Babos Chili Food

BABO'S CHILI

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook and stir onion until softened, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic; cook and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir beef, green bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, celery seed, basil, chile pepper, bay leaves, and salt into onion mixture; cook and stir until beef is no longer red in the center, about 10 minutes.
• Stir tomatoes into beef mixture, decrease heat to low, and simmer for 4 hours.
• Stir kidney beans and cocoa powder into the chili; cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour more.

BOBO'S SIX CHILE CHILI

Steps:

• Fill metal bowl with hot water, place dried chiles in the water, let soak for 15 minutes. Brown meat and onions, drain. Return meat to the pot and add Cilantro, Cumin, Chili Powder, Black Beans, Diced Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, Beef Base and Sugar stirring over low heat.
• Drain the Chiles, reserving the liquid. Place the chiles including the Jalapeno into a blender or food processor. Use reserved liquid to blend until smooth but not watery. Pour mixture into pot. Add Black Pepper and Salt, to taste.
• Simmer uncovered for at least 1 hour. You can adjust the thickness by simmering longer or by adding more of the reserved liquid. Serve with Corn Bread, chopped onions, cheese, sour cream.

MAC AND CHEESE TWO WAYS

Steps:

• Cook pasta until al dente in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain.
• Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to form a smooth paste. Cook for about 2 minutes, being careful not to brown. Gradually add the milk and the half-and-half and simmer until thickened slightly, stirring all the while. Remove from the heat. Stir in the 3 cheeses and season with black pepper, to taste. Add the cooked pasta and mix into the cheese sauce thoroughly.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• For the Classic Mac and Cheese:
• 1 cup coarse bread crumbs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Salt
• Pour half of the mac and cheese into an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a mixing bowl toss the bread crumbs together with the melted butter, parsley, and salt, to taste. Top the mac and cheese with the bread crumb mixture and bake 15 minutes or until the topping has nicely browned and pasta is bubbly and creamy.
• For the Chili Mac and Cheese:
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• A few dashes dried red chili flakes
• 1 cup crushed yellow corn chips
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 small lime, zested
• Stir the chili powder and chili flakes into half of the mac and cheese base. Pour into an 8 by 8 by 2-inch baking dish. In a mixing bowl combine the crushed corn chips together with the oil and the lime zest. Top the mac and cheese with the corn chip mixture and bake 15 minutes or until the topping has nicely browned and pasta is bubbly and creamy.

BAB LEVES (HUNGARIAN BEAN SOUP)

Steps:

• Quick soak method - Boil beans for 5 minutes in enough water to cover them completely, then cover pan and let soak for 1 hour.
• Drain and rinse the beans and put them in a large pot.
• Add the salt, pepper, carrot, leek, garlic, and meat.
• Add stock plus enough water to cover 2" above the beans and meat; bring to a simmer.
• Simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender (2 1/2 - 3 hours), adding water as needed to keep the beans covered; then remove meat to a separate plate.
• In a heavy saucepan, melt fat or warm oil and sauté onions until they wilt.
• Mix in the paprika and then the flour.
• Gently fry, stirring constantly until flour turns golden beige (2-3 minutes) (be careful not to scorch the flour and not to get any on you).
• Add the parsley.
• Thin roux with 1/2 cup to a cup of the broth from the soup; mix well, then slowly pour back into the soup.
• Let simmer for 10 minutes (then if soup is too thin simmer for 5-10 more minutes; if too thick slowly add hot water and simmer for 2-3 more minutes).
• Remove from heat and let cool.
• Blend some soup into the sour cream to keep it from curdling when you add it, then add it to the soup.
• Mix in the vinegar and taste soup for seasonings.
• Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and return them to the soup.
• Reheat soup before serving.

MAKE-AHEAD CHILI & CHEESE LASAGNA

Steps:

• Brown meat with garlic in large skillet. Add next 7 ingredients; stir. Simmer 5 min., stirring occasionally.
• Spread 2 cups meat sauce onto bottom of 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; cover with layers of 3 noodles, 1/2 cup each cottage cheese and shredded cheese, and 2 cups of the remaining meat sauce. Repeat layers twice. Top with remaining shredded cheese. Cool. Wrap tightly in foil. Freeze up to 2 months. Refrigerate overnight to thaw.
• Heat oven to 375°F. Unwrap lasagna, leaving just top covered with foil. Bake 1 hour 10 min. or until heated through, uncovering after 1 hour. Let stand 10 min. before cutting to serve.