Deb's Chili Recipe

Mmmmm…warm food!

The following two recipes will warm your family’s spirit on a cold winter evening.  The chili is my own recipe which I have perfected over the years.

Each winter I would try varying ingredients a little to fit my signature flavor profile of pablano, red, and yellow peppers.  This last winter my family said I made the best chili ever!  So I am sharing it with you, my blog visitors.

Chili

Pablano, red, and yellow peppers

Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef (2 lbs if you prefer a lot of beef)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 pablano pepper, seeded and finely chopped (or green pepper)

1 red pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 yellow pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Chili beans, red kidney beans, and black beans

1 can of chili beans

1 can of red kidney beans

1 can of black beans

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilis

1 can of tomato paste

1 large can of tomato sauce

1 packet of Tex Mex chili seasoning (or 1/4 cup chili powder and 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper)

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

Cook ground beef over medium-high heat until the meat is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink. Drain and discard any excess grease.

Cook onions and all three peppers in olive oil

Meanwhile, cook onions and all three peppers together in olive oil until they caramelize.  Stir the drained meat into the onion and pepper mixture along with the diced tomatoes with chilis, tomato paste, and tomato sauce then season with the Tex Mex packet or substitute with chili powder and cayenne pepper.

Place stones in toaster oven or standard oven

At this point, place your Dining Stones in the toaster oven, or standard oven, at 350 degrees.

Bring the chili mixture to a simmer over medium heat, and then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lastly, gently fold in the 3 cans of drained beans and heat another 5 full minutes.

Chili on hot Dining Stone

Top the individual servings of chili with shredded cheese and accent with crackers.  Set your warm bowl of chili right on a hot Dining Stone at your table so you can take your time eating every bite.

Best New Dessert Recipe

Over the weekend, I invented a Twix candy shortcake, by adjusting a strawberry shortcake recipe which was a huge hit during the football game.  The original shortcake recipe came from a friend of mine who is a talented photographer and cook, Tina Starnes.  I think she will like my adjustment to her recipe.

Twix Candy Shortcake

After all, we are women and we like chocolate!

Twix Candy Shortcake

Ingredients

1 prepared angel food cake

10 – 12 Twix bars (depending on packaging; family pack has 11 bars)

Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup (low fat will reduce calories but not change the flavor)

Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Custard ingredients:

8 oz cream cheese, softened (low fat will reduce calories but not change the flavor)

1 can sweetened condensed milk

12 oz. cool whip, softened (low fat will reduce calories but not change the flavor)

Directions

Carefully cut all Twix bars into chunks and set aside.  Blend together the softened cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk until smooth.  Fold in the entire contents of softened cool whip and chunks of Twix bars.  Pull the angel food cake apart into bite sized chunks and layer half in the bottom of a cake pan or casserole dish.  Pour half of the custard evenly over the top.  Drizzle chocolate syrup evenly over those layers.  Add the rest of the cake evenly, cover with the remaining custard.  Tapping into the artist within you, create an appealing design on top with chocolate syrup.

Zig Zag Design

(Example: continuous circles, zig zag lines, etc.)

Dessert Leftovers

Any remaining dessert can be frozen for later.  Simply thaw in the refrigerator for six hours and set out on the counter for another three hours before serving.

Best regards,

Deb Chance