RECIPE SWAP: COOL WEATHER MEANS IT'S TIME TO SERVE UP THOSE HOT BOWLS OF CHILI

It's chili time! I hope you saw the chili cook-off contest announcement in Sunday's paper. It should be a very interesting cook-off, because everyone makes their chili a little different. I hope many of you will enter by sending in your best chili recipe. All of the recipes will be printed in the Southeast Missourian, so the more entries we have the more interesting the recipe collection will be.To kick off the chili season and the contest, I have a chili recipe to share with you. It comes from Charles and Elizabeth Petty of Essex, Mo. This recipe is "famous" in this area, according to him and his wife. Charles prepares this recipe for many different occasions in Essex. You never know, this recipe could become famous in your household.Famous Essex Chili2 pounds ground beef4 slices bacon1 large onion, chopped1 large green pepper, chopped1 1/2 cups celery, chopped1 (number 2 sized) can tomatoes1 (number 2 sized) can tomato sauce3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce3/4 cup Minute Rice2 (number 2 sized) cans kidney beans1 tablespoon sugar2 teaspoons salt1/2 teaspoon black pepper3 1/2 tablespoons chili powderFry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and crumble, to be added later. Cook chopped onion, pepper, and celery in bacon drippings until soft and transparent. Cook ground beef in large vessel to which 3 tablespoons bacon drippings were first added to keep from sticking.

Cook meat until it loses red color and crumbles. Mix in with ground beef the cooked vegetables, crumbled bacon, tomatoes, tomato sauce, and kidney beans. Add Minute Rice, mixed dry ingredients and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer about 1 hour. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Last week I shared a few recipes with you from Tracey Tripp of Cape Girardeau. She has a few more recipes that are great fall favorites of her family and would like for you to have them.

Oven Caramel Corn

2 cups brown sugar

2 sticks (1 cup) butter or margarine

1/2 cup corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

5 quarts popped corn, unsalted

Mix all ingredients except baking soda and corn in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil while stirring and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and add baking soda; mix well. (Mixture will foam up and this is normal. Make sure your pan is large enough to accommodate this process.) Pour over popped corn; mix well until well coated. Put in 2 large pans and bake in 200 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Stir every 15 minutes. When cool, store in airtight containers. This is also great with some pecans or peanuts added.

Tracey said she uses the top and bottom of her large roaster to bake the corn in and it works great.

Sweet Potato Hot Rolls

1 pkg. Pillsbury Hot Roll Mix2 tablespoons sugar3/4 cup cooked, mashed sweet potato2 eggs1/3 cup wheat germ1 cup water, heated to 120 to 130 degrees2 tablespoons butter or margarine1 tablespoon waterGrease two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans. In large bowl, combine flour mixture with yeast from foil packet, 1/3 cup wheat germ and sugar; mix well. Stir in 1 cup hot water, sweet potatoes, butter and 1 egg until dough pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. WIth greased or floured hands, shape dough into a ball. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth, sprinkling with additional flour if necessary to reduce stickiness. Cover dough with large bowl; let rest 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 16 equal pieces. Place 8 balls, smooth side up, in each greased pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and cloth towel. Let rise in warm place until doubled in size.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Uncover rolls. In a small bowl, beat remaining egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush over rolls. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 t0 25 minutes.

Tracey and her family have many different potluck and bonfire wiener roast events in the fall. Many times she takes her favorite baked beans and they are always a big hit.

Country Baked Beans4 cans (16 oz. each) baked beans, drained1 bottle (12 oz.) chili sauce1 large onion, finely chopped1 lb. bacon, cooked crisp and crumbled2 cups packed brown sugarIn large casserole dish or baking crock, combine all of the ingredients. Stir until blended. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, until heated through.

Our "Friends from Altenburg" are at it again, and we are very glad! They have a few favorite recipes for you to enjoy.

Chicken and Green Bean Casserole4 1/2 cups cooked rice1 tablespoon parsley flakes1 1/2 cups cooked chicken2 cans (1 lb. each) cut green beans3/4 cup milk1 can mushroom soup1/8 teaspoon pepper1 can French fried onion rings

Combine cooked rice and parsley in a 9x13-inch baking dish. With spoon, press rice up sides and bottom to form crust. Combine chicken, beans, milk, soup, pepper and 1/2 can fried onions into rice crust. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Top with remaining onions and bake uncovered 5 minutes longer.

Chicken Loaf

4 cups diced chicken3/4 cup bread crumbs, soaked in 2 cups chicken broth2 cups cooked rice1/2 cup onions1/2 cup green pepper2 eggs, beatenMix all ingredients together and bake in oblong pan at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until firm, but not brown. Serve in squares with plain cream sauce or mushroom sauce.

Overnight Casserole

1 3/4 cups uncooked spaghetti

2 cups cooked chicken or turkey

1 can celery soup

1 can mushroom soup

3 hard boiled eggs, cut up

1 cup milk

1 tablespoon chopped pimento

2 tablespoons chopped green pepper

1/2 pound American cheese

1 cup chicken broth

1 small can peas

Mix together and let stand overnight in refrigerator. Bake 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees.

Joan Weeks of Cape Girardeau shares a very different recipe for apple pie that you will enjoy and her favorite pumpkin bread recipe.

Red Chili Apple pie

5 cups apples, peeled and sliced

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

2 teaspoons chili powder

dash of salt

Combine all ingredients in large pan and cook over medium heat 20 to 25 minutes. Pour into unbaked 9-inch pie shell. Dot with butter. Top with crust. Cut vents and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 30 to 40 minutes in 375 degree oven or until crust is golden brown.

Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 teaspoons cinnamon

3 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoons ginger

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

2/3 cup water

2 cups canned pumpkin

1 cup salad oil

Combine dry ingredients. Add remaining ingredients to beat well. Pour in 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. This is very good spread with butter or cream cheese.

Dorothy Conner of Jackson has a very delicious pumpkin soup recipe that is very good and I think you will find it well worth the trouble.

Pumpkin Soup

1 7-lb. pumpkin

7 tablespoons soft butter, divided

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs

2/3 cup onion, minced

salt and pepper

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 cup Swiss cheese, grated

chicken stock

bay leaf

1/2 cup cream

parsley

Spread crumbs in pan. Put in 300 degree oven for about 15 minutes, stir occasionally. Cut off top of pumpkin making a 4-inch hole, scrape out carefully and completely, removing the membrane and the seeds, leaving the pumpkin pulp. Rub inside with 1 tablespoon butter. Sprinkle with salt. Cook onion in 6 tablespoons butter. Stir in crumbs and cook 2 minutes. Stir in seasonings. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Spoon mixture into pumpkin. Pour in chicken stock to 1/2-inch from top. Lay bay leaf on top and replace cover. Put pumpkin in lightly greased shallow baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Before serving, stir in cream and top with parsley. To serve, ladle into serving bowls scraping some of the cooked pumpkin pulp with the soup stock. Variation: she adds extra onion and extra Swiss cheese.

It is not very often that I share many of my favorites, but I did a couple of weeks ago and I had several comments that I should do that more often. So, don't say it unless you mean it! This week I have a couple of our favorites that I tend to reserve for fall and I hope you will enjoy them, too.

Baked Ham and Apples1 slice center cut smoked ham, about 1-inch thick or 2 to 2 1/2 lbs2 teaspoons dry mustard1/2 cup packed brown sugar3 medium baking apples2 tablespoons butter or margarinepepper to tastePlace ham in an ungreased 9x12-inch pan. Rub with mustard and sprinkle with brown sugar. Core apples and cut into 3/4-inch slices; arrange in a single layer over ham. Dot with butter and sprinkle with pepper. Cover and bake for 45 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes longer or until apples are tender.Sausage Apple Breakfast Bake1 lb. bulk sausage1 large onion, chopped1 lb sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded2 large tart apples, peeled, cored and chopped3/4 cup dried herb stuffing mix2 eggs1 (17 1/4 oz.) pkg. puff pastry, thawedPreheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter a large baking sheet and set aside.Brown sausage and onion together; drain. In a large bowl, combine sausage, cheese, apples and stuffing. At this point you can refrigerate this mixture until morning. Beat one of the eggs and add to bowled mixture.On a lightly floured board, roll out each of the two puff pastry sheets to a 14x18-inch rectangle. Spoon 1/2 of the filling down the center of each rectangle, starting 3 inches from the top and ending 3 inches from the bottom. Fold the top and bottom edges of the pastry over the filling. Then cut the pastry on either side of the filling onto diagonal strips about 1/2-inch wide. Fold the strips alternately from each side, over the filling. Make second roll. Beat the egg and brush this wash over both. Bake 30 minutes until puffed and browned.

Cranberry and Apple Harvest Pie

For the pie:3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar5 tablespoons cornstarch1 teaspoon cinnamon, or to tastepinch of salt2 lbs. tart green apples, cut into 1/4-inch wedges1 3/4 cups cranberries2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice1 9-inch pie shellTopping:1/2 cup butter1 teaspoon vanilla3/4 cup brown sugar2 tablespoons evaporated milk1 cup chopped pecansPreheat oven to 350 degrees.Mix first 4 pie ingredients together. Add apples, cranberries and juice together, toss. Transfer to pie shell, mounding in center. Bake 1/2 hour. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes more. Cool.For the topping, melt butter with milk and sugar over low heat. Increase heat and simmer stirring constantly. Mix in vanilla then pecans. Pour into bowl, let stand until slightly thickened and just cool, stir occasionally about 10 minutes.Spoon over pie, covering completely. Let stand until topping sets about 30 minutes. This can be made about 6 hours before serving.

It has been a couple of weeks since we have had a recipe request from area readers. This week we have two and you will find both of them challenging.

Darlene Bonney of Jackson is wanting to make the green pepper soup she ate at a restaurant in Emma. Mo. She said it had ground beef, tomatoes, rice and green peppers in it, but from there she isn't sure what to do. Can someone please help her with a recipe? I know we have a reader or two who love soups and that is their specialty, so surely we can find one.

This is a real challenge, readers. We have a desperate request from Denise Jones of Perryville who has a very picky eater school-aged son. Denise prepares hot food each morning for him to take in his insulated cooler. She has fixed chicken nuggets and peanut butter roll-ups, but needs other options. She does not need or want soup or stew recipes. Can anyone please help her?Denise and other mothers in this situation could also contact her area Home Economist specialist through the Missouri Cooperative Extension Service.

Another week of great recipes from area readers! I hope you have a great week and happy cooking.