:

1. In a large stockpot, heat butter and EVOO over medium to medium high heat.
2. Add onions, celery, carrots, and minced garlic and saute until softened (about 5-8 minutes)
3. Add in chicken and chicken broth, and bring to a boil.
4. Season with salt, pepper, etc. to taste.
5. After this has boiled for about 10 minutes and you are happy with the seasonings, add in egg noodles and boil for about 10 minutes.
6. At this time, if you would like to thicken the broth a bit you can add a splash of cream and/or a little bit of cornstarch disolved in water. Lower heat to low so that it is just simmering.

Here's what mine looked like at this point:

7. Place biscuits on top (I then add some fresh cracked pepper on top of the biscuits) and cover with a lid. Let simmer for about 15 minutes or until biscuits are cooked through.

Here's a picture of what the biscuits should look like (make sure you leave the lid on while cooking so that biscuits can steam and cook through):

8. Take off the heat and let cool for a few minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Thanks mom for this great recipe :)