Super Bowl Sunday

January 27, 2009: Super Bowl Sunday

The Arizona Chili

1 pound course ground beef
1 pound dry pinto beans soaked overnight
1 six ounce can tomate puree
2 cups chopped onion
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
Salt to taste, add water to desired consistency

Saute beef, drain off excess fat. Add beans, puree and onions. Combine chili powder, cumin and salt, add water, Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook slowly until onions and beans are tender, adding water as needed.

The story behind this “Arizona Chili” recipe:

It all started when Senator Barry Goldwater praised the chili of his nativeArizona and deplored that of Texas. "A Texan" he said "does not know chilifrom the leavings in a corral" A few day later Senator Tower roseindignantly to defend Texas chili. "Comparing Arizona chili to Texaschili " he said " is like comparing Phyllis Diller to Sophia Loren." In achili cookoff that spring Senator Goldwater's recipe was chosen best by apanel of five experts.

Source: http://www.mindspring.com/~mgrosz/AZ_Chili.html

Frank's RedHot Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 oz package cream cheese, softened
½ c. blue cheese
or ranch dressing
½ c. Frank's RedHot ® Sauce
½ c. crumbled blue cheese
or shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cans (9.75 oz/can) white premium chunk chicken breast in water, drained
or 2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place cream cheese into deep baking dish and stir until smooth. Mix in dressing, Frank's RedHot Sauce and cheese. Stir in chicken.

Bake 20 minutes or until mixture is heated through, stir and serve with tortilla chips, crackers, or celery sticks.

This one is a real crowd pleaser. Plus, it's super easy!

Source: http://www.franksredhot.com/retailrecipeview.php?id=9543

Primanti Brothers Pitsburgh Sandwich

1 large loaf of Italian bread
1 lb deli ham, sliced thin
½ lb provolone cheese, sliced
2 c. coleslaw
3 lg tomatoes, sliced ¼ in thick
6 c. frozen french fries

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread the frozen fries on a foil covered baking sheet. Cook for about 15 minutes, or according to package directions, until golden brown.

Meanwhile, spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray, coating the pan evenly. Slice the loaf of bread on the ½ in. and arrange slices on baking sheet. On ½ of the slices place, on each, 5 slices deli ham and 2 slices provolone cheese.

After removing the french fries, bring oven down to 350 degrees and place baking sheet with bread slices into the oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese has melted and ham has begun to brown. Remove from oven and transfer bread pieces to a heat resistant surface for assembly. Using bread slices with ham and cheese as a base, layer on top of the melted cheese of each 1 c. fresh french fries, ½ c. coleslaw and 2 slices of tomato. Top with remaining toasted slices of bread and secure with two toothpicks on opposite corners of the sandwich. Cut in half from one remaining corner to the next and arrange on a serving dish for your guests to enjoy.

These sandwiches are really a treat and have an interesting story in Pittsburgh history:
Back in the 1930's Joe Primanti opens a cart in the strip district selling sandwiches to truckers on the go. It was decided that he should expand to a small restaurant on 18th street in the Strip District and the hours were 3 am to 3 pm to accommodate truckers and the like. His brothers Dick and Stanley joined him along with John DePrinter who was the cook. According to nephew John Deprinter, “One winter, a fella drove in with a load of potatoes. He brought a few of 'em over to the restaurant to see if they were frozen. I fried the potatoes on our grill and they looked pretty good. A few customers asked for them, so I put the potatoes on their sandwiches.” And the rest is history. The Primanti Sandwich – a true taste of Pittsburgh.

Source: http://www.primantibrothers.com/

Sweet Victory – Brownie Points

1 1/3 c flour
½ ts salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 c butter
1 ½ c unsweetened cocoa powder
2 c sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
1 ½ tsp vanilla

¼ c butter, melted
2/3 c cocoa powder
½ tsp vanilla
2 c sifted powdered sugar
¼ c milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan. With a wire whisk stir flour, salt and baking powder together. Mix well. Set aside. Melt butter. Stir in cocoa powder. Stir well. Add sugar. Beat in eggs one a time. Stir in vanilla. Add premixed flour mixture. Mix well. Bake in prepared pan for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Ice with chocolate frosting when completely cool.

With second set of ingredients, over boiling water mix butter and cocoa powder. Stir in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and enough milk to make a thick, but spreadable icing. Spread on cooled brownies before icing hardens.

Source: http://baking.about.com/od/barcookies/r/chocfrosted.htm

Job Searching

I have been busy these past few weeks trying to get myself onto all of the job search and professional networking websites. It is so much to keep up with, whew. I just recently signed up for LinkedIn, which is totally cool and I can't believe that I had never heard of. Here's the link to my page, you should check me out and sign up or add me as a connection!



I need to find a job in the Cincinnati area by late April early May. My plan after graduation is to move down there and get a place with my friend Casey (!!!). Problem is, I need to find a good job, preferably one that pays the rent. I will be a Miami University graduate with a bachelors degree in Speech Communication, I've been working since I was 15 and am passionate about everything that I get myself into. I don't like to toot my own horn (well, actually I do) but I'm pretty awesome and someone should hire me to do something really cool where I get to talk or write a lot, also I love TV and radio so that would be neat, too!

Hangover Helper

Sober-up Smoothie

1 banana
1 c. frozen berries
1 c. ice cubes
2 c. orange juice

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth, adding water or ice to reach desired consistency. Garnish with fresh fruit.

Benefits: Bananas are a great source of potassium and will help to replenish electrolytes and the orange juice and berries will boost vitamin C, this will increase your blood sugar levels and jump start your metabolism. Follow with a tall glass of water, this will help to rehydrate your exhausted liver.

Hangover Helper

No-fry Sweet Potato French Fries:
1 medium sweet potato, cut lengthwise into ½ inch sticks
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
½ tsp. garlic powder
non-fat cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with the non-fat spray. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine sweet potatoes, chili powder, cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Spray with non-fat cooking spray and toss to coat thoroughly. Arrange the sweet potato sticks on the creased cookie sheet and bake for 15 minutes, turn and bake for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Sausage Gravy:
½ lb breakfast sausage
4 tbs. flour
3 c. milk

Brown breakfast sausage in a medium size skillet over medium high heat. When brown, reduce heat to medium. Add the flour one tablespoon at a time, stirring constantly. With each tablespoon, allow flour to turn brown before adding the next amount. After adding all of the flour, mix in the milk and stir with a whisk until smooth.

Additional Ingredients:

2 over easy eggs
¼ c. shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbs. fresh parsley
1 small Roma tomato, diced

On a large plate, arrange French fries and top with sausage gravy. Place two over easy eggs on top of the gravy and then sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese, fresh parsley, and diced Roma tomatoes.

Benefits: Sweet potatoes are a great alternative to starchy white potatoes, also baking instead of frying is a better alternative because fried foods can irritate the stomach. Gravy will help to create a coated lining on the stomach walls and the sausage is a great source of protein. The eggs are important because they contain cysteme, a substance that breaks down the toxin acetaldehyde that lingers in the liver as a result of heavy alcohol consumption.

Avoid drinking coffee or caffinated beverages as they will cause further dehydration and only lead to an eventual crash.

Drinking more alcohol is not the cure for a heavy night of drinking, it will irritate the liver further and cause more harm than help.