
How beautiful is this?! It was so lovely and wonderful. My best friend is the queen of interior decor! Fall and Halloween being her favorite season and holiday of the year. She also loves candles so she loved the idea of PartyLite candles. I personally like the idea of hosting the parties because A) I get free product and B) I get test subjects for my new recipes… (muah ha ha ha ha ha ha!)

Crockpot chicken and white bean chili, Shepherds Pie, Whole wheat french bread and America’s test kitchen corn muffins. And since it was a party full of kids orange juice and cranberry apple juice.


I thought this chili very pretty. It was a first time recipe for me. While beans, green peppers and red tomatoes, it looked like a christmas confetti! The muffins were a hit, especially among the kids along side the shepherd’s pie. I think every kid loves mashed potatoes and gravy.
Okay so White Bean Chicken Chili I thought since it was new to me, I would go online, and compare recipes. I pulled up about 10 different ones to see what was similar and what was different. So here’s about what I did.
1 lb dry white navy beans (about 2 cups uncooked)
4-6 cups water
1 large chopped onion
1 large chopped green pepper
3-4 chicken thighs (if boneless you want to add chicken base, if not just salt)
1 tbsp original Mrs Dash
1 tsp each Mrs Dash extra Spicy, southwestern chipotle and Salt (salt, if not using base)
1-2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
a few dashes jalepeno tabasco sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
15 oz can diced tomato with chili
throw everything but the tomatoes in the crockpot and cook on low 8-10 hours. Before serving add the tomatoes.
America’s Test Kitchen Corn Muffins
2 Cups flour
1 Cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
3/4 Cups sugar
8 Tbsp butter, melted
3/4 Cups sour cream
1/2 Cup milk
Directions:
1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400°. Spray a standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to combine; set aside. Whisk the eggs in a second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar to the eggs; whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add the melted butter in 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add half the sour cream and half the milk and whisk to combine; whisk in the remaining sour cream and milk until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix gently with a rubber spatula until the batter is just combined and evenly moistened. Do not over-mix. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide the batter evenly among muffin cups, dropping it to form mounds. Do not level or flatten the surface of the mounds.
3. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 18 minutes, rotating the muffin tin from front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes; invert the muffins onto a wire rack, stand the muffins upright, cool 5 minutes longer, and serve warm.
Shepherd’s Pie
2-3 lbs potatoes, cooked and mashed
3-4 cups water
1 lb stew meat
3 chopped carots
2 chopped celery
1 large chopped onion
1-2 tbsp worcestershire
1 tbsp Mrs Dash original
1 tsp montreal steak seasoning
1 tsp minced garlic
Toss everything but the potatoes in the crockpot and let cook on low overnight. Next morning drain over a bowl. Put the meat and veg in grease casserole, breaking up the meat and spreading into an even layer. (this whole recipe is much easier and faster if you are working with left over beef stew.
Next you want to pull out a deep skillet. I used my fabulous cast iron. I heated it on medium and melted about 4 tbsp butter and 1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour. You can also use white all purpose flour no problem. So you are melting the butter, mixing the flour and letting it cook into a roux. You want to cook the flour a bit, it usually gets a nice nutty scent. Then you want to whisk in the broth that was set aside from the stew meat and veg. You’re going to let it cook and thicken stirring frequently. When its done, remove from heat and pour over the veg in the casserole. Next you’ll layer the potatoes, and pop in the oven, about 375 degrees F. 20-30 minutes or until it starts to brown on top.
Whole Wheat French Bread
2 cups warm water
2 tbsp yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup gluten flour
2 crushed vitamin C tablets
4-5 cups whole wheat flour
Just follow the directions for french bread adding the vitamin C and gluten flour before the wheat flour.