What to make for dinner? (Chili con Queso with pictures!)

Once upon a time in a faraway place.....

Ok wrong story. 

Once upon a time in kitchens all over America....

That's better!

Here we go! 

Once upon a time in kitchens all over America men and women asked "What's for dinner?" And while Beef Checkoff would like to say "Beef, it's what's for dinner" many of us cooks don't eat beef every night (even though the average American eats beef 3-4 times per week). And let's make note that Americans eat twice the amount of meat each day (8oz) as those in most of the world...and that less meat is better for you! Check out this infographic on the amount of meat people eat. Let's remember the slogan Meatless Monday...

Ok, off the rabbit trail and back to dinner. So, "What's for dinner?" asked my husband. "I don't know" I said, hinting, hopelessly, that he would take me out to dinner. I waited for the car to pull into a restaurant, any restaurant...and the car did pull in to a destination. Our driveway. So, I sat and thought...now "What's for dinner?"

I decided I wanted a vegetarian meal. I would say about half of my dinners are vegetarian. I had to work up to this. Once upon a time my husband didn't think dinner could be anything but meat and potatoes (he is very excited about the filet migeon for dinner tomorrow). Though make note...our filets are both less than 4 oz each...and will be our only meat tomorrow (ok...my only meat. Price may eat more anyway!). 

Now, I finally decided on Chili con Queso as dinner. So. Here is what I did.

Chili Con Queso

Ingredients:
1 c. bisquick
3 eggs
1 c. grated white cheddar
1/4 c. soft goat cheese
1/3 c. heavy cream
2 small tomatoes, diced
1 can chilis (I recommend Ortega)
1 small onion, diced
1 small squash, dished
1 can drained pinto beans
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried cilantro

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375. 

Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray. In the pan, mix the tomatoes, peppers, onion, squash, pintos, garlic, cumin, oregano, and cilantro. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together all remaining ingredients except cheddar. When smooth, stir in cheddar. Pour mixture over pinto mixture. 

Bake for 25-35 minutes until top is golden brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve with lettuce, sour cream, and/or guacamole.

Enjoy!

Pintrest and Cornbread Pepper Poppers

I'll admit it. I'm a Pinterest addict. The pictures, the ideas, the motivation to do something. It's a sad thing. Pinterest? Pinterest you say? What does Pinterest have to do with food? Well, I have found lots of amazing recipes on Pinterest!
You can access my Pinterest board "Food!" here.

So, while I was happily browsing around Pinterest, I found a recipe. (Surprised?, I'm not either). It was for Cornbread Jalapeño Poppers. (You can see the pin here.) It looked amazing. So of course, I had to try it. My husband and I had them as an appetizer for our Mexican dinner tonight. Oh my word! They were amazing. Not to be one to follow a recipe exactly (of course), I switched it up a little. 

1. I used sweet baby bells instead of jalapeño's.
2. I used local cornbread mix from a stone mill.
3. I put the peppers directly at the cookie sheet.
4. I halved the recipe.

P.S. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. Delicious!


They are amazing! My thanks to Quick & Easy recipes for getting this posted on Pinterest, Oh bite it for the recipe, and Recipe by photo for the picture!

Here are the amazing cornbread pepper poppers from Pinterest, as made in my own home. Yum!

Try these and enjoy.

Let's Try Beans (Dragon's Breath Chili)

I wish I could say I came up with the name Dragon's Breath Chili, but I can't. I adapted my recipe from a Guy Fieri recipe, found here. 

Now when I ate this chili, alarm bells went off in my head. My tummy gurgled. My eyes watered. And I looked at my husband and said "Wow, this is good". His eyes were watering and his tummy was gurgling as he responded "yep! You can make this again."

What is wrong with this picture? I do believe my husband and I requested to eat more hot hot hot!

Now if you link to the recipe you will find that it calls for a lot of pepper. I didn't have a lot of pepper...so I used 1 can of fire roasted green chilis, 1 lipstick (heirloom) chili, and 2 dried serrano chili's instead. I think I might only use 1 serrano chili next time. Oh...and I used 1/2 lb of ground pork in the chili and upped the beans. Price and I aren't big meat eaters. But do whatever you feel is best! Oh and I didn't make the fries...I served the chili with cornbread. 

Enjoy!