Beer Chili Potato Skins

 

Do you ever get tired of the same old thing every week? I plan a weekly menu, and I am constantly trying new recipes. But it seems like we eat the same food every month.

That's how this idea for dinner came up. It has been unseasonably cold in Maryland recently, and I was craving comfort food. I had all the ingredients for chili, but I was sick of rice and had no desire to make cornbread. A bag of potatoes was staring me in the face, so I thought why not?

Beer Chili Potato Skins is amazing!!!!!! A potato skin makes a terrific bowl for the chili. Finger food is so much fun. And, you get cheese in every bite—oh yeah!!! This recipe turned out better than I was expecting!

Try it out today with a cold beer in your hand. It makes the perfect companion.

Ingredients:

½ pound ground beef or Turkey

1 beer (I used lager but whatever you have on hand would work. I would stay away from any fruit infused beers)

15.5 oz can of kidney beans (you can omit if you would like)

14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

15 oz can of tomato sauce

Chili Seasoning (here is the homemade version or you can use a packet)

1 tablespoon of chili powder

1 teaspoon of ground pepper

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon oregano leaves

1 ½ teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

¼ teaspoon of cayenne pepper (optional)

pinch of cinnamon

3-4 large potatoes or 5-6 medium to smaller potatoes

2 tablespoons of melted butter

salt

½ cup of cheese ((I had sharp yellow and white cheddar on hand, so that is what I used. Any cheese you like would be fine.)

sour cream for garnish

1. Brown the ground beef.
2. While the beef is browning, mix together the chili seasonings in a small bowl.
3. Drain. (leave about a tablespoon of the grease in the pan)
4. Add in the chili seasonings. Brown the seasonings in the pan for 1-2 minutes.
5. Pour in the beer. (At this point, you are deglazing the pan.) Scrap any browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the beer is halfway reduced—about 3-4 minutes.
6. Pour in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and kidney beans.
7. Simmer for about 30-35 minutes. Since the chili is going into potato skins, you don't want it to have too much liquid. You want a thick chili.
8. While the chili is simmering, make some baked potatoes. You can make them in the oven but I prefer the microwave since it takes less time.  When making a baked potato, don't forget to poke holes in the potato.  In the microwave, for small potatoes it takes about 6-8 minutes to cook, for medium potatoes its around 8-10, and bigger potatoes about 10-12 minutes.  Always start with a few minutes and work your way up. You don't want to have a potato explosion. (BTW, I made a potato explode and my house smelled awful. Don't do it.)
9. Preheat the oven to broiler to 500 degrees.
10. Once the potatoes are cooled, split it open and scoop out the filling. Leave ½ centimeter wall within the potato.
11. Lightly coat a baking sheet with butter. Place each potato half on the sheet.
12. Lightly coat with butter and a sprinkle of salt. Place into the oven to lightly brown and get crispy. 1-2 minutes on one side. Flip. Another 1-2 minutes on the other side.  (Check the potatoes after 1 minute.)
13. Once the potatoes are lightly brown, fill each one with chili. Top with cheese.
14. Place back into the oven for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
15. Enjoy!

Whiskey Brownie Pie with Caramel Frosting

 Sometimes you just want something sweet...

I was running errands on Saturday. There are just things that you have to get done. By the time I came home, all I was craving was a glass of wine, a movie, and something really sweet. But, the wine and movie became higher priorities...

Half way through the very slow and slightly boring movie, I was craving something sweet and decided to whip something up. I wanted a dessert that would go well with wine and I didn't want to leave the apartment to buy anything.

This is what I came up with...

-a graham cracker shell

-brownie base

-caramel frosting

-with a chocolate drizzle.

Some booze is thrown in for good measure.

Can you say yes? This tastes amazing. (I know I say that about everything I write up but I can't help it. I only post recipes that I love.)

Enjoy!

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Step 2: Make the shell

Ingredients:

8 graham crackers

5 tablespoons of melted butter

Preheat the oven to 350 degree.

Crush the graham crackers very finely.

Mix with the butter.

Place into a pie pan.

Bake for 7 minutes.

Step 3: Make the brownie base

Ingredients:

-7 tablespoons of melted butter

-1/2 cup of cocoa

-1 ½ cups of granulated sugar

-1/2 teaspoon of salt

-3 eggs slightly beaten

-1 cup of flour

-1/4 cup of Irish whiskey

Using a whisk, combine the sugar and cocoa.

Mix in the butter and eggs.

Fold in the flour and salt.

Add in the whiskey.

Place into the shell.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until a knife can go through the base without much residue.

Step 4: Make the frosting

2/3 cup of caramels (unwrapped)

¼ cup of half and half

1 cup of powdered sugar

2 tablespoons of whiskey

Combine the caramels and half & half together.

Melt them over low heat.

Once fully melted, whisk in the powdered sugar and whiskey.

Pour over the brownie base.

Step 5: Melt the drizzle

¼ cup of dark chocolate chunks

1 teaspoon of oil

Combine the ingredients together.

Melt in the microwave or over low heat on a stove.

Once melted, drizzle over the pie.

Enjoy this beauty. :)

4 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

First of all, I am extremely sorry for not posting recently.  Life has been very crazy, so please forgive me!

The good news is that I have a bunch of fantastic recipes for you.

Starting with this one...4 Ingredient Chocolate Chip Bars!

My husband invited friends over.  We had nothing for dessert, and they were going to be here in less than an hour. Here is what I came up with--chocolate chip cookie bars!  They came out better than I was expecting, and my friends loved them!

These are super easy and are delicious!

Ingredients:
1 box of white cake mix
3 eggs
1 stick of softened margarine
1 bag of chocolate chips

Instructions:

1.) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 13x9 pan,
2.) Mix the eggs and margarine together.
3.) Add the cake mix.  Blend until fully incorporated.
4.) Fold in the chocolate chips.
5.) Pour into the pan.

(Yummy!)

6.) Bake 20-25 minutes.  Enjoy!