Taco Soup by any other name..

I first got this recipe my freshman year at BYU from Virginia Whiting..or rather, her mother. It became a staple in my life. Especially after screwing with it a few times.

The original recipe:
Taco Soup
1 lb ground beef
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans corn
2 cans dark kidney beans
1/3 cup salsa
1 tbsp chili powder

Brown ground beef in large pot. Drain excess oil. Without draining, add canned tomatoes, corn and beans. Bring to a low boil. Add salsa and chili powder. Simmer. Top with shredded cheddar cheese and/or Frito corn chips.

But after a few batches made with spaghetti sauce for salsa, black beans for kidney beans, and other substitutions through the years...I made one very bold substitution: a dash of cinnamon and crushed red pepper for chili powder. It's become my signature recipe. I still add spices without much of a formula other than what smells good--so, I'll just tell you how I made it tonight. But it hardly seems appropriate to call it "Taco Soup." And I've even entered it into church chili cook-offs which forced me to rename it,

Black Bean Chili
1 lb ground beef
salt, pepper
garlic pepper
crushed red pepper
2 cans stewed tomatoes, Italian style
2 cans corn
2 cans black beans
oregano
cumin
paprika
cinnamon

Brown the ground beef in large pot, and season with salt and garlic pepper. Drain excess grease. Without draining anything, add tomatoes. Season with crushed red pepper. Drain one can of corn, but not the other as you add the corn. Season with black pepper. Add black beans. Bring to a low boil. Simmer and add a big dash of oregano, a medium dash of paprika, a small dash of cumin and cinnamon. Top with cheddar cheese and/or tortilla strips.

Pork Chops with Acorn Squash & Tomatoes

I loved this idea of combining acorn squash with cherry tomatoes. It came from RealSimple.com. How appropriate for this time of year: summery tomatoes and autumn-y squash! Also, turned out to be really easy.

The recipe originally suggested chicken breasts, but when I went to Kroger, the pork chops were cheaper.

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1 small acorn squash (about 11⁄2 pounds)—halved, seeded, and sliced 1⁄4 inch thick
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
4 cloves garlic, sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil
kosher salt and black pepper
4 pork chops

Heat oven to 425° F. On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the squash, tomatoes, and garlic with 2 tablespoons of the oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Roast until the squash is tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Pat the meat dry with paper towels before seasoning with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown and cooked through, 6 to 7 minutes per side. Serve with the squash and tomatoes and sprinkle with the oregano.

Beef Stroganoff

Bill's favorite dish that his mom makes is Beef Stroganoff. She serves it over mashed potatoes--which I'd never heard of before. But maybe that's because we usually just had the Hamburger Helper kind in my family. I've never made it from scratch before but last night was the night! I decided I would tackle the Stroganoff...and of course it was a mish-mash of two different recipes that I found at Allrecipes.com: Beef Stroganoff II and Beef Stroganoff III.

This is what I ended up with:

7 small red potatoes

1 lb beef chuck steak, sliced into 1/4" thick, 1 1/2" wide strips--approximately.
salt & pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tbsp flour
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can condensed beef broth
1/2 pkg mushrooms, sliced
1/3 c sour cream


Boil potatoes in salted water.

Season beef strips with salt & pepper. Brown in large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from skillet to plate.

Add onions to skillet and cook until transparent.

Add flour, mushroom soup and beef broth. Bring to a boil. Return beef strips to skillet and simmer on reduced heat for 15 minutes.

Add mushrooms to skillet.
When potatoes are tender, drain them. Arrange on plates.

Add sour cream to skillet a few minutes before serving, and stir well to heat it through.

Smash the potatoes with a fork and top with beef mixture.

Pasta al Forno

This is the king of all recipes from my mission. Elders would dream of this dish (while they were knocked out in a pasta coma.) The name only means "baked pasta"--but that's an understatement when you look at everything piled into this recipe. And you'll see why it was such a rare treat: 1. not super healthy. 2. requires LOTS of prep work. Don't eat too much, or you will seriously be struggling.

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2 boxes penne or rigatoni pasta, cooked al dente
1/4cup bread crumbs
Ragu
Besciamella
1-2 balls mozzarella, diced
1/2cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup salami slices, cut into strips
2 eggs, hard boiled

Ragu:
1/2 lb hamburger
1/2cup shredded carrots
1cup froz. peas
2 cans basic tomato sauce (I use Hunt's Garlic & Herb)

Besciamella:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp salt
pepper to taste
1cup milk or cream


In large saucepan, prepare ragu by browning hamburger meat in a little olive oil.* Add shredded carrots and peas. When peas are no longer frozen, add tomato sauce.

In smaller saucepan, prepare besciamella by heating butter over med heat. When butter is mostly melted, add flour, salt and pepper and mix well. Add milk or cream and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens.

Grease 9x13 pan and sprinkle with bread crumbs.

Layer cooked pasta, ragu, besciamella, cubed mozzarella, grated parmesan, salami. Top with mozzarella and slices of hard-boiled egg.

Cover and bake at 350F for 30 min, or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly.


*if I was using plain tomato sauce from the vegetable side of the aisle, rather than the spaghetti sauce side of the aisle, I would add garlic before browning the meat and other spices after adding the sauce.

Creamy Barley with Tomatoes and Greens

I found this one on RealSimple.com last winter. And it's one I don't want to lose. It is so creamy and yummy--like oatmeal, but better suited to dinner.

It took me a while to find "quick-cooking barley", but I've used pearled barley as well and not noticed much difference. (?) I also made a few substitutions to the original recipe:

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2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
kosher salt and black pepper
2 cups quick-cooking barley
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 cup chicken broth
8 cups torn spinach leaves
2 ounces Brie (rind removed), cut into small pieces
1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the barley, tomatoes, broth, and 2½ cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the barley is tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Add the spinach, brie, and ¼ cup of the Parmesan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Divide among bowls and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of Parmesan.

My Favorite A' La Mode

My favorite pie recipe to date. I found it on Allrecipes.com years ago, and I've made it so many times since. I made four of these pies for our wedding reception!

I usually use frozen rhubarb and pre-made Pilsbury crusts--just remember to pat the crusts down with flour before using them so that they don't turn to mush with such a moist filling.
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Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 pound fresh rhubarb, chopped
2 pints fresh strawberries
1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons white sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix flour and sugar. Add strawberries and chopped rhubarb. Toss with sugar and flour and let stand for 15 minutes.

Pour filling into pie crust. Dot top with butter, and cover with top crust. Seal edges of top and bottom crust with water.

Apply yolk to top of pie, using a pastry brush. Sprinkle with sugar. Cut small holes in top to let steam escape.

Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C), for 35 to 40 minutes, or until bubbly and brown. Cool on rack.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

1/2 box spaghetti
200g pancetta (or small package diced ham, or diced canadian bacon)
3 eggs
1-2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Boil pasta in well-salted water.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in skillet. Add pancetta (diced ham). Fry until golden.

In another bowl, beat eggs and add shredded parmesan, salt and pepper.

When pasta is al dente, drain. Quickly add egg mixture and hot oil with pancetta. Stir well in pot while still over hot burner.
*The egg will cook onto the pasta.