I don't use a recipe for chili, normally. It's one of those "seat of the pants" kind of meals! I am surprised no one has posted Karen's chili recipe, tho. I really like it, but have to cut back a bit on the chili powders for Tim's sake and I also like to add beans. The beef does get very tender in this recipe. Beef Chili with Ancho, Mole, and Cumin (Posted by Riverrat) 8 servings. Chili: 1 tablespoon cumin seeds 4 bacon slices, chopped 1 4-pound boneless chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch cubes 1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups) 4 (or more) large garlic cloves, chopped 3 1/2 cups (or more) beef broth, divided 1/4 cup pure ancho chili powder 1/4 cup Texas-style chili powder blend (such as Gebhardt) 1 tablespoon mole paste 2 teaspoons (or more) salt 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar 1 1/2teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled 1 to 2 tablespoons masa (corn tortilla mix) 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) Garnishes: Warm, freshly cooked or drained canned black beans Chopped white, red, and/or green onions Grated cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, or queso fresco Sliced fresh or pickled jalapeño chiles Sour cream Tortilla chips or oyster crackers Toast cumin seeds in heavy small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes. Cool; grind finely in spice mill or in mortar with pestle. Sauté bacon in large pot over medium-high heat until brown and crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to large bowl. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Working in 4 batches, sauté beef in drippings in pot until browned, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef and most drippings to bowl with bacon. Add onion and garlic to pot. Sauté until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup broth to pot. Bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. Return beef, bacon, and any accumulated juices to pot. Mix in ancho chili powder, Texas-style chili powder, mole paste, 2 teaspoons salt, vinegar, oregano, and cumin seeds. Add 3 cups broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to very low and simmer gently uncovered until beef is very tender, stirring occasionally and adding more broth by 1/2 cupfuls if chili is dry, about 2 1/2 hours or more. Mix in masa by teaspoonfuls to thicken chili or add more broth by 1/4 cupfuls to thin. Season chili with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if desired. (Can be made 3 days ahead. Cool 1 hour. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Rewarm over low heat.) Set out garnishes as desired. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.  Bon Appétit, February 2009

Here's one of my favourite Spanish dishes - Although I have been making it for years the way a Spanish cook once showed me, this time I followed the preparation seen recently on a Spanish Cooking TV channel. Their ingredients included a small piece of or pork fat and a stewing chorizo (chorizo para guisar). If choosing a chorizo for this dish, be sure it is the right type which has the red pimiento colour. The small piece of tocino can be seen just to the right of the sprig of rosemary. Stewed Lentils (Lentejas Estofadas) 350 grams (1 1/2 cups) of small dark lentils - put them to soak the night before in water to cover 100 grams (3.5 oz) red stewing chorizo sausage - lightly pricked over with tines of a fork 50 grams (1.7 oz) salted tocino pork fat - cut into large diced pieces 1 TBSP flour 2 carrots diced fine 2 medium leeks, using only white stems sliced finely in rounds 1 lg clove garlic (this was optional but I wouldn't leave it out) - pass through garlic press 2 cups beef broth (I used 2 Knorr cubes) 1 bay leaf fresh rosemary - small sprig olive oil - about 1/4 cup 2 cups extra water to add after 1st hour 1. Soak lentils the NIGHT BEFORE in water to cover. * Note this if now often unnecessary with newer fast cooking lentils. 2. Next day drain and rinse lentils, put aside. 3. Heat olive oil in heavy cooking pot. When sizzling, add carrots, garlic and leeks. Lightly brown while stirring. 4. Add 1 TBSP flour and keep stirring for about a minute. 5. Add lentils, beef broth, whole chorizo, tocino, laurel and rosemary 6. Put on lid and simmer very gently for 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Check after 1st hour and add up to 2 more cups water as needed. 7. Adjust seasoning and serve. ***************************************** Lentil & Potato Potaje (Potaje de Lentejas y Patatas) 3 cups of presoaked lentils 4 medium potatoes - cut into large dice 2 slices of stale bread 3 cloves garlic vinegar salt Put lentils in large pot, cover with water and begin to boil. As soon as lentils have begun to cook do the following: In a frying pan with 1/2 inch of oil brown the garlic and then add the bread and fry until brown. Remove garlic before it's too dark. Put browned bread and garlic into a mortar and grind to a paste. During the early part of cooking the lentils add the paste from the mortar to the lentils together with the oil that's left in the pan After about half an hour and before lentils are tender, add the diced or quartered potatoes, salt and finish cooking until all is tender. Check and correct salt and a dash of vinegar before serving. Source: A cook friend from Mallorca. *************************************** LENTIL & VEGETABLE SOUP Ingredients: lentils - 250 grams (slightly over 1 cup) garlic - one whole head onion - 1 large - quartered Kasseler smoked pork chop - 1 large (or 250 grams other smoked pork or bacon) ham or pork bone as for making stock 4 medium carrots - sliced into coins 2 stalks celery - diced 5 medium potatoes - peeled and cut into 8ths 6 flowerettes of cauliflower green beans - handful sliced tomato puré - small 4 oz tin olive oil - 4 TBS fresh garden herbs: 1 bay leaf, several sprigs thyme, Italian flatleaf parsley 2 or 3 sprigs chicken stock 1 liter (4 cups) or water and 3 Knorr chicken stock cubes salt & fesh ground pepper water to cook lentils vinegar - 1 teasp garlic croutons - optional garnish Method: 1) Turn on oven to 350F. Put lentils in large heavy bottomed stew pot with water to cover plus about 2 inches, bring to boil and simmer 45 minutes. Check water level and add more as needed. 2) Meanwhile put whole head of garlic into shallow baking pan together with quartered onion, Kasseler or smoked pork and ham or pork bone, drizzle with olive oil and roast in oven at medium heat about 45 minutes. 3) Remove baking tray from oven when all is nicely browned and cut meat into small dice and add to lentil pot along with onion. Squeeze garlic from skin into lentil pot, adding ham/pork bone along with oil and juices scraped from roasting pan. 4) Add rest of vegetables to lentils, chicken stock (or water and stock cubes), tomato puré, fresh herbs and bay leaf, parsley - reserving one sprig, fresh ground pepper. Bring to boil and simmer about 1 hour until vegetables are done, adding more water if needed. 5) When vegetables are tender, remove ham/pork bones and any bare thyme stems from pot, check for flavour and add salt as needed. Add vinegar and stir. 6) Serve with a bit of chopped parsley and more fresh ground pepper. Homemade garlic croutons are also nice as a garnish. Source: Recipe as I learned from a Mallorquin housewife years ago. ******************************* Lentil Purée Convert leftover stewed lentils into a delicious purée by putting them into a food processor and adding the following: 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth 2 lg cloves of garlic crushed and browned in 1/4 cup oil in small frypan 2 slices brown bread broken in small pieces and fried in the garlicky oil until brown Processed the above until smooth and then heat it gently. Dice more pieces of brown bread and toasted them in the frying pan with oil and garlic salt for the croutons. SharonCb

This is an Amish Breakfast Casserole recipe I found on Allrecipes.com. I've made it a lot and passed the recipe along to friends who also like it. Original recipe makes 12 servings 1 pound sliced bacon, diced 1 medium sweet onion, chopped 6 eggs, lightly beaten 4 cups frozen shredded hash brown potatoes, thawed 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese 1 1/4 cups shredded Swiss cheese Directions In a large skillet, cook bacon and onion until bacon is crisp; drain. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients; stir in bacon mixture. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until set and bubbly. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

The Australian version, provided by Kellogg's on many packets of their Nutri-grain product. The nuts of the title are of course peanuts, the bolts are the shape of the cereal product. I have made this countless times. Sometimes I've added a packet of dried French Onion Soup to the mixture. Nuts and Bolts 250g butter 2 tablespoons oil 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce 1 teaspoon garlic salt 1 teaspoon paprika 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 500g KelloggÂs Nutri-Grain 500g salted mixed nuts Melt butter and oil together over low heat, add Worcestershire sauce, garlic salt, paprika and cayenne. Combine Nutri-Grain and nuts, place in a large baking dish. Pour butter mixture over and bake at 125C for about 1 hour, turning every 15 minutes with an egg slice. Cool. Store in an airtight container. Tried to find a decent picture of the cereal, to no avail. The link has a pic of sorts. Here is a link that might be useful: nutri-grain