Chili

I make chili a lot, and the kids like it, so I'm going to post my recipe so that they can always find it when needed! I'll have to dig up one of Mom's chili recipes and give it a go so I can post a comparison!

The Recipe is called Pedernales River Chili by Mrs. Lyndon Baines Johnson! Yes, the president's chili!

4 lb. chili meat - I use hamburger or ground turkey. And however much you want - 4lbs is a lot unless you're making a huge vat of chili. (and then I would increase all the other ingredients by .5 - 1. You can just use this recipe as a start and do as you please...)
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves chopped.
Cook all of this together til the meat is done and drain the fat.

Then stir in
2 tsp ground oregano
4 tsp cumin
6 tsp chili powder,
2 large cans crushed or diced or whole or whatever kind of tomatoes you like - I go with crushed
3 cans beans - I use kidney and white, and even sometimes pinto - 1 can of each is fun. I love at least one can of big white (cannelini) beans for variety
2 Cups hot water
salt and pepper to taste
and a couple of dashes of hot sauce if you like it spicy.

Makes me long for football.

Not Mom's Root Beer Bundt Cake

(This picture was taken from this blog, by someone who used ramekins, rather than a bundt cake pan. You can see how moist and rich it is! Once you visit her blog, and keep clicking through to the other bakers, you'll come away with something else you just must try...)




This recipe had been floating around my universe for a long time, but I never seemed to have an occasion to bake a cake. Finally, last weekend, the boys came home for mother's day, and since it fell between their birthdays and I needed a cake! Root Beer Bundt Cake to the rescue.

I realized that, although my kitchen contains every appliance and gadget known to man, there was no bundt cake pan in the cupboard! However, I had a few of those Silpat silicone pans in decorative shapes, so I made a big sunflower cake! It worked beautifully, and was really cute! These would be awesome cupcakes too!

Root Beer Bundt Cake
- yields 1 (10-inch) Bundt cake -
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers In Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Ingredients

Cake
2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs

Frosting
2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Topping
Vanilla ice cream

Procedure

For the root beer Bundt cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it, dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour. (totally not necessary with silicone bakeware, though I did shoot in a spray of Pam)

2. In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

3. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy--do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

For the root beer frosting:
1. Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth.

2. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the Bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving, with the ice cream on the side.

The verdict:

It's a very moist chocolate cake, with a hint of root beer flavor - and I imagine that if you follow the suggestion of the author, which is to replace half a cup of root beer with the same quantity of root beer schnapps, you'd have a much stronger root beer flavor. That sounds like a bottle of liquor I should have in my cupboard, for so many reasons.

The boys loved it, and left us only a small slice (a petal) each, and took the rest back home with them. So it was definitely a hit! Mom would have asked for the recipe~

Broccoli-Corn Casserole

10 oz. pkg. chopped broccoli- raw, but thawed
1 can cream style corn
1 egg, beaten
2 T. chopped onion
salt and pepper
1 1/2 C seasoned croutons
4 T. butter

Melt butter, coat croutons (reserve 1/2 C for top). Mix all ingredients. Bake at 325 for 40-50 minutes, uncovered.

Gerri Goodman

Pam remembers eating this at Christmas' past! I'm not a big cooked broccoli fan (imagine that!) and I like this.

Tasty Green Peas

2 pkgs. frozen peas
1/2 C butter
1 can water chestnuts, drained
1 pkg. Good Seasons French Dressing mix (or Italian or Ranch)

Thaw peas. Melt butter and mix with dry dressing mix. Combine all ingredients and bake in a covered casserole. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 350. Serves 6-8.

Pam says these are good and easy. I've had my eyes open for French dressing for quite sometime and haven't seen it, so I usually use Italian.