Tufts Family Halloween Chili

We like our chili thick - if you don't like something, just leave it out and it will still be just as delicious! We eat our chili with cheese and a handful of Fritos sprinkled on top. Happy Halloween!

1/2 lb. ground Hamburger, browned
1/2 lb. ground Sausage, browned
1/2 lb. Bacon, cooked and cut into bite size pieces
1 can Black Beans
1 can Pinto Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 can Great Northern Beans
1 can Corn
1 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
1 can diced Tomatoes, petite cut
1/2 Onion, chopped small
1/2 Green Pepper, chopped small
2 cloves Garlic
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbsp Chili Powder
2 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 cup Water (or more depending on how thick/thin you like it)

Cook meats one at a time in a large skillet and put into a large crock-pot. Saute onion and green pepper in the leftover meat drippings and add to the crockpot. Add water, garlic, tomato sauce and canned tomatoes to the crockpot. Drain and rinse all the beans really well and add to crockpot. Add seasonings to taste - The amounts listed are what we usually do... but depending on how hot you like it you can change it around. Let simmer in the crockpot for a few hours. We usually like the chili better the next day! Enjoy ~

Chicken Pie

1 cup cooked diced chicken

1 cup frozen broccoli (or vegetable of your choice)

1 (15 ounce) can of cream of mushroom soup

1 (9") pie shell, frozen

Sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Gently combine chicken, vegetables and soup in medium bowl. Pour mixture into pie shell. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake 45-60 minutes, until cheese is melted and mixture is bubble.

Crunchy Ranch Chicken

We made this for lunch today and I really enjoyed it so I thought I would post the recipe. It only took two minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to bake.

1 cup corn flakes, crushed
1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix
imitation butter spray
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine corn flakes, Parmesan cheese, and ranch dressing mix in bowl. Spray each chicken breast with imitation butter spray and dip in the corn flakes mixture. Place on baking dish and sprinkle remaining mixture on top. Bake uncovered, 45 minutes.

Yummy Pasta Salad!

Natalie gave me a GREAT recipe that I made today and I thought I'd share it with everyone else. Pasta salad's are one of my favorite things to eat and this one was so yummy!

16 oz. box pasta (tri colored rotini OR whatever curly shape you like)
2 c chopped celery
3 cups cubed ham, fried slightly until browned
5 fresh mushrooms sliced
10 oz frozen green beans, thawed & chopped if too long
1 bunch fresh broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
1 ½ cup cubed Monterey jack cheese
6 oz cashew nuts
1 small can sliced black olives
8 oz lite Caesar dressing