Between a full week out of town and what I now refer to as the Great Cold of 2010, my cooking was on hold for much of January. Thankfully, the fun can return and with it comes another casserole bake. This time around the recipe comes from a book given to me by my good friend Greg Sorvig (@gsorvig) – 365 Easy One-Dish Recipes. While I was tempted by the Sassy Sandwiches section, I settled on the Spaghetti Bake, etc.

I would also like to mention this weeks episode is sponsored by rickyleepotts of http://blog.rickyleepotts.com/ (@rickyleepotts) Be sure to check that out – my favorite section is food and beverage.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz package spaghetti
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 10 oz can tomato bisque soup
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 8 oz can whole corn, drained
• 4 oz can black sliced olives
• 12 oz package shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 sliced jalapeno peppers

Directions:

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain and set aside. Cook beef, bell pepper and onion in skillet and drain.

Add remaining ingredients plus 1/3 cup water, 1/2 teaspoon salt and spaghetti to beef mixture and stir well. Pour into sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish and cover.

Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours (I’m really not sure about this step. I did it but I can’t help but feel it is not necessary.)

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Serves 8.

After much delay and anticipation, the chili recipe has surfaced. This is a recipe we obtained online about a year ago and have been tweaking ever since.  This time around we have it just about perfect for our taste preference and we are pleased this is the one we get to share with all of you.  Since chili is such an incredibly flexible recipe, feel free to experiment and change things up.

Also, we would love to hear from you if you do make some changes so we can try them out as well.  Send us an e-mail at recipes@cuisinemadequick.com or hit us up on twitter at cphadley, ebear6 or cuisinemq.  We would love to do a follow-up episode making your recipe.

Preparation:

Brown 1 pound of lean ground beef and drain grease.  Dice 1/2 of a sweet onion and 1/2 of a sweet bell pepper. Also, mince 1 clove of garlic.

Start heating a large pot over medium heat.

For drop 1, have the following ready:

• 1 pound lean ground beef browned
• 1/2 diced sweet onion
• 1/2 diced bell pepper
• 2 cups beef broth (you can just dissolve 2 beef bouillon cubes)
• 8 oz unsalted tomato sauce/paste
• 1 Serrano chili
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 can beans (your preference here)
• 1 clove minced garlic

For drop 2, have the following ready:

• 2 to 2 1/2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 6 to 8 oz cola
• 1 cup salsa of choice (we used Salsa Verde)
• Dash of hot sauce

For drop 3, have the following ready:

• 1 tsp salt (to taste)
• 1 tbsp. chili powder
• 4 or 5 chocolate chips

Cooking directions:

Add ground beef to pot over medium heat and add tomato sauce, beans, Serrano chili, garlic, beef broth, onions and peppers.  Allow mixture to come to a mild simmer. Then add other dry ingredients from drop 1.

Turn up heat until mix reaches a boil.  Then drop heat to medium to medium-low.  Cover and allow to simmer for one hour.

After one hour add drop 2 and stir.  Be sure to remove your Serrano chili and use a spoon to squeeze the juices from the pepper into the chili.  For a hotter chili, allow some of the seeds to drop in as well.  Recover pot and allow to simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Finally, add drop 3 and mix in allowing enough time for the chocolate chips to melt.  At this point taste and add anything you feel you may need.  If chili seems to thin, add in about 1 or 2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter to thicken mixture.  Leave pot uncovered and allow to simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Turn off heat and grade your cheese of choice.  You may also use this time to prepare some fresh tortilla chips or open up a bag.  Use a ladle to add chili to bowl and add cheese if you desire.  Once cheese is melted, dip in a chip and enjoy!

You can move remaining chili into resealable containers and store in the freezer for months.  Simply allow thawing in fridge for about 6 to 8 hour and reheat in a pot for quick chili preparation.