Dave Baggs Ultimate Chili

Last Saturday it was Girls Night In (yeah, we're too lame to go out and party) and my sister-in-law made us her dad's famous chili. Why is it famous, you ask? Well, seems that this chili was the winner of a couple of Chili Cook-Off's in Crested Butte, Colorado. This chili is actually more like a hearty soup and it's excellent for those cold, winter evenings in San Diego when the temperature drops to 50! ;-)

INGREDIENTS (makes a lot of chili)

• 2 pounds lean ground beef, or ground turkey
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes, chopped (you can use cans of chopped tomatoes, but if you want to do it the Baggs way, you gotta buy whole tomatoes, then chop them...yeah, it's a Baggs thing), with juices reserved
• 2 (16 oz) cans beans in chili
• 1 can (4oz.) Ortega chopped green chilies
• 1 large onion, chopped + 1/2 cup reserved for topping
• 1 1/2 cups chopped celery
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 pickled jalapenos, finely chopped (use one or omit it altogether if you're a wuss)
• 1 1/2 oz. Gephardt’s Eagle Brand Chili powder (yes, that's half the bottle and it has to be Gephardt’s for the recipe to work...yet, another Baggs thing)
• Grated cheddar cheese, for topping
• Fritos, for topping

DIRECTIONS

In a large skillet, cook the beef, add salt, and cook until no longer pink. Drain, reserving about a tablespoon of the grease. Set cooked ground beef aside.

In a large stewpot, on medium-high heat, add the reserved grease. Sauté the onion, green bell pepper, celery, and green chilies for 3 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes, beans, cooked ground beef, jalapenos, and chili powder. Add the reserved tomato juices, water (two 28 oz. can-fulls), or to your desired consistency. You want the chili to be more like a soup, so add more or less water. Simmer for 2 hours.

Serve with chopped onions, grated cheese and Fritos, as toppings.

Pork Posole

Photo: Lisa, champaign-taste.blogspot.com

This recipe is from my friend and Lindsey's dad, Dave Baggs, who has some wonderful, easy Mexican recipes. Dave is currently somewhere in Mexico having the time of his life and enjoying his retirement. He made this delish pot of soup when he was here visiting us last month and I don't think there were any leftovers.

Posole is usually something we eat on Sunday's or for special occasions or on cold, rainy days. This is a really flavorful soup and you need to garnish it with chopped cilantro, onions and avocados so that you get the authentic Mexican flavor. And don't forget to squeeze a little lime juice in it and enjoy with warm corn tortillas. Buen provecho!

INGREDIENTS (serves 6 - 8)

Posole

• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 (7oz) can chopped green chilies
• 2 Tbsp. pork or bacon fat or olive oil
• 3 lbs. cubed pork, preferably pork shoulder cut into 1-cubes
• 2 (30oz) cans hominy
• 8 cups water
• 6 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper

Garnishes

• Chopped cilantro, for garnish
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions, for garnish
• 6 radishes, thinly sliced, for garnish
• 1 large or 2 small ripe Hass avocados, diced, for garnish
• 2 limes, cut into wedges
• Corn tortillas, warmed

DIRECTIONS

In a very large pot saute the onions, garlic and green chilies in pork or bacon fat for 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat.

Raise temperature to medium-high and add the cubed pork and brown all over, about 10 more minutes.

Next add the remaining posole ingredients an bring to a bubble. Lower heat to cook at a simmer, uncovered, for 45 to 60 minutes until the meat and hominy are tender and soup has slightly thickened. Taste for seasoning and add salt, if necessary.

Serve in large bowls, topped with garnishes.

Bacon-Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers

My sister-in-law Lindsey, or SILLi as I like to call her, made some fabulous jalapeño poppers last week. Her dad, Dave Baggs, came up with the idea of stuffing cream cheese into jalapeños, wrapping them with bacon, then grilling them. Now, anyone that comes up with recipes where bacon is a key ingredient is my personal hero. So, I copied the Baggs recipe, although I did embellish it a little with shredded cheese and cilantro. But you can leave that out and just use cream cheese. Either way you do it, these poppers will blow you head away...or just make you hot for a little while.

INGREDIENTS

• 12 jalapeño peppers
• 1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 tsp. fresh cilantro, minced
• Pinch Salt and pepper
• 1 lb. sliced bacon
• 24 toothpicks

DIRECTIONS

Soak toothpicks in cold water. The longer the better but at least 1 hour.

Cut a slice lengthwise in the jalapeño to make enough space to remove seeds. Make sure not to split the pepper all the way through when you do this. Remove seeds and ribs and wash jalapeño with cold water. It's a good idea to wear gloves during this step, especially if you have sensitive skin.

Mix cream cheese, shredded cheddar, cilantro and salt and pepper in a separate bowl. Put cream cheese mixture inside a plastic baggie and cut a small slit on one corner of baggie (you're making a MacGyvered pastry bag). Squeeze mixture from baggie into jalapenos.

Wrap bacon in a spiral fashion around stuffed pepper and secure with a couple of toothpicks. Grill the popper until the bacon is cooked, about 20 to 30 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes before serving. I'm pretty sure MacGyver would love these!

Turkey Meatballs

After four tries, I've finally come up with the perfect, flavorful and juicy turkey meatballs. Yes, you heard right: turkey. I believe that the key to these meatballs are fresh breadcrumbs, none of that store bought stuff. I also think that the cheese adds additional creaminess. The recipe is a combination of a Dave Baggs ground beef meatball recipe slightly altered by me. The reason I do turkey instead of ground beef is because there are members in my family that don't eat red meat.

Use these turkey meatballs in a meatball sub and top with your favorite marinara sauce or use them in spaghetti (make it whole wheat spaghetti if you want to add more fiber and protein to your diet) and you will have yourself a really good, hearty meal and you won't even miss the ground beef!

INGREDIENTS (makes 24 to 28 meatballs)

• 2 to 2-1/2 lb. ground turkey
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes or 4 Tablespoons of fresh parsley, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cups fresh, soft breadcrumbs
• 1 cup grated mild cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients until they are well distributed. Don't worry about overmixing. Place it in the fridge for 30 minutes to let the breadcrumbs absorb all the flavors.

Form turkey mixture into golf-sized meatballs.

Place them in a greased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Turn meatballs over and bake another 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. At this point you can store them and use them the next day (I find that leaving them in the fridge overnight makes the meatballs taste better the next day) or place them in freezer bags and freeze and store whenever you need to use them.

To make fresh breadcrumbs: place 1/2" pieces of French bread or thick white bread in a food processor and whiz until you get your breadcrumbs.

To make a very simple marinara sauce: saute 1 large minced garlic clove in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 30 seconds. Add 1 teaspoon fresh oregano and 1 bay leaf. Let it saute 30 more seconds. Add one (28 oz) can of "6 in 1 Tomato Sauce" and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt and several grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil, turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if needed.