Chipotle Beef Chili with Lime Crema

3 lb. ground beef
3 c. onion, chopped

Chili cooking

6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
2 cans beef broth (or bouillon)
1 c. crushed tomatoes with added puree
1/2 c. stout or dark beer (I used Guinness)
2 Tbsp. minced canned adobo chipotle chilies
1 Tbsp. yellow cornmeal
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 c. sour cream
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. lime peel, grated
Corn tortilla chips

Lime Crema

Heat heavy large pot over high heat. Add beef; saute until cooked through, breaking up meat with spoon - about 8 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Add onions to same pot; saute until tender - about 5 minutes. Add garlic to pot; saute 1 minute. Add chili powder and cilantro. Saute until fragrant - about 2 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, stout, chilies, and cooked beef. Cover partially; simmer until chili is thick, stirring often, about 1 hour. Gradually stir cornmeal into chili. Stir in beans. Simmer until heated through. Season generously with salt and pepper (I added pepper before it cooked for an hour, and then more after).

Ready to eat!

Whisk sour cream, lime juice, and lime peel in small bowl. Season with salt. Spoon chili into bowls. Spoon lime crema atop chili. Serve with chips.

Crispy Buffalo Chicken Roll-Ups

4 chicken breasts
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. Gorgonzola, shredded
1/4 c. Frank's hot sauce
2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 c. crushed cornflakes

Flatten chicken breasts to 1/4 inch thickness. Season with salt and pepper; sprinkle with blue cheese. Roll up each from a short side and secure with toothpicks.

In a shallow bowl, combine pepper sauce and mayonnaise. Place cornflakes in a separate shallow bowl. Dip chicken in pepper sauce mixture, then coat with cornflakes. Place seam side down in a greased 11x7 inch baking dish.

Bake, uncovered, at 400 F for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Discard toothpicks. Next time I may try to add bacon...

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home magazine August/September 2011

Tomato Soup Infusion Grilled Cheese

1 12oz can condensed tomato soup
1 tsp basil

1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp heavy cream
2 eggs
8 slices bread
butter, very soft
12 slices bacon, cooked
cheddar

In shallow pan, combine soup, basil, garlic, sugar, salt, cream, and eggs.  Beat until well-combined.

Preheat griddle to 250 F.  Spread butter on griddle.  Dip 1 side of each slice of bread in tomato mixture, letting soak for several seconds.   Lay tomato-side down on griddle.  While tomato is cooking, spread butter on top sides of each slice.

When tomato side is lightly browned, flip half of the slices over.  Lay slices of cheddar and strips of bacon on grilled tomato, sandwich between remaining slices of bread so that grilled tomato sides face inward.  Allow each side of sandwich time for butter to brown and turn crispy, remove from grill and eat.  Makes 4 sandwiches.

Recipe created by Christopher Lund

Pupusas

Pupusa cooking

* Note: You do need a skillet/griddle that goes to 500 degrees F.

2 c. masaca flour
2 c. water
Dash of salt
Small dish of vegetable oil
Fillings, such as cheese, refried beans, ground or pulled pork, etc.

Mix the flour and the salt together. Add water and mix with your hands until you have a slightly sticky dough. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Pupusas on the skillet

Separate dough into 8 equal sized pieces. Take one piece of dough in your hands and slap it back and forth until it is about the circumference of a baseball. Shape it into a bowl in your hand. Stuff full with filling(s). Close dough tightly around filling, creating an air free ball of dough with filling inside. Rub a little oil onto the palms of your hands and slap the dough back and forth between them, flattening it into a circle about 6 inches across. Filling may pop through here and there, but take care to keep it to a minimum.

Heat skillet to about 500 degrees. Place flattened pupusa dough on ungreased skillet; leave for 4 minutes. Flip and cook the other side another 4 minutes. Serve hot. Recipe makes 8 pupusas.

Ready to eat!

Peach Iced Tea

Syrup:
2 1/2 c. water
2 1/2 c. sugar
5 peaches, peeled, pitted, and quartered


Tea:
7 c. boiling water
5 black tea bags


To make the syrup, heat water and sugar to boiling. Add peaches; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove peaches from water. Chill syrup if saving for later.


To make the tea, steep the tea bags in the boiling water for the desired amount of time. Combine tea and syrup. Chill.


Side note: If you don't want to throw away the peaches after they are done boiling, they do go great over vanilla ice cream. Just sayin'.

Rosemary Lemonade

Syrup:
1 1/2 c. water
1 1/2 c. sugar
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 1/2 c. lemon juice

Cold water

To make the syrup, boil the water and the sugar in a large pot; boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat; add lemon juice and rosemary. Cover and let it sit for 20 minutes. Remove rosemary, then cool in the fridge overnight.

To make the lemonade, add 1 part syrup to 2 parts cold water to make the lemonade.