Sheila's Red Chili

2 lb of ground beef
1 lg onion, chopped
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
salt and pepper
1 lg can crushed tomatoes
1 lg can whole tomatoes
2 lg cans diced tomatoes
2 cans dark red kidney beans, drained
3 cans chili beans
32 oz tomato juice
2 T cumin
5T chili powder
1 T paprika
1 t chipotle powder
salt pepper

Brown ground beef in a large pot with onion and garlic, salt and pepper generously while cooking. Drain fat from beef. Add other ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer for several hours. As chili cooks break apart the whole tomatoes.

Serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sour cream, and saltines or oyster crackers.

Baked Creamy Mac 'N Cheese

1 lb elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
salt
8 T butter
8 T flour
4 C whole milk
6 c shredded cheese (smoked gouda, swiss, sharp cheddar)
salt and pepper
garlic powder

Turn oven on to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in a large pan. When it is bubbling, add flour and cook for several minutes until it turns light brown. Slowly whisk in milk and bring to a low boil to allow sauce to thicken. Season with salt and pepper and garlic powder. Slowly whisk in cheese until sauce is smooth. Add macaroni and pour into a buttered baking dish (you can serve at this point if you don't feel like baked mac 'n cheese).

Bake macaroni and cheese until bubbling around the edges.

Cajun Chicken and Sausage Alfredo Pasta

This is a recipe made by special request from my son.

3 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 C cooked andouille sausage
1 C sundried tomatoes, chopped
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
cajun seasoning
1/4 c white wine
3 c heavy cream
1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente
1 c parmesan cheese
parsley

Turn on oven to 350

Coat chicken in cajun seasoning and blacken both sides over high heat in a cast iron skillet. Put in oven for 10 minutes or until it comes to 165 degrees. Slice chicken in strips and set aside.

In a large pot, heat oil and sauté garlic, sausage, chicken slices,  sun dried tomatoes, and T of cajun seasoning. Deglaze pan with white wine. Add heavy cream and bring to a boil to thicken sauce.

Add Parmesan, salt and pepper, parsley. Then stir in pasta.

Serve with green salad.