Rachel Ray Kitchenware Review {Recipe: Skillet Chili Mac}

Are you a Rachel Ray Fan? To be honest she isn't one of my favorite celebrity chefs, because of her somewhat gourmet style of cooking. My cooking style is more southern and home style, so I tend to prefer Trisha Yearwood, The Neelys and Paula Deen. 

I'm a fan of a few of her meals, because she does utilizes boxed and pre-packaged ingredients which I do from time to time. She also has a bubbly personality and a silliness about her when she cooks, so she definitely makes it fun as cooking should be.

I have to admit when it comes to kitchenware I have kind of been a Rachel Ray snob. My last two cookware sets were both from the Paula Deen line. I do a lot of cooking so I can go through cookware like crazy. 

Recently I had the chance to get an advance look at the Rachel Ray Kitchenware Collection that will be available starting on March 24th, 2013 at Walmart. For my review I received a 10 piece Cookware Set, Garbage Bowl, 2 Lazy Spoons and a Top This Suction Lid set.

I'm a girl who loves color, so when Rachel Ray's cookware first came out years ago it only came in orange, which was an immediate turn off for me. Well now her kitchenware line comes in seven different colors (I'm so jealous of the red).

In store you can get red and orange, but online starting mid March you can get additional colors (blue, green, purple, fennel, red  and yellow ) at walmart.com. I have to say the red is beautiful and would be my first choice of color, but the orange is starting to grown on me. 

Her other kitchenware and gadget items, garbage bowl, lazy spoons, tool sets and turners also come in a variety of colors to match your kitchen.

I've been using her cookware for about a week now on all sorts of different dishes. I've made sticky caramel corn, sauces and grilled meats to test out it's non stick surface. I can honestly say nothing has stuck to the pans and clean up was a snap.

I made a Skillet Chili Mac recipe using her 3 qt covered saucepan. This piece by far was my favorite, because of it's straight deep sides and holding capacity. This saucepan is perfect for one dish meals, because it can go from stove top to oven (up to 350 degrees) in a snap.

This meal is prepared entirely on the stove. Start by browning ground beef (I used ground turkey). Add the chopped onion and a little bit of salt and pepper while the meat cooks. Drain off any grease. Add diced tomatoes, chili seasoning and beans.

My favorite item from her gadget collection by far our her lazy spoons. What a awesome idea of having a little notch to hold the spoon in place and its heat safe up to 500 degrees. No more spoons falling into the pan. OK now back to the recipe. 

Bring mixture to a boil and reduce heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. While the chili mixture is cooking cook the macaroni until l dente and then drain. Add the cooked macaroni and stir into the chili mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Garnish each bowl with shredded cheddar cheese.

The last two items that were included in my package were Rachel Ray's "Top This Silicone Lids" and her famous "Garbage bowl". I love the garbage bowl, because I can make less trips to the trash can for all my dicing and slicing scraps. 

It came in a beautiful speckled blue color that goes perfect with my kitchen. It also has a non slip bottom, so it wont move around on the counter. I know I will using this bowl for more than just food scraps. 

So far I have only used the silicon lids for salads, but I love the concept. No more using plastic wrap or foil on large bowls. The silicon lids fit on any container that has a flat top.
The suction power forms a airtight seal to keep food fresher, longer. 

The lids come in three sizes 7, 9 and 11 inches. They're microwave safe, freezer safe, heat resistant and top rack dishwasher safe. I can't wait to find more uses for the snazzy lids. I have to say kudos to whoever came up with this one. 

I hope you enjoy the recipe for the chili mac. I can honestly say I'm no longer a Rachel Ray Cookware snob, because her new kitchen line definitely exceeded my expectations. To see Rachel Rays cookware and kitchenware product line visit your local Walmart as well as select items on Walmart.com. 

Skillet Chili Mac

1 - 8 oz package whole grain elbow macaroni, cooked Al dente (I used Barilla Plus)
1 - lb ground turkey or beef, browned
1/2 - cup onion, chopped
1/4 - teaspoon salt & pepper to taste 
1 - 14.5 oz can petite diced tomatoes
1/4 - cup homemade chili mix (recipe below) or 1 - (1.25 oz) packet Chili Seasoning mix
1 - 15 oz can Bush's light red kidney beans, drained & rinsed or 
1 - 15 oz can Bush's mild chili beans
grated cheddar cheese, garnish

Using a large stock pot cook the macaroni until Al dente. In a large skillet add the ground turkey and onion and cook over medium heat.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook ground turkey until it is no longer pink and meat is crumbled; drain any grease.  

Stir in diced tomatoes, beans and chili seasoning mix. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. 

Drain macaroni and stir into chili mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste. Servings: 6


Homemade Chili Seasoning Mix:

1 - tablespoon all purpose flour
2 - tablespoons dried minced onion
2 - teaspoons chili powder
1 - teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 - teaspoon dried red pepper
1/2 - dried minced garlic
1 - teaspoon sugar
1/2 - teaspoon ground cumin

Combine all ingredients until thoroughly mixed. This recipe is equal to one packet of chili seasoning mix. Store in a covered air tight container in your pantry or use immediately.

Recipe yields: 1/4 cup  
Chili seasoning source: Cully's Kitchen

This is a sponsored post. As a participant in the Walmart Moms Program. I've received products samples and compensation for my time and efforts in creating this post. All thoughts and opinions stated above are entirely my own.