Try It Tuesday: Reviews and News

Hello F.O.T.E.'s!
I bet you thought I'd forget, didn't you?  heh heh heh ....Well, here I am with this week's Try It Tuesday.  I'll share the recipe from last week, plus its reviews from The Flock, as well as today's Try It Tuesday recipe.  Please join me in trying the recipe--we'll try it tonight, you try it whenever you please this week--and sharing your reviews.  I'm trying to be more spontaneous (ha!) this year...or at least more interesting, LOL.  Trying new recipes is a fun way to do that, for me, anyway.  :-)
Ok...Old Business:

Chili Tots

1 lb ground beef
2 (15 oz) cans chili without beans
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies
2 C (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
1 (32 oz) pkg frozen tater tots

    Cook ground beef until no longer pink; drain.  Stir in chili, tomato sauce and chilies.  Transfer to a 9X13 pan sprayed with no-stick spray.  Sprinkle with cheese and top with tater tots.  Cover and bake at 350* for 35-40 minutes.


  Review:  I doubled this, as I usually do.  Last week, only the kids tried the dish, as Reid and I went out that night.  So, below are their opinions:

                  Adam (6): 12 ! out of 10 !  (read, "12 yays out of 10 yays")..."I like the tater tots.  I like the spices.  It's as good as Sonic's."  (high praise, no?  LOL)

                   Hannah (4):  [no yays recorded]  "I liked 'em.  They tasted like chili...with tater tots.  It should be crunchier."

                  Claire (10):  [no yays recorded]  "I liked 'em because they tasted like chili.  It's chunky, like Mama's chili, which I love, but the tater tots were a little on the soft side.  Other than that, they were good.  I recommend it."

                 Meg (13):  7! out of 10!   "It would have been better with Mama's chili.  I thought it was a little too spicy and there was too much liquid.  It also needed more cheese, but overall, pretty good."

                 Annie (16): 5! out of 10!  "It's ok, but not great.  The chili to tot ratio was too high and the tots were too soggy, even after baking at a higher temp without the foil  for an extra 20 minutes.  I think if the tots had been baked before putting them with the chili and the cheese it would have been better.  It doesn't quite stand up to Sonic's, but not too far."

         Ok, so not sure that one is going to make it into our Family Recipe Book.  Could try Annie's suggestion or baking it the whole time without the foil.  Plus, in the week between when I tried this recipe and now, I have read the book _In Defense of Food_ and decided to try a (modified) return to our family roots and move back toward a whole foods diet.  So, with that said...

       This week's Try It:

   Pork Chops and Brown Rice

1 C uncooked brown rice
2 1/2 C boiling water
4 pork chops
1/2 C chopped green bell pepper
1/4 C chopped onion
1/4 t. thyme
1 t. garlic salt
1 t. Worcestershire sauce

Soak rice in boiling water for 30 minutes.  Brown pork chops on both sides in skillet; set aside.  Add  remaining ingredients to skillet.  Simmer for 10 minutes.  Pour rice mixture into greased 9X9 inch baking dish.  Arrange pork chops over rice.  Bake, covered, at 350* for 1 hour.


    I will be doubling this--the yield is only 4 servings.  I will record everyone's comments about the dish, and report them to you next week.  Please do try it yourself, if you please, and share your comments, too.  (I realize that not all folks eat pork, so if you don't, hang around...I do a *lot* of chicken!)

  Ok,  I'll see you back here next Tuesday!
Y'all keep your wool dry!
The Ewe