Spicy Homemade Chicken Chili Recipe

I decided to try my luck with some homemade chili.  After perusing a few different recipes it became clear that chili should be a dish you just through together and adjust as needed.  After a couple attempts here is my favorite version and a piece of cake to make.

Spicy Chili Chicken Chili Recipe

• 16 oz can Pinto beans
• 16 oz can White beans
• 16 oz can Black beans
• 10-12 oz of cooked chicken breasts
• 16 oz can of Diced tomatoes
• 16 oz can of Tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1-2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
• 1/2 tsp Black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Onion powder
• 1/2 tsp Ground cumin
• 1/4 cup diced jalapenos
• 1/2 tsp Paprika
• 2 tablespoons Ketchup

Directions

Just dump all ingredients into crock pot and set to high for one hour. Reduce to low and cook for 6 more hours. Feel free to add remove spice to taste with the advice, much easier to add spice later than try to remove if you add too much.

If you are feeling very adventurous add a 1/4 tsp of Bhut Jolokia powder for a very unique flavor.

You can add some chips, cheese, and sour cream for a more filling meal or skip them for a pretty nutritious snack with the nutritional information below.

Homemade low carb protein bar/cookie recipe

Though many of my previous posts have been some serious fat/flour intensive creations, like many of us I have a few extra pounds to shed.  The problem is eating healthy can sometimes get expensive especially when you are out of town.  With an upcoming vacation coming and not wanting to spend $3-4 each for some convenient protein bars I set out to make my own. 

Not finding a recipe I liked or matching the final nutritional balance I was looking for I created a recipe based on my protein/carbohydrate/sugar/fiber/fat needs and left taste to chance.

Low-carb Protein Bar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups oat flour (don’t have? any just grind oatmeal with a blender)
• 1 cup soy protein
• 15 packets artificial sweetener
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3 tablespoons flax seed meal
• 2 envelopes Hot Cocoa Mix (No Sugar Added)
• 6 heaping teaspoons clear fiber supplement
• 6 tablespoons natural peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup of water

Directions

Add all dry ingredients and mix thoroughly, in separate bowl add peanut butter and microwave for 30 seconds then mix in remaining wet ingredients and then slowly mix in with dry ingredients.  Add water until you get the consistency of cookie dough (slightly sticky)

Drop on cookie sheet, you can place these very close since they should not spread.   Should make about 2 dozen cookies

Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes

After you take them out of the oven tap them with a fork to flatten them out a little (for storage) and enjoy warm or store in air tight contain for about a week.

Results

Though I was looking at taste as a secondary quality it turns out they a tasty and a nice soft cookie.  Though they will crumble if abused but they can easily be squeezed back into whatever shape you desire.  Cooking the bars/cookies a little longer would allow them to withstand a little more abuse if you are planning on throwing these in a backpack for a long hike, etc.

Nutritional Info

Serving Size: One Cookie

Fat: 5.4 grams
Carbohydrates: 6.9 grams
Fiber: 3.8 grams
Sugar: 3.5 grams
Protein: 10.7 grams

How to make homemade breadcrumbs

 

Like much of the population we never eat the heals of the bread on top of that my wife and daughter like to cut the crusts of their bread so we have quite a bit bread going to waste, so made perfect sense to try my hand at making some breadcrumbs.

The process is very simple, cut up your bread into equal size pieces and lay them on a single layer on a cookie sheet and place them in your oven.  Set oven to 300 F degrees and once it preheats, flip over bread and “cook” for 5 minutes and turn the oven off (leaving bread in oven).  Let the bread cool and it should be very brittle and break when bent.

Add bread crumbs into food processor and grind until your breadcrumbs are at your desired consistency.

Store in a sealed bag or freeze and use as long as mold does not appear.  In our case most of these crumbs consist of crust so it theory should have some fairly high fiber content and get some great breadcrumbs to coat of fish/chicken or to stretch out some hamburger/meatloaf.

Cheesy Macaroni and Cheese – Store versus Homemade

To teach my kids that  macaroni and cheese doesn’t always have to come from a box I decided to make some from scratch.  Here is the recipe I went with.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup American cheese (cubed)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Cook noodles as package dictates and set aside.
• Melt butter in saucepan until it starts sizzling at medium heat.  Stir in flour, salt, and pepper.  Add milk and constantly stir and allow to boil for 7-8 minutes.
• Reduce temperature to low and slowly add cheese and stir until cheese is completely melted.
• Combine noodles and cheese and place in a casserole dish and grate cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes (or until cheese is melted)

 

The Contender – Store Bought

Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner, $1.09

Ingredients: Enriched Macaroni Product (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Ferrous Sulfate [Iron], Thiamin Hydrochloride [Vitamin B1], Riboflavin [Vitamin B2], Folic Acid); Cheese Sauce Mix (Whey, Milkfat, Milk Protein Concentrate, Salt, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Contains Less than 2% of Citric Acid, Lactic Acid, Sodium Phosphate, Calcium Phosphate, Milk, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Enzymes, Cheese Culture).

After adding the required required milk and butter the total cost of the store bought meal is $1.43.

The Challenger - Homemade

Here are the costs of making this recipe yourself:

Ingredient	Amount	Cost
Macaroni	2 cups	$ 0.12
Butter	4 tablespoons	$ 0.265
Flour	4 tablespoons	$ 0.031
Salt	1/2 teaspoon	$ 0.003
Pepper	1/8 teaspoon	$ 0.001
Milk	2 cups	$ 0.374
Cheese	1 cup	$ 1.250

All together it cost $3.01 to make this recipe. 

The Decision…

	Store bought	Homemade
Price
Taste
Difficulty

As far as cost goes it was much more expensive for the homemade on this one.  Making this recipe is much more expensive than the store equivalent.  The homemade version produces a larger meal than the store bought version though not enough to factor this into the equation.

I used both my daughters again as a judge for taste on this one.  My oldest daughter said 4 stars for homemade and one star for store bought.  Though she was sure to point out that Trader Joes Mac and Cheese was just a little better…looks like I might have another challenge on my hands.

Though this is the first time that homemade code more, I can’t argue with the creamy taste of the homemade version, when pressed for time I may still crack open the Kraft Mac ‘n Cheese though still will continue to make the homemade version when I have the time.