The Making of a Petro

Unless you are from East Tennessee, you probably have no idea what I am talking about when I say, "College football and Petro's just go together!" 

You see, Petro's is a restaurant that serves...... well....Petros.  It all started in 1982 at the World's Fair in Knoxville, TN.  A couple from Spokane, Washington, Joe and Carol Schoentrup, operated a concession at the fair and served a dish similar to the popular Frito Pie.  But, the Schoentrup's decided to dress up their dish by adding cheddar and monterey jack cheeses, tomatoes, green onions, sour cream, and hot sauce.  Oh, and you might be wondering why they called it a Petro instead of Chili Pie.  Well, they came up with the name as a derivative of petroleum to honor the energy theme of the 1982 World's Fair.

 

 

As I eluded to before, an East Tennessee tailgate party and/or a college football party isn't complete without the infamous Petro being served.

 



 

 

Unfortunately, I don't have the authentic recipe for Petro's chili; however, I have MY recipe for chili which my family thinks is just as good.  Now, go make a pot, build yourself a Petro and turn on some football!

 

Chili Recipe:

2 lb ground beef

2 onions

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 TB chili powder

2 tsp salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)

2 tsp dried oregano

2 cans of Rotel (mild or hot depending on your taste)

2 (14.5 ounce) cans petite diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

3 cans chili beans (mild or spicy depending on your taste)

 

Directions:  Brown ground beef in pan, then drain.  Add onions and continue to cook until onions are soft.  Stir in garlic, chili powder, salt, cayenne, oregano, Rotel, canned tomatoes (my family does not like chunks of tomatoe in their chili, so I run my canned tomatoes and Rotel through the food processor), and tomato sauce.  Heat to boiling, reduce heat to simmer and cover.  Cook, stirring occasionally for 1 hour.  Stir in beans.  Simmer, uncovered for 20 minutes, stir occasionally.  Serve chili over Fritos and top with any or all of the "Fixings" below.

 

Fixings:

Fritos

Shredded cheese

Tomatoes

Onions

Sour Cream

Black Olives

Jalapenos





Pasta Fagioli

My favorite soup at Olive Garden is Pasta Fagioli.  I searched high and low and finally found a copycat recipe that is identical.

3 tsp Oil
2 lb Ground Beef
12 oz Onion, chopped
14 oz Carrots, slivered (I use the bagged matchstick carrots)
14 oz Celery, diced
48 oz canned Diced Tomatoes
2 c. Red Kidney Beans
2 c. Cannellini Beans (you can use Northern Beans if you can't find Cannellinis)
88 oz Beef Stock
3 tsp Oregano
2 1/2 tsp Pepper
5 tsp Parsley
1 1/2 tsp Tabasco
48 oz Spaghetti Sauce
8 oz Dry Pasta

Saute beef in oil in large 10 qt pot until beef starts to brown.  Add onions, carrots, celery, and tomatoes and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Drain and rinse the beans and add to the pot.  Also add beef stock, oregano, pepper, Tabasco, spaghetti sauce, and pasta.  Add chopped parsley.  Simmer until celery and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes.

*This makes A LOT of soup.  If you are not feeding a big crowd, I would suggest halfing the recipe.

Kaylea's Favorite Chili

Kaylea does not like spicy food, so finding a chili recipe that she liked was quite a challenge.  After a lot of trial and error we finally found this one - and she LOVES it!

1 lb Ground Beef
1 Onion, minced
28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
1 can Busch's Mild Chili Beans
1 can Water
1/4 c. Ketchup
3 1/2 TB Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
3/4 tsp Sugar
Salt and Pepper to taste

Brown ground beef then drain.  Add onions to pan and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.  Put meat, onions, and remaining ingredients into a stock pot.  Simmer on low for an hour.

Tortellini Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
1 lb lean ground beef
1 pt fresh mushrooms, quartered
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 jar spaghetti sauce
32 oz beef broth
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 pkg matchstick carrots
12 oz bag frozen green beans
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried basil
salt, pepper and sugar (to taste)
1 pkg fresh cheese tortellini (in refrigerator section)

Put ground beef, onions and mushrooms in a stock pot. Cook until meat is done and onions are soft. Add garlic, broth, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, veggies and spices. Cook on med-low heat for 20 minutes. Add tortellini to soup, cover pot and continue to cook another 10 minutes.

Serve with shredded parmesan cheese and toasted french bread.