Tag Archives: Chili

A Side of Sour Cream Hodgepodge

It is the last Wednesday Hodgepodge for July so we are more than half way through the year! Thank you to Joyce From This Side of the Pond!

1. What is a childhood habit or preference you will never outgrow?

Sour cream on pancakes. Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it. Growing up our butter was sour cream. I honestly don’t remember ever having butter on the table in my early years.

2. Did you know July is beans month? What’s your favorite bean? Your favorite recipe that calls for beans? When it comes to chili are you team beans or team no beans?

No, I did not know July was beans month. I would say pinto beans are my favorite bean and have refried beans regularly since Mexican food is way up there on my comfort food list. Something I make with beans that is a favorite is open up all the cans chili. Yes, I am team beans when it comes to chili.

For a quick meal I’ll start with ground turkey, chicken or beef and cook it up with onion and seasonings. Then I start opening up cans from the pantry. Black beans, pinto chili beans, diced tomatoes or Rotel, diced green chilies, sometimes a can of corn, cumin and chili powder. Heat it up and top with grated cheese, fresh tomato, avocado slices, scallions, diced jalapeno, cilantro. Most of the time just enjoy a bowl with saltine crackers and sometimes we’ll enjoy some cornbread along the side. You could turn it into soup by adding some chicken or beef broth.

3. Some historical figures have a tag line after their name, something like ‘the brave’ or ‘the wise’ or ‘the mad’…what would your tag line be? Explain why?

Ellen the Happy Wonderer. That’s the name we came up with for my blog because for the most part I have a happy disposition and I wonder about a lot of things. Blogging has made me wonder even more. I think I could have been a decent detective, too.

4. The way to my heart is______________________________.

If I go deep, it would have to be truth. More and more my heart resonates with the truth. My heart needs to be filtered by the truth because on it’s own it is selfish and wicked. My heart needs refining with the truth that God gives. My heart is now connected to Jesus. He is the way the truth and the life. His truth, the Bible, is the only truth that makes sense and corrects my feelings, thoughts and actions.

If I go ‘lite’ it would be sitting around a table with good food and good friends.

5.  The calendar rolls into August this week, but before we go give us four adjectives that describe your July.

Full. Hot. Celebratory. Smoky.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Quotes of the week:

from Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands ~ Paul David Tripp

“If God isn’t ruling my heart, someone or somethings else will.”

“Lasting change takes place through the pathway of the heart.”

“Change has to penetrate the heart”

from The Discipline of Grace by Jerry Bridges

“The Bible was not given just to increase your knowledge but to guide your conduct”

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

See you soon, Hodgepodgers!

Foodie Friday ~ Cinco de Mayo

Our theme for this Friday’s Foodie is Cinco de Mayo! Odale! Gollum at Designs by Gollum is our trusty hostess for this event. I’m sharing a collage of a Mexican table and food we made when my SIL and brother were visiting us in Washington over Thanksgiving.

 

Letty made the Mexican Rice and she uses whole pinto beans and then mashes them herself and reheats them to make the refried beans. I really enjoy them better than getting the already refried in a can. For our soft tacos we used the slow cooked pork with garnish of cilantro, green onions, cheese, and salsa. The Salsa was homemade by Letty, too.

Today I made Tex-Mex chili for dinner.

I cooked the chunky ground beef with onion and some seasoning. I added the packets from the ready made chili spice mix some chopped tomatoes, a can of pinto beans with jalapeno added, and a can of kidney beans.

 

When I serve it I have shredded cheese, fresh tomato chunks, cilantro, avocado, and green onion to add as desired. I usually also bake some corn bread to go along with!

Happy early Cinco de Mayo to all you Foodies!

To see more Foodie posts visit Gollum at Designs by Gollum!

Photobucket is holding all my photos that I stored on their site from 2007-2015 hostage replacing them with ugly grey and black boxes and asking for a large ransom to retrieve them. It is a slow process to go through all my posts deleting the ugly boxes.

Mount Rainier Chili ~

This recipe comes from one of my favorite cook books, Simply Classic – The Junior League of Seattle. Every recipe I’ve tried from this book is a success and is tasty.

Ingredients:

1 pound Great Northern white beans, rinsed and picked over
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts
1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
2 cups onions, chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 – 4oz. cans chopped mild green chiles
2 tsp. ground cumin
1-1/2 tsp. dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. cayenne
8 cups chicken stock
1 – 12 oz. beer
3 cups Monterey Jack cheese shredded and divided
sour cream
salsa
fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

* Place beans in a large, heavy pot. Add enough cold water to cover by at least 3 inches. Cover and soak overnight.

*Place chicken in a large, heavy saucepan. Add cold water to cover and bring to a simmer. Cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cool. Remove skin and cut chicken into cubes.

* Drain beans into large colander. Heat oil in same pot. Add onions and saute over medium-low heat until translucent, about 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, green chilies, cumin, oregano, cloves and cayenne. Saute 2 minutes. Add beans and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are very tender, stirring occasionally, about 3 to 4 hours. Add additional water if necessary. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and bring to a simmer before continuing.) Add chicken, beer and 1 cup of cheese. Stir until cheese melts. Ladle chili into bowls. Serve with remaining cheese, sour cream, salsa and cilantro leaves to sprinkle on top.

Serves twelve to fourteen…

Photobucket is holding all my photos from 2007-2015 hostage and demanding a ransom for me to access them. I’m slowly cleaning up many of my posts where PB have added ugly black and grey boxes where my photos used to be. So frustrating!