Football Friday: Venison Chili

Most people thing the official meat of Wisconsin is the bratwurst. These people would be wrong. I think we all know the true official meat is venison. 

Deer hunting isn't just a casual thing in Wisconsin; it's a lifestyle choice. Kids take off school to dress in blaze orange and sit in tree stands. It's totally normal to see a dead deer with it's tongue sticking out, hanging off the back end of someone's truck as you're driving down the highway. Rebecca has fond memories of her Grandpa deer hunting, and dressing the dead deer in his garage; using her mom's expensive cookie sheets to hold the meat. Needless to say, those cookie sheets were never used again once the deer was sent off to the butcher. 

But the best thing about deer hunting season is of course the venison meat! Kevin in the Wisconsin Test Kitchen was gifted with a few pounds of ground venison; and after Sawyer tried venison chili at a friend's house, she was hooked. So, venison chili it was! 

This is a great game day recipe: you can prep the chili early and leave it in the slow cooker to simmer all day. Plus, it yields a TON of chili, perfect for feeding a crowd of people.


Cool Dads Venison Chili

Recipe modified from: http://www.pipandebby.com/pip-ebby/2014/2/15/the-best-chili-on-earth.html

2 pounds ground venison
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow or white onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, chopped
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
46-oz. can tomato juice
28-oz. can diced tomatoes
15-oz. can tomato sauce
16-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
16-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Shredded cheese and sour cream, for topping

Instructions
In a large skillet, cook ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Transfer the meat to a bowl. Drain excess grease from skillet, but do not clean.
Add the olive oil to the skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the onion, green pepper, garlic, parsley and jalapeño peppers (if using). Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add the chili powder, cumin, sugar, oregano, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Stir until combined.

If cooking the chili stovetop, add the cooked meat back to the skillet. If you are using a slow cooker, add everything to the slow cooker. Add the tomato juice, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, kidney beans and pinto beans. On stovetop, bring to a boil, dial back to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. In slow cooker, cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Serve warm with cheese and sour cream.

Now, time for some Football Friday picks! Tristan now has a 1 point lead over Sawyer, with 25 correct picks! Now, here's our week 8 picks!

New England vs. Miami
Sawyer: Dolphins
Tristan: Patriots

Detroit vs. Kansas City
Sawyer: Lions
Tristan: Lions

San Diego vs. Baltimore
Sawyer: Ravens
Tristan: Ravens

Cincinnati vs. Pittsburgh
Sawyer: Bengals
Tristan: Bengals

Houston vs. Tennessee
Sawyer: Titans
Tristan: Titans

Minnesota vs. Chicago
Sawyer: Vikings
Tristan: Bears

Tampa Bay vs. Atlanta
Sawyer: Falcons
Tristan: Falcons

NYG vs. New Orleans
Sawyer: Giants
Tristan: Saints

San Francisco vs. St. Louis
Sawyer: Rams
Tristan: Rams

Arizona vs. Cleveland
Sawyer: Cardinals
Tristan: Cardinals

NYJ vs. Oakland
Sawyer: Raiders
Tristan: Jets

Seattle vs. Dallas
Sawyer: Cowboys
Tristan: Seahawks

Green Bay vs. Denver
Sawyer: Packers
Tristan: Broncos

Carolina vs. Indy
Sawyer: Panthers
Tristan: Panthers

Have a great weekend full of football, family and fun!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Meatless Monday: Stuffed Squash

One of the staples every year at the Wisconsin Test Kitchen's Thanksgiving table is stuffed acorn squash. A hearty stuffing of mushrooms, sunflower seeds and dried apricots is a great vegetarian dish, and something even the  meat eaters enjoy. 

Here's the recipe from the Moosewood Cookbook:  http://www.food.com/recipe/comprehensively-stuffed-squash-a-moosewood-recipe-444688

A few weeks ago, the Wisconsin Test Kitchen stumbled across another stuffed squash recipe, and we thought we'd give it a try in preparation for Thanksgiving. We had received a few beautiful acorn squash from Door to Door Organics; and thought they'd look good full of apple, celery, mushrooms and protein. 

So, how did the new recipe stack up compared to the tried and true classic? Pretty darn well, with a notable difference.

The difference is, of course, meat. The original recipe called for ground turkey sausage. We used ground pork since we have a freezer full of it. However, you could just as easily substitute Boca or soy meat crumbles, or even quinoa. *Directions for substitutions in the notes below

Cool Dads Stuffed Squash

2 large acorn squash, halved and seeded
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1 clove of garlic, pressed
1lb. pork sausage
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
3 celery rib, finely chopped
4 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 apple, cored and chopped
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the melted butter and garlic. Brush the inside and outside of each squash with the butter mix. Place the squash on a cookie sheet, cut side up, and roast for 50-60 minutes, or until fork tender.

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the sausage. 

When the sausage is browned, remove it from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate, set aside.

 To the skillet add the onions, celery, and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes. 

Add the apples and cook for another 2 minutes.

Return the sausage to the skillet then remove from heat. 

Season with salt, and pepper. Stir in the breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Add the egg and stir to combine.

Divide the stuffing evenly among the four squash halves. Return to the oven and bake for another 20 minutes.

Notes from the Test Kitchen:

-If you decide to substitute meat with Boca crumbles- no modifications need to be made to the recipe. Just brown the crumbles, remove them from the stove, and cook the vegetables. Add the crumbles back in once the vegetables are sauteed, and you're done. 

-If substituting quinoa, prepare 1 cup of it. Once you're done sauteeing the vegetables, stir the quinoa in, and stuff the squash. You might only want to bake for 8-10 minutes to prevent the quinoa from drying out.

-You might end up with extra stuffing. That's okay: serve it with the squash. We found our ratio of stuffing to squash was off, and we enjoyed having additional stuffing to put inside the squash as we were eating. 

We hope you enjoy this hearty fall dish as much as we did!

Stay Cool,

The Cool Dads Crew

Football Friday: Crock Pot Beef Stew

It really is one of the most wonderful times of the year: crunchy leaves, Pumpkin Spice flavored everything, football on the television and beef stew in the crock pot. 

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen received a few packets of organic beef stew meat in our most recent order from Door to Door Organics and decided nothing goes together like the Packers 6-0 record, and a warm tasty beef stew. #gopackgo 

Crock Pot Beef Stew
Recipe courtesy of: http://life-in-the-lofthouse.com/crock-pot-beef-stew/

2 (1 oz) packages dry onion soup mix
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 pounds lean beef stew meat (cut up into bite sized pieces)
5 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 to 3 cups baby carrots
1 small Onion, chopped
2 (10 oz.) cans cream of celery soup
1 cup ketchup

In a large plastic bag, combine the dry onion soup mix and paprika. Add in meat and shake the bag to coat meat with the seasonings. (You may have to do that step in two batches, for all the meat to fit).

Once meat is coated, spread out evenly into a greased 7 quart crock pot.

Top meat evenly with diced potatoes, carrots and onion.

Mix the cream of celery soup and ketchup in a small bowl. Pour mixture over the meat and vegetables.

Cover crock pot with lid. Cook on low heat for 8 hours or until meat is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Stir to combine everything then serve.

A quick note from the Test Kitchen: we mixed the vegetables up a little bit- we only had a few carrots, but a bunch of leftover turnips. So, we added those. Really any thick, root vegetables will work well in this stew. 

Also, we found this stew tastes even better the next day!

And now some football picks from our Mini Chefs!
After week 6, Sawyer still has a 2 point lead over Tristan, with 17 correct picks. Now here's week 7

Seattle vs. San Francisco
Sawyer: 49ers
Tristan: Seahawks

Buffalo vs. Jacksonville
Sawyer: Jaguars
Tristan: Jaguars

Cleveland vs. St. Louis
Sawyer: Rams
Tristan: Rams

Houston vs. Miami
Sawyer: Dolphins
Tristan: Dolphins

NYJ vs. New England
Sawyer: Patriots
Tristan: Patriots

Pittsburgh vs. Kansas City
Sawyer: Steelers
Tristan: Steelers

Tampa Bay vs. Washington
Sawyer: Buccaneers
Tristan: Buccaneers

Minnesota vs. Detroit
Sawyer: Lions
Tristan: Lions

New Orleans vs. Indy
Sawyer: Colts
Tristan: Saints

Atlanta vs. Tennessee
Sawyer: Falcons
Tristan: Falcons

Oakland vs. San Diego
Sawyer: Chargers
Tristan: Raiders

Dallas vs. NYG
Sawyer: Cowboys
Tristan: Giants

Philly vs. Carolina
Sawyer: Panthers
Tristan: Panthers

Baltimore vs. Arizona
Sawyer: Cardinals
Tristan: Ravens

Have a great weekend full of football, food and fun!
Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Meatless Monday: Cold & Flu Fighter Salad

Kale. Oh, kale, kale, kale. I had a long FB chat with a friend last week about how kale is such a difficult ingredient to work with.While the Wisconsin Test Kitchen has come to respect and tolerate kale, it's still not as tasty as say, bacon or chocolate cupcakes.

But, you know what's worse than kale? Cold and flu season. Last week the Wisconsin Test Kitchen felt the first stirrings of sore throats and runny noses; and we fought it with pomegranates, citrus fruit, vitamins and a delicious kale salad. This salad is great because the kale is a strong, natural antioxidant, the dried cranberries are high in Vitamin C, and well, Parmesan cheese makes everything better. 

Cold & Flu Fighter Kale Salad

1 bunch green kale

1/2 dried cranberries, roughly chopped

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

Parmesan cheese

Remove the kale from the stems and pulse in a food processor until shredded. 

Combine kale in a bowl with dried cranberries and toasted pine nuts. 

Mix lemon juice and olive oil together, and pour generously over the salad (kale absorbs a lot of moisture, so don't worry if it seems like a lot of dressing). 

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, and serve. 

Note: if you have leftovers, or decide to serve the next day, you might need to add an extra dash of dressing or cheese the next day. 

Give this a try the next time you feel yourself getting under the weather, and get back on the road to recovery.

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Football Friday: Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs with Applies & Onions

Are you looking to kick your football celebration up a notch? Are you looking for a recipe a little fancier than your normal sliders or ribs? The Arkansas Test Kitchen has a new recipe for you to try.

It's a little more detailed than some of our other recipes, but worth the extra time and effort!

Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs with Apple and Onions


6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
1 cup of white wine
1/2 lbs. bacon
1 apple cored and sliced to about 1/2" pieces
1 onion finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Pre-heat a cast iron skillet with oil to medium high heat
2. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees
3. Wash the chicken thighs and pat dry
4. Place chicken thighs skin side down in the skillet
5. Cook chicken for approximately 4 to 5 minutes, or until the skin is crispy
6. While the chicken is cooking, season the opposite side of the meat with salt and pepper
7. Carefully flip the chicken over, and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes
8. Pour the wine in the skillet, and place in the pre heated oven for 20 minutes
9. While the chicken is in the oven, in a second skillet, brown the bacon
10. Transfer the bacon to a plate once crisp
11. Use one tablespoon of bacon grease to sautee the apple and onion, until the onion is translucent and soft. 

12. Once the chicken is done baking, remove the skillet from the oven and add the onion / apple / bacon mixture around the chicken; trying not to place it on top of the chicken. Reserve 1/2 the bacon
13. Place the skillet back in the oven for another 10 - 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees
14. Remove the chicken from the oven and place the remainder of the bacon on top of the chicken, and serve.

**If you don't have a cast iron skillet, any oven proof pan will work.

Now that your mouth is watering, it's time for some football picks!

After last week, Sawyer has a slight margin with 9 correct picks, and Tristan has 7. Here are our week 6 predictions!

New Orleans vs. Atlanta
Sawyer: Falcons 
Tristan: Saints

Chicago vs. Detroit
Sawyer: Lions
Tristan: Bears

Washington vs. NYJ
Sawyer: Jets
Tristan: Redskins

Pittsburgh vs. Arizona
Sawyer: Cardinals
Tristan: Cardinals

Kansas City vs. Minnesota
Sawyer: Chiefs
Tristan: Vikings

Buffalo vs. Cincinnati
Sawyer: Bengals
Tristan: Bengals

Denver vs. Cleveland
Sawyer: Broncos
Tristan: Broncos

Miami vs. Tennessee
Sawyer: Dolphins
Tristan: Dolphins

Houston vs. Jacksonville
Sawyer: Jaguars
Tristan: Jaguars

Carolina vs. Seattle
Sawyer: Panthers
Tristan: Seahawks

San Diego vs. Green Bay
Sawyer: Packers
Tristan: Packers

Baltimore vs. San Francisco
Sawyer: Ravens
Tristan: Ravens

New England vs. Indy
Sawyer: Colts
Tristan: Patriots

NYG vs. Philly
Sawyer: Eagles
Tristan: Eagles

Best of luck to your teams this weekend!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Meatless Monday: The Best Tomato Sauce of Your Life

Did you see this crazy video of a guy with tomatoes and a vegetable grater? I know, it sounds like the set up for a bad comedy routine; but it's actually the easiest, and best way to make fresh tomato sauce. 

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen saw this video, and we had to give it a try. It also helped that we had a bunch of tomatoes, courtesy of our niece's tomato plant. Not only is this recipe super easy, but it tastes a million times better than tomato sauce out of a jar. Trust us on this one!

This is kind of a free-form recipe. There are not really any exact measurements, which makes it kind of fun. Additionally, you can customize the recipe depending on the type of pasta you want to use, as well as any sauteed or fresh vegetables you'd like to add (mushrooms and spinach would be tasty additions). 

The Best Tomato Sauce of Your Life

4-5 tomatoes (Roma would be ideal, but Beefsteak work too)

Fresh basil, roughly chopped

1 clove minced garlic

Olive oil

Greek Yogurt or Heavy Cream 

Fresh mozzarella cheese

Pasta of your choice (we went with mostaccioli) 

Slice tomatoes in half, and scrape across the box grater and into a bowl, until just the skin remains. Repeat until all tomatoes are grated.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic and sautee until fragrant. 

Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and let sauce simmer while you cook your pasta according to package directions. 

Once pasta is done cooking, Add a few dollops of Greek yogurt (technical, we know); or a few splashes of heavy cream. Stir well, and allow the sauce to thicken slightly. 

Combine pasta, tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and chopped basil. Serve warm. 

YUM! Give this a try if you're looking for a delicious, fresh Italian meal. We can't wait to hear if you also think it's the best tomato sauce ever; and what kind of unique ingredients you added!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Football Friday: Grilled Sausage & Pepper Bombers

We're back with our first Football Friday recipe of the season! We've missed sharing some tasty game day food ideas; and are finally back with a sandwich recipe that has 'Football Season' written all over it! 

Rebecca in the Wisconsin Test Kitchen is a proud Italian who loves nothing more than making homemade lasagna (her last one clocked in at over ten pounds), meatballs (a recipe so secret she'll take it to the grave!) and even sausage and peppers. Doug in the Arkansas Test Kitchen decided to channel Rebecca's Italian pride and put his own Cool Dad's spin on it: grilled sausage and peppers. And these make for one heck of a tasty sandwich! 

For those not in the know, bombers are a tasty combination of grilled bread, lots of tomato sauce and provolone cheese. The meat is usually simmered in a heavy tomato sauce, and grilling them adds a delicious smoky element to the meat. YUM!

Sausage & Pepper Bombers

Mild or sweet Italian sausage links
Minced garlic
1-2 bell peppers

1 yellow onion
Marinara sauce of your choosing
Sliced provolone cheese
Brat/Hoagie buns


1. Cook the the sausage on the grill until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees

2. In a large cast iron dutch oven, sautee the bell peppers and onions over the coals of the grill. 

Note: if you don't have a dutch oven, wrapping the peppers and onions in foil and letting them cook until they soften works as well. 

3. Once the onions and peppers are soft, pour the marinara sauce in the dutch oven and let it warm.

4. Place the sausages in the dutch oven with the marinara sauce and vegetables for 5-10 minutes until warmed through. Give the flavors a chance to meld.

5. Slice buns, and line with Provolone cheese. Add sausages, and top with marinara sauce and sauteed vegetables. 

And now, it's FINALLY time for our Football Friday picks. Last season Doug was so discouraged by his crushing loss, that he decided he'd have better luck letting Tristan make his picks going forward. We LOVED that idea, so going forward, both Tristan and Sawyer will be making our Football Friday picks!

Indy vs. Houston

Sawyer: Texans (she loves JJ Watt!)

Tristan: Colts

Chicago vs. KC

Sawyer: Chiefs

Tristan: Bears

Seattle vs. Cincinnati

Sawyer: Bengals

Tristan: Seahawks

Washington vs. Atlanta

Sawyer:  Falcons

Tristan: Falcons

Jacksonville vs. Tampa Bay

Sawyer:  Jaguars

Tristan: Jaguars

New Orleans vs. Philadelphia

Sawyer: Eagles

Tristan: Eagles

Cleveland vs. Baltimore
Sawyer: Ravens

Tristan: Ravens

St. Louis vs. Green Bay

Sawyer: Packers

Tristan: Rams

Buffalo vs. Tennessee

Sawyer: Bills

Tristan: Titans

Arizona vs. Detroit

Sawyer: Cardinals

Tristan: Lions

New England vs. Dallas

Sawyer: Cowboys

Tristan: Patriots

Denver vs. Oakland

Sawyer: Broncos

Tristan: Broncos

San Francisco vs. New York

Sawyer: Giants

Tristan: Giants

Pittsburgh vs. San Diego

Sawyer:  Steelers 

Tristan: Chargers

Good luck, Cool Dads!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew

Meatless Monday: Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein

The Wisconsin Test Kitchen was craving Chinese food the other night: dumplings, sesame chicken, egg rolls... our mouths are watering just thinking about it.  It worked out pretty well that just the day before, we had found a recipe on Pinterest for Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein. We thought it might be just the recipe to cure our Chinese food cravings! 

We were right! We modified the original recipe slightly and added a few extra ingredients to give the sauce a little more depth of flavor; but it was the perfect (low calorie!) recipe to sate our food cravings.

Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein
Recipe courtesy  of: http://littlebitsof.com/2014/10/spaghetti-squash-chow-mein/

Ingredients
1 large spaghetti squash
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil

Sriracha hot sauce- to taste

1/2 teaspoon lime juice
1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally
2 cups cole slaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)

Directions

Cut a spaghetti squash in half length wise and scoop out seeds. Lay skin side up in a 13 x 9 pyrex and pour 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until flesh is very tender. Once done, scoop out flesh with a fork so it breaks apart into strings, set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, garlic, brown sugar, ginger and white pepper; set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and celery, and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in cabbage until heated through, about 1 minute.

Stir in spaghetti squash and soy sauce mixture until well combined, about 2 minutes.
Serve immediately.

We ended up with a double batch, because our spaghetti squash was larger than life. However, this recipe re-heats extremely well, and is a tasty lunch option as well. Go ahead... make all the other people in the lunchroom jealous!

Stay Cool,
The Cool Dads Crew