Chili

Our little family loves this chili recipe. Its sweet and a little spicy! It is a must have soup in October. Thank you, Renee, for the delicious recipe! If you are competing in a chili cook-off, try this one out! We absolutely love it.

Kidney Bean Chili

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger meat
1 onion
46 oz.V8 Juice
2 of the huge 30 oz. cans of kidney beans, drained
4 Beef Bouillon Cubes
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar (white)
2-3 (or more) drops of Tabasco Sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
4-6 tsp. chili powder (I used 3 normal tsp. of chili powder and 3 of the hot and spicy Mexican chili powder)
1-2 tsp. salt


Directions:

Brown ground beef with diced onion.

After browning you may drain any excess juice. Then add the rest of your ingredients. Let simmer and cook down in a heavy pot for about 45 minutes stirring frequently.

46 oz. of V8

2 big cans of Kidney Beans

4 of these beef bouillon cubes

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup of sugar

A few shakes of Tabasco Sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

3 tsp of chili powder

3 tsp of spicy Mexican chili powder

2 tsp salt

stir and let simmer for about 45 minutes or until cooked down and delicious

Yum!

We like to have ours with some baby carrots (we dip the carrots right into the chili), some shredded cheddar cheese mixed in the chili and some corn bread with honey on the side. Yummy in your tummy!

Kidney Bean Chili:

Ingredients:

1 lb. hamburger meat
1 onion
46 oz.V8 Juice
2 of the huge 30 oz. cans of kidney beans, drained
4 Beef Bouillon Cubes
1/4 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 cup Granulated Sugar (white)
2-3 (or more) drops of Tabasco Sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
4-6 tsp chili powder
1-2 tsp. salt


Directions:

Brown ground beef with diced onion. After browning you may drain any excess juice. Then add the rest of your ingredients. Let simmer and cook down in a heavy pot for about 45 minutes stirring frequently.

Enjoy!

Potato Soup, Layered Salad, and Rainbow Jello (12 Layer Ribbon Jello)

This year for St. Patrick's Day, I decided to make a tasty Slow Cooker Potato Soup from Paula Deen, a Layered Salad, and also Rainbow Layered Jello Ribbons along with some dinner rolls. They are all tried and true recipes that we love.  The slow cooker soup couldn't be easier and you get maximum taste for minimal effort. The layered salad is a family favorite. It is also fairly easy, and majorly delicious. The Rainbow Layered Jello Salad is something my sister Judy has been making for years. Everyone loves it. Its cute and so tasty. This one does take all day long though! Every half hour you are doing another step. 12 times. So its about a 6 hour process. For me it took a little longer since I wasn't always "Johnny on the spot" every half hour. If you want to skip the layered jello and just do a green one, I don't blame you :). But it is worth all the effort if you are going to be home most of the day. It is so cute and very yummy! Without further ado, here are the recipes:

Slow Cooker Potato Soup:

Ingredients:

1 bag (30 oz) frozen hash-brown potatoes
2 cans (14 oz ea) chicken broth
1 can (10.75 oz) cream of chicken soup
1/2 C chopped onion
1/3 tsp ground black pepper
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
Garnish: minced green onion, Cheddar, shredded, and bacon

Directions:

In a crock pot, combine potatoes, broth, soup, onion, and pepper. Cover, and cook on low for 5 hours.

Stir in cream cheese, cook 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until combined.

Garnish with green onion, shredded cheddar cheese and bacon if desired.

Layered Salad:

Ingredients:

1 head of rinsed and torn lettuce

5 hard boiled eggs, sliced

8 slices of bacon, crumbled

1 pkg. of frozen peas, defrosted

1/2 purple onion, chopped

8 oz. of shredded cheddar cheese

3/4 cup of mayonnaise

3 Tb. of Sugar

Directions:

Mix mayo and sugar. Layer the salad in this order: lettuce, egg, bacon, peas, and onion. Gently spread mayo mixture over the top, then sprinkle with cheese. Cover and chill. Mix all together when ready to eat!

Rainbow Layered Jello Ribbons:

Ingredients:

6 small jello boxes: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple

2 pints of sour cream

Directions:

Dissolve one pkg. of jello in 1 cup of boiling water. Divide in half. Add 1/3 cup sour cream to one half and mix well (use a whisk). Pour into chilled 9 x 13 pan and let set in the fridge for 1/2 and hour. Add 3 Tb. of water to remaining half and pour over set sour cream layer. Then let that set for 1/2 hour in the fridge. Repeat with each different color of jello. Top with whipped cream if desired.

I also made some delicious Parmesan Rolls and we had green grapes. Our feast was delicious!

Cinnamon Rolls (Only About an Hour to Make!)

It tastes even better than it looks!

I'm a huge fan of cinnamon rolls. I have made a few different recipes over the years but  have now kind of combined the best things about all of them into my favorite Cinnamon Roll Recipe so far. I don't want it to take me all night or all morning, and it has to be tasty. So fast and delicious is the name of the game. My recipe is a combination of this one from our Our Best Bites for the actual rolls and this one from The Recipe Nut for the icing.

Savvy Stoker Sister Cinnamon Rolls

everything you need!

Dough:

Dough Ingredients

1 cup milk

4 Tbs butter, cut into chunks

3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 (.25 ounce) package instant or ‘rapid rise’ yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Filling:

Filling Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

Icing:

Icing Ingredients

8 T. (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt

Directions:

Dough: Place 3/4 cup of milk and 4 Tbs butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Butter should be at least partially melted. Stir and add remaining 1/4 cup of milk to help it cool a bit and set aside.

 In the bowl of your mixer, whisk together 2 C flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt. 

When milk mixture has cooled to warm (not hot) add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater (paddle attachment for those using a stand mixer) is running. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute.

Switch out the paddle to the dough hook now. Add remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft and slightly sticky so don't add too much flour. Continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes or knead by hand for 5 minutes (you will get your arm workout in for the day if you don't have a mixer).  

 Wash your hands and make sure your counter is clean. Spray your counter, your rolling pin,  and your hands with Baker's Joy and take dough out of mixer and roll onto coutner.

I accidently made mine into a rectangle before resting. It didn't seem to hurt anything!

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.

Filling: make sure butter is softened well. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly: Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick, you might have to “crumble” it) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces using a piece of dental floss and then cut into rolls by wrapping the dental floss around from the bottom and pulling closed together at the top of the scored lines. Place cinnamon rolls in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray (I like to use Baker's Joy). Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When rolls have finished rising bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.

They have risen!

Perfectly baked to perfection :)

While the rolls are baking prepare your icing. Cream together your softened butter, powdered sugar, softened cream cheese, vanilla, and salt until its a nice creamy texture. I used my sisters softening trick to soften my butter and my cream cheese quickly. See how here.

A hot steamy pyrex measuring bowl softened them up perfectly! Thanks, Judy!

Spread icing on cinnamon rolls while they are still warm. Makes 12 rolls.

Eat on a plate with a fork paired with a full glass of milk!

Eat while it's hot!!!

Here is just the recipe:

Savvy Stoker Sisters Cinnamon Rolls

Dough:

1 cup milk

4 Tbs butter, cut into chunks

3 1/4 – 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 (.25 ounce) package instant or ‘rapid rise’ yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 egg

Filling:

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, softened

Icing:

8 T. (1 stick) butter, softened
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. (2 oz.) cream cheese, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt

Dough: Place 3/4 cup of milk and 4 Tbs butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat on high for 1 minute 30 seconds. Butter should be at least partially melted. Stir and add remaining 1/4 cup of milk to help it cool a bit and set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk together 2 C flour, yeast, white sugar, and salt. When milk mixture has cooled to warm (not hot) add it to the flour mixture along with the egg while the beater (paddle attachment for those using a stand mixer) is running. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute. (Switch to the dough hook now) Add remaining flour only until dough barely leaves the sides of the bowl. It should be very soft and slightly sticky so don't add too much flour. Continue to let the dough knead for 5 minutes or knead by hand for 5 minutes (you will get your arm workout in for the day).  Turn dough out onto a floured surface and let rest for about 10 minutes while you make the filling.

Filling: make sure butter is softened well. Mix with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Assembly: Roll dough into a rectangle about 12 x 14 inches. Spread brown sugar mixture (it will be slightly thick, you might have to “crumble” it) over the surface and use your fingers or the back of a spoon to gently spread around. Roll up from the longer side of the rectangle and pinch edges closed. Score the roll into 12 equal pieces using a piece of dental floss and then cut into rolls. Place in a 9 x 13 pan that has been sprayed with cooking spray (I like to use Baker's Joy). Cover pan with a clean towel and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes. In the mean time, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

When rolls have finished rising bake for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown.

While the rolls are baking prepare your icing. Cream together your softened butter, powdered sugar, softened cream cheese, vanilla, and salt until its a nice creamy texture. If its too thick you can add a little milk.I used my sisters softening trick to soften my butter and my cream cheese. See how here.

Spread icing on cinnamon rolls while they are still warm. Makes 12 rolls.

Enjoy!