Chili Mac Recipe

     Chili mac is a mash up of two great foods...chili and macaroni and cheese.  Yum.  It is the ultimate casserole in my opinion.  It has so much flavor because it pairs two comfort foods together.  Your whole family will go crazy for it.

     Chili Mac

 2 1/2 cups elbow macaroni

No Bean Chili

2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 c. sour cream
chopped bell peppers (optional)
petite diced tomatoes (optional)

    The first thing you need to do is prepare your chili.  My recipe is at this link and is easy to make and tastes so good.   

    After the meat is cooked for your chili, start your water boiling for the pasta and then finish making your chili.  

    Drain your pasta once it is done.  I like mine aldente.  Once drained, stir the cheese then stir the mixture into the chili.  Stir well and then stir in the sour cream.  Allow to cook on medium heat for 5 minutes and then serve.

    It makes a great meal on its own or serve it with a slice of homemade bread and some Mexican street corn for a complete meal.

    A nice sized bowl has 41 grams of carbs.  My husband is diabetic and on an insulin pump and has to know the carbs in the food he eats to enter it into his meter so sharing that here just in case anyone else needs to know also. 

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I shared this recipe with the following blogs and link parties:
Tuesday's with a Twist
Proverb's 31--Homemaking Link ups

The Year in Review: 2013 on Countrified Hicks

   Two thousand and thirteen has been a great year for my blog and all of it social media connections.  On Facebook, we reached 5000 fans and the blog itself has had visits from over 134 different countries this year!  Amazing, isn't it?! And this post is my 200th post of the blog so lots of milestones are being made or met.
Here are some Top 10 lists from 2013.

Top 10 Visiting Countries

1. United States
2. Canada
3. Germany
4. Russia
5. Poland
6. France
7. United Kingdom
8. Australia
9. Iran
10. Latvia

Top 10 Most Viewed Recipes

1. How to make Homemade Bread in One hour (close to 10,000 page views this year)
2. Cooking a turkey breast in the crockpot
3. Biscuits and chocolate gravy
4. Homemade Rice-a-roni
5. Soft serve Chocolate Ice cream
6. Chocolate covered BACON
7. Oreo Fluff
8. French Toast Casserole
9. Homemade Pizza & Sauce Recipe
10. Homemade Reeses

Top 10 Most Viewed Frugal Living Posts

1. Frugal Living:  How a family of 4 live off $1300 a month (over 57,000 page views this year)
2. Homemade Fabric Softener recipe
3. Cheap flea killer for dogs
4. How we do laundry in the country
5. Homemade laundry detergent
6. Frugal living:  Waste Not
7. How to make instant oatmeal packets
8. How to save money
9. Homemade Play-Doh
10. Frugal Living Video Blog #2:  Don't waste nothin'

    What was your favorite post of mine this year?  If a post does not look familiar to you, I encourage you to go read it and see why my followers liked it so much.   Also, on the top right is a place you can sign up for my posts to come directly to your email so you never miss a post.  I encourage you to do so.  

Thank you for a great year!

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Other blogs you may like:
The Chicken Chick
Rockabye Parents
I should be mopping the floor
Create with Joy
Tilly's Nest
Hope in Every Season
Raising Mighty Arrows
The Self Sufficient Homeacre
The Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop
Frugally Sustainable
From the Farm Blog Hop

Smoke Sausage & Radiatore Soup

   We have an abundance of smoke sausage.  Walmart carries a brand of smoke sausage for 99 cents.  Compared to others ($3.00 or more a package) we stock up on it once a month.  Right now, we have 30 packages in our deep freeze.  One way we use it in a meal is making a tomato based soup.

Smoke Sausage & Radiatore Soup

2 pkgs. smoke sausage

2 T. dehydrated onion

2 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. Italian seasoning

½ tsp. basil

1 tsp. pepper

14 oz. dried tomatoes

28 oz. tomato sauce

32 oz. beef broth

1 c. carrots

16 oz. box Radiatore pasta

                         

     Following the pasta directions, prepare the radiatore.  As it cooks,  cut up the smoke sausage into slices.  In a large soup pot, combine all ingredients and bring to a boil.  Once it boils, turn it to simmer and stir in the prepared pasta.  Let it simmer for 15 minutes. 

 Put into bowls and sprinkle with some Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy with a loaf of fresh made bread.

 

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I shared this recipe on the following blogs:
The Chicken Chick
Six Sister's Stuff
Little House in the Suburbs 

Homemade Bread in an Hour

        I remember growing up and watching my mother bake bread.  She didn't do it very often but when she did, the whole house smelled great.  One reason she did not bake bread often (I assume) is because it was a LOT of work.  I remember her kneading the dough, letting it rise for an hour, punching it down, letting it rise again, forming into loaves and rising again before she baked them.  Whew!  I'm tired just writing about it.

     I make bread at least 4 times a week at my home (usually 5-6 times).  I suffer from MS and I homeschool my children so I don't have a lot of time to spare nor the energy to do much.  How do I do it?  I can make a 2 loaves of bread--from start to finish--in one hour.  Yep, you heard me and you can too.
                                                       
Here is how:

Ingredients:
5 1/4 c. flour
4 T. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 T. oil
2 c. hot water

PLUS:
1 pkg. quick active yeast (I use Red Star Quick-Rise Yeast)
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. warm water (not too hot or you'll ruin the yeast)

        Pour the contents of the yeast into a small cereal bowl.  Add the 1/2 tsp. of sugar and the 1/4 c. of warm water.  Let it sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. 

         As the yeast is activating, mix together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl that you have sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  By the way, you can use any type of flour you want:  whole wheat, bread, or all-purpose.  You can even use a combination of flours.  I use just all-purpose because that is what I have on hand.  Then stir in the oil.

       If the yeast is about ready, (you will know the yeast is ready when it has become bubbly) stir the hot water in with the dry ingredients and then add in the yeast mixture.  The dough will be sticky. 

The dough before kneading 

       Stir well and then pour out onto a sprayed surface and begin to knead.  I always spray my hands with cooking spray also.  If the dough is too sticky, just put some flour on the table surface and your hands and mix in just a little at a time.  Knead the dough about 7-10 times.

     Divide the dough into two loaves.  I sometimes do two artisan style loaves and sometimes I do one "loaf" and one artisan style.

     Divide up and place in a warm place for 25 minutes.  What I usually do is set my oven to "warm" when I start gathering my ingredients and turn it off right before I put the dough in to rise.  Be sure to cover the loaves with a hand towel. 

    After 25 minutes the loaves should have risen nicely.

   
     Now just remove the loaves and set them on top of the stove top and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Let it preheat just 5 minutes and then put the loaves into cook. 

     Let them bake for 20 minutes then take a stick of butter and rub it over the top of the loaves and put back in the oven for 5 more minutes.  Remove, butter the tops again and enjoy!

    Wasn't that easy? 

My artisan style loaf

Be sure to check out my recipe for whole wheat bread that is baked in your crock pot or slow cooker.

This Homemade Bread goes great with so many things, such as:  Smoke Sausage & Radiatore Soup, a good Meatloaf,  or even some Creamy Pork Chops.

 

 

 

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I shared this recipe on the following blogs:
Monday Inspiration Party
Hope in Every Season 
Raising Homemaker's
The Farmgirl Friday Blog Hop 
Mountain Woman Journals 

A quick poll

I have 2 loaves of homemade bread in the oven right now. The house is smelling sooooo good right now. Do you make homemade bread at your house? If so, how often do you make it? We make 2 loaves every other day here.

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