Taco Chilli

For the first Ranger's game, that we unfortunately did not win, I made Taco chilli/soup for Cameron, Whit, Preston, and Courtney. This recipe is super easy and inexpensive. Most of the ingredients are canned and can easily be bought and stored for later use!

 

This can be either a soup or chilli. But it's great for cold nights (not like Dallas right now, 85 and the very end of October, what is that?!). Just make sure you have a nice couch to lay on and a good game or show to watch after, because you will want to take a long nap... Feeling very satisfied and full!

 

Taco Chilli

Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean beef or turkey (even healthier)
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 package hidden valley ranch dressing mix (1 oz)
• 1 package taco seasoning Mix (1 oz)
• 1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans (I bought one with jalapenos with it)
• 1 (16 oz) can chili beans, hot or regular
• 1 (16 oz) can whole kernel corn
• 1 (8 oz) can Mexican-style tomatoes (Rotel is delicious)
• 1 (8 oz) can diced tomatoes 

 Directions:

 

Saute beef and onion, drain fat and return to pan. Add both seasoning packages and mix into beef.

In a large pot, combine the beans, corn, and tomatoes (with all the sauces). Add beef and onions and simmer for an hour.

Garnish: Sour cream, chives, jalapenos, avacados, cheese, cornbread, tortilla chips (pretty much anything you would put on your taco!)

 

ENJOY!

Spicy Chilli Sauce Chicken Fingers and "Whit" Dip

Last night Cameron, Whit, Kyle, and I made some Spicy Chilli Sauce Chicken Fingers, roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes fries, and Whitney's spinach dip, aka "Whit" dip, for the Cowboys game!

Spicy Chilli Sauce Chicken Fingers

I made this with the Hot Asian Chilli Sauce... It was very hot! Thankfully Kyle, Whit, and Cameron all like spicy food, and we had ranch to help with the heat. But I would recommend a more mild chilli sauce.

Ingredients:

• 20 chicken strips, thighs, or 4-6 chicken breasts
• 12 oz Chilli Sauce (I used the Asian Spicy Chilli Sauce (green cap))... But I would recommend a mild Chilli Sauce, unless you like a lot of heat!
• 1/3 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 tsp dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• Ranch and/or Blue Cheese Dressing for dipping

Directions:

In a bowl or plastic bag, combine chilli sauce, broth, oil, garlic, basil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and reserve about 1/4 cup for basting.

Add chicken and marinate for at least 2 hours, or over night.

Either preheat a grill and grill the chicken until white in the middle. Or preheat an oven to 400 degrees and cook for 20 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink!

Enjoy with some ranch and/ or blue cheese dressing!

"Whit" Dip
This is Whit's take on Spinach Dip, it might not be very healthy, but it is delicous! Great to munch on during the Cowboys game! (I like it best with Wheat Thins!)

Ingredients:

• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 cup of mayo
• 2 cups Parmasen
• 2 cups Colby Jack cheese, more for topping
• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed (or fresh, whilted)

Directions:

Combine in a bowl sour cream, mayo, parm, and colby jack cheese. Then add spinach and transfer to a baking pan.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Top with more colby jack cheese and bake for 15 minutes!

Enjoy!

GUMBO!

A couple of weekends ago,  I went home for my sister's volleyball regional tournament... Which they won! So I stayed the weekend and my parents and grandparents got together to watch the Baylor vs. KU game, Sic em bears, (not OU vs Texas) and I made gumbo with sausage and chicken. (I changed the ingredients and spiciness based on my families preferences).

Chicken, Sausage, and Shrimp Gumbo

I didn't add the shrimp because my grandmother is allergic, and I didn't add okra because I forgot to buy it (which my mother said was a sin against cajun food). So let me know how this recipe turns out with those added!

My family loved this gumbo and all went back for seconds! It's very hearty and is great during half time of a football game!

Tip: to save on time, I bought precooked sausage and chicken, I just didn't think it was worth all the extra work!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbl olive oil  (only is cooking chicken and sausage)
• 1 cup skinless, boneless chicken - chopped (I bought a de-boned a full rotisserie chicken (Sam's has the best))
• 1/2 pound pork sausage links, thinly sliced (I used a spicy sausage- precooked)
• 1 cup olive oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tbl minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 can or bottle beer (I used Miller Lite)
• 6 stalks celery, diced
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 sweet onion, sliced or diced
• 1 cup okra, sliced (you can use frozen and thaw, or fresh)
• 1 (10 oz) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, with liquid (Rotel is great)
• 2 Tbl chopped fresh red chile peppers or any kind of pepper you prefer
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup Cajun seasoning (I used half Old Bay and half Tony Chachere's spicy seasonings, and it was still very spicy!)
• 1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions:

If cooking raw chicken and sausage: Heat oil over medium heat in a med-large skillet, add chicken until no longer pink. Add sausage and cook together until evenly brown. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, add the oil and flour and make your roux. Stir continuously or the roux will burn. Stir until brown and bubbly. (A roux, is used to thicken soups, sauces, etc its equal parts flour and fat (butter, oil, etc)). You want to roux to get brown and dark. Add in garlic and cooking for an additional minute.

Gradually add in the chicken stock and beer into the roux. Stirring frequently, bring to a boil. Add in celery, okra, onion, tomatoes, rotel tomatoes with chiles, parsley, and your choice of cajun seasoning. Turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes. Stir frequently.

Mix in the chicken, sausage, and shrimp and stir frequently for about 20 minutes. You can turn the gumbo on low for a while to keep it warm before you serve it.

This will serve about 10-12 people. And the total time is about 2 hours. It helps a lot to chop all the ingredients before hand.

Serve with white rice and crusty bread or cornbread for dipping. Enjoy!

Tips: I would not make this cornbread with the gumbo, just a plain cornbread is better. There is so much going on in the gumbo and the cornbread, that the cornbread takes away. I think buying the pre-packaged cornbread (ex: Jiffy or Marie Callender's) are both delicious and time saving!

 Here's our yummy breads!