Thursday, August 6, 2009

Go-To Recipe

We all have them. Those recipes we know by heart (or nearly so) that we always turn to in a pinch. I have two. This is one of mine. It's delicious, quick, and elegant at the same time. It is something that can be thrown together last-minute, but also serve as a nice meal when you have company. In fact, I always keep a whole chicken in my freezer just in case this meal needs to make a quick appearance. Everything is cooked together... meat and veggies... just add some rolls (or biscuits in my case). See...





It's a beautiful meal... even before you pop it in the oven.

My other go-to recipe is my dad's family secret chili recipe. I'm going to break the secrecy and share it with you all... only because my dad uses this as a base recipe, and changes it a bit every time. ALSO, because I have put my own spin on it to make it my own. So, here is my spin on this yummy meal.



2 lbs ground turkey or chicken
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
Salt
1 bottle of beer
1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste, 1 can-full of water
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbs dried parsley (or 1 handful of chopped fresh parsley)
2 tsp. terragon
2 tsp. sweet basil
1 tsp thyme
1 (15.5 oz.) can Ranch-style pinto beans, undrained
1/4 C. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 lg. square baking chocolate
1 handful yellow cornmeal
A couple of dashes of mango habanero hot sauce (I use my dad's secret homemade sauce, but you can find variations at your local supermarket or gourmet store)

Brown the turkey (or chicken), 3 Tbs. chopped onion, garlic and salt in a skillet over med-high heat. Meanwhile, add remaining ingredients to a crock pot. Once meat is nicely browned, add to crock pot. Cook in crock pot on low 3-4 hours.

See? So simple, but so hearty and delicious! You can add other things to the chili... molasses, cooking sherry, etc. My version makes a moderately spicy chili, but you can adjust the spices according to your taste. Go ahead... make it your own! And, just a hint... this makes the PERFECT accompaniment.

So, what's your favorite go-to recipe? Do share. I love to try new things!

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing the recipes Holly. I had been looking for a tried and true chili recipe so I will have to try yours out.
Once recipe I make a lot, is meatloaf muffins. It's easy peasy, freezes well, and heats up well in the microwave. Kids and adults alike seem to love them and they are great served with some mashers and green beans. Yum!
I don't think I've posted the recipe on my blog before, so I might do that in a few days.
The chicken sounds good, you know I have never cooked an entire chicken before? Not sure why, I guess I should get around to it!

bethchien said...

looks delish, sweets!

dani said...

mmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Melonie said...

Chili is one of our go-to's too! We also like to make our own pizza with lots of veggies thrown on top. Quick and fun...and delicious.

Jocelyn said...

Oh the recipes look wonderful and thanks for sharing with us!!!!! I adore roasted chicken and chili!!!!! YUMMO!!!! :)

Sara Berry said...

YUM :> Thanks for the recipe share. My favorite easy recipe is panang curry. Thai food is sooo yummy and it isn't that hard to make.

Ginajam said...

YUM. YUM. YUM.