Best Gazpacho

Gazpacho
I know I said this was the best gazpacho recipe and I promise I still really like that one. This one is a teensy bit better and reminds me of a bowl of gazpacho from a restaurant in my hometown that doesn’t exist anymore. It’s the perfect HOT summer dinner. We found this gem hidden in a Mexican cookbook that we bought years ago:
Perfect Mexican
Now the serving suggestions include:
Screen Shot 2015-07-14 at 3.00.04 PMBut truthfully, we don’t bother because the model didn’t include the garnishes and it’s just as good.

Best Gazpacho

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cucumber (the original recipe says small we just got an average size one) peeled and chopped
  • 2 red bell peppers seeded and chopped
  • 2 green bell peppers seeded and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons garlic cloves we really like garlic so we used about twominced garlic
  • 1 cup fresh basil sprig we have this growing in the kitchen and used about a quarterof leaves
  • 2 1/2 cups strained tomatoes (we had a heck of a time finding strained tomatoes in our Mid-Missouri town so we used tomato puree)
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil splurge and use the good stuff. We have some wonderful EVOO from C's trip to Spain!
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar splurge and use the good stuff
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar splurge and use the good stuff
  • 1 cup and 1/4vegetable stock
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • salt and pepper to taste
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

My opinion:
Some people keep this extra chilly by serving an ice cube at the bottom.
Best Gazpacho
Instead of crusty bread (because I’m still limited in my wheat and gluten intake) we served it with corn quesadillas! Delicious!
Enjoy!
Corn Quesadillas

p.s. Summer 2016 update: even our toddler loves this gazpacho, which she calls “sauca!” She’s been practicing using a spoon on her own and if we keep this a bit on the chunkier side, she’s 90 percent successful! 

Jeb’s Chili

 

One of J’s favorite dishes is his father’s chili. It makes more than enough for three meals and a few lunches for us. Like most of our favorite meals, this one gets better the longer it simmers. It looks complicated, but I promise it’s easy and worth it.

Jeb's Chili

Ingredients
  

Base Ingredients:

  • 1 pounds and 1/2chili or stew beef you can also use ground beef if you want
  • 1 pound pork chop cut up or you can use ground pork
  • 2-3 green bell peppers chopped
  • 1-2 onions chopped

Sauce Ingredients:

  • 1 beer (any kind cheap is particularly good)
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 2 tablespoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 3 tablespoons chili powder (REGULAR chili powder not ancho, not super, not hot. Trust me)
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 2 teaspoons ground chipotle we buy them whole and use a coffee grinder for this
  • 3 cups chicken broth
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1/4 to 1/2 d cup iced celery
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 can rotel or green chiles
  • lime juice as needed
  • 1 can rotel or green chiles
  • lime juice as needed

Instructions
 

  • Brown the meat.
  • Add the chopped bell peppers and onions and cook until desired caramelization.
  • In a separate pot make the sauce by adding the first 11 ingredients and simmering for about 45 minutes until smooth.
  • Then add the tomatoes and meat and peppers and onions. Simmer one to two hours.
  • Add 1 to 4 tablespoons massa flour to thicken if needed (most of the time we leave this step out).
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

 

My opinion: This is delicious with shredded Monterrey jack cheese, lime juice and tortilla chips. J prefers his with corn bread. It’s perfect for a cold winter’s night.