Bread Soup Bowls

I have been trying to 'PIN' this recipe for 3 days but it won't let me.  I don't want to lose it so I am putting it here where I have it.

Bread Soup Bowls
Makes 3 bowls
1 loaf frozen bread dough
1 egg, beaten

Cut loaf into 3 equal pieces.  Form each third into a ball.  Place on a large sprayed baking sheet.  Brush with beaten egg.  Cover with sprayed plastic wrap.  Let rise in a warm place until double in size.  Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool and slice off the top.  Hollow out bread from bowl (leave at least 1/2 inch around the sides - more if disired).   Fill with favorite chili, soup or dip. Serve and enjoy.  (The bread you pull out of the inside can be used to make croutons or breadcrumbs.  I just eat it.)

Slow Cooker Hearty Chili

I am always looking for easy potluck recipes.  This one is inexpensive and fairly mild.  For Clyde and my tastes we would do medium salsa and add some pepper flakes - but then we like things spicy.  This is really a very mild chili - even New Englanders liked it and I joke that they can't stand anything spicier than black pepper.

Slow Cooker Hearty Chili
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
4-5 cans (15 ounces each) red kidney beans, drained
1 can 16 ounces tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups mild salsa (I use the thick and chunky kinds)
1 cup frozen corn
2 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon Fajita Seasoning

Brown the ground beef.  I add the chili powder and fajita Seasoning to the ground beef and bloom the flavors (I also add the pepper flakes here if they are going to be added.)  Add the meat to the slow cooker and all the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker, stirring to blend well.  Cover with the lid.  Cook on low for 5-6 hours or high 3-4 hours.  Stir just before serving.  Top with cheese and serve with fresh tortillas or crunchy tortilla chips.

This will serve 12 nicely.

Note:  I have a friend that topped her leftovers with cornbread batter and baked it as she would her cornbread.  There was nothing left.  

Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Chili

I won first place in the ward Chili Cook-off with this recipe. I have never tasted it and neither has Clyde. At the cook-off no one knew it was mine until it was all over so it was like I won because I as the Bishop's wife. That would be embarassing since I have won 2 years in a row. I am pulling myself out of the running this year. It is a simple recipe and makes a potful! I have made it a couple of times since to feed the military and for a linger-longer and still haven't tasted it.

Slow Cooker Beef and Bean Chili
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 Tablspoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3 pounds stew meat, cut into bite sized pieces
5 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes
4 Tablespoons dried minced onion
1/2 cup water
In a 12 inch dry skillet drop the chili powder and the cumin in and cook until fragrant. Add the vegetable oil and cubed meat. Brown the meat for 5-6 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. In a 6 quart slow cooker, pour in the beef mixture, the beans, Ro-tel tomatoes, onion and water. Cover and cook on low for 8-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours. Stir well just before serving.

Note: I have made this a couple of times with different kinds of beef. I had a leftover roast in my freezer, so I cubed it and one time I had some steaks that were going to get freezer burned if I didn't do something with them, so I made them up into this. That was 'the guys' favorite version!
I often get the ingredients together the night before and put it on to cook the next morning, early.

Red Beans and Rice

This is spicy. I was told that it was from the Dominican Republic but someone tasted this not too long ago and said that it was from Haiti, they don't eat spicy food in the DR but they eat very spicy food in Haiti. Interesting. Don't know but it was given to me by someone that had lived in the Dominican Republic. I usually fix this in the summer but it would really be a better Winter dish.

Red Beans and Rice
1/2 pound kidney beans, dry, rinsed
1/2 pound pinto beans, dry, rinsed
4 cups water
4 cups chicken broth
2 garlic cloves, grated
2 bay leaves
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 can 4 ounce tomato paste
1 large green pepper, chopped
1 onion, minced or grated
1 cup celery, chopped
1 can green chilies, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 Tablespoons dried
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasonin
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vinegar
Place beans in a large pot with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans in cold water Return the pot of beans to the stove and add broth, garlic, and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 1/2 hours. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer for 1 hour more or until beans are tender and stock (gravy) is thick. Remove the bay leaves. Serve in a bowl over a scoop of rice.

This meal freezes well and keeps well in the refrigerator.

Variations:
For 1 can tomatoes with liquid, diced you can add 3 fresh tomatoes, diced
For 4 ounces tomato paste you can use one large tomato run through the food processor and then drain all the liquid off.
I have used fresh, frozen or canned vegetables in this recipe with excellent results.

Carolyn Brugger's Chili

This is my mother's chili recipe. I don't remember her making chili any other way and I personally gauge all chili recipes by this one. I have won one Stake Chili Cook-off and one Ward Cook off with this recipe.

2 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 tall cans tomato juice
2 pounds kidney or pinto beans
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
1 Tablespoon pepper
2-4 Tablespoons chili powder
1 onion, minced fine
Bring the beans to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Take off heat and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans in cold water. In a dry skillet 'bloom' the chili powder or just heat up until you can just smell it. Bring the tomato juice to a boil. Add the beans and onion, chili powder and pepper and put it on the back of the stove for 4-6 hours or until the beans are cooked through and the stock is thick. Add water or tomato juice as needed. About one hour before serving add the ground beef and salt. It isn't necessary to cook the ground beef all day with the beans but you can if you want too. You don't want to add the salt too soon or your beans will be tough.