Linda Clock's Killer Chili

Ingredients:

3-4 lb ground beef

1 or 2 onions

1 pepper

2 cans large plum tomatoes

4 tablespoons chili powder

large can red kidney beans (include sauce)

1 can chick peas (puree if you like)

Prepare:

Brown ground beef and drain

Saute onions and pepper

Add tomatoes

Add chili powder

Add salt & pepper

Cover, simmer for at least 2 hours

Add kidney beans and chick peas

Add a dash of hot sauce if you dare (yes, dare)

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese melted on top

Have a glass of water and an ice cold Dixie close by

Suggested music: Put on the Iguanas real loud:

You asked for it, Nancy K......

Reet's Broccoli Soup

It's Winter in America (gratuitous Gil Scott-Heron reference), you need something warm and tasty in your tummy while watching your favorite hoops team fail to meet expectations. Whatcha got? Rustle up some Reet's Broccoli Soup and cuddle up with your honey (or your hubby/wife- it's your call).

Ingredients:

• 6 cups of water (tap is fine, unless you have to impress someone, then get Evian) 
• 2 10-oz chopped broccoli (for those who have seen Dana Carvey's standup routine, take time out to smirk knowingly; others just move on) 
•  3/4 cup of chopped onion 
•  2 teaspoons of salt
• 2 teaspoons of white pepa (you feelin' it now? gettin' funky? push it good, push it real good.)
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder
• 8 oz of American cheese
• 1 cup of milk
• 1 cup of light cream (I guess that's the Cream without Eric Clapton, but I could be mistaken)
• 1/4 cup of butter
• 1/3 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of cold water (wtf? I already have 6 cups of water, you say? Just do it!)

Let's do this!
Boil the water with the chopped broccoli and onion for ten minutes. You can continue to push it real good while waiting (ooh, baby baby). Then add all seasonings/cheese and stir until the cheese melts (a Northeastern expression akin to 'til the cows come home'). Add milk, light Cream (remember, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce only) and butter.

Now you find out why we needed that extra water. Mix the water with the flour, then very slowly add to the soup mix for texture. When your arm feels like it is falling off, you're done! Pour into large cup and ease onto the couch. Enjoy!

Sharie's Spicy Shrimp Cocktail

This recipe will warm you up on a cold winter night.  
Keith likes the spicier version that has Sharie playing a game of 'Find the Shrimp'

Mix together (mingle/network):

1/4 C catsup

1/4 C lime juice

1-2 tsp. hot pepper sauce

Add:

1 pound jumbo shrimp; peeled, cleaned and de-veined (you're so de-veined, you probably think this recipe is about you)

1/2 C chopped plum tomato

1/4 C chopped red onion

1/4 C fresh snipped cilantro

Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Add 2 peeled, chopped avocados.

Garnish with a wedge of lime.

Serve chilled.

Suggested music: Try some low country blues from Shrimp City Slim and his band, possibly from their CD "Ancestor Worship: The Boston Sessions 1980-83"

Gail Lessard's minestrone with sweet sausage and tortellini...

There's a winter storm acomin'. People are swarming the supermarkets like ants. You decide to rustle up some soup. Good move, make this:

First step, gather the goods:

1/3 cup best-quality olive oil

1 lg. yellow onion, cut into thin rings

4 lg. carrots, peeled and thickly sliced

1 fennel bulb, chopped

2 lg. potatoes, peeled and diced

1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, cut into 1/2 inch squares

3 medium-size zucchini, diced

1.5 cups of diagonally-sliced green beans

1 medium-size green cabbage, shredded

5 cups beef stock

5 cups water

1 one (35 oz.) can Italian plum tomatoes

2 tbsp. dried oregano

1 tbsp. dried basil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Outer rind of 2-inch chunk of Parmesan or Romano cheese

1.5 cup canned cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained

1 lb. cheese-stuffed tortellini

1.5 lbs. sweet Italian sausage (pan fried, drained, sliced)

Freshly grated Fontina cheese

Take a brief rest, being thankful you had all this shit in the house.
Deep breath, GO!

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, saute until transparent (or transgendered, whichever happens first).
2. Stir in carrots and saute 2-3 minutes, tossin' and turnin' occasionally
3. Add the fennel, potatoes, green pepper, zucchini and green beans, sauteing each veggie 2-3 minutes before adding the next (don't cheat, we're watching you). When assignment is completed, passed in and graded, stir in cabbage cook 5 minutes more (extra credit).
4. Add the stock, bonds, mutual funds, water, tomatoes with their juice, spices.
5. Bury the Parmesan rind in the middle of the soup (R.I.P.- no calling hours)
6. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat, simmer covered low 2.5 to 3 hours. Stir occasionally. The soup will be very thick (something akin to your understanding of this whole process).
7. Fifteen minutes before serving stir in cannellini beans and tortellini. Raise heat to cook tortellini, continue to stir occasionally. JUST before serving, stir in sausage.
8. Ladle the minestrone into shallow pasta bowls and garnish lavishly with Fontina (no, not THAT Fontina, the stripper you met while hangin' with Plaxico Burriss).

There, you've done it! Pop a cold one and sit in front on that big-screen you bought yourself for Christmas (and hope you didn't really give Fontina your home phone number).

Chili today.....

Texas Chili - The main differences between Texas chili recipes and those other chili recipes is that "real" Texas chili has no beans and the main ingredient, after the meat, is chili peppers - whether chopped, diced, powdered, or liquified. Oh, and Texas chili just tastes better. More...

$20,000 prize-winning chili - here; more chili recipes from pepperfool.com

quote of the day: "Chili should be hot as hell and make you have to fart like a racehorse."

Where's the beef?
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A diner at a Wendy's fast food restaurant in San Jose, CA found a human finger in a bowl of chili prepared by the chain, local officials said on Wednesday. - story...

Have a good one....

Brunch Sausage Bread

Ingredients:
1 roll Spicy Jimmy Dean Sausage
8 oz. package cream cheese
2 cans refrigerated crescent rolls

Prepare:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In medium size skillet, brown sausage. Drain fat and add in cream
cheese. Stir until completely blended.

On a greased cookie sheet, spread out 1 can of crescent rolls,
pinching together to make "crust".

Spoon sausage mixture over crescent rolls just to 3/4 of an inch away from the edge.

Unroll the other package of crescent rolls. Make a crust for the top and
pinch the bottom and top halves together to form a pouch.

Cook 10-12 minutes or according to the directions on the crescent rolls.

Serve warm.

Note: if you are a wuss and don't like spicy things, you can use regular sausage instead.

Suggested music: Well, "Big Bad John" by Jimmy Dean is what Reet has been known to hum about the house. She won't give the reason.

Judi's layered Sopranos appetizer

Ingredients: 3 pkg. crescent rolls 1/2 lb. salami 1/2 lb. ham 1/2 lb. pepperoni(large) 1/2 lb. provolone 7 eggs (mix well and add grated cheese) 1 jar roasted peppers

Furio Giunta

Prepare:
Grease 9"X13" or larger pan.
Layer 1 1/2 cans crescent rolls on bottom (seal seams).
Layer salami, ham, pepperoni, provolone. Add egg mixture and then peppers.
Layer rest of crescent rolls on top.
Brush egg on top of rolls.
Bake 350* for 1 hour or less.


When Judi wants to impress a Soprano, she whips up this tasty treat and he's, shall we say, BADA BING!

Suggested music: forego "Theme from the Godfather" and throw on some vintage Eddie Fisher singing "Oh, My Pa-Pa"

Super Bowl meatballs in beer sauce

Sauce ingredients:

12 oz Teresa (pronounced Terrraaaaza) Heinz Kerry ketchup (it's a tad bitter)

12 oz chili sauce

12 oz beer (flat, perhaps your favorite right out of the can)

Meatballs ingredients:

3 lb ground beef

1 small onion, chopped and sautied

2 eggs (over easy, wheat toast with little jam thingies, home fries, coffee)

3 slices of bread, soaked in beer

salt 'n pepa
My man is smooth like Barry, and his voice got bass
A body like Arnold with a Denzel face

Prepare:

mix meatball ingredients; roll into bite-size pieces (no jokes, ladies)

bake for 20 minutes, drain

combine sauce ingredients and add meatballs; simmer (if YOU are simmering at this point because significant other is a lazy bastard/bitch, take a deep breath and a sip of that flat beer)

Reet Sez: I use my crockpot to simmer all for several hours. Do not hesitate to use any meatball recipe or prepared meatballs. This can be made ahead and reheated; LEFTOVERS MAKE GREAT MEATBALL GRINDERS!!!

Suggested music: your favorite team's fight song or be groovin' about the kitchen to Whatta Man by Salt 'N Pepa