Quick Cook Cajun Chili

I have finally mastered a chili recipe that is spicy enough for my heat-loving husband, mild enough for my sensitive palate, that doesn't take a full thirty-seven hours to make, and doesn't require a pantry full of obscure ingredients. We've had this twice in just the last month and it gets better and better each time. Not to mention how simple it is! I've served it as Frito chili pie, over baked potatoes, and just by itself with a slice of crusty bread. Scrumptious!

2 lb. ground beef
1 can Rotel
1 can diced tomatoes
2 cans tomato sauce
2 cans small red beans
2 tbsp chili poweder
1 tbsp cajun seasoning (I use Tony's)
1 tsp cumin

Brown the ground beef in a large dutch over over medium heat until cooked through. Drain and rinse meat, and return to pot. Add seasonings and stir to combine. Add remaining ingredients, stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes (longer if you have time, but it's good to go after 20!)

Enjoy!

xo Ash

Vanilla Cheesecake Pecan Pie

There are few things I love more than baking in the fall. So when we had a cold snap last weekend and the temps dropped to 65, I put on my apron, lit my apple pumpkin Yankee Candle and got to work.

courtesy of McCormick 

1 refrigerated pie crust (or homemade if you're fancy)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3 eggs, divided
3/4 c. sugar, divided
4 tsp vanilla extract, divided
1/2 c. light corn syrup
3 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. pecan pieces, toasted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare crust as directed on package for a one crust pie using 9" deep dish pie plate. Beat cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 c. sugar and 2 tsp vanilla in a large bowl until well blended and smooth. Spread evenly into prepared pie crust. Bake 15 minutes.
Beat remaining 2 eggs and 1/2 c. sugar with wire whisk until smooth. Add corn syrup, butter, 2 tsp vanilla and salt. Stir until well blended.
Sprinkle pecans evenly over baked cream cheese layer. Slowly pour corn syrup mixture over nuts. Bake 35-40 minutes until just set in center. Cool completely on wire rack.

My two favorite pies in one! Home run hit for our household. My husband and I agreed that the pie was better the next day, after having been refrigerated overnight. There is one piece left and we're are in the midst of a debate of who gets it.

Enjoy!

xo Ash

Vegetable Soup

When I was in high school, my friend's grandma would always make vegetable soup as soon as the weather cooled off. She didn't have a specific recipe, it always tasted slightly different each time she made it, but somehow always the same too. I wish I would have taken the opportunity back then to learn from her first hand how to make it, but alas, my sixteen year old brain had other things to worry about. I've been searching the mighty interwebs and Pinterest for a while, looking for recipes that sound similar. None were perfect so I improvised and combined a few different recipes until I came up with one I like. Oooohh and I hit the nail on the head. It was like I time traveled back to 2004. Delightful and warm and cozy and scrumptious. Here's my take on a pot of vegetable soup.

1 lb beef stew meat

2 tbsp olive oil

flour, for dredging 

2-3 Celery ribs, chopped
1/2 of a small onion, chopped

2-3 garlic cloves, minced
32 oz chicken broth 

1/2 c. frozen lima beans

1/2 c. frozen corn kernels 

1/2 c. chopped carrots

3 Yukon gold potatoes, chopped

1/2 c. frozen green beans 

1/2 c. frozen whole okra

1 can diced tomatoes with juice

1-2 tbsp. tomato paste 

Salt

Pepper

Garlic Powder

I started out by cutting beef stew meat into much smaller pieces than it comes in at the store. The cubes of meat are so huge that they take forever to get tender in the soup and I just don't have time to wait seven hours to eat my food. I cut each cube into 3-4 smaller pieces. Season the meat with salt, pepper and garlic powder, and then dredge in flour. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a dutch oven on medium-high heat. Add the meat to the pan and cook until browned on all sides (don't worry about cooking the meat through, it'll have time to finish cooking later). Remove beef to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Add chopped celery and onion to the hot pan and cook 3-5 minutes until tender. Add minced garlic to the pan and saute one minute, stirring continuously so garlic does not burn. Add chicken broth to deglaze pan, scraping up all the browned bits from the beef and vegetables. Return beef to the pan and simmer for 30-45 minutes to start tenderizing the beef. 

Once the soup has simmered for awhile, start adding whatever other types of vegetables you want in your soup! To the celery and onions already in, I added lima beans, corn, green beans, whole okra, tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. The key for me though is tomato paste...that's what gives the soup its signature flavor and consistency. I added a tablespoon or two until the broth thickened up to where I wanted it. Cover the pot and simmer all your vegetables until they are tender and you're ready to eat. I let mine cook for an additional hour once the vegetables went in. If you like your veggies al dente, just cook it for 30 minutes instead. 

I served my soup with a side of piping hot cornbread. We ate this soup all week long and it got better each day! Enjoy!

xo Ash