New Recipes #1 and #2

I was actually excited to try both of these recipes for our ward's Halloween party. They were having a Chili cook-off and I signed up for it, so I figured it was a great time to try something new. This was the recipe I used, because it didn't look or sound too difficult.

Amazingly, out of about 20 different chilies at the party, MINE WON!!! Haha! I was so proud and kept gloating to myself that my first ever chili attempt won 1st place in a contest!

Ghost Chili

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Chicken Breast, Cubed
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped
• 1-½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 Tablespoon Vegetable Oil
• 2 cans (15.5 Oz) Great Northern Beans, Rinsed And Drained
• 1 can (14.5 Oz) Chicken Broth
• 2 cans (4 Oz.) Chopped Green Chilies
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Cumin
• 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
• ½ teaspoons Black Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• ½ cups Whipping Cream

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large pot. Saute chicken, onion, and garlic powder until chicken is no longer pink. Add beans, broth, chilies, and seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and cream.

If you like your chili very mild, reduce the amount of chilies to 1 can, or rinse and drain the chilies well.

To make a less rich, healthier version, use 2 cups sour cream and 1/4 cup milk.

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I also decided to make a dessert for the party too and these were the first dessert that caught my eye. Not super simple looking....ok, REALLY not simple looking, but they didn't sound hard. I was in a big hurry while I was making them, and was making the chili at the same time so I didn't put my best effort into them. I also ran out of time to put the spider webs on the tops. Personally, I don't think they tasted that good. Maybe I didn't put enough sugar in them, but they weren't very sweet.....and they didn't look as good as these one.

Halloween Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes

Ingredients:

• 12 whole Halloween Oreos
• 8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese, softened
• ½ cups Granulated Sugar
• ½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• ½ cups Pureed Pumpkin
• 1 whole Egg
• ¼ teaspoons Cinnamon
• ⅛ teaspoons Nutmeg
• 2 Tablespoons All-purpose Flour
• 1 pinch Salt
• ½ cups Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips, Optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners. Place 1 Oreo in the bottom of each muffin tin. Set aside.

In large bowl, whip cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Stir in vanilla, pumpkin, egg, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour and salt until combined. Scrape sides of bowl and whip mixture until completely smooth. Spoon mixture evenly over Oreos. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheesecakes have set. Remove from oven to cool.

Once cheesecakes are cool enough to handle, remove from muffin tin. Remove paper wrappers. Microwave chocolate chips until smooth and completely melted. Spoon chocolate into a piping bag with a small round tip. Pipe melted chocolate in concentric circles on top of cheesecakes. Drag the end of a toothpick through the chocolate to create a spider’s web look, starting in the center and dragging outward. Repeat with remaining cheesecakes. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

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I really want to try both recipe's again, especially the chili because I didn't get any! It was gone 5 minutes after I put it on the table at the party.

Adventures in Cooking

Sometimes Most of the time, I wish I loved cooking. I am not sure why I don't. I can follow a recipe, love to see people enjoy food I have made, and I love trying new foods because I am not super picky. But I still don't like to cook.

To be 100% honest, Robert cooks most of the time, and when he doesn't we order in or go out. We have been especially bad here in Oregon because we are not paying for our own food. I haven't cooked a new meal in months! I really want to 1)get back into the habit of cooking dinner every night and 2)hopefully discover a love of cooking. To do that, I am going to be cooking at least 1 new thing every week and posting about it here on the blog. My old recipes will probably be posted too as I re-learn how to make them. Did I mention it has been a long time? Who knows, I may love it enough that I will have to start a new blog for food! Lol, I doubt it, but I may end up with something to put on a separate page on my blog.

For my first recipe, I am actually cooking 2 things. It is for our ward's Halloween party tomorrow, and I am actually excited for it. I am making

Ghost Chili and Halloween Oreo Pumpkin Cheesecakes (sound fancy don't they?)

I am going to be getting most of my recipe's online from either The Pioneer Women's Blog or Tasty Kitchen or on Food.com. If you have a favorite place online where you find recipes feel free to suggest it! They can't be too difficult, because I get intimidated pretty easily when it comes to cooking.....for now.

Check back tomorrow or Sunday to see how my chili and cheesecakes turned out!