Chili and Breadsticks for the Super Bowl

Chili is a great football party food! I made some along with my mom's homemade breadsticks and it turned out to be an easy and hearty Super Bowl dinner:)

This chili recipe is a copycat recipe of the Wendy's Chili, which I love, a great low fat and hearty option!

P.S. You need a large pot!

Wendy's Chili

Ingredients

2 pounds ground beef
one 29-ounce can tomato sauce
one 29-ounce can kidney beans (with liquid)
one 29-ounce can pinto beans (with liquid)
1 cup diced onion (1 medium onion)
1/2 cup diced green chili (2 chilies)
1/4 cup diced celery (1 stalk)
3 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin powder
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons salt
2 cups water

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat; drain off the fat.

2. Using a fork, crumble the cooked beef into pea-size pieces.

3. In a large pot, combine the beef plus all the remaining ingredients, and bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook, stirring every 15 minutes, for 2 to 3 hours.

Makes about 12 servings.

Tidbits: For spicier chili, add 1/2 teaspoon more black pepper. For much spicier chili, add 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and a tablespoon of cayenne pepper. And for a real stomach stinger, add 5 or 6 sliced jalapeno peppers to the pot. Leftovers can be frozen for several months.

Parmesan Breadsticks

1 Tb. Yeast

3 ½ cup flour

1 ½ cup water

½ tsp salt

2 tb. Sugar

Dissolve yeast in warm water, then mix in dry ingredients. Cover 10 minutes to rise.

Topping

¼ c. margarine

¼ c. parmesan, grated

¼ c. mayo

¼ tsp. parsley flakes

¼ tsp. garlic salt

Spread dough in a greased cookie sheet pan. Spread the topping over the dough. Cut dough in slices. Allow to double in size. Bake 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Really Easy BBQ CHicken Pizza!

I didn't have cilantro for this pic, but I do recommend it!

So this is a really quick dinner idea! And it's really good! I was amazed at what a great pizza crust Boboli pizza crust makes.

1-2 chicken breast, cut in pieces, or you can use precooked chicken pieces you can find in the refrigerated section near the salads, or rotisserie chicken, cut up.

1 regular Boboli Original Pizza Crust (you can find it at most grocers)

Shredded cheddar cheese (as much as you like on your pizza)

Good quality BBQ sauce, my favorite is Dinosaur BBQ's sauce

cilantro

red onion (if you like, I don't)

*just a note, a good BBQ sauce is key in making this really good, if you are a BBQ aficionado, you should really by a jar of the Dinosaur BBQ Roasted Garlic Honey BBQ sauce(find online or in NYC), its one of the betters ones I've had. I am not a fan of too sweet or too spicy BBQ sauces and this one is perfect for me!

First, heat a saute pan with oil and add chicken pieces and a little bit of salt and pepper. Once cooked, add a few tablespoons of the BBQ sauce to saute the chicken in the sauce.

Spread the BBQ sauce on the Boboli bread as you would if it was pizza sauce, however much you like. Add the cheese and the cooked chicken pieces. Garnish with thinly sliced red onions, and chopped cilantro.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Voila! All done! Can garnish with extra cilantro, because I love cilantro.

Orange Chicken!

This is like the orange chicken from Panda Express, but a little bit healthier. It's not deep fried goodness, but it is very tasty! I served this with a yummy fried rice that I also made (if you want me to post it, please comment). It's also good with brown or white rice and sauteed green beans with garlic!

ORANGE CHICKEN

Ingredients

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken, chopped into bite sized pieces

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

white pepper

oil for sauteing

equal parts cornstarch and flour, enough to dredge the chicken pieces

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon gingerroot, minced, or 1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper

1/4 cup green onion, chopped

1/4 cup water or chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

ORANGE SAUCE FOR STIR FRY (mix this together in bowl before you start with chicken)

1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons water or orange juice (I used OJ)

4 tablespoons sugar(if you use OJ, cut the sugar to about 3 TB)

5 tablespoons white vinegar

1 orange, zest of

Directions

1. Place chicken pieces in large bowl.

2. Stir in salt and pepper.

3. Add cornstarch and flour and toss the chicken so that it is lightly coated with the flour mixture

4. Heat enough oil to coat a saute pan.

5. Add chicken, small batches at a time, and cook until golden.

6. (Do not overcook chicken).

7. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.

8. Clean out the burnt pieces from pan and heat 15 seconds over high heat.

10. Add 1 tablespoon oil.

11. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant; about 10 seconds.

12. Add and stir-fry crushed chiles and green onions.

13. Add the Orange Sauce and bring to boil.

14. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed.

15. Stir 1 tablespoon cornstarch into the water until smooth and add to pan.

16. Heat until sauce is thickned.

17. Stir in sesame oil and orange zest.

Cafe Rio Copycat!

Those of you who are in love with the wildly popular, yet regional (unfortunately), Cafe Rio, will definitely appreciate this!

My dad found this online, and tried it out. And guess what? It is pretty darn close, actually, it's just like it. And it's a great remedy for those craving Cafe Rio with no access to it!

This is the recipe for the Pork Salad, so that means, the lime-cilantro rice, the black beans, the pork, and the creamy dressing.

I am giving all the credit to this lady who tweaked the recipe to perfection ...but I am going to help share this secret!

So here is the link to it:

CAFE RIO RECIPE