Chicago Style Chili

Spicy and chocolaty, who could ask for anything more?

Ingredients:
1 lb. lean ground turkey
1 large onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 15-oz. cans diced tomatoes
2 14.5-oz. cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-oz. can beef broth
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder (NOT Nesquik! That would be very bad!)
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. Kosher salt
Chipotle sauce (from the can of chipotle chilies)
1/2 oz. unsweetened chocolate (1/2 unsweetened baking cube), chopped (optional; use to taste as needed; be careful, because too much will make your chili bitter)
Light sour cream
Chopped green onions
3-4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
Shredded cheddar cheese

Heat some olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper, and ground turkey until meat is cooked through. Add salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, brown sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, tomatoes, beans, and beef broth. Add all of the chipotle sauce from a small can of chipotle chilies. Heat to boiling and then reduce to a simmer (uncovered), stirring occasionally, until thickened as desired (I like it about 30-40 minutes). If desired, add some chopped chipotle chilies. Add 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar and a small amount of chopped chocolate at a time until desired richness is reached. If necessary, add more red wine vinegar to cut the sweetness of the chili. This is where you can play around a little with the flavors.
When thickened and seasoned as desired, serve with chopped onions or green onions (I like green better), sour cream, and shredded cheddar cheese.

Meat Loaf

From Kera's cookin'

Loaf
3 lb Hamburger
1 Egg
10 slices of Bread, pulled into pieces
1 package of Brown Gravy Mix
1 packet Lipton Onion Soup
Salt and Pepper to taste

Glaze
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 c ketchup
1/2 cup BBQ Sauce (I like the Honey Bullseye, Sweet Baby Ray's or Masterpiece)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix loaf ingredients and pat into shape
3. Cover and bake for 1 hour
4. Pour glaze over loaf and bake for an additional 15 minutes.

Baked 4 Cheese Macaroni

From Pioneer Woman
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 lb Dry Elbow Macaroni
3 T Butter
3 T Flour
4 c Milk, Divided
1 lb Mixed Grated Cheese, Divided
6 oz, weight Crumbled Blue Cheese, Divided
1 t Salt
½ t Pepper
¼ t Cayenne Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F.

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.

In a heavy saucepan over medium high heat, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk together and cook for thirty seconds. Add 2 cups of the milk and whisk until smooth. Add another cup of the milk (reserving 1 cup) and continue to whisk. Cook for four minutes while whisking. The mixture will get very thick!

Add 12 ounces of the grated mixed cheese and stir well so that the cheese melts. Add the salt, pepper and cayenne followed by the remaining cup of milk and half of the blue cheese crumbles. Stir well.

Once everything is smooth, add the cooked macaroni and toss well. Pour into a 9″13″ casserole pan and top with the remaining grated cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Top with additional blue cheese and bake 10 minutes more, until golden brown and bubbling. Yummy!