What's for Dinner? Our Favorite Chili

'Tis the season for chili, y'all.

There are so many great chili recipes out there. I like to experiment now and then. I even have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to different recipes I want to try. So many chilis, so little time.

Our Favorite Chili is the perfect fall dinner.

Our Favorite Chili recipe is the one I love best and cook most often. It's a pretty basic recipe, but tried and true. I developed this recipe based on what I like in my chili and have fine-tuned it over the years. I'm partial to ground beef, a variety of beans, and petite diced tomatoes.



I stick to my basic recipe every time I make this chili. The only thing I vary is the peppers. Sometimes I use a couple of deseeded jalapeños instead of the bell pepper. If I don't have fresh peppers on hand, I dump in a small can of green chilies.



I start off by browning my ground beef in a dutch oven. Then, I remove the beef with a slotted spoon and dump out any excess grease. Next, I cook up my onions and peppers.




The veggies get cooked until soft and beginning to turn brown. Then, I lower the heat, dump in the garlic, and cook for another minute.



After that, everything gets dumped in - including the cooked meat.



I bring the pot to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, and cover. I like to occasionally stir my chili to make sure my heat is just right and the bottom isn't sticking.



After 30 minutes, I taste the chili and add in more salt or spices as needed.

I usually serve this chili with our favorite gluten free cornbread recipe from Make the Best of Everything. I love that there's no special flour in this cornbread - just pure corn meal.

Cook up a pot of Our Favorite Chili!

My favorite way to eat this chili is to load up my bowl with shredded sharp cheddar, sour cream, and green onions, set my cornbread on the side, and walk around eating wherever I want. I usually end up on the couch or the porch if we're not sitting down to family dinner. No need for a drink or a salad or a napkin - just me and my bowl. I love eating that way.

I love cooking up Our Favorite Chili in a large cast iron dutch oven.

Our Favorite Chili

INGREDIENTS
1 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 lb ground beef
1 large onion, diced
1 large bell pepper or 2 deseeded jalapeños, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
2 1/2 Tbsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
a scant 1/4 tsp paprika
a scant tsp salt
shredded sharp cheddar, sour cream, and sliced green onions for serving

DIRECTIONS
1. In a dutch oven, heat 1/2 Tbsp olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Brown the meat. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and dump out any excess grease.
3. If necessary, add in another 1/2 Tbsp olive oil. Cook onions and peppers until soft and onions are starting to turn brown.
4. Lower the heat and add in garlic. Cook another minute.
5. Add in the meat, tomato products, beans, and seasonings. Stir together, raise heat to high, and bring to a boil.
6. Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Taste chili and adjust salt and chili powder as needed.
8. Serve with shredded sharp cheddar, sour cream, and sliced green onions.

What's for Dinner? Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos

Spinach artichoke dip? Yes, please! Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos? Are you kidding me?

Say hello to your new favorite nachos - Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos!

These nachos are cheesy and creamy and packed with delicious bites of garlicky spinach and briny artichokes. My, oh my. Matthew says this is the best tray of nachos yet. I'll let you be the judge of that.



The spinach artichoke dip I use for these nachos comes together quickly on the stove. If you don't want to make your own, feel free to buy one ready to go from your grocery store's deli. Or, you can mix up this 4 ingredient version from Pickett's Pearls, bake it up, and then scoop it onto your nachos after you've melted some cheese on 'em.

Here's what I do for my stovetop version:



In a medium pot, melt a little bit o' butter and briefly saute some garlic.

Throw in the spinach and cook until wilted.



Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, a dollop or two of mayo, and a dash of cayenne. Then, melt in some Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, and Cotija cheese for sharp cheesy flavor. Lastly, throw in some lovely artichokes.

Spoon the dip over a sheet pan of corn chips and sprinkle on some more Monterey Jack and Mozzarella.

A very welcoming tray of Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos.

Bake until melty and toasty and starting to brown. Then, sprinkle a little more Cotija over the top. Just because. 😉

Spinach Artichoke Dip Sheet Pan Nachos

INGREDIENTS
7 to 10 oz bag corn tortilla chips
1 Tbsp butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups fresh spinach
6 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
2 Tbsp mayo
hefty pinch of Kosher salt
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese
1 1/2 to 2 cups jarred or canned artichoke hearts, drained and roughly chopped
1/2 cup more shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup more shredded Mozzarella cheese
2 Tbsp more grated Cotija

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper. Lay down a layer of corn chips on the pan and set aside.
2. In a medium pot, melt butter over medium heat and cook garlic for 30 seconds. Add spinach and cook until wilted.
3. Stir in cream cheese, sour cream, mayo, and seasonings and cook, stirring often, until melted.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup of each each cheese until melted and then add the artichoke hearts.
5. Spoon dip over tortilla chips and top with another 1/2 cup Monterey Jack and 1/2 cup Mozzarella.
6. Bake for about 15 minutes until chips are toasty and cheese is melty and starting to brown.
7. Sprinkle another 2 Tbsp of Cotija over the top.

What's for Dinner? Easy Skillet Chilaquiles

Any wet burrito fans out there? If you've never had one, a wet burrito is essentially a burrito covered in enchilada or chili sauce. I say all that because chilaquiles are basically wet nachos, and you all know how I feel about nachos. 😍



My version is the cheater's version. Cheater, cheater pumpkin eater. Yeah, that's me. In the traditional version you start by frying corn tortillas until crisp. Very delicious, but too much work for this busy mama. My easy version starts with a bag of corn chips instead. 



This dish almost all happens in one pan. I slice up two medium onions and cook all but 1/4 cup of them until they're tender and starting to turn brown. I like using both cooked and raw onions in these chilaquiles. I loooooove me some onions.

This dish requires a bit of multitasking. While the onions are cooking I work on frying up some eggs in another pan.



When the onions are ready I throw in my sauce. It warms up pretty fast.



Then, I throw in my chips and toss them in the sauce until they're mostly coated.



The raw onions and some grated Cotija get sprinkled over top.



Lastly, I top with the fried eggs I've been working on. Quick, easy, and super tasty - just like dinner should be.

I like to serve this dish with guacamole salsa and sour cream.

Easy Chilaquiles

INGREDIENTS
1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium white onions, thinly sliced
1 7 oz bag corn tortilla chips
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
1/4 cup grated Cotija cheese
6 large eggs
guacamole salsa and sour cream for serving

DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook all but 1/4 cup of the onions until soft and starting to turn brown.
2. Meanwhile, warm another skillet and start frying your eggs.
3. When the onions are ready, pour the sauce over them. It should bubble up right away.
4. Pour in the whole bag of chips and toss them with the sauce and onions.
5. Sprinkle on the raw onions and the Cotija cheese.
6. Top with the fried eggs.
7. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

What's for Dinner? Skillet Lasagna

Skillet dinners are the best. They start and end in one pan. That's my kind of meal. I often take my skillet right to the table, place it on a hot plate, and dish out the grub.



This skillet lasagna has all the flavor of an awesome lasagna without all of the work. Let's keep dinner easy and yummy, shall we?



Onions, sausage, and garlic kick off this dish with a punch of flavor.



A delicious blend of seasonings gets stirred into the meat mixture and then the dry noodles are sprinkled on top. You can use any noodles you like. I used to use broken up lasagna noodles until I realized that any noodle would work. Also, this dish works just as great with regular or gluten free noodles. Look at those babies. They're just calling out, "Sauce me, please."



Pasta sauce and diced tomatoes get poured on top of the noodles. Just smooth it evenly so that all of the noodles are covered. This is what the noodles will cook in.



This skillet would be so yummy just as it is. It's kind of like a fancy homemade Hamburger Helper at this point. But we can't just leave well enough alone, now can we?



Mozzarella and Parmesan smother the skillet. Then it gets broiled into a goopy, melty, bubbly topping of deliciousness.



I usually serve this dish with a ready-to-go toss-together salad bag. Those salad bags and Steamfresh peas (the kind that you steam in the bag), are my "go to" veggies for quick dinners.

Skillet Lasagna

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 to 3 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb Italian sausage

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano, crushed

¼ tsp dried thyme, crushed

heaping ½ tsp salt

¼ tsp fresh cracked pepper

10 oz dry pasta (I use gluten free Barilla)

28 oz diced tomatoes

24 oz pasta sauce

1 8 oz package shredded Mozzarella

¼ to ½ cup grated or shredded Parmesan

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook 3 to 5 minutes until translucent and just starting to brown.

2. Add sausage to skillet, brown, and cook through. Drain any excess grease.

3. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.

4. Add seasonings and stir to combine. Add dry pasta on top. Add diced tomatoes and pasta sauce on top of that.

5. Cover and bring to a simmer. Cook covered on medium low for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. If skillet is too liquidy, cook uncovered for the last 5 minutes.

6. Turn on your broiler. Cover top of skillet with cheeses. Broil for 2 minutes until cheese is melted and a little brown.

WARNING: It's almost impossible to only eat one serving of this dish. If that's gonna be a problem for you, then you shouldn't make it. In fact, you should stay as far away from this recipe as possible. Just unread it and walk away. 😉

What's for Dinner? Frozen Pizza and Cocktails

Some nights I am just done. Sunday nights are usually that way. We often go grocery shopping that day - with all three kids - after church - and after lunch at a restaurant - with all three kids. We must be crazy.

When we get home, I put Nora down for her nap while Matthew unloads the groceries and the boys wander around aimlessly. We are all tired at that point and making dinner is the last thing I want to do.

Soda for the boys, cocktails for Mama and Daddy.

Enter in my beloved Freschetta gluten free frozen pizza. We can easily take down two of these babies now that the boys eat 2 to 3 slices each. Nora can take down a piece as well. It's one of her favorite foods. 

I doctor one pizza for Matthew and I by adding sliced onions and jalapeños, sometimes pepperoncinis - whatever I have on hand. We also love to throw them on the grill. The pizza tastes like you cooked it in a pizza oven. Just set your grill to about the same temp you would cook your frozen pizza in the oven and cook it for about the same time, maybe a little longer. Keep an eye on it.



This past Sunday the hubster and I needed a little "encouragement" after a really long day so I juiced the last of my pink grapefruit and whipped up one of my favorite cocktails to go with our easy pizza dinner. Ordinarily I would use spiced rum for this recipe, but since I was out, I subbed white rum and a few dashes of some lovely cardamom bitters that my neighbor made.

We enjoyed this no fuss meal out on our deck. The weather is so fine in the evenings. Fresh air, a cool breeze, dinner on a picnic table without any frills or napkins, and a charming fresh little cocktail to help us let go of the cares of the day. Sayonara stress. See you on Monday.

Pink Grapefruit & Honey Cocktail

INGREDIENTS
the juice of 3 large pink grapefruit, strained
3 oz honey simple syrup, maybe more (recipe follows)
3 oz spiced rum, maybe more (or 3 oz white rum and a couple of dashes bitters)

DIRECTIONS
1. Shake with ice or stir together and refrigerate until cold.
2. Taste and add additional rum or simple syrup according to your liking.
3. Serve over ice.
* Makes about 4 cocktails.

Honey Simple Syrup

INGREDIENTS
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup honey
2 cups water

DIRECTIONS
1. Combine all ingredients in a medium pot and heat on low until sugar is dissolved, stirring frequently.
2. Cool completely and store in fridge.