Section 2: Main Courses – Page 13 – Simply Delicious: The Cookbook Project

9-14: Chili Con Carne

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 27, 2016October 20, 2020American, beef bouillon, beef broth, black pepper, canola oil, chili peppers, chili powder, cloves, crushed tomatoes, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, garlic, gluten-free, green bell peppers, ground beef, ground meat, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lunch, minced, oregano, paprika, pared, peeled, pinto beans, red bell peppers, salt, sautéed, simmered, Tex-Mex, untested, vegetables, white beans, yellow onions

This recipe card gave me an excuse to cook up a big ol’ batch of 9-14: Chili Con Carne, not that I needed an excuse. I’ve made a few pots of chili in my day, but not one quite like this. My favorite episode of the Simpsons, entitled El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Jomer (The Mysterious Voyage of Homer), features a chili cook-off as a vital plot point. The infamous space coyote scene still cracks me up to this day. 😹

With the peppers featured prominently on the front of the recipe card, Simply Delicious has pointed out the one major issue I had with this dish. WHO PUTS BELL PEPPER IN CHILI? 🌶 Jamie and I enjoy a little spice in our chili. I’ve always wanted to try adding a pepper akin to the “Merciless Pepper of Quetzalacatenango … grown deep in the jungle primeval by the inmates of a Guatemalan insane asylum.” 🌶

12-27: Chicken Broccoli Lasagna

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 24, 2016July 28, 2020at work, basil, boiled, broccoli, canola oil, casserole, cheese, chicken, chopped, creamy, crushed tomatoes, diced, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, frozen, garlic, grated, ground chicken, ground meat, ground turkey, healthy, herbs and spices, inexpensive, lasagna, lunch, melted, minced, Mozzarella, oregano, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, Ricotta, salt, shredded, tomato paste, tomato sauce, tomatoes, untested, vegetables, yellow onions

Here’s something a bit different…and I’m not talking about the recipe. In fact, 12-27: Chicken Broccoli Lasagna itself is pretty boring. But here’s what’s interesting: I made this recipe at work, for work. This one will be a bit of a glance into what I do all day–my other kitchen, if you will.

I usually use ground turkey for ground meat recipes (there’s a few kids with special dietary preferences) and I’ve made lasagna before for work, so this one seemed like a perfect recipe to try to scale up for the amount I need for a daily meal. “Healthy” is what parents are looking for these days when it comes to school lunches–another way this recipe is a good fit. 🍴

EDIT: Full disclosure–this was written in 2016, and I now have a career in a completely non-culinary related field. However, this still serves as a fun reminder of a previous “life”. Enjoy!

9-5: Modern-Style Hamburger

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 21, 2016October 20, 2020beef bouillon, black pepper, burgers, butter, chili sauce, chilled, chives, condiments, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, fried, green onions, griddle, grill pan, grilled, ground beef, ground meat, iceberg lettuce, lettuce, modern, pan-fried, parsley, pearl onions, salt, sautéed, sirloin, untested, whipping cream, white bread, whole wheat bread, yellow onions

Simply Delicious has provided a plethora of burger recipes for me to try, like 9-15: Peppercorn Beef Burgers and this recipe, 9-5: Modern-Style Hamburger. I like to cook these on the electric griddle because I can cook the entire batch off at once and they all cook evenly.

I tend to prefer burgers that are dinner sized. These burgers are more like sliders or a thin lunch style burger. 🍔

12-14: Brown Rice Casserole

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 19, 2016October 27, 2020boiled, brown rice, casserole, celery, chicken bouillon, chicken broth, chopped, chutney, dairy-free, dinner, egg-free, fairly easy, garlic, gluten-free, green bell peppers, green onions, hazelnuts, healthy, inexpensive, leeks, lunch, mushrooms, olive oil, parsley, raisins, red bell peppers, sautéed, side dish, sliced, untested, vegan, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian, yellow onions

12-14: Brown Rice Casserole doesn’t sound very appetizing, but it is very cheap to make and very filling. I made this dish before I took a trip as a meal prep and it really helped me keep my eating in check. ✅

As advertised on the card, this dish is hearty enough to be a meal in itself. I did eat it with a side of pepperoni slices, but the majority of the meal was this casserole. 🌾

6-2: Fiery Chicken Casserole

Adam Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses August 18, 2016October 14, 2020all-purpose flour, bone-in, boneless, braised, breasts, butter, canola oil, casserole, chicken, chili peppers, chili powder, chives, creamy, crème fraîche, diced, dinner, drumsticks, Dutch oven, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, green chiles, lactose-free, paprika, salt, sautéed, sliced, sour cream, spicy, thighs, untested, yellow onions

The whole time I was making 6-2: Fiery Chicken Casserole, I had this image in my head because I thought my sauce came out wrong. My sauce was light colored and the chicken in the photo shows a crispy, golden skin. If you look hard at the bowl in the upper left corner, you can see the white sauce that the authors described.

My version of the casserole came out a lot differently than the image shown on the card and didn’t taste very “fiery”. This dish would need a lot more heat to be considered “fiery”. 🔥

12-23: Tortellini with Broccoli

Adam Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 14, 2016October 28, 2020al dente, black pepper, blanched, boiled, broccoli, butter, Cheddar, cheese, creamy, dinner, easy, garlic, grated, green onions, inexpensive, Italian, julienned, leeks, lunch, melted, minced, Parmesan, pasta/noodles, salt, sautéed, side dish, sour cream, tortellini, untested, vegetable bouillon, vegetable broth, vegetables, vegetarian

12-23: Tortellini with Broccoli is yet another Simply Delicious recipe where their idea of a cream sauce is pouring sour cream on top of something warm and stirring it in. When using lactose free sour cream, the sauce comes out too thick. It’s still chunky on top of the pasta. Maybe I need to cook it longer or stir it more, I will keep experimenting to find out. Onto…the recipe!

It had been a while since I ate tortellini and this recipe gives you an idea of how to make a sauce in a pinch. Simply Delicious has other recipes such as 6-2: Fiery Chicken Casserole where the method to make a quick cream sauce is to dump sour cream into the pot.

9-6: Filled Tacos

Adam Martin Group 09: Ground Meat & Sausage, Section 2: Main Courses August 13, 2016October 20, 2020avocados, black olives, butter, canola oil, Cheddar, cheese, chili powder, diced, dinner, easy, egg-free, filling, green olives, ground beef, ground meat, ground turkey, hot sauce, inexpensive, lettuce, lunch, Mexican, Monterey Jack, party food, salt, shredded, sliced, sour cream, Southwestern, stuffed, taco shells, tacos, Tapatio, Tex-Mex, tomatoes, untested, vegetables

I never expected to find a recipe for filled tacos in the Simply Delicious cookbooks. 9-6: Filled Tacos are an easy and filling dinner. The prep is the longest part. 🌮

I bought a box of prepared taco shells at the store. Different from the kind shown in the photos provided by Simply Delicious, but they got the job done. 🇲🇽

6-17: Chicken Breast with Cheesy Filling

Jamie Martin Group 06: Poultry & Game, Section 2: Main Courses August 12, 2016June 17, 20204-92 week, black pepper, blue cheese, boneless, breasts, brushed, butter, cheese, chicken, creamy, dinner, dried herbs, egg-free, fairly easy, fairly inexpensive, filling, herbs and spices, Hutton house, lunch, melted, revisited, rosé pepper, salt, skinless, sliced, slit, soy sauce, stuffed, tarragon, thighs, thyme, whipping cream

There was apparently a week in April 1992 (can’t say that without thinking of this) when my mom was on a tear through this book. 7-14: Easy-to-Make Pork Casserole is from two days earlier, and there’s a few more coming up from that same time period. 6-17: Chicken Breast with Cheesy Filling seems like something my mom would have been all about–she loves chicken breasts and blue cheese.

Stuffed chicken breasts aren’t new territory for Simply Delicious—6-4: Easy Stuffed Chicken Breasts and 6-25: Salmon-Filled Chicken Breasts are two variations on the concept that I’ve already covered.

8-32: Indian Beef Casserole

Adam Martin Group 08: Beef, Section 2: Main Courses August 11, 2016October 18, 2020all-purpose flour, Asian, beef, boiled, casserole, Chinese/dark soy sauce, chopped, chuck roast, cubed, curry powder, dairy-free, dinner, easy, egg-free, fairly inexpensive, garlic, grated, herbs and spices, Indian, Indonesian, lunch, marinated, minced, nutmeg, Oriental, rice, round steak, salt, sambal paste, sherry, untested, yellow onions

8-32: Indian Beef Casserole is an affront to Indian cooking worldwide. It is a dish that barely any Indian people would actually eat because it contains beef! 🐮

During my brief trip to India, I actually ate some beef served by the hotel which was spiced similar to this dish. This hotel served beef because it hosted a lot of travelers from USA and Europe who usually eat beef. Indian culture perceives the cow as sacred and a significant portion of the population observes a vegetarian diet. 🇮🇳

12-17: Curly Pasta with Creamy Chicken

Jamie Martin Group 12: Pasta & Rice, Section 2: Main Courses August 8, 2016July 27, 2020al dente, all-purpose flour, basil, boiled, butter, chicken, chicken broth, chives, chopped, cooked chicken, creamy, crème fraîche, diced, Dijon mustard, dinner, easy, fairly inexpensive, grated, herbs and spices, Italian parsley, lemons, lunch, melted, pasta/noodles, roux, salt, sour cream, untested, yellow mustard, zested

12-17: Curly Pasta with Creamy Chicken sounds like a recipe my mom or I would have attempted back in the days we were cooking out of this book–it’s possible we did and never marked the card. Both of us were suckers for dishes just like this. 🐓

I probably would have made this recipe earlier if curly pasta was easier to come by–I wanted to find just the right shape for this dish. I have a fascination with different pasta shapes. 🍝

4/13/19 EDIT: Speaking of pasta shapes, take a look at the cover photo for the very similar 12-7: Fettuccini with Creamy Chicken and the one above. Notice anything strange?