10/27/2024
Hi Guys, it's October, and I thought I would give you a couple of recipes I made back in 2011 using store-bought stuff; anyone can make it, but it's good stuff, so most people will like it. These are for my brothers, especially Bob, Kenny, and Wayne; my sisters, Kathy and Linda, and my best girlfriend, Tess; my almost Stepson, Jesse, good luck in the kitchen; and my grandson, Jeremiah, who is in the Philippines and any other members I didn't mention. Love you all. Hodge-podge Chili
Hodge-Podge Chili is a great little chili recipe that is quick and easy to make. It is perfect for feeding a large film crew, sports group, perhaps the Fifth Army, or just one teenage son and his best friend.
For the kitchen warrior, here are the tools you will need: one large frying pan (a cast iron skillet is preferred), one large stew pot with a lid, a long-handled wooden spoon, a spatula, a can opener, a measuring cup, a chopping knife, a cutting board, eight bowls (for convenience), a tablespoon, and two burners on a stovetop.
Here are the ingredients. The brand names have proven to give the best results in this recipe, but use what you feel is best for your recipe.
• 2 lbs. ground beef
• 2 - 14.5 oz. cans of S/W Mexican Recipe stewed tomatoes
• 1 - 29 oz. can of Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
• 1/2 cup diced red onion (Bowl #1)
• 1/2 cup diced fresh tomatoes (Bowl #2)
• 1 cup diced zucchini (Bowl #3)
• 1 cup organic sweet corn (Bowl #4)
• 1 cup diced broccoli (Bowl #5)
• 1 cup of cauliflower (Bowl #6)
• 1 cup of thinly sliced carrots (Bowl #7)
• 1 cup of combined diced red, green, and yellow bell pepper (Bowl #8)
• 2 - 15 oz. cans of organic dark red kidney beans
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil for the frying pan
• 1 tablespoon of butter
• 1 packet of Lawry’s Chili Seasonings
• 8 cups of cold water
• pinch of salt, pepper, and Lawry’s season salt
Let the cooking begin.
• Open the Dark Red Kidney beans cans and drain the juice from the cans.
• Pour beans into a stewpot
• Open Hunts tomato sauce
• Pour into stew pot
• Turn the first burner on medium-low, and place the stew pot on the burner.
• Coat the bottom of the frying pan with avocado, grapeseed, or olive oil.
• Turn the second burner to medium heat and place the frying pan on it.
• In the frying pan, add butter and let it melt; as it nears completion, add onions, zucchini, and fresh tomatoes.
• Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the onions are translucent.
• Once the onion, zucchini, and fresh tomatoes are done, empty the contents into the stew pot.
• Return the frying pan to the second burner.
• Add ground beef and brown thoroughly.
• Open both cans of S/W Mexican Recipe Stewed Tomatoes.
• Pour one can of stewed tomatoes into the Stewpot.
• Add Chili seasoning packet on top of the browned ground beef in the frying pan.
• Pour the second can of stewed tomatoes on top of the ground beef, stir in contents to ground beef
• Add two cups of water, stir, and let simmer for five minutes
• While the ground beef and tomatoes are simmering, add the remaining bowls of vegetables to the stew pot.
• Add six cups of water to the stew pot and stir the contents.
• Using the spatula, Add the beef and tomatoes from the frying pan. (DO NOT DRAIN GREASE INTO THE STEW POT!)
• Stir it all together, cover, turn the heat low, and let contents simmer for forty-five minutes. Stir occasionally to keep the contents from burning on the bottom of the pot.
That is all there is to it. Serve with a fresh garden salad and freshly baked cornbread. Bon Appetite!
How to make Spageritoes.
The first question you ask yourself is, what is a Spagerito?
A Spagerito is a fix-it-the-next-day dish of leftover spaghetti, Marinara, salsa, a little mozzarella cheese, and a little sour cream wrapped in a flour tortilla. It is a quick dish that children and grown-ups with the child still inside of them love to make and then eat. I make two types of Spagerito, one with meat and one that is vegetarian. Both are delicious.
This article will take some significant shortcuts because most people do not make homemade spaghetti sauce, either because they do not have the time or just do not want to be in a kitchen that long. They definitely do not want to spend eight to ten hours the day before washing, peeling, and preparing everything. Then, wait for it to become a perfect sauce, allowing it to marinade overnight. But I do it, one, for the love of cooking and, two, for the joy I see on my guests' faces when they are chowing down. In my house, it’s all right to bring your appetite. But in the interest of saving you some effort and still having a great little snack or light lunch, I present you the faster version.
The following is what you will need:
(For the meat Spagerito)
4 large flour tortillas
1/2 cup of Spaghetti Sauce (Ragu, Prego, whatever is your favorite)
1/4 pound of ground beef (I like the 80/20 percent for this)
1/3 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons of fresh Salsa (go with your favorite mild, medium, or hot style)
Instructions:
In a saucepan, prepare a small handful of spaghetti; you will only need about ten to twelve strands per tortilla. Boil the water, add a little salt, then add the spaghetti, and cook for about eight to ten minutes (Al Dente works well for this recipe). Once the water boils and you have added the spaghetti, brown the ground beef. Note: I like to brown diced onions and garlic in a fine wine and butter sauce in my regular recipe, so feel free to get creative. For a spagerito, cremini mushrooms or a mix of cremini and shiitake would likely be the best options. They have the right balance of texture and flavor to mimic ground beef while blending seamlessly with the spaghetti sauce. Just cook them thoroughly to concentrate their flavors and remove excess moisture before mixing them into your sauce. My personal note about mushrooms: It’s generally better to use butter or a mix of butter and oil rather than water when browning mushrooms. Here’s why:
Why Use Butter or Oil?
Flavor: Butter and oil add richness and depth to the mushrooms, enhancing their flavor. Butter, in particular, can bring out the earthy, umami notes in mushrooms, making them taste richer.
Browning: Using fat helps achieve that golden-brown sear, which gives the mushrooms a more caramelized, meaty flavor. The fat creates a higher cooking temperature, allowing the mushrooms to brown rather than steam.
Texture: Fat helps the mushrooms slowly release their moisture, allowing them to get that nice crispy edge while maintaining a tender center.
Why Not Water?
Water Releases More Moisture: Adding water to the pan can cause the mushrooms to release their own moisture too quickly. Instead of browning, they end up steaming, which can lead to a softer, less flavorful result.
Reduced Flavor Concentration: Without the searing process, you miss out on the Maillard reaction (browning process) that concentrates and deepens the flavor of the mushrooms.
Best Method:
Heat the Pan: Heat your pan before adding the butter or oil. This helps prevent the mushrooms from soaking up the fat too quickly.
Use a Mix of Butter and Oil: If you’re worried about the butter burning, try using a mix of butter and a neutral oil (like olive oil). The oil increases the smoke point, while the butter adds flavor.
Don’t Overcrowd: Spread the mushrooms out in the pan so they brown evenly rather than steam.
Let Them Sit: After adding the mushrooms to the hot, oiled pan, let them sit without stirring for a minute or two to get a nice sear, then stir occasionally.
So, for a rich and flavorful vegetarian Spagerito, sautéing the mushrooms in butter or a butter-oil mix will give you the best results!
Brown the ground beef and drain it. Let it sit for a few minutes. This method makes a better sauce for meat.
Place the sauce in a saucepan and heat.
Add the ground beef to the sauce.
On a cookie sheet, lay open the four flour tortillas.
Once the sauce is ready (about three minutes after you add the meat), spoon the meat sauce into the center of the flour tortillas.
Add the mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce.
Add the salsa to the mozzarella cheese and then a dollop of sour cream.
Fold the tortillas into a burrito and place them in the preheated oven (350 degrees, please) for four to six minutes. For the more daring, you can also drop them in a deep fryer until crispy. Pro tip: If you deep fry them, butter the outside of the burrito, which would make this more of a spaghetti chimichanga.
Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and let the Spagerito cool for two minutes (the reason, especially if you have little ones, is that the cheese gets very hot). Once you have allowed them to cool, place them on a plate, add a bit of cold salsa on top for an excellent visual presentation, and serve with corn chips on the side.
For the veggie Spagerito, replace the meat with leftover but drained veggies in the sauce. I like to grill onions with the vegetables to bring a heavier flavor to the dish, but if you have little ones, I would skip this step. They all seem to have a radar for such things and will not eat it.
That is how you make a Spagerito. Enjoy.
