Texas Recipes

My Texas Cook Off Chili And Honey Cornbread


This is my Texas Chili Parlor and of course my beloved dog chili.

Chili Ingredients: 

- 3 lbs ground beef (Get as lean as available, I used my local butchers special grind that is 96% lean)

- 3 Onions, coarsely chopped

- 1 Head of garlic, should be about 12 cloves

- 2 28oz cans of Diced Tomatoes (you can use whole or crushed depending on the texture you like, but leave the juice in) and get the spicy if you want to add a little extra heat.

- 2 15oz cans of black beans, drained

- 2 15oz cans of kidney beans, drained

- 1 can chipolte peppers, sliced, with the adobo sauce from can

- 1 12oz bottle of Budweiser, i bought a 12 pack knowing full well that I only needed(1)of course the rest was consumed during this very preperation!)

- 1 can of beef broth

- 5 Tbsp oregano

- 1/4 cup chili powder

- 1 Tbsp Black Pepper

- 1/2 Tbsp salt

- 1 Tbsp Cumin

- 1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke (entirely optional, the odobo sauce is already sort of smokey, so if you don't love a lot of smokey flavor, don't add this.)

- 2.5 oz Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate (I bought this because it was on sale, you can use any dark chocolate, but I wouldn't recommend using some expensive stuff since all of the complexity would be lost in the chili.)


Fixin The Chili:

Step 1

To begin peel you onions and garlic and pour the beer into a big ol pot and get it warming up.

Step 2

Now chop the onions and garlic and get a (large dutch oven) warmed with just a bit of olive oil in the bottom.

Step 3

Toss the onion/garlic mixture into that pan and saute it. Don't be a fool and put this on high heat and burn them. Use a medium heat and only keep them on long enough to turn them translucent, this should take about 10 minuets.

Step 4

Meanwhile you should melt your chocolate in the now warmed beer, make sure you continue to stir so it doesn't melt onto the bottom of that pan.

Step 5

Once the chocolate is melted toss in all of your canned goods and spices, stir that around and dump in your onions/garlic as soon as it is ready.

Step 6

Now brown your beef in the same dutch oven that you did your onions, I used worcestershire on my beef because it rules. Then dump that in and bring it all to a boil, then reduce the heat and let it simmer for at least a half hour. You may want to taste this after it simmers a bit and add more peppers if you want it hotter.

Step 7

While that gets delicious we can make the honey cornbread. Preheat to 350. Ingredients: 1 cup milk 1 cup flour 1 tsp baking soda 2 tsp baking powder 1 egg 1/4 cup honey 1 tsp salt 2 Tbsp oil 1 cup yellow cornmeal

Step 8

Mix you dry ingredients, then whisk you wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Mix the two together and pour into a greased pan or muffin pan. Bake for about 30 min.

Step 9

About now is where I stick half of it in the freezer and simmer the other half  on low heat for about 10 hours,stirring occasionally. Beer chili is always better the next day.

Step 11

hmmmmmmm.......waaaa laaaaa..........enjoy

This is a very simple chili to make but one that will have your friends and loved ones raving about for some time.I have grabbed a few ribbons with this concoction also.I just love the chili cook offs .You always meet some new friends as well as your old one's.You will always pick up new tips and ingredients to try out on some future cook offs.All in all a good time is had by all and the food is just out of this world.There are always winners but never any losers at a chili cook off.So if you have never been to one give it a try it's one hella of a good time.

Texas State Fair.....Fried Food

Texas is known as the fried food capital of the world.There is no better evidence of that than at the Texas state fair.Fried butter,fried peanut buter and jelly sandwich,fried ice cream.You name it us Texans will try to fry it.......evidence...........fried beer yes you heard me right......FRIED BEER (in the form of a deep-fried beer-filled pretzel pocket) and the judges results are in..........yyyyuuuuuucccccckkkkkk what the hell was that,lol.LIke i said we will try to fry anything.

Her is a list of this years entries:

Deep Fried S'mores Pop-Tart
· Fried Chocolate
· Deep Fried Frozen Margarita
· Fried Lemonade
· Fernie's Fried Club Salad
· Texas Fried Caviar
· Fried Beer Texas
· Fried Frito Pie

And the winner is:

· Fried Frito Pie

I tried this one and i must agree as i chase it with fried beer and for dessert,deep fried S'mores pop-tart.Where's the alka seltser,someone is gonna have trouble sleeping tonight,oh well is was great fun and one of my favorite times of the year.What could be better than football,food,arts and crafts and one more ride on the roller coaster.If you are ever in Texas in late September the Texas State Fair is a  must stop on your list of to do's.So until next year and who know's what they will try to fry maybe fried m&m's drizzled in whipped cream and a peanut chocalate sauce....mmmmmmmmm.

The Big Texan Steak Ranch
Even people who don′t know anything else about Texas know two things:
It′s big.
It′s full of beef.
There is no better evidence of that than at Bob Lee's Big Texan Steak Ranch.Home of the 72 oz. steak dinner challenge.Where if you can eat the 72 oz. steak,salad,baked potato,shrimp cocktail and rolls in less than hour the $72.00 dinner tab is free.Bob has been serving up this challenge since 1960 where he got the idea from a cowboy who came in and said i am so hungry i could eat a horse.Bob decided to see if he could do just that,and thus the 4 and 1/2 pounds of beef challenge was on.
Ten's of thousands of people have tried but only a few have actually finished the enormous meal in less than an hour.Named one of the Top Ten Steakhouses in America by Maxim magazine, the Big Texan feeds nearly half a million people a year. And while the vast majority are there for the beef, there are other items on the menu including chicken, fish and even salads. For the more adventurous there are fried rattlesnake and mountain oysters.
Here are some interesting facts and records:
Klondike Bill, a professional wrestler from the ′60s, devoured two of the challenge steaks in under an hour.
Richard LeFavre, from Nevada, ate two of the steaks on the Donny and Marie Show in the 1990s. LeFavre, and his wife Carlene, have beaten the challenge more than 10 times each.
A 69-year-old grandmother is the oldest person ever to down the Big Texan and an 11-year-old boy is the youngest.
Frank Pastore, former pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, ate the complete steak dinner in 9-1/2 minutes to set the speed record in 1987. Joey "Jaws" Chestnut broke that 21-year-old record in 2008 when he wiped his hubcap-sized plate in 8:52. That′s a pound of meat every two minutes.
But even a competitive eater like Chestnut can′t compete with a 500-pound Bengal tiger. One set the four-legged record when he virtually inhaled his meal in less than 90 seconds. His dinner was served extra rare and he skipped the salad.
So if you ever happen to be passing through Amarillo,Texas on route 66 The Big Texan Steak Ranch is a must stop.The well known restaurant serves nearly a half million customers a year.The food is excellent and if you want a free dinner you are always welcome to try the 72 oz. dinner challenge.

















Greg's (to die for) Green Sauce 
3 medium avocados
3 medium green tomatoes
4 fresh tomatillos
3 garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh cilantro
2-3 jalapeños
1-1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste
Peel avocados and place them in a blender.
In a medium saucepan, boil tomatoes, tomatillos, garlic, and jalapenos for 15 minutes. Remove from saucepan and place all ingredients in blender with the avocados.


Add sour cream and blend until smooth.















Greg's Texas Sweet Potato Pie
Ingredients:

4 ounces butter, softened

2 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes

2 cups granulated sugar

1 small can (5 ounces, about 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) evaporated milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 prepared pie shells, unbaked

Preparation:

Mix butter, potatoes, sugar and evaporated milk until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs, and cinnamon; mix well. Pour into the prepared pie shells. Bake in a 350° oven for about 1 hour, until set.
Makes 2 pies.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich w/Honey Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:
chicken breasts
sour dough bread 
bacon
lettuce
tomatoes
white mild cheddar cheese
salt
pepper
honey mustard(recipe follows)
Preparation:

Salt and pepper chicken breasts.Grill on low heat with Matchlight Mesquite Charcoal until almost cooked and remove from grill.
Cook bacon to your desired liking(i like crispy).Finish cooking chicken in bacon grease.
Butter sour dough bread and fry in skillet until toasted.
Spread a healthy layer of honey mustard on both pieces
stack cheese,lettuce,tomato,bacon,and chicken on bread and there you have it.
Pour remaining honey mustard in a small bowl for dipping.
Honey Mustard Sauce:

1/2 cup of Grey Poupon(must use Grey Poupon)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup of Hellman's Mayonaise

Blend all ingredients well and serve.