Hearty Garden Chili Recipe

  Recipes for chili can vary greatly from one family to the next. Our neighborhood’s annual chili party is always fun with all the variety and  sampling from as many pots as we can! Personally I have two recipes that my family absolutely loves; a fabulous white chicken chili, and the red Hearty Garden Chili in this post. This particular chili is very chunky and filling, with beans, lots of ground beef, vegetables, and overall substance. It is wonderfully flavorful and nutritious, and spicy too (about medium), although the heat can easily be adjusted or omitted. Since I have a vegetable garden during the summer, I’ve been able to use my own homegrown tomatoes and peppers for this recipe. But if you don’t have access to homegrown tomatoes, you can use store-bought canned tomatoes as well. Though I have made some changes and added extra ingredients to personalize and create my own family recipe, the original recipe was shared with me by my sister-in-law. Thank you, Kelly!!! We both have made some changes over the years, and Kelly too, has started adding her own, homegrown tomatoes. We both agree it adds so much flavor! It really is hard not to have a second helping of this awesome stuff! Toward the bottom of this post you’ll first find the recipe with standard American measurements, then with metric measurements. If you try this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and star rating […] Read more »

Norwegian Risgrøt, Rice Porridge, Pressure Cooker Recipe

Norwegian rice porridge, or risengrynsgrøt, is a thick, creamy, hot rice cereal commonly made in Norway throughout the year, especially as a Saturday lunch. Also called risgrøt, the standard way of cooking the white rice is in a heavy pot on the stove top as shown in my post Traditional Norwegian Risgrøt, Rice Porridge Recipe. The rice cooks in milk for an hour until it thickens and softens, and needs to be stirred every five minutes or so to prevent burning. It is a little bit of a process, so it is nice to have some additional preparation options. After having experimented with a lot of batches, I have figured out several good alternatives. In this post I will show you how to make it in an electric pressure cooker, and in a previous post you can see how to prepare it using one of the following methods: Oven, quilt, cooler, or slow cooker method. Although common year-round, risgrøt is often served for lunch on Christmas Eve day, with the leftovers used in the evening for the much loved Norwegian Christmas dessert, Riskrem (rice pudding). For many families, mine included, there is no Christmas without riskrem!! We have an Instant Pot electric pressure cooker, but I’m sure other electric pressure cookers will be similar. The important part is that it needs to have a “warm” feature if you want to cook the porridge directly inside the pot. When preparing risengrynsgrøt in a pressure cooker, you […] Read more »

Norwegian Risengrynsgrøt 6 Ways; Rice Porridge Recipe

Norwegian rice porridge, or risengrynsgrøt, is a thick, creamy, hot rice cereal commonly made in Norway throughout the year, especially as a Saturday lunch. Also called risgrøt, the standard way of cooking the white rice is in a heavy pot on the stove top, as described in my post Traditional Norwegian Risgrøt, Rice Porridge Recipe. The rice cooks in milk for an hour until it thickens and softens, and needs to be stirred every five minutes or so to prevent burning. It is a little bit of a process, so it is nice to have some additional preparation options. After having experimented with a lot of batches, I am now ready to show you several alternatives. Most of them require that you start by simmering the rice in water, then add milk and heat up again. Then you can finish it using one of the following methods: Oven, quilt, cooler, slow cooker, or electric pressure cooker method. The recipe itself is found at the bottom of this post, in which I chose to follow the oven method. But you can use the same measurements for any of the other methods described in this post. To keep this post from getting too long, I decided to post a separate post on the electric pressure cooker method (click this link.) If you decide to try my recipe, I would be thrilled if you left me a comment and star rating at the bottom of […] Read more »

Deluxe Scalloped Potatoes; Recipe & Pictures

  Today I will post a fantastic recipe for the ultimate of scalloped potatoes! This dish was a huge hit when I served it as a side during our large family Christmas celebration. I am tempted to call it Grown-Up Scalloped Potatoes because the flavors are more complex than some of the other, more standard recipes. I love scalloped potatoes, but this recipe has definitely been kicked up a notch and is a must-keep for my recipe box. And they also just happen to be gluten free! How awesome is that? With the upcoming holidays in mind, I originally found it at Great Party Recipes .com, (Easy Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes) while searching for a recipe that would work for a large group of people. After making a couple of changes and trying it on small-scale first, I decided there was no reason to look further! This was it! And it was a success! Below, I have posted a lot of pictures along with the directions and recipes, and I hope it will be helpful to you. If you decide to try these scalloped potatoes, I would love it if you came back to comment and add a star rating as it really helps me out! Thanks in advance!   How Much Will You Need if Serving a Crowd?  On the bottom of this post you will find a smaller and a larger size recipe for your convenience; the smaller one for 6 servings […] Read more »

Tasty, Cheesy White Chili Recipe with Chicken

    I originally tasted this wonderful chili at an outdoor youth event with our church. This was during the month of October, and where we live it can easily get cold this time of year. This evening was chilly indeed, so chili was the perfect food to keep us warm! There were several pots of chili served, all from different recipes, and though all of them were tasty, this one by Tamie was by far my favorite! When I inquired about the recipe, I was given a link to the Taste of Home website. That same fall, with a few minor changes to the original recipe, I made a huge crock pot for my husband’s workplace as they were having a chili contest, and I gave him a big bag of shredded cheese to serve along with it. The cheese was to be used as a topping, of course. Instead he dumped the entire bag right into the pot, stirred it up, and wouldn’t you know, he came home with a trophy! Wow, first place!! This was now an award-winning recipe! I asked how many had entered, thinking maybe there were 40-50 or so, and it turned out there were around 8 other pots… So yeah, we got first place out of 8! Wow, pretty cool, huh? Well, at least people enjoyed it, so I’ll take that to heart. And we had a cool trophy to look at for […] Read more »

Savory & Tender Fall Apart Pot Roast, Recipe

    Savory & Tender Fall Apart Pot Roast To make an excellent, fall-apart tender pot roast, choose a 2-3 pound piece of chuck roast. This particular cut of beef is marbled with a lot of fat and connective tissues and is initially quite tough, but becomes very juicy and fork tender if cooked the right way. The fat also adds a lot of flavor! Contrary to an already lean and tender piece of meat, which needs a shorter cooking time and dry, high heat, a chuck roast needs to cook for several hours in moist heat.  In other words, low & slow to break down fat and tenderize the meat for that fall-apart doneness a good pot roast is known for. The result is juicy, tender meat that melts in your mouth! Various recipes of herbs and spices can be used with this cooking method, and personally I love to use my crock pot to slow cook this wonderful, savory meat. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! Cooking the Meat The first thing you should do as you prepare to cook a pot roast is to sear it on all sides. Fry the meat in oil on high heat until browned all over. This time I cut my roast into serving pieces, but it […] Read more »

Super Bowl Appetizer: Six Layer Mexican Guacamole Dip

Party Appetizer: Six Layer Taco Guacamole Dip

Six Layer Mexican Guacamole Dip With Super Bowl coming up, I thought I would share this awesome six layer Mexican dip, which not only looks great but is very tasty as well! Served with tortilla chips, it is a perfect appetizer for any gathering, whether it’s for a party, game night, or for a bigger event such as Super Bowl. With taco seasoning mixed into the refried beans on the bottom layer, then guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and cheese topped with green onions, this dip delivers mixed flavors that complement each other. One recipe will often serve a crowd of 20 people or more during an event when several other dishes are offered as well. If you are expecting as many as 40-50 people, I would double to make two bowls. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! In addition to some spices and lemon juice for the guacamole, these are the ingredients needed: Taco seasoning mix, avocados, sour cream, salsa, refried beans, cheese, and scallions (which is the same as green onions.) This recipe can easily be made gluten free by choosing certified gluten free ingredients. However, the ingredients needed for this recipe are often free from gluten naturally, though they can sometimes contain traces if not certified gluten free. The Layers: I like to […] Read more »

Grandma’s Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe, Gluten Free Option

      This recipe is for a very special sweet potato casserole, one that was served to us by my husband’s late step-grandmother; our beloved Grandma Fountain! It was made and served with love! Although originally not gluten free until I altered it, this casserole is amazing both ways; so creamy and delicious, and a must on our holiday dinner table whether it is Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Easter. The whole family looks forward to this luscious side dish to go with our turkey or ham, and other sides such as green bean casserole! Two new versions of green bean casserole, served for the first time this past Thanksgiving, are likely to become standard dishes for our holiday family dinners from now on, as we really enjoyed them. Here are the links to my posts on those: Creamy Green Bean Casserole and Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, and also the fabulous Gluten Free Crisp French Fried Onion topping! Both casseroles were made gluten free, as this sweet potato casserole easily can be as well by simply substituting the flour for gluten free flour. We tried it and did not notice any difference. Even though my immediate family does not need to be gluten free, we have other family members who do. You can also make this casserole low fat or low sugar. If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps […] Read more »

Butter-Crunch Caramel Corn Recipe; Quick, Easy Crowd Pleaser

Crunchy Caramel Corn Recipe, Naturally Gluten Free

  Butter-Crunch Caramel Corn Recipe; Quick, Easy Crowd Pleaser Crunchy, golden caramel corn, made with real butter, is so easy to make at home! This recipe is truly delicious, and a snap to make! I’ve always loved Cracker Jack’s, but this recipe beats Cracker Jacks any day! And it’s naturally gluten free, too! I had never even considered that caramel corn could be made at home, until my friend Shari Fletcher impressed me greatly by serving a big bowl of it to a crowd of kids and adults. When she shared the recipe with me and explained how quick and easy it was to do, I was truly amazed! Shari is a wonderful cook with so many awesome ideas, and “quick & easy” along with “flavorful” seems to be her specialty. I love getting recipes from her! Thank you, Shari!! If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance!   How to Make Crunchy Caramel Corn at Home You start out by popping popcorn; you’ll need approximately 4 – 5 quarts popped. Spray the inside of a large paper bag (a shopping bag is perfect) liberally with cooking spray, then pour the popped popcorn into the bag. You make the caramel by combining real butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla in a heavy sauce pan. Bring […] Read more »

Gluten Free Cheesy Green Bean Casserole Recipe

    This green bean casserole, which can be made with regular all purpose flour or gluten free flour, is a cheesy and creamy side dish that can pass for comfort food any day.  When I made it for the first time for Thanksgiving this year, using gluten free bread mix in place for wheat flour, my husband’s family absolutely loved it! Even one of my brothers-in-law, who considers himself extremely picky, raved about this green bean casserole! I will definitely be making it again, this recipe is a keeper! If you do try this recipe, I would really appreciate a quick comment with a star rating (option found immediately under each recipe). It helps me out tremendously! Thanks in advance! As this side dish is different from Campbell’s green bean casserole, you really need to keep that in mind when trying it, and not expect it to taste like Campbell’s. The only thing it has in common with the ol’ cream of mushroom casserole, is that both of them contain green beans. I found the original version of this recipe on Pinterest via allrecipes.com, but I made a lot of changes to reflect reviewers’ likes and dislikes. It was my impression from the original recipe that people either loved it or hated it, but with the changes added, everyone at our Thanksgiving table raved about this casserole! In addition to this Cheesy Green Bean Casserole, I also tried a […] Read more »