Day 12: The Other Chili!

We have two types of chili that we eat here in this house. One has elk and bacon and beans. Then there's this one, whom I blame on Dragon because if he didn't spend a majority of his life in Ohio, I wouldn't have even known about it.

The Other Chili

Ingredient round-up: 

* 1 lb (or so) of ground beef

* Can of tomato paste

* Packet of Cincinnati Recipe Chili mix

For those of you wondering, yes, this is what Ohio-ans usually refer to as Skyline Chili. 

It took me a while to get used to it, honestly. I'm used to thick, stew-like chili, full of beans and meat and deliciousness. This chili is... well... watery. But what it lacks in viscosity it MORE than makes up for with amazing flavor. Seriously. 

 

Packet in the stew pot, combined with the tomato paste. It's definitely not the most appealing look, now is it?

But if you take a whiff of it right now, you'll be able to smell all the spices they put in there. Especially the cinnamon.

Originally, I said to Dragon that cinnamon has NO BUSINESS being in a chili. It is an abomination, I said.

I was wrong. It is awesome. Trust me.

According to the directions, here's how it goes down.

You put the mix and tomato paste in the pot. Mix it together. Add 6 cups of water (yeah, see, that's why I said it's more watery than what I'm used to) and blend it all together.

THEN you add in the uncooked beef. This was a step that had me kind of meh. I'm used to precooking the meat and THEN adding everything in. But given how long this stuff cooks? Yeah, uncooked meat is the way to go. It absorbs all those delicious spices and gets super tender and very tasty.

Now then, the secret to Skyline Chili is how it's served. The back o' the packet has suggestions, but it all starts with a base of pasta.

As we are...mostly healthful with our grain choices, we stumbled across this little gem. -->

It's a hearty, yet delicious pasta that is just chock full of veggie goodness. It cooks in about the same amount of time as a regular pasta does (8-10 minutes or so) and tastes like regular pasta.  So there you go. Healthy-ho!

Put the pasta on to cook. When it's done, divvy it up.

Pasta in the bowl. Followed by a ladle or two of the chili, and smother that stuff with low-fat cheddar cheese. (Or regular cheddar...I happened to grab the wrong cheese by accident and it still tasted fine.)

Trust me when I tell you there will be enough leftovers to do the Chili-dog thing with, or to just heat and eat as you wish.


~Snarkstress

Day 8: Faux!Mex Tacos!

Dragon was feeling like tacos for dinner. We needed to head to the store to get lunch for tomorrow anyway and the thought occurred to me... how can I make one meal work twice?

Faux!Mex Tacos

Tacos aren't what you call "complex" food here at Hus af Snark. Generally, I brown up some GBeef, add some taco seasoning and water, let it simmer, heat up taco shells, and pile it all together when the meat's done.

Dragon wanted chicken tacos. I thought it was a marvelous idea. Our neighborhood Ghetto-F-C was out of the marinated chicken strips we used for the nachos we had on Saturday night, so a decision had to be made: Do I go ahead and go with regular ol' chicken strips... or do I save myself some money AND cooking time?

After walking past the display of pre-roasted chickens, well...the decision was simple. 

Meet Charlie. Wave to the camera, Charlie. -->

Now, I've seen this trick done before (and I've used it myself way back when) of using a precooked chicken to make your meal. Unfortunately, delicious though he looked, Charlie needed a good shredding before he'd be fit for any sort of taco consumption. 

With bare hands, Dragon watching on, and four cats circling like piranha around my ankles because the glorious "C-H-I-C-K-E-N" had descended into the kitchen space (and because they saw me pull out the knife and cutting board which *clearly* means there is meat to be had)... I dug into Charlie's carcass like a starving vulture.

Poor bird. Never stood a chance.

<-- As you can see, there was quite a bit of good meat on that bird. This isn't nearly all of it (I thought it a good idea to take a picture before my hands were completely juice soaked) and by the time I was done, the board was covered with fowl flesh.

Surprisingly enough, Charlie had been roasted damn near to perfection. Dragon and I were both surprised when we took a sample. Juicy, delicious... just downright tasty.

All that done, I commenced with the shredding. An arduous task that took me longer than I wanted it to take because SOMEONE *coughDragoncough* was too busy holding his Fluffy Overlord to help me shred. 

The things I do for this family.

Since Dragon didn't want me to get all elaborate-like and add taco seasonings to the shredded chicken, the rest of the assembly was pretty straight forward. 

We tried out these Stand N' Stuff flour taco shells (not my ideal, but hey, Ghetto-F-C, y'all) because there is a clear divide in this household about proper taco shellage. 

Dragon likes it soft. I like it crunchy. Since he was the one who suggested it...these shells were my compromise. 

Because that's what marriage is all about. I made the best of it by layering the sour cream in the bottom...

... topped that with a little cheese n' shredded chicken. 

As you can see, the shredded chicken looks amazing. But unlike boring Dragon with his boring "no spices" blandness, I like my taco fillings to taste, well, like they should be ON a taco. 

Meat-wise, anyway.

So I tried something new. A green taco sauce in the vein of the Verde sauce from Taco-Hell. Because I have a serious love for green sauce.

That green sauce turned out to be SO GOOD. I went pretty light with it on these, but next time? It's totally on. Because yum.

Also? Black olives. Because I've been on a bit of a black olive kick lately on my Faux!Mex food. I don't know why. They just seem to work. 

Dragon also learned my sordid past with black olives. Namely, I was that kid who went through innumerable cans of pitted, whole black olives because I liked putting them on my fingertips and pretending I had alien fingers. True story. 

A little more cheese and 45 seconds in the microwave.

And voila. 

Faux!Mex Chicken Verde Tacos. 

Turned out pretty delicious, actually, and the chicken meat will be getting another visit today for lunch, as the protein element to our salads. 

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 6: Meatball Party!

I believe both of us can give major props to Teen Titans Go! for this particular meatball infused dish.

Meatball Party Sketti!

In case you can't tell from the photo on the left, this is another of those "put a bunch of stuff together that sounds tasty and bake it" meals. 

Roundup of ingrediental suspects: Meatballs, cheese, angel hair pasta (this is Dragon's fault), and sauce. 

Wolverine cup is, of course, completely optional.

In other words: I'm sure this *could* be made healthier. But it's been one of those "Meh, let's eat something delicious," days where you don't particularly care what it does to your waistline because you know you're going to be working it off somehow anyway.

And no, pirating on Assassin's Creed 4 doesn't count. 

Though in an ideal world... it totally would.

First, you preheat the oven according to your meatball maker's directions. Pop them in a casserole dish and cook those balls of meaty awesome until they're done. 

Meanwhile, boil water. Add pasta. Cook to almost al dente.

A note of explanation about blaming Dragon for the Angel Hair pasta: he ruined regular spaghetti noodles for me when we were just a wee couple trying to make it in the world. It was something I tried because he insisted, and lo, I found I enjoyed it verily. Thus was history written.

While your noodles are a-boilin', after the meatballs have been cooked, pour in the jar of sauce and let it warm a bit while you wait for the pasta. 

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the casserole dish. Mix, thoroughly, and then cover with cheese. 

Your mileage may vary regarding the "cover with cheese" bit. As will the type of cheese you use. Depending on how badly we need a meatball party hug in our bellies, we adjust our cheese addition. In this case, about a cup of triple cheddar. Yum.

Let it cook in the oven for about 10 minutes more, until the cheese is all gooey and melty and delicious. Then pull out the bowls, fill 'em up, and weep over Downton Abbey, knowing that you have a warm, saucy, delicious meatball waiting for you when you're done wiping those eyes.

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress

Day 3: Grown Up Grilled Cheese!

There's nothing quite as deliciously lunch-worthy as a grilled cheese sandwich and soup. Around here? We jazz it up a bit, because that's how we roll.

Grown Up Grilled Cheese

You'll have to forgive me. This was a somewhat celebratory, impromptu lunch and I was under a slight time crunch, so I didn't get to take pictures of all the ingredients. 

They're rather easy though: bread, cheddar cheese, bacon bits, butter.

First things first, please note the temperature at the right. Again, your mileage may vary, but if you want the perfect golden crust, you aren't going to want to go much higher than this. Medium, maybe medium-high.

If you've never made grilled cheese before, it's ridiculously easy. Butter a slice of bread. Place it, butter side down, in a preheated skillet. Add 1 slice of cheddar (or cheese of your preference... I happen to find swiss amazing in these!) on unbuttered side of bread. 

Add some bacon bits, and put another 1 - 2 slices of cheddar on top of that. Butter up another slice of bread and put it atop the whole shebang, keeping the butter side up. 

Depending how quickly you move, by the time you get everything layered, you should be ready to flip the sandwich over, to gain a golden buttery crust on the other side. 

Now for a little secret: Growing up, I used to make these with margarine, mostly because it was easier to spread. We don't use margarine in this house anymore (way too many trans fats and badness in there) and regular ol' softened butter can work, IF it's soft enough.

But I've found that the *best* way to butter my GC bread? Melt the butter and brush it on with a silicone basting brush. It evenly distributes it, keeps it from being too heavy handed, avoids torn-bread syndrome, and just generally makes life much easier in the kitchen.  

Now you know. And knowing is, as they say, half the battle. 

Pair it with your favorite soup (in this case, Bean n' Bacon) and you've got a hearty, warm, delicious lunch to fill that belly and leave you satisfied. 

Let me know if you give it a try and any tweaks, tips, etc, that make your culinary experience one to brag about!

Enjoy!

~Snarkstress