Not-Frito Not-Chili Not-Pie

Alright, this one started out as what was supposed to be a quick and easy dinner for my roommate and I. We didn't really want to put a whole lot of time and effort into it, so we thought "Frito Chili Pie"...everyone loves it, it's easy, and we had all of the ingredients. Or at least we thought we had all of the ingredients. We were planning on being lazy and using canned chili. Well, we got started...browning the meat and onions and all of that shit. Well lo-and-behold, we go to get the canned chili out of the cabinet and (you already knew this was coming) we didn't have any goddamned chili. So I set out to the 7-11 to grab a can. No chili there, either. Mind you, this is about half past midnight and I don't want to have to get in my car and try to find parking by my apartment when I get back (that can be a 45 min process in itself at this hour). Fortunately, our neighborhood has a few mom-and-pop markets within walking distance (although farther than I wanted to be walking at this point), and being that we live in an Indo-Pak neighborhood, they tend to keep late hours. Unfortunately, this also means that they specialize in Indo-Pak groceries. In case you didn't know, Hormel No-Beans Chili is not Halal certified- so no chili for us (I did walk an extra 2 blocks to check all 6 markets, though). After several phone calls to my roommate (I was only supposed to be going to the corner of our block), I ended up with a bit more on my hands than I originally anticipated. The good news is, though, that this recipe is actually pretty easy if you have all of the ingredients on hand. But seeing as we didn't use Fritos, didn't use actual chili, or make a pie, we decided this could only be one thing: "Not-Frito Not-Chili Not-Pie"

Skill Level: Easy
Budget: Cheap
Makes: 8 Servings

Prep Time: 25-35 mins

Cook Time: 15-20 mins

Ingredients:
Ground Beef- 1 lb (Ground Pork or Turkey may also be used)
1 Red Onion- diced
Whole Kernel Corn- 1 can, drained
Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies- 1 can, drained (I use Rotel for EVERYTHING...love the stuff)
Beans- 1 can, drained (we used small fava that were pre-seasoned and cooked with cumin..I'd guess that kidney, black, or pinto would work just as well, if not better)
Tortilla Chips- 12 oz
Velveeta- 8 oz (cut into squares)
Mixed Shredded Mexican Cheese- 8 oz
Seasonings to taste (we used red chili powder, salt, pepper, onion salt, and garlic salt)

Preparation:
Sautee onion in a bit of vegetable oil or butter until tender. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain and return to sautee pan.

Add Velveeta and cook on med-low heat until cheese is melted and gooey. Add seasoning (approximately 1/2 teaspoon of chili powder, 1 teaspon salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, 2 teaspoons onion powder and 2 teaspoons garlic powder).

Add corn, tomatoes, and beans. Stir well and cook on med to med-low heat until mixture is warm throughout. Mix in 1/2 of the crushed tortilla chips

Crush tortilla chips to about 1/4"-1/2" pieces. Spread just enough of the crushed chips to cover the bottom of a 9"x 13" casserole pan. Spread the meat mixture ("meat mixture" just became one of my new favorite phrases in the world) evenly over the chips. Crush the remainder of the chips to approximately 1/16"-1/8" pieces and sprinkle over the meat mixture (I'm going to use it every chance I get, you know). Spread the shredded cheese evenly on top and cook in a 340 degree oven approximately 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

See, that was easy (assuming you didn't have to visit 6 Indo-Pak grocers with no knowledge of the Hindi language). Now go make dinner for all of your friends!

Let's start simple...Pot Roast

Since we're all new here, let's keep it nice and easy. This is a pretty tried-and-true recipe that most everyone has a version of. There are several great things about this one:

1. It's FRICKIN' EASY! That's why I'm getting it started for dinner tomorrow...so I don't have to worry about it later.

2. You can use pretty much whatever you have around in it. I'm using leftover soup that I need to get rid of.

3. It's all-in-one. Since you have veggies and meat all together, extra sides aren't really necessary. I'll probably throw some dinner rolls in the oven and be done with it...your mileage may vary.

4. You can feed quite a few people fairly cheaply. Find rump roast on sale and you're good to go.

Skill Level: Easy
Budget: Fairly Cheap
Feeds:3-5

Equipment:
Slow Cooker (Crock Pot, etc)

Prep Time:
5-10 mins

Cook Time:
5-8 hours or more

Ingredients:
Rump Roast- 1-2 lbs (various other beef or pork cuts may also be used)
Dry Onion Soup Mix- 1 Package
Cream of Mushroom Soup- 10oz (I'm using leftover homemade soup, but canned works just fine...other creamy soups may be used for mushroom allergies.)
3-5 Diced Potatoes (1 can new potatoes may be substituted)
Baby Carrots- 1 lb
1 Onion- Chopped (optional)
Sliced Mushrooms- 8oz (optional)

Preparation
Place meat in the slow-cooker and empty onion soup packet over it. Pour mushroom soup over the meat. Add all other ingredients. Turn on slow cooker (approx. 5 hours on high setting, 8 hours on low). Cook until meat is tender and cooked through.

Notes:
This is a VERY versatile recipe. Add things that sound good, take out the things that don't. Just remember, softer vegetables (ie-tomatoes, corn, green beans, etc) may not hold up to being cooked for so long.

Well, there's the first recipe. Basic. Easy. Delicious. Let me know what you think!