Wow Chow Chili
This is not your average American-style chili recipe. I actually made it up when I was out of a certain number of ingredients (isn’t that how all recipes are eventually created, lol?). Wow Chow Chili, as most of my recipes are, can be completely customized according to your likes. I like my chili only a *little* on the spicy side, so this is a milder recipe. Feel free to add your own toxic spices to make this a hottie. Here’s how I do mine:
Wow Chow Chili
serves 10
- 1 large can (28 oz.) petite-diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 green pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 white onion, diced
- 1 can beef broth
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 4-5 pounds beef or pork, cubed into bite-sized pieces (I used both uncooked beef cubes and some leftover grilled pork steaks, cubed)
- 3 cans black beans, drained
- 2 Tablespoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- salt
Throw everything into the crockpot and stir well. Turn on HIGH for 6-8 hours (or LOW for 10-12).
Serve with rice and a little cheddar cheese sprinkled over the top.
If you want to add some heat to the recipe, you can add tabasco sauce, or something like hot pickled cherry peppers. I always have a can of these on hand for my Chicken Riggies recipe. My kids don’t like spicy foods, so I don’t make them (not too often, heh heh).
A Great and Simple Marinade for Meat
Easy easy easy! I love it when cooking is this easy. Here’s a really simple, DIY marinade for meat. I used it on beef steak, but it’s delicious with chicken or pork, too. Also, it’s verstaile enough for vegetables.
5 pounds beef steak (I slice mine into chunks for quicker cooking)
1 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons dried basil
In a large bowl, pour all ingredients over the meat. Allow to stand at room temperature for an hour. Heat up the grill, and lay the meat on the grates. Sear the meat for about 15-20 minutes. Once seared, move the meat over to one side of the grill (pile them up if you have to, they won’t stay there long). Then, lay a sheet of aluminum foil across the grates. Place the seared meat on top of the aluminum foil, and throw a few sliced white onions on top. Allow to cook for 15 minute smore or so (depends on how you like your meat– I like mine medium rare to well done).
Serve with fresh green salad, sliced cantaloupe, and potato salad. DELICIOUS!
Wow Chow Meatballs
These are perhaps the most succulent meatballs you will ever eat.
All the meatball recipes that I have seen bake the balls in the oven. This pretty much destroys the savory goodness of the meatball. Plus, you may as well hand out the nutcrackers when serving the meatballs, they get so hard. My meatballs are boiled in tomato sauce, and turn out soft and savory.
Just like all of my recipes, this one is customizable. I usually hunt around in my refrigerator, looking for leftovers or other savory things to dump into the meat mixture. This time I had some leftover cubanelle peppers and tomato slices. In the past, I’ve added cooked spinach (make sure its FULLY drained if you add it), shredded cheese, or oatmeal. Keep in mind that the more leftovers you add, the more dilute the meat and the spices are, so be sure to add more meat and/or spices accordingly.
Also, this is a big recipe. I was able to make 135 meatballs with these ingredients. The great thing is that meatballs freeze very well. Even though this recipe has raw eggs, the uncooked meatballs can be frozen for up to 4 months. So, next time you want to have a spaghetti dinner, just pop the meatballs into a can of tomatoes, cook for an hour and there’s your dinner.
OK, on with the show.
Wow Chow Meatballs
4 lbs ground beef
2 lbs ground bulk sausage
1 cup breadcrumbs
4 eggs
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 cup diced white onion
small saucepan with 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons Caesar or Italian salad dressing
2 28oz cans petite diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1/2 cup to 1 cup leftover veggies or etc (optional)
Super Easy Chicken Florentine
This is one of my easiest recipes. The family likes it so much that I make it every week. It can be served with egg noodles, rice, or linguine. It is SO EASY to make!
Super Easy Chicken Florentine
serves 6-8
Chicken breasts, boned, skinned, and cubed
2 cans Alfredo sauce
1 28oz. can spinach -or- three handfuls of raw baby leaf spinach
Parmesan cheese
Paprika
optional: shredded mozzarella cheese
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Hybrid Lasagna
We LOVE lasagna. But it is so time-consuming to make. And you have to pre-cook the lasagna noodles just right, or they turn out too chewy or too mushy. I’ve tried those “oven-ready” lasagna noodles, too, and I can’t stand them. I want to eat my lasagna, not chew it like cud! Plus, lasagna just takes too long to fuss with– all the layers, stacking the noodles just right, etc. Who has that kind of time? Not me!
I made up a pseudo-lasagna recipe, using ziti for the pasta. I call it Hybrid Lasagna, because it is a mixture of a lasagna recipe and a baked ziti recipe. The kids love this stuff! It keeps well, and you can make it early in the day (or a day before) and throw it in the oven later. It’s also great as a “full” meal- contains vegetable, meat, dairy, and carbohydrates. And, like most of my meals, it is “fully customizable,” that is you can eliminate an ingredient or substitute an ingredient. I make this stuff in huge quantities, and for when I’ve got a full house or when I want to serve it again another day.
Like most Italian dishes, this requires a lot of cookware and dishes for the prep work. I hate doing dishes! But the nice thing about this is that you can prepare this early in the day. Whch means that the cookware gets dirty early in the day, and you have all afternoon to wash it. I like that. I don’t know about you, but after dinner, I am tired and the last thing I want is a huge stack of dirty cookware to clean! OK, on with the show:
Hybrid Lasagna
Serves 10!
1 pound ground beef or ground sausage, cooked
2 boxes ziti
1 large white onion, diced
2 28oz. cans petite tomatoes
1 28oz. can spinach
3 eggs
1 tub (32oz.) small-curd cottage cheese
1 jar spaghetti sauce (leftover sauce does well)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Dried basil
Dried oregano
Garlic powder
Salt and pepper
Aluminum foil
A GREAT BIG casserole dish (or several small ones)
A cookie sheet
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