Join us on our overseas cooking adventures! Some days we HAVE to be pretty creative, some days we ENJOY being creative, and some days we just need a taste of home! We are 4 different cooks with different tastes, but we all love God's gift of food and it's ability to unite families and friends around the table.
This is my ole reliable chili recipe. Double it if you have more than 3-4 adults. The leftovers make for delicious chili dogs.
1/2 c. butter (I between 1/3-1/4c.) 1 lg chopped onion 1 chopped green pepper (I sometimes mix it up w/ red or yellow...) 1 tsp minced garlic 1 lb. ground beef, cooked and drained 5 T ketchup 3 T mustard 2 T chili powder** 2 cans tomatoes 1 can kidney beans salt and pepper to taste 2 tsp sugar dash of Worcestershire sauce
Saute onions, pepper & garlic in butter. Add other ingredients and simmer 30 minutes. Can serve over rice (to make it go further) with grated cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.
**I made this recipe while we were in the states and it didn't turn out near as yummy as it does here. I think part of the reason for that was the chili powder - the chili powder I use here seems to be a lot more concentrated giving lots more flavor.
This was the gift that kept on giving - we ate it 3 times in as many days. The first time I put it on sandwiches (hoagies) with some melted swiss. Then we ate it over rice. Then we did sandwiches again. I'm sure it would be yummy over cous cous too.
Sauce: 1/2 cup soy sauce 1 3/4 cups water 1 teaspoon ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons honey 3 tablespoons cornstarch 1/2 cup cold water
For the sauce, in a medium bowl mix the soy sauce, 1 3/4 cups water, ginger, garlic powder, brown sugar and honey together. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch into the 1/2 cup cold water. Set both bowls aside.
For the meatballs, in a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients except for the ground beef and mix well. Add the ground beef and mix until combined. Form ground beef mixture into 1 to 1 1/2-inch meatballs. In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat two tablespoons oil over medium heat until the oil is rippling and hot. Add the meatballs to the hot skillet and brown on all sides, turning with a pair of tongs. The meatballs don't need to be completely cooked through, just equally browned on all sides.
When the meatballs have browned, pour the sauce ingredients over the meatballs and gently turn the meatballs to coat them in the sauce. Heat the sauce until just simmering and add the cornstarch/water mixture, carefully mixing so as not to break apart the meatballs as you combine the cornstarch mixture with the teriyaki sauce. Simmer the meatballs and sauce over medium heat, maintaining a constant simmer but not cooking at too high of a boil, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is thick and smooth (if the sauce becomes overly thick, add a tablespoon of water at a time to thin), about 10-15 minutes, turning the meatballs every two or three minutes to ensure even cooking. Serve over rice or couscous.
This is a great and healthy marinade that I found. You don't have to marinade the chicken for a long time and still end up with a great flavor. Last time I did it the chicken only marinaded for about an hour and it still tasted great. I use chicken breasts and cut them into smallish tenderloin size pieces. You can then grill the chicken or cook in skillet in a small amount of olive oil. Also, you can boil the leftover marinade and then use it to baste the meat while cooking.
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I think I used olive oil)
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (I used balsamic)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp pepper
(I think I might have added some garlic as well although that's not in the original recipe)
