Chili

Everyone likes their chili a certain way; super spicy or medium hot, with or without meat, with or without beans. In true Scandinavian fashion, our version of chili is pretty bland, but people who try it love it because it is so different from other chili recipes. Our recipe uses meat AND beans, but you can leave out the meat and add in a can of corn to make a vegetarian version. 

Adding toppings to the chili can make it your own; toss in some shredded cheese, crackers, sour cream, sliced green onions, or jalapenos to spice it up.

I usually make a double batch of chili; it freezes beautifully, and is great to pull out on a cold day when I don't have time to cook. I like to serve it with a warm slice of homemade cornbread that has been slathered with butter and a drizzle of honey.

Chili                                                                                                  Printable Version

1 lb. ground hamburger or turkey

1 medium onion, chopped

1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup

2 soup cans of water

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 can light red kidney beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 can chili beans, with the juice

1 Tbsp. chili powder (as hot as you like it)

1 tsp. ground Ancho chili pepper

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 dried bay leaf

In a large pot over medium-high heat, brown the meat with the onion. Turn the heat to low and add in the tomato soup, then use the soup can to add two cans of water. Add the crushed tomatoes, kidney beans, black beans, and chili beans and stir together well. Sprinkle in the chili powder, Ancho chili pepper, cumin, and brown sugar and stir to combine. Stir in the dried bay leaf. At this point you can add more water, depending on how thick you like your chili.

Let the chili simmer for an hour, remove the bay leaf, dish into bowls, and serve with cornbread and toppings.

Tortilla Rollups

For almost any get together our family has that requires snacks, these Tortilla Rollups always make an appearance.

This is a recipe that you can mess with. I usually add some finely shredded cheese to the mix when I make these at our house. You can substitute green olives for the black olives or use some of both. You could use flavored tortillas instead of plain. And you could even use a flavored cream cheese if you wanted. It's fun to play around with recipes and make something new out of a tried and true recipe.

We usually have a bowl of "Heather's Salsa" ready to dip these in, but store bought salsa will work just as well. You can set these next to a giant bowl of tortilla chips and the two snacks can share the salsa!

TORTILLA ROLLUPS                                                                                     Printable Version

8 oz. package cream cheese, softened

1 can diced green chilies

1 large can black olives, finely diced

Green onions, finely chopped

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 package flour tortillas

In a bowl, combine the cream cheese, green chilies, black olives, green onions, garlic salt, and black pepper. Stir until everything is well combined. Place a flour tortilla on a piece of plastic wrap you've laid out on the counter. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture over the tortilla, leaving about 1/4" clean around the edge of the tortilla. Roll up tightly and wrap securely in the plastic wrap. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour. When ready to serve, cut the wraps into 1" slices, place on a platter, and serve with salsa for dipping.