Ruocco’s Recipes: Ft. Potato Chip Cookies + Turkey Chili!

Happy fall, you beautiful babes! This is my favorite time of year, with a chill in the air and gorgeous colorful leaves falling outside, I can’t think of a better time for some good ol’ comfort food! Few things make me happier than this weather, oversized sweaters and cooking for my loved ones. So, make somebody happy today by cooking up a good meal for them! The best part is… these recipes are SO easy.

Turkey Chili:

2 lb ground turkey (of course if you prefer ground beef, you can use that as well!)

Optional: I added one package of fresh sage sausage, which was probably the best decision ever.

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes

1 15.5 oz can kidney beans

1 15.5 oz can black beans

1 15.5 oz can pinto beans

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 bell peppers (I used red and yellow for color!) chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup red wine

1 tbsp worcester sauce

2 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp cinnamon sugar

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp black pepper

First cook your meats in separate pans. Feel free to change this up. You can use spicy italian sausage or mild sausage, or just turkey meat, if you like!

Put the tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, garlic, onion, beans, wine, worcester sauce and all of your spices into a giant pot or crock pot on low heat. A crock pot is best because it can stay on low heat all day without being a safety hazard or burning.

Add your meat(s) into the pot once it’s cooked, then add in the bell peppers last. Let it stew for a while. Keep an eye on it, stirring occasionally. The great thing about chili is you can really play with the ingredients and spices to make it your own. I usually start with a basic recipe then add my own flare, like I’ve done here with the cinnamon, sage sausage and wocester sauce. If you like it spicier, add some red pepper flakes! If you are like me and not a big fan of beans, take out one of the cans. I eliminated the kidney beans (by accident because the can was dented!) and it was still great.

Keep tasting as you go along, stirring it well and slowly adding more spices in where you see fit.

I serve chili in a toasted bread bowl with a dollup of sour cream and some shredded chessar cheese on top!

Potato Chip Cookies:

My mom LOVES potato chips so last week, I decided to make her day by combining her two favorite things… chips and cookies. Haha. I found a recipe online and tweaked it slightly. Prepare your taste buds for this awesome salty/sweet combo.

Heat your oven to 350 F.

1 cup flour

1 cup of butter (2 sticks) softened at room temperature

1/2 cup crushed pecans

1 cup of salty potato chips, crushed (1 cup after being crushed, not before! Tip: chop them using a food processor!)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

I know it sounds strange that there are no true liquids in this aside from vanilla extract, but it works. I promise! That’s what gives it a dense shortbread texture. Combine the ingredients above in a bowl. You can use a mixer or your hands to get all of the ingredients mushed together. Mushed. Mushed!! Great word. Okay, moving on… scoop out small portions of the batter, make 1 inch balls then flatten them down and place them on a baking sheet covered with foil. (Tip: I cover all of my baking sheets in foil so I don’t have to wash them every time I use them. I just throw away the foil and my pans stay nice and clean.)

Bake for about 12 minutes. Check on them every so often. You’re looking for a cookie that has golden edges! Let them cool for 10 minutes or so before you dig in. (Note: this batter is almost impossible to not eat while you’re making it… The best part is there are no raw eggs in it, so you can eat it all you want!)