May 28, 2011

Cookbook Review: Chili for Two from Taste of Home Down Home Cooking for One or Two

Yes, I am posting a chili recipe in May. No, I didn't just make it though! I've been meaning to blog about it for awhile now... so no better time than now. My man and I am always looking for different chili recipes. I like to take different concepts from different recipes and discover what we consider to be the best chili. 

And I've been trying to use my cookbooks more. With the internet, I get so caught up in making recipes from other food bloggers. But I seriously have so many cookbooks that need to be used up! So I figured that I would try to make as many recipes as possible from a single cookbook before I move on to the next, and give you guys a review of the recipes I make from each cookbook! So I'm starting with Taste of Home's Down Home Cooking for One or Two. The longer I am in the food blogging world, the more I learn obviously. And I am learning that these Taste of Home cookbooks aren't anything high quality like ones you'd find from well-known celebrity chefs or seasoned pros. They are more basic cookbooks for the average person who just needs to make a simple, quick meal for the family... or in this case, for one or two people! I thought this was a perfect cookbook to start with because it suits our needs... quick and simple recipes that don't call for a lot of ingredients, and they are already scaled down to our portion size. So I hope to be making more recipes from here coming up!

We started with this quick chili recipe - Chili for Two. What a creative name. I want to change it, I really do. That's no name for a recipe! But I didn't make the recipe so who am I to say what it should be called? So yeah, we're talkin a pretty basic chili recipe. Nothing special from any other chili recipe you can find anywhere. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't fantastic. Not THE BEST CHILI ever! I did like the small batch and not having to bust out my math skills to convert measurements. But it could use some more ingredients to spruce it up, that's for sure!
 























Chili for Two

*Yields 2 servings
  • 1/4 lb ground beef
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 (15.5 oz) can chili beans, undrained
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp sour cream, divided, for garnish
  • 2 tbsp cup shredded Monterey Jack and mild cheddar cheese, divided, for garnish
  • 2 cilantro leaves, divided, for garnish
Cook beef, onion, and garlic in a saucepan on medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until heated through. Serve in two bowls. Garnish each bowl with 1 tbsp sour cream, 1 tbsp shredded cheese, and 1 cilantro leaf.

Printable Recipe

Rating: 3 out of 5 forks













I will be linking this up to:
Foodie Friday @ Designs By Gollum
Foodie Friday @ Little Brick Ranch

 
So there you have it. Not the greatest chili of my life, but still tasty!

One down, many more to go!

Check out my other review from this cookbook, Bart's Black Bean Soup for Two.

Peace, and bacon grease!

12 comments:

  1. the recipe sounds easy enough...i wonder what's 'missing'? your shot sure looks yummy, though. :)

    thanks for linking to Food Friday! ♥

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  2. Sometimes we've got to call things what they are. This does it--Chili for Two might end up being one of your top posts!

    :)

    Thanks for linking this to Food on Fridays!

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  3. Yum! I am so glad you found my blog so that I could find yours! This looks amazing! along with all your other recipes! I love your blog! Thanks for the follow and I will return the follow once blogger fixes the problem so i can!
    -Nikki
    http://chef-n-training.blogspot.com/

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  4. I love chili so I say bring it on! this sounds delicious!

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  5. @ Maiylah - I am always thinkin about what to add to a recipe to make it more of my own, but this wasn't bad at all! Try it the way the original recipe was written, and then you can change it as you like too!

    @ pinkcOOkies - love the name! and yes I love chili too!

    @ Ann Kroeker - Ha very true, speakin of which I need to add 'my top posts' to my sidebar!

    @ Chef in Training - Aww thanks for returning the follow, I know I have been having problems with following some blogs too lately! And I don't like it! Sometimes there is the GFC follow button to click on, and other times it doesn't show up. Grr! Thanks for visiting :)

    @ FoodTripFriday - My fiancee loves chili too!

    @ Joanne - Can't believe you are visiting my site, thanks so much! I truly admire yours! Your photos are always so beautiful :)

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  6. we love chili con carne...i am eating it with rice with more cheese, :D while hubby's eating it with mashed potatoes and jalapenos...delicious! :) have a great day!

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  7. Desi- I love that this is for only 2 people. It seems like chili recipes always serve like 10 people or something which is way to much for us. Thanks for sharing your chili at These Chicks Cook. Hope you can come back by and share another recipe Wednesday. Have a wonderful week :)
    Katie

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  8. @ Cheerful - mmm that sounds yum with some mashed potatoes!

    @ Katie - I know, right? I do like to have extra chili for lunch the next day, but sometimes those recipes make way too much. This is perfect if you aren't expecting any leftovers. Thanks for stopping by!

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  9. Great to see you back Desi, and with such a lovely bowl of chili! I am sooo late visiting this week! Thanks for linking this up to Fat Camp Friday, see you tomorrow!

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  10. Hi Desi! Thanks for linking up a great chili recipe. I like having a good recipe that serves 2! Welcome to Cookbook Sunday!

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