Chili perfected over many years by Joe Welch:
16 Oz tomato sauce
16 Oz diced tomatoes
1 Ib - 1.5 Lb sirloin (see marinade recipe) - broiled or grilled - sliced to desired size
Med sized onion - 1 inch cut /sautéed in olive oil
1 red or yellow pepper - 1 inch cut /sautéed in olive oil
2-4 Serrano peppers sautéed in olive oil then chop finely 1 - 2 Tablespoons minced garlic 1 t chili powder 1/2 t salt 1 t thyme
1 bay Leaf
1 t basil
bring to boil then lower to mild simmer for 1-2 hrs
once simmered add:
8 Oz pinto beans
8 Oz baked beans
additional chili powder to taste
simmer additional 15 minutes
pull out bay leave
Steak Marinade perfected over many years by Joe Welch, based off his moms recipe:
Ketchup
Mustard (dry or jarred)
Olive oil
Balsamic Vinegar
Worcestershire sauce
Minced Garlic
Seasoning salt
Thyme
Basil
Best to marinade steak overnight & then grill or broil it, but good no matter what
OK, so 1 of our favorite Friday night foods is to make our own twice baked potatoes. Earlier in the week I bake potatoes (this week w/ the meatloaf I already posted).
So then I normally empty the potatoes, mash w/ a little light sour cream/garlic/bacon bites/cheddar. Then I top w/ green onions after baked for the second time.
QUICK & YUMMY. Healthier than getting them from a chain & still yummy enough to feel like a treat.
but, tonight I was out of cheddar AND I needed to use up both plain & sweet potatoes so I came up with a YUMMY SURPRISE NEW RECIPE : )
- Hollow out potatoes & sweet potatoes (equal amounts of each)
- Mash w/ pepper & light sour cream & Blue cheese (I bet goat cheese would be good to, I plan to try that nx wk)
- I add bacon bits from the freezer which I either buy precooked/cut OR make by cooking & breaking up turkey bacon to freeze & pull out as needed.... BUT THIS WOULD BE GOOD W/OUT MEAT TOO
- Top with a little light cheddar or mozzarella blend (if you have it)
- bake to heat through
- Top w/ diced green onions
YYUUMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!
I just made these & posted them to Etsy. Just in time for Valentines day shopping! They are called Secretly Jaded Valentine because they have the little sterling silver hearts and the stone I ended up using is called Soochow Jade (which I will tell you more about in the post)
Meatloaf (which Joe said he never liked until he had mine : )
1 lb lean beef or ground turkey
1 pks Spicy Italian chicken sausage (Trader Joes. If you cant find this, use whatever you can find & add some dried crushed red peppers to kick it up – Ground Turkey also works well)
1 pk sweet or original or Italian chicken sausage (original pork sausage will work too)
Ketchup
Worcestershire Sauce
Bread Crumbs (oats or crushed croutons are fine substitutes – you just need enough to balance the moisture and help bind)
Egg White Beaters (or a normal egg if you aren’t worried about cholesterol)
Minced onion
Dry or normal mustard
IF you don’t like veggies, don’t have any or are in a rush, this meatloaf is great without them too, but we love veggies and always want them in everything so….
As for veggies, sometimes I chop, sometimes mince, sometimes purée. I use whatever of the following that I have on hand, I use this as an opportunity to clean out the fridge.
(total about 1.5 to 2 cups):
Garlic
Red cabbage
Carrots
Celery
Peppers
Onions
Mushrooms
NOW, if you sauté the veggies you DON’T need as much of the breadcrumbs because you will have already cooked out a lot of excess moisture. I’ve done it both ways; it’s just about time and mood. Also sautéing does change the flavors of the veggies.
This is supposed to be a semi spicy meatloaf, so if you didn’t include spicy sausage, then I suggest putting BBQ sauce on top of the meatloaf. Trader Joes is pretty bold so I mix with ketchup. If you used spicy sausage you don’t need to put anything on top, unless you’d like to.
This meatloaf goes GREAT with baked sweet potatoes
I haven't been able to bead much this past week, Aiden has been sick with a cold. Here is a piece I did get done and plan to post tonight.
Well I didn't get to post a recipe last night. I didn't get to make dinner last night actually! Aiden was sick and Mya had some hard homework. Pretty sure I won't get to cook today either, so I am going to share what I made last week and how quick and easy and yummy it was.
Slow cook:
Beef Roast (chicken would also be good, or pork for that matter)
Carrots
Onions
Peanut sauce or peanut dressing to taste (Marzetti Thai Peanut Dressing or Trader Joe's to name a few... I have made sauce pretty easily in the past too, but when there isn't time, just buy it!)
Toss in frozen peas once the dish is cooked, they just need to heat uppp
Serve over rice
Joe likes xtra peanut sauce heated up in the side to pour on his meat, but you don't need it (or much in the cooked portion) if you are trying to go lean! It's flavor goes a long way and is such a nice change to traditional pot roast....
As for Ardent Designs... that was on hold today to take care of the kids. I do have a picture to share of one of the new designs, but I have yet to post any new items to my store or to get the rest of my works photographed in the past coupld of day.... I hope the weekend brings me time to get more done and posted.
1. Cut in half, bake, deseed & mash 1 large or 2 small butternut squash (I generally do this on the weekend when I am baking other things)
2. I generally make a variation of this Green Bean Casserole recipe earlier in the week when I plan to make the squash dish later in the week….
http://tinyurl.com/y9jta44
I modify the above linked recipe for health & speed by
- skip topping (I just use some Trader Joes fried Onions which are trans fat free), or don’t top it at all
- For the beans: I just steam them for a couple of minutes
- For sauce: less salt, low sodium/fat broth, use less half & half and replace the rest with skim milk or white wine, ONLY USE ½-2/3 of the SAUCE once you make it IN THE DISH SAVE THE REMAINDER of the SAUCE for the Butternut Squash Casserole recipe below
Butternut Squash Casserole
Boil a pot of water & toss in a box of Whole Grain pasta (any shape)
To the mashed squash add:
garlic, nutmeg, Italian seasonings, pepper to taste
In a bowl, add Ricotta cheese (I use low fat & generally use about half as much Ricotta as squash, but that’s a preference thing)
Add the sauce left from the bean casserole you made a few days ago : )
Add some broth or white wine or skim milk IF needed to make the mixture more the thickness of spaghetti sauce VS mashed potatoes… (just so it doesn’t dry too much when baking)
Add:
Kale (or spinach, but I preferred the Kale)
Drained cooked whole grain noodles
Dried cherries
Diced pack of precooked Chicken Sausage (I like the apple chicken from Trader Joes or Sams Club)
*or to go vegetarian replace the meat with a pack of diced portabella mushrooms
Mix all of the above, put in a dish, top with chopped walnuts & parmesan cheese
Bake at 350 or 400 until heated through
Today I beaded more jewelry as well. I managed to photograph some, but not all of it and posted one. Must get to bed so I can get up early tomorrow, so I will wait to post more items for my Valentines Day series. Here's a sneak peak.
Back in November we posted a sad little post feeling sorry for ourselves because we were having a hard time coming up with a solution for a luminaire, or wall sconce.
It's a new year and we are back to the project with more successes than failures this time. No photo yet but seems we are on the right track with manufactured luminaire base with applied original photos printed on Vellum applied to the base to provide a one of a kind Luminaire Lamp. Look for it soon in ADPhotography etsy store
We are still working on the wall sconce too that will be made from warm glass.
I am so high energy now that I have recovered from pregnancy and birth, that I am starting to focus on Health again. I often make recipes on the fly that float through my head and when they are good I am so sure I will remember how I did them, but sometimes I don't. So I try to type them down if they were a hit with the family. It occurred to me.... I have a blog and never enough to say, I should share some of these recipes as we are all starting a New Year and most likely focusing on health.
Here's what we had tonight YUM....
Sweet potato & Mustard chicken
Bake/mash a sweet potato. set aside.
Heat pan to med-high, add a little olive oil
Add minced garlic & spicy mustard (& a little honey or maple syrup if you’d like)
Add diced mushrooms (if you have them)
Add chicken breasts
Cover with heavy skillet (I use this on top of the chicken to speed cooking, it’s fine if you don’t, just cover it with a lid instead)
Add veggie or chicken stock
As pan dries, add white wine & stock as needed
Add Tarragon & Thyme to taste
Flip chicken often so it doesn’t stick
When chicken is done, add a mashed sweet potato & stock to make desired thick sauce
(I have made this w/out the sweet potato, but it adds vitamins & fiber & thickness. Without it, the chicken is more like Honey Mustard Chicken)
Roasted Cauliflower & Grape Tomatoes
Coat cut cauliflower & whole grape tomatoes with olive oil & salt & pepper
I DID THEM ON SEPARATE PANS BECAUSE THE TOMATOES GET DONE QUICKER
Roast in oven at 500 (I used parchment paper)
When done, pull and mix in some goat cheese to melt and coat the veggies
I was out, but this would be great with fresh basil
Well I have been beading up a storm! I have been working on a lot of different series. I am continuing my "Jaded" series from last years Valentines day designs as well as the pink and red series.
Additionally I am rebuilding my Simply Silver & Gold collection since it was so popular and therefore depleted and I have a ton of new pieces. Lastly, I am returning to my Bali Silver and Natural Stones series that was sold out at past shows. I cant wait to get some of these new items photographed and posted. I will keep you all updated on my progress.
I have been busy making jewelry over the holidays. I also loaded up on new beads, so I am full of inspiration. Santa brought me glass and tools this year too. SO much to do, so little time.
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