Chili with Cheese

January 10, 2015January 10, 2015 ~ lindy

Chili

*2 pounds Ground Beef, cooked
*2 tablespoons Extra Light Olive Oil
*3 small onions, chopped
*1 large Green Bell Pepper, chopped
*2 Jalapeño Peppers, chopped
*2 large Garlic Cloves, pressed or minced
*1 teaspoon Salt
*1/4 teaspoon Black Pepper
*1 tablespoon Chili Powder
*1/2 teaspoon Cumin
*2 tablespoons Sugar
*2 teaspoons Cocoa Powder
*dash of Tabasco Sauce
*1/2 teaspoon Coriander
*1/2 teaspoon Dry Ground Mustard
*28 ounce can a Crushed Tomatoes, puréed in blender
*5 cups V8 Vegetable Juice, low sodium
*1-2 cans 15.5 ounce Red Kidney Beans or Pinto Beans or one of each, drained and rinsed
**Grated Cheddar Cheese, topping

Sauté in sauté pan or cast iron pan, on medium heat the onions, peppers in olive oil until tender adding the garlic the last minute of sautéing. After sautéing add to the cooked ground beef.

Mix or whisk together In a bowl: Salt, black pepper, Chili powder, sugar, cumin, cocoa powder, coriander and dry ground mustard.

In a stock pot on medium heat add the puréed tomatoes, V8 juice, sautéed beef mixture, mixed spices and tabasco sauce. Simmer on low for about an hour stirring occasionally. (You can also simmer the chili in a crock-pot on low for 3 hours.)

Add red kidney beans and/or pinto beans after simmering and serve when beans are heated through.

**Optional toppings: Bacon Bits and chopped Green Onions

Also see our New Year Party

Enjoy!

Jessica and Lindy

Maraschino Cherry Slush

January 7, 2015January 8, 2015 ~ lindy

We use to make this yummy slush when I was younger, made with bottled Hawaiian Punch Concentrate, which they don’t make anymore. This recipe comes pretty close to the same slush recipe I loved back when I was growing up.

Maraschino Cherry Slush

3 cups Water
1 1/2 cups Sugar

*23 ounces canned Pineapple Juice
*1 12 ounce can Orange Juice Concentrate, frozen
*1 10 ounce bottle Maraschino Cherries , stem less, blended In blender until smooth
*1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

* Lemon-Lime Soda or Club Soda

Makes 12-14 servings

In a sauce pan on medium heat add the water and sugar and heat and stir until sugar is dissolved. Then add the frozen orange juice. (Use large plastic freezer container or I used to medium-sized containers to freeze slush.). Pour the remaining ingredients into large bowl or the large plastic freezer container, stirring together the sugar-orange juice mixture, pineapple juice, lemon juice and blended maraschino cherries. Cover slush with plastic wrap and freeze slush. Stir the slush in 4 hours and freeze overnight or until frozen.

After freezing, break up the frozen slush. Fill each serving glass with slush and pour on lime-soda or club soda.