Easy Meal: Chili Pasta Skillet Recipe

Image via: BHG

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Ingredients

1 pound ground beef (choose lean meat for a lighter dish)
¾ cup onion, chopped
1 can (15 ounce) rinsed and drained black or red beans, or red kidney beans
1 can (14 1/2 ounce) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 ounce) tomato sauce
½ cup elbow pasta
1 can (4 ounce) diced green chili peppers, drained
2 tsp chili powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp garlic powder
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Image via: Iowa Girl Eats

Directions

1. To make this Easy Meal recipe, you will need a large skillet. In this skillet, cook the ground meat and the chopped onion until the meat becomes brown and the onion tender. Remove the excessive fat.
2. Now just add all the other ingredients – except for the cheddar cheese – and stir well. Bring the ingredients to a boil and reduce the heat. Let them simmer for about 20 minutes, covered, until the macaroni are cooked. Don’t forget to stir often.
3. Once the macaroni are cooked, remove the skillet from the heat and sprinkle the mixture with the cheese. Cover again and let it stand for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese has melted.
That’s how easy it really is! If you want, add some more spices or herbs that you like, which could be cumin, paprika or dried oregano or cilantro. Serve the dish after toping it with some chopped parsley, chopped green onions or a little more shredded cheddar cheese. It tastes great hot or cold and you can spice it up a little more by adding some hot sauce or more chili powder.

Another great thing about this Easy Meal is that you can have most of the ingredients in your pantry ready for use and the only things that you would need to buy is the ground meat and the cheddar cheese. You even could freeze some portions of the cooked meal and reheat it in the microwave when you need it. Just don’t add the cheese in the last step of the recipe’s directions, but add it just before reheating.

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Shrimp and grits gumbo style!  Grits are an amazing food mainly because of its versatile usage and wonderful taste.  Just think about anytime that you have eaten them, you were able to mix it with some of your favorite meats, cheeses, vegetables and you could eat them pretty much anytime of the day.  Now, for today let’s have Louisiana inspire us and create a flavorful gumbo topping that will add a kick of deliciousness to the stone-ground grits base of the meal.

Southern Gumbo Gravy over Stone-Ground Grits Recipe

Image via: Tartlette

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Servings: 6

Hands-On Time: 15 Min.

Total Time: 45 Min.

Ingredients

1 lb. of Large Raw Shrimp, Peeled and Deveined
1 ½ teaspoons of Cajun Seasoning
6 oz. of Andouille Sausage, Diced
2 teaspoons of Vegetable Oil
Vegetable Cooking Spray
1 cup of Diced of Sweet Onion
½ cup of Diced Green Bell Pepper
2 Garlic Cloves, Minced
3 tablespoons of Browned Flour (Refer Below)
1 cup of Reduced-Sodium, Fat-Free Chicken Broth
1 cup of Sliced Fresh Okra
2 Large Plum Tomatoes, Peeled, Seeded, and Diced
Slow- Cooker Grits

• Garnish: Sliced Green Onions
• Browned Flour Recipe: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour  in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet.  Then bake for 20-25 minutes or until the flour is has the color of pecan shells, stir with a wooden spoon every 7 minutes, after remove from skillet and let it completely cool (about 30 min).

Image via: Katrina Runs

Instructions

Gumbo Gravy

1. In a medium bowl, toss the large, raw shrimp in Cajun seasoning and set it to the side.
2. Next, in a large skillet coated with cooking spray, cook the sausage over a medium heat for 5 minutes or until they are lightly browned.  Then add the oil, onion, green bell pepper, and the garlic cloves into the skillet and sauté for 3 minutes or until everything is tender.
3. Sprinkle Browned Flour over sausage mixture; stir until blended.  Stir in chicken broth and increase the heat to medium high. Bring the combination to a boil making sure to stir it consistently for about 3 minutes or until it has thickened.
4. Begin to add in the shrimp, okra, and tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes or until the shrimp turn pink and serve over the grits when the grits are finished.

Slow-Cooker Stone-Ground Grits

1. Stir together 1 ½ cups of uncooked stone-ground yellow grits and 4 ½ cups of water in a 3 quart slow cooker.  Let it stand for 2 minutes, allowing grits to settle to bottom; tilt slow cooker slightly, and skim off solids using a fine wire-mesh strainer.
2. Cover the grits and cook them on HIGH 2 ½ to 3 hours or until grits are creamy and tender, stirring every 45 minutes.  Season the grits with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
3. When finished fill 6 bowls with the grits and pour the gumbo gravy on the tops of each bowl and enjoy!

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