Easy As Pumpkin Spiced Cake

This is a great fall bunt cake recipe, and it's ridiculously easy to make.  It kind of tastes like a coffee cake, but I'm using it for one of my Thanksgiving desserts anyway.

Easy Pumpkin Spiced Cake Recipe

Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 can of canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray your bunt pan with Pam, or spread it with butter.
2. Whisk together dry ingredients - make sure you break up the little clumps that form in those boxed cakes.
3. Throw in the rest of the ingredients. (The beauty of box cake is you can do everything in one bowl. Mix until everything is combined and all the little clumps are broken up. Pour into your prepared bunt pan and bake for 37-45 minutes, until a toothpick put into the center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely
5. Once the cake is cooled, mix together the icing ingredients in another bowl. Ice the cake by either spooning it over the top, or create zigzag lines by pouring the icing into a sandwich bag and cutting off the corner.

Enjoy!

Apple glazed bbq chicken

So it's been a while - I guess between vacations, marathon training and laziness, I haven't been updating this as often as I'd like. But I have a backlog. Plus, I promise you an awesome thanksgiving dessert recipe, once it's vetted tonight :) For now,

Apple Glazed BBQ Chicken:
I served this with a basic green salad and homemade biscuits. Pillsbury makes great ones, but if you have time, try is Alton Brown's recipe. It takes practice - mine aren't quite there yet...

2 chicken breasts

Marinade:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1  tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp garlic salt
pepper

Glaze:
1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Combine all marinade ingredients in a plastic freezer bag. Put the chicken breasts in and squeeze out all the air. Let the chicken marinate for about 30 minutes, but not more than an hour.
2. Heat up the grill. If you don't have a grill, you can do this in a pan with a little olive oil.  While the pan/grill is heating up, whisk together the glaze ingredients.
3. Place the chicken on the grill and cook. Turn every 5 minutes or so, brushing the glaze on generously as you go. (You will need less in a pan since you don't loose it through the grill.) Do this until the chicken is done. Probably 20 minutes, but if you're unsure, cut the chicken to check.
4. Serve with your favorite barbecue sides!

Honey Balsamic Chicken

I got this idea from an Italian restaurant.  But I think this recipe has a little more spice to it!  I served this with some couscous and grilled zucchini.

Honey Balsamic Chicken

2 chicken breasts, pounded to an even thickness

Marinade:

•  1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper (for a subtle spice - add more if you want something hot)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley

Glaze:

• 1/3 cup white wine
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1. Pound the chicken to an even thickness, ~1/2 inch. Place the chicken in a large freezer bag.
2. In a bowl, whisk together all the marinade ingredients.  Pour the ingredients into the bag with the chicken.  Make sure all of the chicken is coated and squeeze out all the air from the bag before zipping it closed.  Let it marinate in the fridge 30 min to overnight.
3. When you're ready to cook, heat a pan over medium heat.  You can put the chicken directly on the pan (since there's oil in the marinade).  Cook the chicken (~7 min. per side).  Once it's done, move the chicken to serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. In the same pan, pour the white wine and scrape the brown bits from the pan, mixing in with the wine.  Pour in the 2 tbsp balsamic and honey and mix together.  Simmer over medium heat until reduced to a thickened glaze.
5. Pour over chicken and serve!

Berry Patriotic Cupcakes

These colorful cupcakes are always a hit, and the bright pink cake color is fun and unexpected. I garnished with strawberries and blueberries for the 4th of July :)


1 box white cake mix
2 tbsp flour
1 small box strawberry jello
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup blueberries
1 box powdered sugar
1/2 stick butter (room temperature)
4 oz. cream cheese
strawberries/blueberries for garnish.

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix cake mix, flour and jello in a bowl with a wooden spoon.  Make sure all the little clumps of cake mix get all broken up.
3. Throw in the water, oil and eggs.  Mix all that together.
4. Fold in the blueberries gently.
5. Distribute into lined cupcake pan.  (I was able to make 26)  Bake for 12-15 minutes.
6. Cool completely.
7. Meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a bowl. Frost the cupcakes and garnish with berries!

Peach Cocktail

Person who can come up with the best name wins!  Jon came up with "Son of a Peach"

Either way, it's amazingly delicious. 

Peach Cocktail

For two drinks:

1 can Kerns Peach Nectar
~2 shots honey, microwaved in a small bowl for 20 seconds (until liquidy)
2-3 shots vodka (must be room temperature or the honey will congeal)
Ice
[Peach slice for garnish]

Tip: Best to use a martini shaker.

1. In a martini shaker, combine room temperature vodka and microwaved honey and swirl it around.  Add ice and peach Kerns and shake.
2. If you're ambitious, swirl honey straight onto the sides of the glass.  (It'll look pretty)  Add some ice cubes to both glasses.
3. Pour the drink into two glasses and serve with a peach slice!

Meaty Baked Ziti!

I've been bad about posting recipes.  But I'm proud of this one I made this week! (Plus, I'm waiting for my iPhone to finish syncing before I can go buy the ingredients for my 4th of July cupcakes.  More on that if they turn out...)

Not exactly a light summer meal, but a great dish. Serves about 4 and can take up to 2 hours of simmering and baking to make, but it's well worth it.

Meaty Baked Ziti

• 1 medium onion, minced
• 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lb. ground beef
• ~2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 8 oz cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup red wine (Cabernet works - I used Merlot but it turned out a little sweet)
• ~1 tbsp each of:  oregano, rosemary, marjoram, basil (fresh is always better (double the quantity), but I'm cheap and dried works too)
• salt/pepper
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 lb ziti
• 1 1/2 c shredded mozzarella

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Saute onion and garlic until they start to get translucent.  Add beef and brown it.  Drain the fat if you'd like. 
2. Add the tomato sauce, herbs, a healthy dose of salt/pepper, wine, sugar and lemon juice.  Stir everything together and simmer together, mixing occasionally, for 30-45 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.  (As the sauce is cooking and melding, give it a taste.  Adjust salt, sugar, spices to your taste.)
3. While the sauce is thickening, boil/cook/drain the pasta.  Put the cooked pasta in a rectangular baking dish.
4. Preheat oven to 325.
5. When the sauce is ready, mix in 1/2 cup mozzarella and melt together.  Pour everything into the baking dish with the pasta and stir to distribute.  Top with remaining cheese, cover with foil, and bake for another 30 minutes.
6. Before serving, remove the foil, turn on the broiler, and broil for ~3-5 minutes until the top is browned.
7. Enjoy!!!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ganache Cake

So I'm apparently a terrible contributor, and haven't written in anything new in months. This is a cake I made for a work potluck a month or so ago, and it was a big hit. No original recipe here; I discovered this gem of a recipe on Smitten Kitchen, and it's as delicious as it looks! I did very slight modifications: I reduced the amount of sugar in the frosting because it sounded way too sweet for me. Next time, I might even reduce the amount of sugar I use by another 0.5 cup. I also added more cream in the chocolate glaze/ganache because I found it to be a bit too thick.

Recipe (adapted to include the modifications listed above):

Ingredients for cake:

• 2 cup All Purpose Flour


• 2.5 cup sugar


• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder


• 2 tsp baking soda


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 cup neutral vegetable oil (canola, soybean, etc)


• 1 cup sour cream


• 1.5 cup water


• 2 tbs distilled white vinegar


• 1 tsp vanilla extract


• 2 eggs

1. Pre-heat oven to 350F. butter your cake rounds. Smitten Kitchen uses 3 8" pans; I used 2 9" cake pans (so I had a double layer cake versus her triple layer cake). Line the bottoms of your pans with parchment paper, and butter that as well.

2. sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Whisk them together until well combined. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water, and then blend in the vanilla and vinegar. whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Remember to scrape down the sides of your bowl. Divide evenly among your cake pans.

3. bake for 30-35 minutes (could be longer if you make a bigger cake like I did), but check for doneness by inserting a toothpick. It should come out mostly clean. Let the pans cool for around 20 minutes, and then invert onto wire racks (peel the parchment off the bottom of the cakes). Let them cool entirely. Once cooled, stick them in the fridge or freezer so they're easier to work with later on.

4. Frost the cake by setting down one cake layer (if your cake layers are domed, shave them so they're flat). Spread .75-1.5 cups of frosting on the top and evently spread out (this will depend on how big your cake is). Repeat with any remaining layers. then frost the outside of your cake with your remaining frosting. If your cake was previous frozen or very cold, you might even manage to do this without first frosting a crumb layer. then stick your frosted cake in the fridge for another 30 minutes.

5. To finish off with the chocolate glaze/ganache, pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and quickly spread it to the edges, letting it drip down the sides before it sets. Because your cake is chilled, it will set quickly, so work fast! After applying the chocolate, stick the cake back in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Ingredients for Peanut Butter Frosting:

• 10 oz. cream cheese, softened


• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened


• 2.5 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted


• 2/3 cup smooth peanut butter
  

1. In a large bowl or electric mixer, combine cream cheese and butter and beat until light and fluffy. slowly add the confectiner's sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing well (remember to scrape down your bowls). Continue to beat 3-4 minutes, until light and fluffy.

2. Add the peanut butter and thoroughly mix.

Ingredients for Chocolate glaze/ganache:

• 8 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped


• 3 tbs smooth peanut butter


• 2 tbs corn syrup


• .75 cup half and half
  

1. In a double broiler over simmering water, mix together the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. whisk often, and heat until chocolate is thoroughly melted and the mixture is smooth.

2. remove from heat, and add the half and half while whisking. Beat until smooth and shiny. Use while still warm.

bon Appetit!

Strawberry Lemonade Mousse

This is a great summertime dessert, and it's surprisingly easy to make!

Strawberry Lemonade Mousse (4 servings)

• 2/3 cup lemon juice (no pulp or seeds - anywhere from 3-6 lemons)
• 1 packet unflavored gelatin
• zest from 1 lemon
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• ~4 strawberries, finely diced
• 4 strawberries for garnish

1. Juice the lemons into a cereal-size bowl.  Sprinkle the gelatin packet and let sit ~2 minutes.
2. Pour the gelatin mixture, zest, sugar and salt into a small pot and heat over medium heat until sugar is all dissolved.
3. Meanwhile, int he sink, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice for an ice bath.  Pour the warm gelatin mixture back into the cereal bowl and float the bowl in the ice water, stirring until it's around room temperature.  
4. Use an electric mixer to beat the cream until soft peaks form.  Will take several minutes.  (If you do it by hand, it will take a really really long time, but it's doable.)
5. With a wooden spoon or spatula, gently stir the cooled lemon mixture and chopped strawberries into the cream.  Separate into four small glasses.  Refrigerate for several hours.  (If you want to rush it, freeze it for ~10 minutes and move into the fridge.)
6. Garnish with strawberries and serve!

Mexican Spiced Soup

Real Mexican pozole is one of my favorite soups.  This soup is my attempt to recreate some of those unique flavors in a recipe that is way easier and faster to make.  Also, this is a great way to use up leftover chicken.

Mexican Spiced Soup

• Leftover, cooked chicken (Up to a full breast), diced or shredded
• olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 Anaheim chile (seen below), chopped
• 1 box [low sodium] chicken broth
• 2 ears corn, cut from the cob (careful - this can be dangerous)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tbsp dried oregano
• 1-2 tsp chili powder
• black pepper
• 1 lime
• 2 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped
• toppings of your choice - tortilla strips, sliced radishes, cheese, sour cream, etc.

1.  Heat a tbsp or so of olive oil in a medium sized pot over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent.
2. Throw in the garlic and cook for a minute.  Add in the pepper and cook for another minute.
3. Pour in the chicken broth, bay leaves, oregano, chili powder, and black pepper and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer.  Throw in the corn and let simmer until cooked through.  This should only take a couple minutes.
4. Add in the chicken and juice from 1 lime and continue to simmer until the chicken is warmed up. 
5. Remove from heat, pull out the bay leaves (never serve bay leaves!  choking hazard!) and stir in the cilantro.  Serve with your choice of toppings!

  Anaheim chiles are about the size of a bell pepper, but generally longer.  They are fairly mild, but add a little spice to this soup.  I also throw them into fajitas with regular bell peppers to mix things up a bit.

Flourless Chocolate Raspberry Cakes

Apparently I've been on a baking kick lately.  But this turned out really well and it's super easy to make.  You'll just need some small 3/4 cup ramekins for baking and serving.

• 8 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 3/4 sticks butter (cut into smaller pieces)
• 3 tbsp raspberry preserves (or any other flavor you'd like to try)
• 4 eggs
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

1. Put first 3 ingredients in a small pot and melt over low heat until everything melts.  It goes faster if you stir it.
2. Preheat oven to 325.  Meanwhile, spread butter in each of 6 ramekins.  Place on a baking sheet or something.
3. Whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla until combined.  Pour cooled chocolate mixture slowly, stirring as you go.  Pour batter evenly into each ramekin.  Wipe down the sides.  Bake for 20 min.  Toothpick inserted into the center should not be completely clean.
4. Dust w/ powdered sugar and enjoy!

Chocolate Covered Cherry Cookies

10 tbsp room temperature butter (1 1/4 stick)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
5 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup maraschino cherries, chopped
1/2 cup chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350.  (My oven runs hot, so if yours does not, bring up the temp a bit.)
• Chop the cherries roughly.  Let them drain on a couple of paper towels while you work on the rest.
• Cream sugar and butter together.  Add in vanilla and egg and combine.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.
• Add the dry ingredients to the rest slowly, combining as you go.  Once fully smooth, throw in the cherries and chocolate chips and combine.
• Place tablespoons full of batter on a cookie sheet and bake ~12 minutes for softer cookies.

Chocolate Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

I can't even try to take credit for these, but since I had a special request, here is the link to what I lovingly call Chocolate Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes :)

Grapefruit Grilled Chicken

Grapefruit Grilled Chicken Marinade (pictured right)

• 1/2-1 grapefruit (depending on how juicy - ~1/2 cup. Mine was not juicy, so I used the whole fruit.)
• 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 chicken breasts, pounded to even thickness if desired (makes it easier to cook evenly)
  

• Mix all ingredients in a plastic bag. Marinate for no more than an hour. Grill to desired doneness!
• I served it with my famous Shrimp Papaya Salad, except without the shrimp or any of the fruit - so just the broccoli slaw, cilantro and dressing.

Grilled Chicken Kumquat Salad

Anyone who has a kumquat tree probably has bags full of them. Here is a kumquat dressing used with a chicken salad. The chicken has an Asian spin, but I'm sure any type of chicken would work pretty well. Salad below serves ~4. Be sure to get a couple extra kumquats for garnish :)


Chicken Marinade
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp rice vinegar
salt/pepper

Mix these ingredients in a plastic bag. Add 2 chicken breasts and marinate for an hour or more. Meanwhile...

Kumquat Salad Dressing
~4 kumquats, finely minced
3 tbsp water
1.5 tbsp olive oil
1.5 tbsp white wine vinegar
1.5 tsp sugar
salt to taste
white pepper (or black if you don't have it)

Mix these ingredients together in a small bowl or cup.

Grilled Chicken Kumquat Salad
Chicken (from marinade above)
Kumquat dressing (above)
Mixed Greens (store bought)
1 extra kumquat, finely sliced
slivered almonds
finely sliced red onion (optional)

1. Take the chicken out of the marinade above and grill. Cut into 1/4" slices.
2. Spread mixed greens onto plates.
3. Top with chicken, sliced kumquat, almonds, and onion. Sprinkle with dressing and serve!
   

Grillled Steak Fajitas

Also adapted from a food network recipe.

1 bunch parsley (leaves)
1 bunch cilantro (leaves)
5-6 cloves garlic
1/2 red onion (chopped)
2 tsp paprika
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
generous salt/pepper
1 1/2 - 2 lb flank steak
mix of thick-sliced bell peppers and onion (I used one red pepper, one green, one Anaheim chile, and the other half of the red onion.)

• Use a food processor (or you can try a blender) to combine the first 6 ingredients until combined. While the processor is running, pour in the oil slowly to emulsify. Add generous salt/pepper to taste.
• Save 1/2 of the sauce to top the meat. Pour the other half in a ziplock. Add in the steak and marinate for 30 min to an hour (or more).
• When you're ready, grill the steak and sliced bell peppers. Throw away the marinade!! (Never keep a used marinade - raw meat and all.)
• Serve with tortillas, beans, salsa, your favorites!
  

Couscous Stuffed Chicken Breast with Feta, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Kalamata Olives

This is from a FoodNetwork recipe but I changed it to make it healthier and I still thought it tasted really good!

For the couscous:

- just a little olive oil

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes (I used a lot more and some cheyenne pepper and it wasn't that spicy at all_
• 4 tablespoons sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped (I used some that was in the pantry in like a bag and did like 3/4 of the bag in the couscous and the other 1/4 in the sauce)
• 4 tablespoons kalamata olives, chopped
• 2 cups chicken stock (I used broth)
• 1 (10-ounce) box couscous ( I used the whole wheat kind
• Salt and pepper
• It called for 1/2 lbs of feta cheese, but that was a lot, I used like around 1/4 pound of reduced fat feta in the couscous and it was fine. And I love cheese and I still thought it was fine.

For chicken:

• 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used 2)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• (I didn't use the olive oil or butter for this part because I hate using the stove but left it in here in case you want to try it)

For the sauce:

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine (I don't ever have wine just laying around so I didn't use any and just doubled the amount of lemon juice because I love lemony chicken and its less calories)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (I used almost a full cup)
• 6 tablespoons julienned sun-dried tomatoes (just whatever was left from above)
• 4 tablespoons roughly chopped kalamata olives
• 2 tablespoons butter (I used that yogurt fake butter stuff and only about 1 tablespoon)
• 1/4 pound feta cheese, crumbled, for garnish (I justed used the little bit I saved from the couscous, it was actually like 1/4 cup)

For the couscous:

Directions

In saucepan over medium heat add olive oil, when hot, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and saute a few minutes more. Add olives and chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add the box of couscous, turn off heat and let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork, and season with salt and pepper. Spread 2 cups on large plate, add in 1/2 pound feta, and let cool. Keep the remaining hot to serve with chicken. (Put in covered casserole and reheat in oven last 10 minutes with chicken.)

For the chicken:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Trim chicken with a boning knife, if needed. Start at top of breast and carefully make a lengthwise cut from top to bottom and making a pocket about 2 inches, making sure not to pierce the other side of the breast (We didn't do this part right, so good luck, I have no tips). When couscous is cool enough to handle, carefully spoon couscous mixture into pocket. Even out the stuffing by gently moving it around with your hands. Wipe off any excess couscous from outside of breasts and season with salt and pepper.

Heat olive oil and butter in saute pan and brown off both sides of chicken. Place chicken on baking sheet and place in oven for 20 minutes. (I didn't do this part at all and it really turned out fine, I just cooked it for like 5 minutes more)

While chicken is baking, make the sauce.

For the sauce:

In saute pan that you cooked chicken breasts in, heat and add garlic (I just used a new pan). Deglaze with white wine and add lemon juice. Reduce by one third. (I just used the lemon juice and reduced) Add in sun-dried tomatoes, let reduce for 2 to 3 minutes, add the olives, turn off heat, add the butter and stir to combine.

To serve, place couscous from oven on plate, cut chicken breast in half, top with sauce, crumble remaining feta cheese over it.

I really liked it! I served it with the extra couscous and steamed broccoli and mushrooms.

Balsamic Salmon

Served with noodles tossed with mushrooms sauteed in butter. And with the melted sage butter (recipe below).

• 3 tbsp butter, room temperature
• 1 tsp dijon
• a couple sprigs of fresh sage, finely minced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar (or try white wine vinegar, which I bet would be good too)
  
• salt/pepper
• 1-1.5 lb fillet of salmon, with skin.

1. Take the salmon and massage/coat with the garlic and about 1 sprig of the minced sage. Drissle with the vinegar (~2 tsp worth, or a couple shakes more if needed) and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Let marinate while you prepare everything else, up to an hour.
2. In a small bowl/ramekin, combine butter, mustard and remaining sage. (Marinating salmon next to a ramekin of the butter mixture)
   
   
3. In a pan with a touch of oil, cook the salmon over medium heat, 4-7 minutes each side until flakey. I used salmon with the skin on it, and let it sit for most of the time skin side down.
4. While still hot, top with the butter. If you made the pasta as a side dish, butter the noodles with the same butter. Add salt if needed. Enjoy!
   

Herbed Pork Tenderloin

I made this a while ago but never posted the recipe. I maintain that pork tenderloin is the easiest meat to make taste amazing. The recipe is modified from a food network recipe.

• 2 lb pork tenderloin
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
  
• 4 cloves fresh minced garlic
• 1 tsp dry thyme
• 1 tsp dry basil
• 1 tsp dry rosemary

1. Preheat oven to 375-400 (depending on how hot your oven gets)
   
2. Add everything (but pork) in a small bowl and combine/mix around.
3. Massage the herb mixture into the pork. Place pork on tin foil on a pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes for a medium rare.
4. Serve w/ poatatos and a veggie
   

Spicy Meaty Chili

Mine was really spicy, but it might have been a function of the chorizo I used. If you're not a fan of spicy foods, go easy on the red pepper flakes. Adding more salt can tame the spicy.

• Vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 lb uncooked chorizo
• 1 lb ground beef
  
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cinnamon
  
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken stock
  
• 1 tbsp fine cornmeal
• salt/pepper
• 1 can red beans
• any toppings, i.e. shredded cheese, chopped onions, sour cream, tortilla strips, hot sauce, etc.

1. Heat a little oil over medium heat in a large pot. Cook the onion. Once translucent, add the chorizo (without casing) and smush it around so that it resembles ground beef. Cook until oils release, maybe 5-10 minutes.
   
2. Add in ground beef and brown it. Add garlic, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, chicken stock and all the herbs/spices. (I like to add the spices in a small bowl before hand so that I can dump them all in the pot when I'm ready.) Cook for another 10 minutes, stirring so that everything is combined.
3. Add salt and pepper. Mix in corn meal. Let everything simmer for up to an hour. 10 minutes before you're ready to serve, add in the can of beans, drained.
4. Serve with your favorite toppings!
   

Mushroom Risotto for 2

Jon said that this is his favorite meal that I've made. Nothing groundbreaking, but delicious :) Beware though, it takes an hour or more to make. (Step 5 takes forever.) Served it with a green salad and breaded chicken cutlet, which I'll include here.

Mushroom Risotto and Chicken Cutlet

• 2 Chicken Breasts, pounded to an even thickness
• Lots of olive oil
• dried basil
• salt/pepper
• Italian bread crumbs
• 1 32-oz box of chicken stock
• 1/2 oz. package dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1/2 finely chopped onion
• 1 package white mushrooms, diced
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 3/4-1 cup Arborio rice
• 1/3 cup dry white wine
• couple of handfulls of parmesan cheese

1. Prepare a bag or plate of olive oil, some shakes of dried basil, salt and pepper, enough for the chicken to be coated. Let it marinate until you're almost done with the rice, when you'll start cooking it.
2. Set a medium and a large pot over two burners and heat over medium.
   In the smaller pot, pour the entire box of chicken stock. When it starts to simmer, turn the heat to low and throw in the dried mushrooms for five minutes. When that's done, you'll spoon the mushrooms out and finely chop.
   In the larger pot, melt the butter. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, and throw in the onions. Cook until translucent.
3. Keep the stock over low heat throughout the whole process. In the larger pot, throw in both types of mushrooms and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms are soft and the liquid is mostly evaporated.
4. Throw in the rice and mix for a couple of minutes to toast it.
5. Lower the heat to medium low. Add the wine and mix until it's absorbed. Add a cup of the warm broth and stir frequently until it's absorbed. Add another cup of broth and do the same. Add another cup and do the same. At this point, I'd taste the rice and see if it's cooked through. If not, add more broth. If it's cooked, stop adding broth. (I definitely did not use all of my broth.)
6. Since it takes quite a while for the broth to absorb into the rice, between adding the cups of broth, take the chicken and coat it in bread crumbs. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the coated chicken cutlets (as many as will fit at a time) and cook until done. Maybe 4-5 minutes per side?
7. Once the rice is cooked, add in a couple of handfuls of parmesan and stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
   
8. SERVE!
   

Hungarian Beef with Bell Peppers

It's been a while since I made something that worked out really well, but here is a great recipe per a one-recipe-a-day calendar my sister gave me for Christmas. I served this with rosemary/garlic roasted potatoes :)

1 1/2 lb rib-eye steak, sliced (crosswise/against the grain) into strips
1 tbsp paprika
salt/pepper
olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp caraway seeds
3 bell peppers, sliced into strips
1/3 c. beef broth
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

• Toss steak slices in a bowl with paprika, salt, and generous pepper (i.e. 1.5 tbsp)
• Meanwhile, over med-high to high heat, heat olive oil in a large pan. Add garlic and caraway and stir briefly. Throw in bell peppers and mix to coat. Add beef broth and cover. Cook 4-5 min or until peppers are cooked to your preference. Remove the peppers from the pan (but leave the liquid in.)
• Throw beef in pan and saute briefly before adding tomato paste and vinegar. Mix in to make a thick sauce. Once beef is finished cooking, throw the bell peppers back in and serve!