Thursday, November 8, 2007

must be the season for soup...

I was going to post this yesterday, but I didn't want to snatch the spotlight from that yummy-looking soup of my sister's. So I waited a day.

Chili seems to be a hit around here, so I don't feel bad adding another chili recipe to this list. This wasn't your typical chili, though -- with the addition of pasta, most of the liquid was soaked up, at least in the leftovers. But it was still really good.

Italian-Style Chili

1 lb ground beef
1 jar (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
2 cups of water
2 cups of medium-sized pasta shapes, any kind (I used rotini)
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 medium onion, chopped
1/3 c Parmesan cheese, divided
1 Tbsp chili powder

1. Brown meat in large saucepan; drain.

2. Add spaghetti sauce, water, pasta, beans, onion, 1/4 c of cheese, and chili powder. Stir.

3. Cover; cook on medium heat 10 to 12 minutes, or until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally.

4. Sprinkle with remaining cheese just before serving.



Okay, now it's time for Joannie to explain how she could make something so easy turn into a mess . . . it looks really easy, right? And it is . . . unless you only own one pot (I know, who just owns one pot?!) and it's too small for this... It was all okay until I added the sauce and the water, and then I thought, "uh oh..." and my pot was full. I stirred it for awhile, not really sure what I was going to do, but knowing I needed to do something... so I threw what I had mixed (beef, sauce, water) into the crockpot, turned the crockpot on high, then cooked my pasta in my one pot. While my pasta was cooking, I threw the beans, onion, and cheese in the crockpot, and then when the pasta was done, it all went into the crockpot for a good stir. Tada! Like Anne said, you can't mess up chili. I think I need to buy another pot, though...

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