Basic Chili

This is my "basic" chili recipe. It's the one that Travis prefers...I will post my favorite chili recipe at another time...(it's alot more involved and had more ingredients). But this is the one we make most often. We usually don't make it until Fall is officially here but we both had a hankerin' for it. It's very simple and only takes a few ingredients and one pot! Gotta love those one-pot recipes!You need:
2 large cans of tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can chili or red beans
1 pound hamburger meat
1 small package Williams chili seasoning (i only had the big one so I used half) you really need the Williams seasoning...it's the best I've found!

Brown hamburger meat in large pot. Add the remaining ingredients and let simmer for a few hours. Seriously that's it! I like mine with fritos and cheese and Travis likes his with crackers and cheese!

Chicken Enchiladas

2 cups cooked chicken

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 can chopped green chiles

1 can cream chicken soup

1 cup sour cream

2 cups cheddar cheese

10 inch flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350

In bowl mix chicken, broth, chiles, soup, sour cream, and 1 cup cheddar cheese. In each tortillas put several spoonfuls of mixture. Roll up and place in 13x9 pyrex seam side down. Once filled, pour remainder of mixture over tortillas and top with 1 cup of cheese. Bake for 40 minutes!

Salmon Cakes

These are kinda like crab cakes but I use salmon instead. But if you prefer you can also use tuna! They are easy and only take a few ingredients:

3 (6 ounces packages) of salmon-I use the pouch but you can use the canned as well.

2 cups crushed saltine crackers (seperated)

2 eggs

1 egg white

1 small can mexi-corn

1/2 onion finely chopped

salt, pepper

dill (optional)

vegetable oil

Pour just enough oil to cover the bottom of a skillet. Heat oil over med-high heat. Dump salmon into bowl and take a fork to break it into smaller pieces. Add two eggs and one egg white, 1 cup crackers, salt, pepper, and I add about of tsp of dill. Also drain corn and add that. Mix well and form into 6 cakes. Coat each cake in the remainder of crushed crackers.

Place each cake into oil and leave alone for around 3 minutes. Don't try and turn them until you know they are good and cooked on the bottom. If you turn too early they will fall apart. Cook on each side for 3-4 minutes until brown. You can also try and press them so that the sides cook as well. Serve with tartar sauce if desired!

I also fried up some squash...here's how I fry my squash. Now I'm sure there are better ways....this is just how I've always done it!

Wash squash well, cut into thin slices, coat each slice in water, and dredge in Jiffy corn muffin mix. Fry them over med-high heat. MMMM....

Mexian Meat-zza

I ran across the recipe the other day...it's one I made a long time ago and forgot about. I was so excited to find it again because it's really, really good! It's actually a Rachael Ray 30 minute meal...

You need:

2 boxes of corn muffin mix, 8.5 ounces (jiffy is what i use)

2 eggs

4 TB butter, melted

1 and a half cups milk

1 cup frozen corn

extra-virgin olive oil

Topping:

2 TB extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 TB chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspsoons cayenne (I use only 1)

Salt

2.5 cups shredded cheese (i used mexican blend)

1/2 red bell pepper finely chopped

1 small can green chilies (drained)

2 small vine ripe tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used a can of diced tomatoes instead)

Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix together muffin mix, eggs, butter, milk and frozen corn. Wipe a large non-stick skillet with oil and pour in the muffix mixture. Use a large skillet and make sure it has oven safe handles. If it doesn't then wrap your handles in foil to protect them. Place pan in oven and bake for about 20 minutes until it's golden brown.

While that is baking, brown your ground beef. Add onions, bell pepper, and spices and cook for an additional 5 minutes.Remove the cornbread from the oven and top with the meat mixture. Cover with cheese and put back in the oven for another 5 minutes just to melt the cheese.Garnish with fresh cilantro, and sour cream if desired. Trust me this one is very yummy!