Snow Day Turkey Chili

I have always been a big fan of chili but I have never found a recipe I could make myself that I liked. From the crock pot to the dutch oven I was unsuccessful every time. Today I was determined to make some yummy chili! I took a few recipes I found on the internet, tweeked them, and created my own recipe. Needless to say, my search is over! This recipe is easy and quick! I also love the added cinnamon. It is certainly a surprisingly delicious "secret ingredient." Serve this with some corn bread and you are good to go!

Ingredients

1 lb ground turkey
1 whole medium onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14 1/2 oz) stewed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (15-16 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (15 - 16 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons (heaping) tomato paste

Directions

In a dutch oven (or other larger boiling style pan) cook ground turkey, onion, garlic, and peppers until the meat is browned and onion is tender. Drain the grease (fat). Stir in undrained tomatoes, drained kidney beans, drained black beans, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, and cinnamon. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook uncovered for 5-10 minutes more or until desired thickness.

Hamburger Dip

Something wonderful happened here in our southern subberb. IT SNOWED! There is nothing better than being "snowed in" with lots of yummy comfort foods. I can always remember my mom making chili, hot cocoa and snow cream on snow days. Those were my favorites! I decided to begin a tradition of my own snowy day favorites. I braved the crowds (y'all know us southern folk have no clue how to drive on ice so we stock up so we don't have to venture out) and headed out to get supplies for turkey chili, hamburger dip, snow cream, and chicken pie (see recipe below). I thought those sounded like the perfect combo of warm and comfort!

My recipe for hamburger dip is so easy a trained monkey could make it. My husband loves his cousin's so much I just had to try it on my own. I made it for a tailgate party we hosted at our house a few months ago and it was a hit. It was an experiment and I was so happy it turned out to be great. Today for "lunch" we are going to snack on it while we watch some ACC basketball. Let's see... snow, college basketball, and hamburger dip. I can't think of a better combination! If I were you and I were going to have a Super Bowl party (GO COLTS) I would certainly make this!

Ingredients

1 pkg Velveeta cheese
1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilis
1 lb hamburger

Directions

Brown hamburger and drain grease. Place all ingredients into a crock pot. Cook on low, stirring occasionally, for about an hour or until the cheese has melted. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips.

*Quick Tip: Add a little sausage for a kick!

Paula Deen's Hurry Up Chicken Pot Pie

When I first began this blog I promised myself I would NEVER reference a single recipe from my all time favorite southern cook Paula Deen. I know what you are thinking, who doesn't love Paula, but my love is deeper than most. Paula Deen taught me how to cook. Seriously, she did! My whole life I grew up eating good ol' southern cooking (my mama don't cook fat free) and I wanted to do the same for my family once I got married. Once I received my first "Lady" cookbook I knew I had struck recipe gold. As I flipped through the recipes I realized, cooking is not hard and I began thinking, "I can do that!" I could and by golly I became good at it! The recipes I grew up eating at family pot lucks, get togethers, family dinners, and church suppers were suddenly ones I could master. I knew how to make them and it was fun! Cooking became something I did HAVE to do but something I looked FORWARD to! I even love to go grocery shopping so much it should be a sin. Although this new found love of cooking and all things Paula Deen have not helped my post wedding weight it sure has been fun!

Last night I made this recipe for the first time. Lord knows I was wondering where it had been my whole life! It has to be the most delicious pot pie I have ever eaten (and y'all... I have eaten a few)!

Ingredients

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 cup chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups instant biscuit mix
1 cup milk
1 stick melted butter

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a greased 2 quart casserole dish layer the chicken, eggs, carrots, and peas. Mix the soup, chicken broth, and season with salt in a separate bowl. Pour over the layers. Stir together the biscuit mix and milk, and pour this over the casserole. Drizzle melted butter over the topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown (30-40 minutes).

Tips: I accidentally wrote "cream of mushroom soup" on my grocery list so that is what I used. It tasted great and added a little something with the mushrooms. We also loved the eggs so don't leave that out. It really made the dish unique and added a special flavor. Oh and one more thing. The next time I make this I plan to use the chicken from a fresh rotisserie chicken bought at the grocery store. I think that would REALLY make it yummy! I'll let you know how that turns out!

If you have a better recipe that is easier I would LOVE to have it. I don't think there is one out there that could beat this!

Crock Pot Candy

All of my friends know two of my favorite things are white wine and chocolate. So I wasn't surprised my friend brought both last week when she came over for dinner! She had promised to bring something sweet so I was pretty excited to see what she would make (it is the little things that make us the happiest right?). Believe it or not she made some candy I had never heard of. I may not have heard of it, but I now have the recipe (thanks to her sweet mama) and I cannot wait to give it a try. The recipe is super easy and the results are sinful! So much so my husband now lovingly calls it "devil candy." Needless to say the big bag she left for us to "share" is now at the fire house!

Ingredients

2 pounds of white chocolate
1 German Chocolate bar
12 ounces chocolate morsels
24 ounces of dry roasted peanuts

Directions

Put all above in crock pot on medium. DO NOT STIR. Cook 2 hours. Stir only when times up. Drop by spoonful on wax paper and cool.

Mrs. Horton's Spaghetti Sauce

Okay ladies here is a GREAT one for you. If you are looking to impress (maybe that new boyfriend or husband) and you are tired of the bottled sauces here is a recipe you MUST try.

A couple summers ago one of my husband's childhood friends got married. Before the wedding they sent recipe cards out with their invitations asking you to submit your favorite with your RSVP card. Thinking it was for the couple we quickly chose our favorite (Paula Deen's Wild Rice and Shrimp Casserole) and didn't think any more of it. When we arrived at the wedding reception we quickly discovered all the guest's recipes had been turned into a recipe book! It was by far the neatest wedding gift I had ever seen! At the time I was not very interested in cooking but that book got me started! Every recipe was so easy (I guess because we all thought they were going to newlyweds) and yummy! I guess you could say it gave me the confidence to finally use those pots and pans we had got as wedding gifts!

This recipe is one I had heard about throughout my courting days (I dated my husband for 7 years before we got married). All I kept hearing was, "Having you ever had Mrs. Horton's sauce? It is the best I have ever had." Well thank goodness Mrs. Horton's daughter got married and made a cookbook featuring her mama's famous recipe!

Ingredients

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion
1 green pepper
1 bottle ketchup
1 can condensed tomato soup
Worchestire sauce, to taste
Texas Pete, to taste
1 teasppon chili powder

Directions

Chop green pepper and onion into small pieces. Cook with a little water until soft. Add beef with salt and brown. Drain acess grease. Add tomato soup, ketchup , chili powder, Texas Pete, Worchestire and a little water. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with your favorite spaghetti noodles.

Note: This recipe is a great one to double and freeze!
1 table spoon chili powder