Chili for chili cheese fries

Well this isnt exactly healthy, but um, baby was craving chili cheese fries yesterday haha, so guess what, we had chili cheese fries:P

The chili: (this version does not have beans in it, if you feel so inclined open up a can of kidney beans, drain them and add them in after everything else but before letting them cook for about an hour) (this is also a kid friendly recipe for those of us with picky eaters, alternatively you can take fresh onion and pure it and mix it in and they probably wont know its there either)

1lb lean ground beef (if you cant get good lean, just drain the fat off it)
1 28oz can tomato sauce
1 8oz can tomato paste
2-3 cloves crushed/minced garlic
1 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp cumin powder
3 tbsp chili powder (possibly more)
1/4 cup masa flour (this s the secret ingredient)
1/2 cup water

Brown your meat and drain off any extra fat if need be.
Add in the minced garlic and stir, being careful not to burn it.
Add in bot cans of tomato sauce and paste.
Add in all the seasonings and onions and stir well.
Let bubble for a few minutes.
While its bubbling, mix the water and masa together to form a "Slurry".
Add the slurry into the pot and mix well.
This is where you would add the beans.

Set heat on a low low simmer, pop a lid on it and walk away. Come back and stir it every 15 minutes or so for an hour.

this is wonderful on fries, hot dogs, hamburgers, in a bowl by itself with some cornbread on the side, you name it.

Taco pizza with price breakdown

Taco pizza thing
(best name i could come up with im tired and full)
This looks like alot of stuff but it made a decent amount of food, and very filling, i'll do a price breakdown of what it cost me.

2 crescent roll tubes $2
1 1/2 ground beef $3
1 packet of taco seasoning (i used 3 tsp of a homemade mix) freebie
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese .75c (got a pack of shredded for $2 and only used about 1/3 of it)
Shredded lettuce .30 ($1 a head only used a lil bit)
1 or 2 diced tomatoes depending on size .25 (they were .92 cents a lb and only used 2 small ones)
1/2 small can Olives (sliced) .75 (other half is reserved probably for snacks for my kids:)
1/2 diced onion .45 (these were .69 a lb and were kinda big onions, like each one was damn near a lb)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro .20 (3 bunches for $1 only use a small amount of one bunch)
1-2 jalapeno sliced (i used one since it was a monster of a jalapeno) .10 (1 lb for $1, takes a fair amount to make a lb)
1 avocado diced .58 @ .58 cents each avocado
$11 total (but again this would easily feed 6 ppl and to me 11$ for 6 ppl is pretty damn good)


Directions
1. Separate the crescent pastry and lay out in a circle, pointed ends out on a foil lined pizza pan, sprayed very lightly with cooking spray. Use some of the leftover crescent rolls to to make the center a bit thicker as this will hold the meat.
2. Brown meat in a frying pan until no longer pink. Drain fat and add taco seasoning as directed on package, reducing the water to a scant 1/3 cup from the 1/2 cup called for. Drain excess liquid from meat.
3. Sprinkle meat mixture in a circle inside the crescent rolls, then sprinkle 1 cup of the cheese over the meat. Pull crescent roll points over meat and cheese and tuck in.

Bake at 350 degrees until pastry is golden brown (30 min).

4. Add remaining 1/2 cup of cheese, chopped lettuce, tomato, black olives, onions, cilantro and jalapenos (if using), into the middle of the ring, then add a few dollops of sour cream if desired, before serving.

this is a 12 inch pizza pan btw

Make your own saute express blocks

A homemade version of the popular Saute Express simmering blocks. This is a butter-free version and needs to be kept in the freezer.

• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Coarse Pepper
• 1 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 Tablespoon Oregano
• 1 Tablespoon Thyme
• 1 Tablespoon Rosemary
• 1 Tablespoon Minced Dried Onion
• 1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
• 1 cup Olive Oil

Mix all the spices together in a bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of the spice mixture into each compartment of a 12-count ice cube tray, until they all have herbs in them. If there is any remaining herb mixture just add it evenly to all the sections.

Pour the olive oil over the herbs in each section. Some herbs will float. Mix in the herbs with a fork.

Place in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight. When they are done freezing they will be white and solid.

Pop them out of the ice cube tray and place in a freezer bag or freezer safe container and keep in the freezer.

Use one cube when sauteing one pound of meat, poultry or fis