Pleasing Kid Friendly Chili

Mom's are always looking for something quick, simple and delicious to make after a long day.  I'm not big on canned food but it's great to have on hand just in case.  Well one evening it was one of those "Just in case" kind of nights.  I needed something quick to make after I got home from work and I was in no mood to stand on my feet slaving over the stove.  Thankfully I had some can of beans in the cabinet.  The recipe called for condensed tomato soup but of course I didn't have any in my cabinet.  It also called for some instant minced onion...what the heck is instant onions?  LOL!  So I just spruced up some Hunts canned tomato sauce.  
 

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 can (15 to 16 ozs) tomato sauce
1 tomato sauce can water
1 can (15 to 16 ozs) kidney beans, rinsed and drained tomato paste
Onions, chopped
Green and red peppers, chopped
2 to 3 tsps chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and peppers in a sauce pan with a little olive oil.  Add beef to the pan and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until brown; drain.  Stir in the remaining ingredients.  Heat to boiling, stirring occasionally. 

I served the chili over some jasmine rice.   

Enjoy!




Jill's Comfort Zone

Sausage, Peppers, Onions and Potato Bake

Good evening readers! I truly miss blogging and need to get back on my game. I enjoy sharing recipes. Thursday I was looking for something different and I found it! Allrecipes.com had this recipe for Italian Sausages call Sausage, Peppers, Onions, and Potato Bake. Something quick and simple for a weekday evening. The girls and I truly enjoyed this dish and so will you. I serve this with some salad. Of cause I adjusted measurements and ingredients to my liking.

Ingredients:

*2 tsps EVOO
*2lbs Hot Italian sausage links, cut into pieces (you can use mild, reg. or sweet sausages if you like)
*1/4 cup EVOO
*4 large potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
*1 large green and red pepper, seeded and cut into wedges
*1 1/2 large onions, cut into wedges
*1/2 cup white wine
*1/2 cup chicken stock (I used chicken broth)
*1 tsp Italian seasoning
*Pinch of cayenne pepper
*Sprinkle of smoked paprika
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Sprinkle of garlic powder


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat 2 tsps EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the sausages until browned. Transfer the cooked sausages to a large baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup of EVOO into the skillet, and cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 10 minutes. Place the potatoes into the baking dish, leaving some oil. Cook and stir the green and red peppers and onions in the hot skillet until they are beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the veggies to the baking dish. Pour wine and chicken broth over the veggies and sausage, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning, cayenne, garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt and pepper. Gently stir and mix everything together.

Bake in oven until hot and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot.

Enjoy!




Jill's Comfort Zone

Five-Can Chili

Taste of Home

Another one of my all time favorite quick meals when your pressed for time!  I'm not a big fan of canned foods...don't know why but I just don't do it.  Something about my veggies/beans sealed in a can just doesn't sit right with me.   I do use can tomatoes though.  LOL!  I'm silly like that at times.  I grew up on canned veggies so don't know why I shy away from it now.  I usually buy dried beans, fresh or frozen veggies.  Anyway, we rarely have meatless meals in my house.  I'm a BIG meat eater and I get that from my mom!  One night I didn't have anything in the freezer and I was too lazy to go food shopping.  I don't buy meat from Get Go (a gas station that near by with a mini mart and is affiliated with Giant Eagle) anymore because when I first moved to Pittsburgh I brought a pack of chicken wings from them one time.  When I got home and was preparing to clean them...I open the pack and BAM!!!!  Whew...they were spoiled and I can't believe I couldn't smell that through the package!  That mess stinked up the damn house!!!  SMH!  I was so pissed!  Anyway, I saw this recipe in my Taste of Home magazine and said, "Bingo"!  I always keep cans of tomatoes on hand so all I need to go get was the rest of the items.  I marched down to Get Go to get the rest of the canned goods I needed to complete my meal.  How bad could their canned goods be right?  I pondered over this for about an hour before I said, freak it!  SMH!  We had to eat right?  LOL!  Well this meal was quick, easy and delish!  Nothing was wrong with the canned goods either.  Haha!  I'm a mess...I know!  ;)

Ingredients:
1 can (15 ounces) chili with beans
1 can (15 ounces) mixed vegetables, drained
1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies
*Of cause I added a little salt, pepper and cayenne to this dish! 

In a large saucepan, combine all ingredients; heat through.

Yup...it's that simple!  You can't go wrong when your freezer is on E (empty)!  LOL!  I just served the chili over some long-grain rice. 

Enjoy!

Jill's Comfort Zone

Fried Salmon Balls

 

These are truly easy to make and delish! My girls really enjoyed them.

2 cans Salmon
2 cups bread crumbs
1 med. onion, minced
2 tsp dried basil
2 tsp mustard
2 eggs
cooking oil

Drain salmon; remove bones. Add remaining ingredients except for oil and blend well. Form into small balls and fry in oil until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Jill's Comfort Zone