A few of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, one recipe at a time. Feel free to join us! The next assignment will be at the end of this post.
Yum….chili! The perfect comfort food.
I made this for a weeknight meal about a week or so ago, and it turned it just fine. It was fairly simple to pull together, so I guess it was aptly named. It had a mild flavor that makes it suitable for kids…even Cap’n Jack Henry ate some! And it is customizable in that you can throw in or omit ingredients according to your family’s personal preferences.
All in all, this recipe is fairly similar flavor-wise to my old standby. Mine is a tad more practical for me though because I make it in the crock pot. I usually throw it together a little before lunch time, and then it’s ready for us to eat by about 6:00. I also missed the presence of the fresh vegetables that I use in mine. I always include chopped onion, green bell pepper and celery. One addition I liked of the Pioneer Woman’s that I will probably add to mine from now on was the use of mesa flour. If I had one complaint about my recipe, it was that it was a tad on the runny side sometimes. The mesa does a good, flavorful job of thickening the texture. I think, even in the crock pot, if added towards the end of the cooking cycle, it would make my concoction thicker and heartier. I also added some canned beans. I chose one can of pinto and one can of black since Big D doesn’t care for kidney. I also added a can of fire roasted tomatoes.
Here’s a shot of the Pirate Family enjoying our chili dinner…
Please excuse Bonny Annie’s tank top. She was leaving for her TaeKwonDo class and didn’t want to eat in her uniform jacket.
So, did you all make a pot of chili? What did you think? How did it compare to your usual recipe? You can still send some pictures or links to your blog of your chili experience.
Our next assignment is from the Supper section: Chicken Fried Steak on pages 142-145. This is not something I have ever cooked or would even normally order at restaurant, so this should be interesting… Have fun!
Update: Oops! I forgot to put a due date. Please have your chicken fried steak prepared by Tuesday, Mar.30….that’s when I’ll post about this dish!
As I wrote in my comments about the biscuits, my indigestion has been pretty bad of late and the thought of chili seemed too much. But, turns out, it was the thought of MY chili. PW’s recipe was all together different.
First off, growing up and in my own home, I’ve only ever had full bodied, lots of sauce, veggies, spices and beans chili. You’d never put my chili on a hot dog or over chips. Not too long ago I went to a friends house and she boasted that she had acquired some of the best chili ever and that for lunch we were having chili dogs. What she presented was finely ground beef in a thick, dark sauce. Not too spicy, not too… well, anything, really. She piled it over a hot dog and it was, indeed, good but I didn’t feel like I’d just experienced chili!!
Different strokes for different folks.
Thus, when I opened my cookbook to see PW’s recipe, I recognized her stripped down version as similar to my friends. I remembered it had given me no indigestive issues, and since it was rainy and “chili” outside, I decided to give it a whirl.
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this simple recipe. I ate a bit of it plain, but decided that was a no go for us. The “no additions” version really is meant to be added to something, in my opinion. So I, like Kellie, added just one can of pinto beans and a can of fire roasted tomatoes. (I had halved the recipe, so two cans of beans might have been over-kill!) I served it with shredded cheddar cheese and warm corn muffins. The Mesa flour did add some really nice body to the chili, something I’ve not had in my own recipe. (Though now I’m wondering what the heck to do with this big bag of flour… any suggestions?? I’ve never used it before!)
My hubby loves to make chili, and he likes his spicy with loads of chopped pepper, onion, tomato, etc. I was sure he was going to hate this. Huge surprise when I got home from work that night and he gave me a thumbs up for the chili. He’d though it was a winner recipe. Our three yr old loved it as well.
Yay for another success!!!
Whoa, chicken fried steak. This will definitely be a first for me.
You really are trying to make sure I gain the full 25-30lbs this pregnancy, Kellie, aren’t you??!!!
Susan´s last blog ..It’s Christmas time!!
I plan on making this chili next week for my non chili lovin family.
You will love the chicken fried steak. I have never liked making cfs before but my husband loves it so once or twice a year I would make it out of guilt. PW’s recipe is so great that I actually didn’t mind making cfs!
Melissa´s last blog ..Why
Susan, Damon made some homemade tortillas from our mesa once and they were pretty good. I think our bag had a recipe on it, but it’s probably something you could google. And as for my selections, I’m kinda going in order. I’m picking one from the appetizers, then one from the starters, etc. I don’t think any of her recipes really qualify as low-cal or low-fat. Glad the chili worked out for you. I was curious as to whether you tried it or not.
Melissa, thanks for the good review of the chicken fried steak. Now, I can’t wait!
I made the Chicken Fried Steak recipe from the cookbook. Actually it was one of the first cookbook PW recipes I made and it’s simple and good! If you haven’t made her creamy mashed potatoes, you absolutely MUST make them with the steak! They are the very best mashed potatoes I have ever eaten. They’re completely addicting. I make them all the time now, and my body shows it LOL
Be careful that while you make the gravy for the steak that you don’t do it while trying to keep an eye on a toddler at the same time lest you burn your hand quite badly as I did. Man, that hurt! Oh, and don’t put the gravy on the mashed potatoes, it ruins them.
Oh, and if you haven’t tried it yet, you MUST make the Perfect Pot Roast. Oh man, I never was a meat and potatoes, down home cooking kinda girl until I discovered PW!
Looks yummy!! I may have to get a copy of this cookbook so I can join you!
Michelle´s last blog ..Finally time….