Ultimate Chili

It has chocolate and four kinds of beans. That makes it ultimate, right? This is, so far, the only chili that I really care for. It's so rich that you could probably omit the meat entirely without any ill effects, which is why I'm tagging it vegetarian.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground meat
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1-2 jalapenos, or a can of green chilies
  
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 15-oz cans of beans, rinsed. Pick out whatever combination you have on hand, or whatever sounds good at the time. I used pinto, kidney, Great Northern, and red beans.
• 1 28-oz can crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 15-oz can corn
• 1 15-oz can chicken (or vegetable) broth
• 2 tbsp oil
• 5 tbsp chili powder (yes, that's tablespoons. I used about three, plus another tbsp combined ancho chili powder, chipotle chili powder, and New Mexico chili powder, left over from my sweet potatoes)
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tbsp oregano
• 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Sauté the onions, garlic, bell pepper, and jalapenos in oil until translucent, then add the meat, cook through, and drain. If you want to cook this in a pot, go ahead and do this in the pot you want to cook with. If not, dump everything into the crock pot now.

Stir in the spices. Stir in the tomatoes, beans, corn, and broth.

As soon as it gets hot enough, be very brave and stir in the chocolate chips. Or, if you're me, resist the urge to dump in the entire bag.

Simmer gently for as long as possible. The longer it cooks, the better it tastes.

If using a crock pot, start it on high for an hour then switch it to low.

This is even better the next day. And it's super good for Frito chili pies.

French-style Green Beans

We're going to call this French-style because I found the recipe on a French website. And translated it for your dining pleasure. Really, though. It's now my favorite way to cook green beans. Actually, I wasn't a big fan of green beans before, but I could eat these every day.

It's the onion. I'll eat anything that has caramelized onion in it. I'd eat caramelized onions on ice cream.

The cream doesn't hurt, either.

Oh, and the almonds are great.

So yes, it's just generally a good recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 can of your favorite green beans - whole, French cut, regular cut, whatever. Use fresh if you want to. It's all good. Use two cans if you're really hungry. Use three if you have company.
  
• 1 onion, caramelized. The original recipe called for, like, 1/4 of an onion. As if.
• Slivered or sliced almonds. I use half of one small packet. Use as many as you like.
• 1-3 tbsp cream or coconut milk, depending on how decadent you feel.
  

Make sure you start caramelizing the onion early enough. Then start the green beans cooking and the almonds browning in some butter. Watch them closely. Do not burn them.

When everything is done, just drain the green beans (if all the liquid hasn't cooked away), mix everything in, and serve! It's a very pretty dish, as well as being super good and feeling way more indulgent than it really is.

Sweet & Savory Squash Casserole

This is adapted from a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It's ostensibly a side dish, but it could be my whole dinner. And lunch. And breakfast. Seriously.

Ingredients:

• 1 large or 2 small butternut squashes (I'm sure sweet potatoes would work, too)
• 1 large, ripe pear
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 tbsp bread crumbs
• 4 slices bacon, crumbled
  
• 1/4 c chopped walnuts
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp butter, melted
  

As soon as you think of it, start caramelizing the onion. I like to cook mine for about two hours over low heat, but do what you have to do.

Peel the squash (not as daunting as it sounds - just a regular potato/carrot peeler will do) and slice into 1/2" - 1" slices. Peel the pear, and use your best knife to slice it as thin as you can. Place one layer of squash into a baking dish, then one layer of pear. Repeat.

If you thought ahead and already have some beautifully caramelized onion, scoop that over the top now. If not, keep cooking and you can add it at the last fifteen minutes like I always do.

Bake - covered - at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the squash is nice and tender. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. When the squash is tender, take it out of the oven and spread your onions evenly on top, then sprinkle on the topping. Bake another 10-15 minutes uncovered.

Serves one. Unless you're not greedy like me. In which case it serves 4-6 as a side dish.