Rachel's Chili

So, I'm making chili on my own for the first time, from scratch! I hope it goes well!

• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 medium salsa
• 1 tbl chili powder
• 1-28 oz can diced tomatoes
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can of tomato sauce
• 1 can green chili's
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• parsley
• salt and pepper

First brown the ground beef with green pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. Add everything to a large pot and let it simmer. Add your spices to taste. I also added a shake of red pepper flakes. :) So far, so good!

Crepes

Alton Brown has the best crepe recipe and it's really easy. It always takes me two crepes to remember how to cook them, and I decided I would double the recipe whenever I make them, because I like leftovers! Big fan of leftovers! Here is his recipe: *hint, I added a little extra water (about 1/4 cup) to make the batter thinner, I think it worked better.*

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup flour
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• Butter, for coating the pan

Directions

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Savory Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

We filled ours with fresh strawberries w/ sugar and bananas and topped them with chocolate syrup.

Super Moist Banana Bread

So, this recipe has the Casey Seal of Approval, otherwise known as CSA. Last night after I took it out of the oven, he wasn't sure if he liked it. But today, after it had cooled, he loved it. And I quote "This is really good!" So, here is the recipe, it's soooooo basic and it's a variation of the banana bread recipe I found on Simply Recipes. I only made some small changes to the recipe.

• 3-4 bananas, mashed
• 1/3 c. vegetable oil
• 1 c. sugar
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• pinch of salt.
• lemon juice

Peel your bananas and place them on a plate and drizzle lemon juice over them. I used about 1/4-1/2 tsp. I didn't measure it, so I can't be sure how much I used. I then mashed them with a fork, there were still some medium sized bits. I poured the mashed bananas in a mixing bowl and added the sugar, egg and vanilla and mixed well. I then sprinkled the soda and salt over the banana mixture and mixed it in well. Then I added the flour and mixed it until it was all combined. I didn't want to mix it too much because I didn't want it to have too much gluten, which would make it tough and chewy. I poured the batter into my pampered chef loaf pan and baked it for 1 hour at 350 degrees. It was sooooooo good!