Recipes
There are some days I just do not want to cook. Over the years I've come up with a selection of bulk cooking recipes that can be prepared in a once-a-month type of cooking session and then created on the day needed in a matter of minutes. These recipes tend to be economical and will save you a lot of money even if you don't include the money you save from avoiding the local drive-thru.
Traditional Chili
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- Details
- Parent Category: Bulk Cooking
- Written by Deleyna
I have to admit it, I hate kidney beans. One of my friends, however, loves them, so I adapted the chili base recipe for her.
- 2 cups chili base
- 2 green peppers, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced or crushed
- dash of olive oil
- 2 large cans crushed tomatoes
- 2 large cans kidney beans (undrained)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- salt and pepper to taste (about 1 tsp each)
Saute the peppers and garlic in the olive oil briefly in the bottom of a pot. Add everything else and let it simmer over medium heat until you're happy with it. A minimum of 30 minutes is a good idea. Sour cream and cheddar cheese make great toppings for this one.
Sweet Chili
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- Details
- Parent Category: Bulk Cooking
- Written by Deleyna
This recipe requires that you've made the chili base previously. You can thaw the chili base out or just plop it frozen into the pan and let it thaw as it blends with the other ingredients, so this is a great last-minute idea.
- 2 cups chili base
- 1/2 cup water
- 8 oz. tomato sauce
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp vinegar
- 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 8 oz. uncooked spaghetti or other pasta
- 2 oz (about 1/2 cup) shredded cheddar cheese
Put everything except the spaghetti and the cheddar cheese into a pot. Cover and simmer it over medium heat until it is thickened and the flavors merge, about 30 minutes. (Or microwave it and don't tell anyone...)
Meanwhile cook the spaghetti and drain.
Serve the chili over the pasta and top with the cheddar cheese. This makes about 4 servings.
Chili Base Mix
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- Details
- Parent Category: Bulk Cooking
- Written by Deleyna
This is another recipe where I use ground meat. The key to choosing which ground meats to use is to balance cost with health concerns. If you can get something on sale, use it! We have a friend who hunts deer and gave me some ground deer. I think it would be wonderful in this recipe as is ground turkey, chicken, beef, etc. You can mix them up however you want. While this one calls for 4 lbs of meat, if you find you can get more in your dutch oven, feel free to cook it all at once and just pull the rest out to use in Teenager Meat or another recipe of that sort. Combining cooking steps for different recipes is one of the key points in bulk cooking.
- 4 lb ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, etc.)
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups chopped onion
- 4 minced garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp chili powder
- 2 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 1 (12 oz.) can tomato paste
Combine the meat, water and onion in a dutch oven. Cook covered over medium heat for about 30 minutes -- until it is brown and cooked all the way through. Drain and stir. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. This should be a very thick mixture. Remember, it is condensed on purpose. Cool and then freeze it in 1 or 2 cup containers.
Use this in: sweet chili, traditional chili with beans, chili lasagna, chili-pizza burgers, or chili with corn bread topping.
