It wasn't until after I was grown that I realized not everyone ate pickles with their chili.  It was a staple at our house, and looking back, it was probably mother using what she had.  We always had sweet pickles and dill pickles with chili, no peanut butter sandwiches, no cornbread, just pickles and crackers and always in the fall apple pie.

I loved it then, and I love it now.  I make really good chili, you want to know how I do it?  Okay, here goes...

First of all, I’m a slow cooker kinda girl, it’s easy, you set it and forget it.  But if you don’t use a slow cooker, I’m a fan of putting it in a big pot, adding the lid and baking it in the oven.  You don’t have to watch it or stir it to make sure it doesn’t stick like you do if you cook it on top of the stove, I’m all about easy in my old(er) age.

2 lbs. ground chuck browned with a large chopped onion, two onions if yours aren’t really big, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 can of Brooks Chili Mix with Beans

Thought you might like a picture, so you can see what it looks like.  If you can’t find this, just substitute a couple of cans of chili beans with sauce 

Now back to the recipe...

1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato sauce
1 small can of tomato paste
2 or 3 cans of light red kidney beans, drained
sometimes I use 2 cans of light red kidney beans and 1 can of chili beans with sauce, I don’t drain the chili beans with sauce
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
1-2 teaspoons of sugar to cut the acidity
1 dry packet of chili seasoning mix - I like Brooks best, it’s hard to find, but any dry mix will do 

Brown the ground beef and onions, stir into chili mixture and cook on high in your slow for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.  If you bake it in the oven, cook it at 350-375 degrees for an hour.

If you like more heat, add a dash or two of cayenne pepper to the ground beef as you are browning it.  Then taste it after it cooks to see if you need additional chili powder.

The Hoosier way of eating chili is to stir in macaroni.  I don’t do this at first but a day or so later, I cook jumbo elbow macaroni, put it in the bowls and ladle chili over it like I did in the picture above.  I never chili mac as a kid, it’s strictly an Indiana thing, but it is good.

Mother didn’t make her chili like this, she just used hamburger, onions, a quart of her home canned tomatoes and added cans of chili beans.  Hers wasn’t highly seasoned, but the pickles took it over the top.

Oh, the pickles - the best pickles EVER, EVER, EVER are these - 

Oh my, I can’t say enough about Famous Dave’s Signature Spicy Pickle Chips.  They are absolutely wonderful, just the right combo of sweet and hot, they are YUMMY!  We buy these at Costo in big jars, I add them to so many things. tuna salad, macaroni salad and sandwiches and they are gone before our next trip back.  Amazing pickles, if you’ve never tried them, look for them in your market, they are delicious!  If you can’t find them, of course Amazon has them, Amazon has everything... 

This recipe from Stella Parks sounds too good to be true.  It’s pie crust like we’ve never made it before, but this lady knows what she’s doing and this looks like it just might be a winner.

I haven’t tried this yet, but it intrigues me.

Read about it here, it just might intrigue you, too.  ~ Jan

Oh my, there are no words, this was indescribably delightful.  We had it for Easter this year, I tweaked Betty Crocker’s original recipe and it was a huge hit.  It tastes just like a lemon drop.  It’s so moist, but not a heavy cake, it’s very lemony and tart, just the perfect spring dessert.

Here’s my version, I added pudding to the cake mix, extra lemon juice to the poke part of the recipe and used two cans of lemon frosting, with zest on the top.  The two cans of frosting worked so well, it wasn’t too much, but you had enough to spread without having to spread it thinly.

This one is a winner, winner, chicken dinner for sure!  You can all thank me later for the recipe.  ~ Jan

Oh, you sweet talker, Betty Crocker  XXo

1 box Betty Crocker™ SuperMoist™ lemon cake mix
1 box instant Jello Lemon Pudding
 4 eggs
1 cup water
1/3 cup oil

1 cup powdered sugar, I sift this so it’s smooth
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (1 large lemon)

2 containers Betty Crocker™ Rich & Creamy lemon frosting

Lemon drop candies, crushed, if desired - I didn’t use the lemon drop candies, I zested Lemon Rind on top of cake instead

Directions

Heat oven to 350°F. Line two 9" pans with foil, letting foil hang 2 inches over 2 opposite sides of pans. Grease or spray bottoms and sides of foil.

Make cake batter as directed above, using Pudding, eggs, water and oil.  Pour into pans. Bake 25 to 32 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes.

In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice. Poke top of warm cake every 1/2 inch with long-tined fork or you can use the handle of a small wooden spoon, wiping fork or spoon handle occasionally to reduce sticking. Drizzle and spread lemon mixture over top of cake. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled. Remove cakes from pans by lifting with foil; peel away foil.

On serving plate, place 1 cake, rounded side down; trim if necessary so layer rests flat. Spread with half of frosting. Top with second cake, rounded side up. Frost top of cake with remaining frosting. Garnish with lemon drop candies. Store covered.

Ingredients:

1 pkg White Cake Mix, plus ingredients to prepare

1 pkg Lemon Cake Mix

½ cup Sour Cream

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Lemon, juiced

1 cup Whipping Cream

1 pkg Mascarpone Cheese

1 cup Powdered Sugar, sifted

4 Tbsp Melted Real Butter

Directions:

Prepare the white cake according to the directions on the box, adding the sour cream and vanilla. Bake in a 10 inch round baking pan and cool the cake completely.

For the lemon cream filling, whip cream until stiff peaks form, then fold in the mascarpone, sifted powdered sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest of half the lemon.  For the crumb topping, combine 3/4 cup of the lemon cake mix with the melted butter to make a crumb topping. To assemble the cake, cut the white cake in half to spread the lemon cream filling between the two layers of white cake. Frost the top of the cake with a thin layer of cream filling and sprinkle the crumb topping.

Helpful Tips:

 The secret is the mascarpone cheese.

A little lemon zest always makes things better :)

NUTRITION:

544 calories, 34 grams fat, 55 grams carbohydrates, 5 grams protein per serving.

This recipe has been all over FaceBook.  The prep reminds me of Hammie Sammie’s, which were such a big hit last year.

1 pound lean ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups diced onion
3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10-oz) can Ro-Tel Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles, drained
12 slices cheddar cheese, and 12 Hawaiian dinner rolls

Glaze:

1/2 cup butter
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tablespoon Mustard
1 Tablespoon Sesame Seeds 

Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.

Brown beef, salt, pepper, cumin, mustard powder and paprika.  Add garlic at last so it doesn’t burn.  Then stir in drained Rotel Tomatoes

Place half of buns in the prepared pans, add the beef, then the cheese slices and top with other half of bun.

For glaze, mix all ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat until melted.  Pour over buns and bake for 25 minutes uncovered.

INGREDIENTS

6 apples, cored and thinly sliced

1 c. chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips, melted

1/2 c. caramel sauce, warmed1/2 c. chopped pretzels

DIRECTIONS

On a large plate, arrange apple slices on top of one another.

Drizzle over melted chocolate and caramel sauce.

Top with pretzels.

This is my friend, Krista’s favorite way to make chicken, it’s a must try.  Works with any kind of meat!  

Enjoy ~ Jan

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup soy sauce - La Choy

6 Tbs. ketchup 

1 Tbs. minced garlic

Cracked Pepper

Put above ingredients in plastic bag with chicken breasts, marinate all day in fridge, or overnight, turning frequently, then cook on the grill.

How easy is this!!!!

Adapted from David Leite, The New York Times

INGREDIENTS:2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds (about 3 1/2 cups) bittersweet chocolate disks or semi-sweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.  It is important to refrigerate for 36 hours before baking.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Heart be still, what’s not to love!

This recipe is from Sweet As a Cookie 

I’m reprinting it here, but be sure and check it out on her site as well.

This was absolutely delicious.  Okay, so my picture isn’t perfect, the patty-melt is in the front, the soup has been slurped up a bit.  But this is real life, not a photo shoot. :)

This was so simple, and it turned out perfect.  If you don’t have a Vitamix, I’m sure you could achieve same results in a regular blender and then heat on the stove.

2 cans of diced tomatoes (original recipe called for italian style with oregano, basil and garlic)  I didn’t have those, all I had was a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of diced tomatoes, so that’s what I used, and added a bit of basil leaves and garlic powder.

1 8 oz. block of cream cheese 

A dash of sweetener (I used 3 drops of EZ-Sweetz) or sugar, about 1-2 teaspoons to cut the acidity.

I put all of this in the Vitamix and set it to soup, in 6 minutes, I had hot wonderful tomato soup.  It keeps well, leftovers are great!

Since I used the Vitamix I didn’t soften the cream cheese to room temp, I just put it in cold, but if you’re blending in a regular blender I would soften cream cheese first...

I think I’ll try this same recipe with broccoli or cauliflower and add some cheddar cheese along with the cream cheese.  Who would have thought soup could be so easy...