Turkey Chili and Cornbread

Football season is here and Fall is just around the corner. You know what that means, right? It's time to start thinking about cooking warmer meals like chili's and soups. Here's my recipe for cornbread and chili. It's super easy and great for serving on football Sunday =)
Ingredients for the chili:
1 can Southern Ranch style beans
1 can Chile beans
1 finely chopped onion
1 package chili seasoning
1 pound ground turkey
1 or 2 cans of tomato sauce (I use 2 but you can use 1 if you like chunkier chili)
2 cans of Chili Fixin's Rotel
1/2 cup minced garlic
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tbsp. vegetable or olive oil
Directions for the chili:
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the ground turkey in the skillet and cook until it's completely browned. Once it's browned, mix in the minced garlic and leave on low heat for just 1 or 2 minutes. Put the turkey in a crockpot. Add all of the other ingredients to the crockpot and stir well. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours.
Ingredients for the cornbread:
1 cup cornmeal
3 cups flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
2 1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp. baking powder
2/3 cup vegetable or olive oil
6 tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp.salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions for the cornbread:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar, flour, cornmeal and baking powder. Once mixed, add the rest of the ingredients and stir well. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with cooking oil. Put the mixture evenly into the pan. Cook for 30-35 minutes and serve with the chili.

Red Velvet Cake

Ingredients for the cake:

1 1/4 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick butter (softened)
1 egg
1 tbsp. red food coloring
1 tsp. pure vanilla
1 tsp. distilled white vinegar
1/2 cup buttermilk
Ingredients for the cream cheese frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 stick butter
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
8 ounces powdered sugar
Directions for the cream cheese frosting:
In a medium bowl, beat ingredients until light and fluffy. Unitl needed, store the frosting in the refrigerator. Do not ice the cake until the cake is completely cooled!
Directions for the cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Mix together ingredients until blended well. Spray a 9 inch round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line the pan with parchment paper. Pour batter evenly into pan.

Cook 22-28 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the middle.

Let the cake cool in the pan for at least one hour. After the cake is cool, carefully drop the cake onto a plate or platter and take off the parchment paper.

Turn the cake back over. Slice an extremely thin layer off the top of the cake (this will be for the crumbs). Crumble the thin layer of cake and set aside.

Ice the top and sides of the cake with the cream cheese icing. Decorate the top of the cake with the crumbs. Slice and serve.

What's for lunch? A Monte Cristo!

This sandwich is perfect for lunch on a day when you want something easy, yummy and satisfying. Ever since I made it a couple months ago, my boyfriend has requested it many times for lunch.
Ingredients:
1 egg
2 pieces of sandwich bread
2 tablespoons of light mayonnaise
1 teaspoon of poppy seed
4 slices of ham
2 slices of cheese (Havarti or Swiss)
1 tablespoon of butter
Directions:
Spread half of the mayonnaise on one side of one of the pieces of bread. Put a piece of cheese on top. Top with the ham, the other piece of cheese, the rest of the mayonnaise and lastly the bread. Whisk the egg with a teaspoon of poppy seed in a wide open container. Soak the sandwich in the egg mixture. Make sure the outside of the sandwich is completely coated.

In a skillet, melt the butter on medium heat. Once the butter is melted, put the sandwich in the skillet. Cook each side for about 3 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.

Remove from heat and cut into halves. Enjoy!

Mexicorn dip

This is the perfect dip to bring to any kind of casual gathering. I made this dip for two dozen people and it was gone within an hour.  Note: If making for a smaller amount of guests, just cut the recipe in half.
Ingredients
4 cups Mexicorn (drained)
1 can Hot Rotel
1 can Chunky Rotel
16 ounces low fat sour cream
1 1/2 cups light mayonnaise
3 cups sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped bell pepper (color of your choice)
Directions
Mix and refrigerate until ready to serve. This dip is served best with Fritos Scoops! =)

Vanilla Sprinkle Cookies

Do you like vanilla cake mix? What about sprinkles? If you said yes to both, then you should make these cookies the next time you want to wreck your diet.

Ingredients:
1 box Duncan Hines French Vanilla Cake Mix
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1.5 cups sprinkles of your choice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup milk (I used skim)
2 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, mix together all of the ingredients except for the sprinkles. After the ingredients are blended together thoroughly, stir in the sprinkles. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto a very lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-14 minutes. If looking to impress, pair the cookies with a scoop of icecream. In the picture below, I made this yummy treat for someone's birthday. In the middle is Girl Scout Thin Mint Ice-Cream, vanilla sprinkle cookies on the side and topped with Hershey's chocolate sauce and more sprinkles! I don't recommend having this one too often unless you're trying to give your system a sugar attack, haha =)

Flavorful chicken tacos

If you would like a recipe for mouthwatering chicken tacos, you have come to the right place!

Ingredients:
3-4 cups cooked shredded chicken
2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. onion powder
2 tbsp. cumin
2 tbsp. paprika
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. cinnamon
3 diced garlic cloves
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 can diced or crushed tomato

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil on medium heat for about 4 minutes. In the last 2 minutes, add the diced garlic cloves.
Add all other ingredients except for the chicken and tomato. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken and tomato. Stir the chicken so it's evenly coated in the spices. Cook for 2 minutes. If you want to cook for longer than 2 minutes so the chicken has more flavor, turn the heat down to low so you don't burn the chicken.

Lastly, put the chicken in either soft or hard shells and serve with the toppings of your choice. I used lettuce, cheese and sour cream.