Chili Pasta Bake

Tuesday night I needed a simple dinner because I knew ahead of time it was going to be a long day for me. Typically on a day like this I have been trying to use my slow cooker. Well, on Sunday I got a wild hair, and started cleaning out my pantry (I think I have a bit of a Spring cleaning bug right now), and I came across a recipe on the back of a can of diced tomatoes. Considering I already had everything on the ingredients list (with some tweaking), I figured it was a no brainer.

To save myself some time, I actually made this dish Monday night and refrigerated it. Then on Tuesday, when I got home, I whipped together a simple green salad, and toasted up some Italian bread we had left over from Sunday.  I can't quite rave about this dish. I'm not sure why. It was fine. It definitely cooked up really well. I split it into two containers (one went into my freezer), which is nice and knowing I have a home cooked meal in the freezer is always a plus.

I have to say I enjoyed the leftovers more than I did the original dish. It's probably because I topped the leftovers with sliced avocado (what doesn't taste better with avocado?) and sour cream (I can bathe in this stuff). I think because the dish is warm, and is really made from pantry staples, the hit of something fresh, like avocado and sour cream, really helps, and takes this recipe to the next level.  As is, I'd give the recipe a B. With the avocado and sour cream a B+.

Chili Pasta Bake
Yields 6 servings
Original recipe c/o S&W with some adjustments by me

10 oz. penne pasta (I used whole wheat)
1 lb. ground beef (I used Morningstar Farms Crumbles)
1 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons chili powder (I only used 1 tablespoon)
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup salsa
1 can (7 oz.) diced green chiles, drained
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese (I used white cheddar)

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.

2. Cook "meat" and onion in a large skillet; if using ground beef, drain.

Melty cheesy perfection

3. Add chili powder, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, and chiles.  Cook 5 minutes.

4. Toss pasta and sauce. Spoon into 13 x 9 baking dish***.  Top with cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. 

***Note: I split this dish between two 2-qt casserole dishes (baked one and froze the other).

Optional: Top with sour cream, diced green onions, avocado - really anything that you like on chili I think you could throw on top of this, to make it your own. Seriously, sour cream. It's the best.

Dinner is served

Flaming Nachos and Super Bowl Sunday

The huz and I are simple folk. We don’t have a lot of traditions.  We go with the flow. We are open to new experiences. However, there is one ritual that we practice religiously – Flaming Nachos on Super Bowl Sunday!  It isn’t a Super Bowl without them. 

“Flaming Nachos” came into our lives early in our marriage. It was a Super Bowl Sunday, and I thought it would be fun to make nachos. Heck, maybe even start a tradition. We were young. We didn’t know.  I mean, who doesn’t love nachos? And football? It was a match made in sports bar heaven.

Unfortunately, shortly after placing my perfectly layered chips/cheese/and beans in the oven, I smelled smoke.  And then I saw smoke.  Seeping up through the electric coils on my stovetop. I instantly knew something was wrong.  Not the nachos!!!!

All the huz saw was the blur of me running out the front door with a flaming cookie sheet in my potholdered hand. Apparently cheese and chips are highly flammable – especially on the top rack of the broiler (I’m sure it’s the yummy fat in the chips and cheese that just can’t resist igniting). My poor cookie sheet sat on the driveway, with nothing but the blackened remains of all that should have been good. I was devastated. 

After some choice words, and some giggles – I can’t imagine what any of my neighbors thought if they saw me running out of my house with a cookie sheet on fire – I made a second batch. Lower oven rack. More watchful eye. They were great.  A tradition was born!

To complement our nachos, this year, I made a recipe that the huz really likes.  He’s not really a chili/soup kind of person (whereas I could eat soup everyday), but he loves this dish.  I’m pretty sure it’s because of the pesto.

This recipe is so easy, with a great depth of flavor for something that really doesn’t cook for very long.  What makes this dish is the pesto. DO NOT USE STORE BOUGHT PESTO. It doesn’t work. I’ve tried. It’s the fresh pesto that makes this dish. Even the huz would agree.

Note: These are not Flaming Nachos. Those were consumed in the first quarter.

Three-Bean Chili With Spring Pesto

Real Simple Magazine April 2008

Ingredients

·         1 tablespoon plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

·   1 small yellow onion, chopped

·    2 carrots, diced

·    1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, including liquid (I used petite diced tomatoes)

·    kosher salt and black pepper

·    1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

·    1 15.5-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

·    1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

·    1 clove garlic, finely chopped

·    3 tablespoons pine nuts, chopped (I used slivered almonds and I’m sure walnuts

                                                        would work too)

·    1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

·    crusty bread (optional) - or Flaming Nachos

Directions

1.    Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

2.    Stir in the tomatoes and their liquid, 2 cups water, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and bring to a boil.

3.    Add the chickpeas and cannellini and kidney beans and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

4.    Combine the garlic, pine nuts, parsley, remaining ¼ cup oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, and ⅛ teaspoon pepper in a small bowl. (I actually pulse all of these ingredients together in my food processor)

5.    Divide the chili among individual bowls and top with the pesto. Serve with the bread, if desired. (I like tortilla chips)

Stir in the pesto and ENJOY!