When I decided to head to Texas for school I had to weigh the pros and cons. one of the cons was that I wouldn’t be able to go back to my hometown of Toledo, Ohio as much as I would want. 1500 miles isn’t the easiest drive or cheapest flight.

Since I wasn’t going home for Thanksgiving (first time ever), I had to figure out what to do.

The only thing to do was to gather up all the other orphans which turned out to be my buddy A.J., make some food, drink some beer and watch the Longhorns beat the Aggies.

So while you ate turkey dinner and had awkward conversations with your weird uncle Carl, I got to eat some gourmet cuisine….

Yesterday went rather well… I do have some pictures, but I won’t get to post them until Monday. Unfortunately I didn’t cook/bake anything for Thanksgiving this year – my aunt Maggie took care of all of that. Of course I also got so caught up in spending time with family that I never see that I completely forgot to take a lot of pictures – much to my mother’s dismay.

However, I noticed that my younger brother has put on a LOT of weight since I saw him last and even more so than since he was in high school (well don’t we all?). I’m glad that I’m giving them this cook book and now I’ll make sure that there are a lot of healthy recipes in there. This is even better because Lisa (my sister in law) was complaining to me about how she’s getting bored with cooking. Ha! A whole bunch of new recipes for her to try. Although my brother did mention that he won’t eat beans.

WHAT?! How can Tex-Mex be your favorite food and you don’t eat beans?!? That makes absolutely no sense.

Well, I’m hoping he’ll get over his bean phobia and start eating healthier. We all go through it – we graduate college, live on our own and it takes a while to figure out how to balance meals and eat healthy. At one point I was 2o0 lbs. For 5′5 that’s pretty chunky.

I’m not sure how much I weigh now – probably somewhere between 160-165. Not too bad, but I’d like to be around 140.

I also made the Rainbow Chili tonight – I’ll take some pictures of that too. Preliminary taste tests all say – YUM!

Nyklassiskt fredagsmys är tacos/nachos/tortillas i olika former.  Här en riktig rejäl långkoksvariant av chili som är löjligt enkel att göra.

250 g kallrökt sidfläsk tärnas smått och steks på medelhög värme i en stor gjutjärnsgryta. Skär upp 1,5 kg högrev i ganska små grytbitar och fräs i omgångar med fläsket. Mot slutet slänger du ner 3-4 krossade vitlöksklyftor. Pudra över 3 msk vetemjöl eller maizena samt 1 msk spiskummin, 1 msk Ancho Style Chili Pepper, 1 msk Red Hot Chili Pepper, nästan 1 dl hackade inlagda jalapeños samt 2 msk chipotlepasta. Fyll på med knappt en liter mörk öl (ej för besk) samt oxfond för 1 liter vätska. Låt koka upp och sätt sedan in i ugnen under lock på 150° i cirka 3 timmar. När du tar ut grytan är den klar och köttet ska bara falla sönder.

Till denna riktigt mustiga, kryddiga och ganska heta chiligryta krävs ett tillbehör. Jag älskar refried beans. I vanliga fall köper jag konserverade bönor, hettar upp, kryddar och mixar. Idag blev det en lite rustikare variant.

Blötlägg pinto- och/eller kidneybönor. Koka i saltat vatten. Häll av vattnet när bönorna är mjuka. Skiva och hacka rejält med gul lök ganska grovt, skiva stjälkselleri och vitlök fint. Fräs allt ganska mjukt i rikligt med fett, gärna ister eller baconfett. Häll över bönorna och fräs på låg värme. Tillsätt fint hackad inlagda jalapeños. Fräs och rör tills bönorna blir mosiga. Hjälp till med en potatisstamp om det behövs. Smaka av med salt och lite vinäger eller citronsaft. Jag kryddade denna ganska milt eftersom chilin var såpass het. Annars kan man dra på ordentligt med chili även i bönorna.

Servera bönorna och chilin med tortillabröd, “guckamole”, grönsaker och ost. Och en Corona Extra förstås.

Chili Time!

I am posting this as a reminder of how easy and delicious chili is.  I pretty much followed the same recipe I came up with earlier this year.  My only changes were:

I didn’t steam the corn before adding it to the chili, I just sliced it off the cob raw.  Much better this way!

I added a serrano pepper for some heat.

For the can of tomatoes I used Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chilies for some more heat.

I remembered to serve it with avocado.

Here is the link to the recipe.

]]> http://everamblings.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/recipe-easy-healthy-turkey-chili/ Fri, 27 Nov 2009 14:56:32 +0000 rocwieler http://everamblings.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/recipe-easy-healthy-turkey-chili/

A man can only eat so much in one sitting, regardless of how elasticized the waistband on his pants is.

Military life isn’t always harsh. It isn’t always about the sadness of losing wingmates, informing next of kin, losing ships, losing ground, losing hope.

There are plenty of celebrations to be had, and if you’ve ever partied with Brutors, you know we do pretty much everything to excess.

So needless to say, there is always leftovers. Here’s an easy to do, healthy, tasty recipe that I think many of you will give a try.

Easy Turkey Chili

INGREDIENTS:

• 1  lb leftover turkey parts
• 1 cup lentils
• 1 (8 ounce) packet taco seasoning
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 1  onion, diced
• 1 garlic clove, diced
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup black beans (you can add more if you like)
• 1 fresh zucchini, chopped
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
• 1 cup water

METHOD:

1. Coat medium/large pot with your choice of oil/spray to prevent sticking.
2. Add the zucchini, mushrooms, onion and pepper cook/saute for about 5 minutes then set aside.
3. Mash up the turkey parts and add to the pot, sprinkling with taco seasoning.
4. Cook until browned.
5. Drain excess fat from pot.
6. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.
7. Bring ingredients to a boil then cover and simmer for 30 – 40 minutes.
8. Add water as needed to keep chili from sticking to bottom of pot.

Serves 4 – 6 hungry Brutors.

Bei meinem heutigen Markthallenbesuch hatte die Weinhandlung Kuhn endlich wieder meine Lieblingsschokolade im Sortiment.

Eine Bitterschokolade mit Chilifüllung von Zotter, Österreich.

Eine Handgeschöpfte Schokolade mit 70% Kakaoanteil aus dem Bio und Fair Handel
Die 70 g Tafel kostete 3,15 €,  bei Zotter direkt 3,05 €
Nicht nur eine wunderbare Geschmackskompositionen auch die Verpackung mit dem einmaligen Design ist mittlerweile Kult.

birdseyechili

Ein Geschmackserlebnis der besonderen Art.

Yeah, it is finally Tuesday, 11/24/09 and my last official day for the week!!!  =)

Today, went pretty much as any other work day accept it was a mad rush to get in a whole weeks work of work in 1 Day pretty much!

Once at work I got made some breakfast for myself that included some left over (frozen & thawed) breakfast bread with a little butter added after I toasted it and pear on the side.

Breakfast

 Around noon I started to get hungry but I wasn’t in the mood for lunch yet so I had a snack of Dannon Light & Fit vanilla yogurt with the last of my Kashi Apple Orchard granola mixed in.

Snack

 Than I finally had lunch after 3pm and ate the last of my chili with some cheese.

Lunch

I left work just after 5pm and headed straight to the gym and completed the following for the night:

• 20 minutes of abs
• 40 minutes of upper & lower body weights

I decided to skip my usual 30 minutes of “cardio” tonight as I am going to run 1st thing tomorrow morning and then again (a long run) on Thanksgiving morning.

I stopped at KFC on the way home and got my hubby some grilled chicken he mentioned he would like the other day.  I skipped it myself tonight and had the following items for dinner:

• Cole Slaw
• Green Bean Salad
• Chicken & Artichoke Lean Pocket

Dinner1

Dinner2

Dinner3

 A shower and then “video game” playing with the hubby followed dinner.  While we played we munched on some chips & salsa.

Late Night Snack

Bed of course called around 11pm, as usual, I think my body is officially programmed now to go to bed at 11pm and wake up just before 7am every morning.  Hey, I can’t complain as I usually always get 8 hours (give or take) each night and that is the recommended amount.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

TIP OF THE DAY!!!

Rule #8: Set out your sneakers.

A recent FITNESS poll found that sneakers — with sports bras being a close second — are the piece of gear that is forgotten most often, foiling women’s workout plans. Clear that obstacle by, well, making them an obstacle in front of the door you exit in the a.m., suggests Diane Klein, PhD, chair of exercise and sports sciences at Tennessee Wesleyan College in Athens. “Seeing them will remind you that you planned to exercise,” Klein says. For motivation to move, kicks are worth a thousand words.

Direction le Chili avec pas moins de trois étapes. Tout d’abord l’île de Chiloé en Patagonie chilienne souvent appelée l’Irlande de l’Amérique du Sud. Ambiance petites maisons multicolores, fjords, églises en bois classées à l’Unesco. Nous irons ensuite quelques jours dans la ville de Pablo Neruda, la mythique Valparaiso (depuis le temps qu’on en rêve) avant de séjourner une semaine à Santiago pour couvrir les élections présidentielles. Retour le 15 décembre pour vous raconter tout ça.

A descendent of a long line of cooks, I have spent years experimenting in the kitchen with a wide variety of cuisines for reasons that go far beyond satisfying taste buds (although they do demand a certain level of gratification).  Indeed, those of you who know me have likely noticed that I have a tendency to feed people.  It nourishes my heart to nourish others’ bodies; besides, the right food nourishes a whole lot more than just the body.  Not a unique perspective, I know…  I absolutely love to rummage around until the raw materials speak to me – it’s usually interesting to see what flavors emerge.  There are usually herbs involved, and chilies during the right season.  In the wrong season, hot sauce takes over where the chilies leave off, though if truth be told, hot sauce has a permanent place in my larder.

I like cuisines from all over the world and this morning, while everyone else in North America is bringing you recipes for turkey and its accoutrements, I offer you one of my family favorites that has absolutely nothing to do with Thanksgiving: grilled salmon with Asian glaze as inspired by my grandfather – inventor, engineer, and avid cook.  Enjoy!

Culling’s Grilled Salmon

Makes enough for 15-inch long filet (or thereabouts)

________________________________________

1 salmon filet, skin intact

¾ cup good apple cider or juice

¼ cup soy sauce

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

1 Thai chili, finely minced

2 tablespoons butter

Drizzle of sesame oil

Gently bring the cider and soy sauce to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.  Add butter, garlic, chili and sesame oil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.  This can take a long time – 20 minutes or so.  Allow to cool to room temperature.  Cover fish with marinade and allow to stand at room temperature about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, light a charcoal or gas grill.  When hot, lay fish skin side down and cook over medium-hot coals/flame for 10 minutes (more or less depending on your preference for doneness).  Remove from grill by sliding spatula under the flesh just above the skin.  It will lift right off.

I rather like serving this (especially for parties) with cilantro and either wasabi or cayenne cream that I make with a little crème fraîche or mayonnaise and lime juice along with the primary flavoring.

This morning I woke up around 8, and had an oat-y breakfast!

1/2 C oats

1/2 C soymilk

1 TBS Almond Butter

1 banana

When I was done with that, I was still hungry, so I helped myself to a bowl of Multigrain Cheerios w/ some 2% milk (not pictured…)

The rest of the morning was filled with a substantial amount of studying.  I’m 3/4 of the way done with my other take home test!  I also went around the kitchen taking pictures of all the food we have in our refridgerater and counter tops…

Guess how much that turkey weighs?  26 pounds! How perfect for the 26th of November…

Around 11:30 I left to go meet my sister and Jess for a 6 miler.  I took a Cliff Bar with me, and ate it on the way!

When I got to Steff’s place, I was STILL hungry.  I think that Cliff Bars are yummy, but they just don’t fill me up like a piece of bread and PB does.  And that’s exactly what I ate when I got to her place, along with a couple handfuls of PB filled pretzels!

The run around Lake Union went well, we averaged about a 9 minute mile, including about 3 minutes of stair climbing and stretching.  When we got back to her place, I finished my last bowl of turkey chili that I brought over, along with a scoop of her TJ’s gnocchi and chicken sausage!

This afternoon my sister and I went shopping at Pacific Place.  We walked around downtown and went to J Crew, Express, Nordstrom, and H&M, and  I ended up getting 2 zip-up sweatshirts from Express, along with a cool black and white top from H&M.  We both went with a budget in mind and never went above it, yay!

Since we walked from my sister’s place to the shopping center, we had to walk back (we didn’t want to pay for a cab…).   We passed by this crepe place and had to stop and get something…we split a “Ham”.  Herb butter, swiss cheese, ham, and spinach!

When get got back to Steff’s place, the power was out!  So, we went around lighting candles.  And as soon as they all were lit, the power came back on   We were sad that we had to blow them all out, but excited to have power back!

That’s what happens when you try to use your crappy camera to take pictures in the dark….

I had to pick up a few random things for thanksgiving lunch tomorrow (marshmallows, soda and evaporated milk).  When I got home I saw pizza that my mom made!  So, I helped myself to 2 slices…

And now i’m FULL.  Which sucks because I had big plans to eat lots tomorrow…but that won’t stop me from trying   AND, i’m doing push-ups tomorrow.  260 to be exact!  However, i’m going to spread them throughout the day, so my sister can do them with me.  YAY!  We’re doing a short run tomorrow morning, so we’ll do a few sets of push-ups before and after the run.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!!  And happy 4 year anniversary to me and Ezra.  Love you EZ!

Today was an awesome day.  :)

Breakfast was two slices of my aunt’s banana bread.  It wasn’t the healthiest breakfast I could have, but it was yummy and I made sure it was all I had.

After breakfast, I got a phone call that made my day.  But, you’ll have to wait to find out what it is about…  :)

I was able to spend the day with my mom.  We went to lunch – Applebee’s.  I got the small BBQ chicken salad and some tomato soup.  I wish I would’ve gotten the dressing on the side for the salad, but I know it wasn’t that big. I’ll remember it for next time.

We were able to get our toes done.  Mine were suffering.  I’ll admit it – I neglect them, especially in the winter.  It was nice to get them done.  (I’ll admit it, I mainly go for the foot massage)

I helped my mom with some Thanksgiving preparation.  I made a pumpkin torte for dessert tomorrow.  (Recipe from JSOnline.com)  It was funny – I actually looked at the same recipe earlier in the day.  And, surprise!  My mom actually cut it out.

I don’t think it will look exactly like the picture, but it should taste good.  Let’s hope! (Image from JSOnline.com)

After spending the afternoon with my Mom, I went to swim club.  We were able to play some games with the kids in honor of Thanksgiving.  It was fun!

Dinner was vegetarian chili.  We love making chili – it is warm, yummy and pretty easy.  We’ve evolved it over time and it’s never the same twice.  We always have different things on hand.  The spices are pretty much the same.  They might differ a little bit.  I wrote down what I did tonight as an example.

Vegetarian Hodgepodge Chili

Ingredients:

Don’t be afraid to change anything – make substitutions, try new spices, make it mild… whatever.  Have fun with it!

1 onion

1 T olive oil

1 jalapeno

1 can large diced (or crushed) tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

1 palmful chili powder (Yup, exactly a palmful.  Use your own discretion.)

1 palmful cumin (my favorite spice)

1 t garlic powder

1/2 t cinnamon

1 T black pepper

1/2 t cayenne pepper

3 T hot sauce

Dice onion and jalapeno and add them to the large saucepan with the olive oil on medium heat.  Cook until soft.  (You can easily add meat to this recipe – and we have.  I would cook it at the same time as the onions and peppers)

When the onions are ready, put tomatoes and beans into the pot.  This is what we added today:

I’ve added every bean imaginable.  Anything that’s in the pantry goes into the pot.  :)  I’ve also played with different kinds of tomato – crushed, diced, puree, etc.  It depends on how chunky you want it to be.  We’ve also added different kinds of veggies.  Just play with it.

Add the spices and other remaining ingredients.  Let it simmer for a minimum of 10 minutes.  I’ve let this chili sit in the slow cooker all day too.  The flavor is just a bit deeper.

Eat with your favorite chili sides.  I love it over whole wheat pasta, a baked potato or just on it’s own.  The husband likes it over tater tots.   I love adding sharp cheddar cheese and Fritos or tortilla chips.  I’m sure the possibilities are endless.  :)

MMmmmmm!

Dessert was banana soft serve.  I saw it on a few blogs and explored it further.  I guess it was introduced by Choosing Raw.  The post was entitled “This Post will Change Your Life”.  And, it did!  The recipe is as follows:

2-3 frozen bananas

A food processor.

That’s it.  Just “process” the frozen bananas in the food processor for approximately 5 minutes, stopping it every once in awhile to scrape the sides.  And, it turns into a soft-serve like consistency.  It is delicious.

I added a little vanilla to add a little extra flavor (I bet almond would be good too!) and a few chocolate chips.  I wanted to be a *little* naughty.  The husband even liked it!  I’ll have to keep some frozen bananas on hand at all times.

A few random thoughts:

Did anyone else watch The Biggest Loser’s “Where are they now?”?  Matt is such an inspiration.  I LOVED his story about the Ironman – in Hawaii.  I might actually want to do one now.  :)  (I kind of wanted to already, but it was awesome to hear his story)  I told my husband that if I ever did an Ironman, I would want to do the Hawaii one.  If you’re going to do one, better do the best!  Plus, you can relax in Hawaii afterwards!

And, I was really, really excited for the “Top Chef” finale.  (Go Kevin!)  Too bad Bravo is lame and isn’t going to show it until next week.  What the heck?!

Want some semi-inappropriate Thanksgiving cheer?  Check out this YouTube video from Muscle Milk called “The Sexy Pilgrim”.  Don’t worry, it’s safe for work.  :)

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!  Time for “Glee”!

found this recipe online the other day (and promptly modified the heck out of it to suit my taste). It’s now on the very top of my favorite chili recipe list.
The thing that attracted me to this recipe was the use of the 1 pound of bacon, which I’d never thought about using in Chili, but it makes for a fantastic smoky flavor.

NOTICE: Made a batch for work and it fed about 15 people. Just beware that the recipe itself will completely fill a 6 quart crock pot to the rim, so unless you’re feeding a lot of people, not watching your diet, or you’re into canning, you’re making a LOT of chili.

The other thing to note is that I’m calling for one full ounce of Cayenne Pepper.  That, along with the rest, sounds like a LOT of spice, and it definitely adds a bite to the pot, but remember that it’s all relative.  You’re making a LOT of chili, so if you wimp out, you end up with meat sauce, not chili.

If you’re worried, or a little more sensitive than I, just put in half of the spices, wait a few hours try it, and keep adding as you think is necessary to suit your tastes.

Ingredients

• 1 lb smoked bacon, cut up in small chunks and browned
• 4 lbs ground beef
• 2 (15 ounce) cans, light kidney beans
• 2 (15 ounce) cans, dark kidney beans
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 12 ounces tomato paste
• 2 sweet yellow (or Vidalia) onions, finely chopped
• 2 ounces chili powder
• 1 ounce cayenne pepper (dry powder)
• 1 (15 ounce) can, Rotel’s Chilis and Tomatoes
• 2 (15 ounce) cans beef broth
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika

Directions

1. Brown bacon and add to crockpot.
2. Brown ground beef in bacon drippings. Once browned, separate beef from drippings, but don’t drain completely.
3. Add beef, beans, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, onions, chili powder, cayenne pepper, Rotel’s and beef broth in the crockpot.
4. Stir all ingredients, then cook 10-12 hrs on low, or 5-6 hrs on high.

So, as I mentioned on Twitter, last night I spent refining my chili recipe. Since going Vegan I’ve made chili a handful of times and each time I’ve made it different. The two previous times I tried really herd to up the vegetable content by putting carrots into it and boiling them until they were paste. The problem with this is that it gives the chili a sweet undercurrent that cannot be balanced out without really making it taste weird and “un-chili-like.”

This time I dropped the carrots and went with more traditional ingredients. The only exception is that I added edemame to really kick up the protein in the chili. It came out awesome so I’ve decide it’s time to set the basics of the recipe down to paper and share it with my fellow vegan voyagers.

Vegan Volcano Chili

Ingredients:
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 6 oz can tomato paste
4 cups vegetable stock
6 15.5 oz cans assorted beans
2 cups shelled, cooked soybeans
1 whole onion, coarsely chopped
6 grape tomatoes, quartered or 3 large tomatoes, cubed
5 green bell peppers
1 yellow/red/orange bell pepper
2 chipotle peppers, chopped
4 cups water
1 onion bouillon cube
6 T. or 6 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup chili powder
2 T. paprika
1/2 jar sweet Mexican chilis or 1 jar fire-roasted red peppers
1 t. dry mustard
1 t. white pepper
1 t. fresh ground black pepper
3 T. red pepper flakes
2 t. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 t. turmeric (optional)

Preparation:

Sautee the onion, garlic and peppers in 1/2 cup of vegetable broth. After these are tender add liquid ingredients followed by remaining ingredients. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Further Information:
The amounts of tomatoes and peppers vary depending on what we have on hand. Sometimes I use canned tomatoes instead of fresh if it’s winter. In summer we have tons so I tend to add more. Sometimes I add hot peppers if I have them available.
This makes a lot of chili probably 10-12 large bowls. It freezes well. I serve it topped with yellow mustard and Huy Fong chili-garlic sauce because I like it magma chamber hot. If you want to cool it down a bit you can serve it topped with vegan cream cheese or vegan sour cream. I sometimes will add relish, chopped onion and sauerkraut if I want it chili dog style.

Originally Published on 5/21/2009 on Buddha’s Brewhouse.

Lagade tre olika thairätter här om dagen! Grön curry och tigerräkor, röd curry med kyckling och kyckling med peppar- och söt basilikasås. Jag verkligen älskar thaimat! Ju starkare desto bättre och med massor av  färska grönsaker…. MM mm mmmmmMM!

This morning was a yummy egg and toast breakfast.  Today’s toast topping: crunchy PB and honey…

And a banana for my mid-morning snack!  Work today was fan-tab-ulous!  It was the last day of work for a certain someone in our company (who’s leaving FOREVER!) and that may or may not have made my day 10 times better.  Muah, ha, ha… Yes, i’m a horrible person for thinking this, but really, you all have NO idea…

ANYWAY, when I got home, i’m was starving, so i got to work on lunch.  I had some crimini mushrooms that I didn’t use in Sunday’s egg scramble, so I cut them all up and sauteed them with green onions and cilantro.  I then topped it with some Romano cheese.  Dee-lish!

I actually didn’t end up using the spinach, so scratch THAT.

As another side, I had a container of Voskos Greek Yogurt, with some grape nuts in it.  Oh yeah, AND I randomly scrambled 4 egg whites.

That pretty much held me over for the afternoon, which was spent doing some serious studying.  We had a take home test that was due today in class, so I finished reviewing some of my answers, and started on a different take home test for my Saturday classes.  I also needed to catch up on some past readings, so much studying was accomplished!  Yay for actually following through on plans….

Right before I left home (around 3), I packed dinner and snacked on a bag of PB filled Pretzels…

Snack for class was a cliff bar (White Chocolate Macadamia Nut)

And dinner was a bowl of leftover turkey chili (with romano cheese of course) and some kashi crackers!!

Class tonight was a lot of fun.  We learned about elbow extensors (TRICEPS!), as well as movement assessment and Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD), which is actually quite serious!!

At the request of a classmate, I’ve been asked to talk about a recent purchase.  About 2 1/2 weeks ago, I purchased a BodyBugg, as an experiment.  The BodyBugg is a tiny sensor: “It utilizes a patented process for interpreting calorie burn called “sensor fusion” developed by BodyMedia, Inc.”  If you’ve ever watched the Biggest Loser, that’s what the contestants are wearing around their arms.  When they’re talking about getting their “burn”, they’re referring to the number of calories they need to burn in a day to meet a certain daily requirement to maintain constant weight loss. If you’re one of those people that really wants to know exactly how many calories you burn in a day, this thing is prettly darn accurate.  It takes out all the guessing.  There is a program that allows you to see your “burn” and also allows you to log in daily food intake, so you can accurately track your calories and lose, gain or maintain weight.

I decided to try it and see if the little machine was all it’s supposed to be.  So far, things seem to be going fairly well.  I want to make clear that i’m not endorsing this product, since i’m not sure yet how I feel about it, but I will give you all weekly updates, to let you know how the process is going.

When I first weighed myself (2 1/2 weeks ago) I was at about 153. Then it was 150.6.  This past Monday it was 151.  I will give weekly Monday updates, but if you have any other questions concerning the BodyBugg, feel free to email me!

Also, i’m going a Thanksgiving challenge, at the request of my NPTI teacher NATE!  Since Turkey Day is on the 26th, he decided it would be fun to do something with the number 26.  So, he suggested doing SOMETHING where you do 26 sets.  I’m currently debating between 26 sets of 10 push-ups (that’s 260 push-ups in all!) or turkey holding squats (260 of them)!  So, turkey squats would be me holding a turkey (in a SS baking pan or some sort) and performing 260 squats holding the turkey!  Obviously the squats sound much more entertaining, but i’m trying to think how I can video it without making you watch me do all 260…

I’ll debate that while I run a 6 miler tomorrow with my sister and Jess!  We’re doing a bit of tapering, and since I haven’t run for a few days, this will be a good run to keep my legs in check.

Okey doke, it’s almost Thanksgiving and my 4-year anniversary…wow, I can’t believe it’s already been 4 years.  How time FLIES when you’re in love…

Today, Abby and I made awesome chili for the folks at Dad’s Garage doing the tech rehearsal for Invasion: Christmas Carol. She found a recipe that is, appareantly, the world’s best vegetarian chili, and then we added meat to part of it, and more spice to part of that. In the end, we had 3 batches, ranging from least to most spicy. Least and most spicy had meat, least spicy had beer in it (makin it a non-option for me.) It was cool, because I like some heat and I helped spice those two that I could, making the veggie chili medium spice to the other meat chili’s hot spice (included japalenos, so the spice was more than the chili powder.) I really liked the veg chili and the spicy chili mixed together- perfect amount of spice for me!

The cast gobbled it up, it seemed to be really appreciated. I know Abby and I each had a few bowls after working on it all afternoon without snackage. Also, I learned that avacado on chili is pretty tasty. (Not something I would have put together: I need to use avacado more in my cooking, I forgot how tasty it can be!)

Just for AB fan-boy Dad: Lucky Yates is in the show, and he thought our chili was fantastic; came back for seconds on the spicy stuff.

This is by far the best chili I’ve had on this earth. That’s not saying a whole lot considering I’ve probably never eaten chili outside of MN and it’s cold winters… It’s the best damn chili in the State of Minnesota:

Ingredients
serves at least 12 people

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
1 (15 ounce) can black beans
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn

Prep
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.

Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.

Every time I make chili  it reminds me of something you would take to a funeral.  I have never once in my life brought chili to a funeral.  In fact, I have never once been to a funeral where I had to bring a dish of any type.  So I’m not sure why it reminds me of funerals.  Maybe it’s that I have always longed to be from down South where everyone brings a covered dish to potlucks and funerals and such.  We don’t tend to do that much in the North.  At least I never have.   Maybe it’s because Chili would be an easy dish to travel with for something like a funeral or potluck.

Of course when I think of funerals, I also remember one of my most embarrassing moments.  (There are many of these for me.  Sometimes on a daily basis). 

My husband and I had to attend the funeral of a friend’s father who had passed away.  We went the second night of the viewing and arrived about a half hour after it started.  While I won’t say it was crowded, there was certainly enough people to witness my less than graceful maneuver.

My husband took a seat and I handed my jacket and purse to him.  Being the good Catholic girl that I am, I proceeded up to the casket to kneel and say a quick prayer.  Catholics pray for the release of a soul from purgatory, so this was important business I had to see to!   It’s important to note that the service was an open casket.  Remember that for later.

I approached the casket and right in front of it was an ornately carved, wooden kneeling bench that was perched on the top of a small wooden platform.  I kneeled down ready to do the sign of the cross when all of a sudden I felt the bench shift.  One of the legs was not fully on top of the platform it had been placed on, and of course I was the first lucky person to kneel down on it. 

You know that instinct that you have when you are about to fall ass over elbows?  You know the one where you automatically reach out in front of you with your hands to grab on to something to help stop yourself from falling on your face?  That’s what I did.  The problem was the only thing in front of me to grab on to was the casket.  The casket that was open.  The one with my poor friend’s father in it.   As I felt the bench slip I grabbed the edge of the casket and knew immediately this was a mistake.   The casket shook, the bench made a loud bang as the top of it hit into the front of the casket, and the hinged open top of the casket began vibrating.  I clung to the side of it with all my strength until I could feel it stabilize, praying all the while that the top of the casket would not come crashing down on my fingers.  This probably was only about a ten second episode, but it was the longest ten seconds of my life. 

Things finally stabilized and I could feel my face burning with embarrassment.  I wanted to climb into that casket and pull the top down on myself so I wouldn’t have to turn around and face all of those people sitting behind me.   I immediately did the sign of the cross and began to pray;

Dear Father in Heaven, please don’t let anyone have seen that!  Please don’t let them all be looking at me now!  Forgive me for almost flinging this dearly departed man out of his resting place and launching him across the funeral home head first!  Please don’t let this bench give way when I attempt to stand, causing me to fall face first into this openly waiting casket.  Please erase the last ten seconds from every single persons mind that is sitting in this room.  Please!  In the name of Jesus Christ my Saviour.  Amen.

I stood up VERY carefully.  Thankfully, God had answered one part of my prayer and allowed me not to fall face first on top of the deceased.  I took a deep breath and turned around to meekly return to my seat.  The one next to my waiting husband.  My eyes immediately locked with my husbands and I saw him with this small smirk on his face as he slowly shook his head and looked down.  I knew what he was thinking.  That this could not have happened to anyone other than his extremely graceful wife.   It was so typical of something that I would do. 

I immediately sat next to him and whispered between my teeth, “Don’t say a word or I will punch you.  Not. One. Word.” 

Shortly after I had returned to my seat I saw the funeral director go up to the casket, look down at the kneeling bench and re-arrange it so that it was sitting securely in place.  On his way down the aisle he stopped next to my seat, apologized and asked if I was okay.

“It’s okay!  Really, I’m fine”, I repeated.  This is what I said.  What I thought was, “Sure! Come fix the stupid thing AFTER I almost buried myself alive!  And make sure you stop to apologize to me so that EVERYONE can look over at me as I become even more red in the face.”  

My husband and I stayed long enough to pay our respects and then left.  I knew he could only hold it in so long.  As soon as we got into the car and shut the doors, he put the key in the ignition, gave that little smirk and looked over at me and started laughing.

“Oh. My. God,” I said.  “Do you think anyone saw me?”  I really didn’t need an answer because I already knew EVERYONE saw me. 

I realized as we were driving home I had never said a prayer for this poor, deceased man!  Oh sure, I prayed.  But I prayed for myself and my growing embarrassment.  I never prayed for this poor man’s soul!  All this time he could be stuck in purgatory so much longer because I had never prayed for his heavenly release!  I envisioned he was probably looking down on me thinking, “You stupid imbecile!  Because of your clumsiness you never prayed for the release of my soul and now I’m stuck here!  Too bad the casket lid didn’t come crashing down on your fingers!” 

As soon as I got home I said my prayer.  I apologized for my less than graceful showing of respect for this man and begged for the release of his soul.  I hope someone upstairs got the message.  I already felt bad enough as it was!

So if you have a funeral to attend you might want to try this recipe.  It travels well and tastes delicious.  Just try not to power launch the deceased out of the casket when you attend.  It’s really tacky!

CHILI WITH BLACK BEANS:

• 2 Lbs. Ground Turkey or Lean Ground Beef
• 1 Can black beans
• 1 Green Bell Pepper
• 1 Medium Onion
• 1 28 oz. Can Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp. Cumin
• 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• 1 tsp. Paprika
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Begin by browning your ground turkey or beef in a large pot or dutch oven and drain the fat.

Dice up the green bell pepper and the onion.  Rinse and drain the can of black beans.  Now add all the above ingredients followed by the crushed tomatoes and all of your spices.  Stir it all together, cover, and simmer it on low for an hour, stirring occasionally.

I like to serve this with some Frito Scoops chips, sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese on top.  I tone down the heat of the chili because of my children, but my husband always adds a few dashes of hot sauce to his serving.  Also, I prefer the black beans to Kidney Beans.  They have firmer texture and tend to hold up better.  I always find the Kidney Beans to become too mushy.  But that’s just my weirdness.

What better way to celebrate Ohio State beating the brains out of Michigan than with a pot of Cincinnati chili?

First of all, shalom y’all!  Welcome to my first real blog here on Word Press.  I have been meaning to get one started for some time based on the baking and cooking adventures of myself and Rashe.  Thanksgiving is a mere day and a half away and what better time to throw out some of my favorite recipes in honor of one of my favorite holidays.

Texas style chili con carne

There are a few dishes I have been reluctant to try or have made few times because for some reason they scare the crap out of me.  Overall, I am a type B personality, but when it comes to cooking *anything* I hover around those people asking their very detailed opinion.  My love for those around me is in what I make, wow very yiddishe mame of me!  Of those dishes that give me hives thinking of making is chili.  Meatloaf and gravy are also up there, but last week conquered the meatloaf fear and made one of the best *I* have ever had.

Sunday morning I watched America’s Test Kitchen and they made a chili out of chuck roast.  According the them, true Texas style chili con carne does not have beans and with the plethora of yummy ingredients I decided to try it.  However, ATK wants you to have a membership in order to download those recipes and with the penny-pinching that is going on in over drive, I decided it was not worth it.

From memory and another chili recipe, I have what is one of the best chilis I have ever made and have ever eaten.

• Three tablespoons chipotle
• Three tablespoons chili powder
• Two tablespoons cumin
• Two teaspoons oregano
• Four pounds of chuck roast
• Kosher salt
• Eight slices of turkey bacon (or regular if not a kosher diet)
• One medium onion
• Five medium cloves of garlic
• Four small jalapeno chile peppers
• One can of crushed tomato (approx. one cup)
• Two tablespoons lime juice
• Five tablespoons of Jiffy corn muffin mix or Masa Harina
• Ground black pepper and salt (like you need it after this is cooked, but I remember they had it for “season to taste”)

Preparation:

1. Mix all those chili powders, cumin, oregano in a small bowl and stir with enough water to make a paste.  P.S. I am not an exact recipe builder so I will try to give that or an idea of what it would look like. Set paste aside.

2. Take your chuck roast and cut out all the hard fat.  I rip it open with my hands (ARRRGGG!!!!!!!) and pull off the fat.  If you are less than interested in that, use a knife.  Leave any soft fat so it will melt into your meat.  Cube roast into one inch chunks and toss with two teaspoons of kosher salt.

3. I know I am going to run into a lot of trouble with bacon purists here.  You see, bacon from pig is not allowed in kosher cooking, so we have to find other alternatives.  I am all cool with everyone else using the bacon of your choice.  My choice was turkey.  Turkey did not have the allotted amount of fat to make this recipe (as opposed to pig) so I had to improvise with extra olive oil.

OH!  And this was my first time cooking bacon, ever.  Seriously.

Fry bacon in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat until fat renders and bacon crisps, about 10 minutes.  Remove bacon with slotted spoon to paper towel lined plate and pour all but two teaspoons of bacon fat from pot into a small bowl, set aside.  Increase to medium high heat and saute chuck roast in four batches until well browned on all sides, searing in all that lovely goodness (about five minutes per batch).  Add additional bacon fat (or olive oil) for each batch.  Set browned meat aside.

4. Reduce heat to medium and add 3 tablespoons bacon fat to empty Dutch oven.  Chop up that onion and saute the onion FIRST!  I was lame and threw in the jalapeno, but yeah, saute for about five minutes.  Add chopped garlic and chopped jalapenos to the onion and saute those buggers until fragrant.  The point is to caramalize those babies, it is worth the extra attention to detail. Add chili powder paste for another couple of minutes until fragrant.  Add reserved bacon fat (or a couple of tablespoons of olive oil) and browned chuck roast, crushed tomatoes, lime juice, and seven cups of water.  Bring to a simmer and cook at a steady simmer until meat is tender and juices are dark, rich, and starting to thicken, about two hours.

5. Mix masa harina (or Jiffy cornbread mix OR 3 table spoons of cornstarch) with one cup of chili broth.  Mix it up to make a bit of paste, if it still looks like flour dumplings put it in the microwave a minute at a time until dumplings disappear with your whisking styles of awesomeness.  Increase heat to medium, stir in paste, and simmer until thickened about five to ten minutes.  Adjust seasonings generously with salt and ground black pepper to taste.  Serve immediately or store up to five days.  The left overs are killer!

Chili is one of those dishes I consider sacred to many people.  Everyone has their “world’s best” and you know it because the chili cook off business is hopping.  This also produces a large number of chili purists.  This is for you.  Toasting, chopping, and grinding whole dried chiles *makes* a chili.  You know it.  If you want to go that route to knock off the socks of your family and friends this is what to do: toast the whole dried chiles and grind them in a mini-chopper or a coffee grinder dedicated to spices only (good idea, so stick with it!). Pick chiles that feel like dried fruit. Bake chiles in the oven at 350 degrees for six minutes or until puffed. Cool, stem, and seed, tearing pods to pieces.  Grind chile pod in the grinder until powdery. If you like that hot, hot (hawt!) chili add a little of cayenne or hot pepper sauce.

Top it off with cilantro, avocado (yum!), onion or if meat/cheese does not bother y’all, throw on some cheese or sour cream.

Again, the leftovers are the best and I am still getting accolades from those who were over to dinner last night.  It does take a bit of time and can be done in stages because children may need to be payed attention to once in a while.    I also suggest wearing gloves for the jalapeno chopping, but hey, I discovered washing my hands in baking soda paste helps take the pain away.  I love hearing what other people do in their cooking, so feel free to share your best chili ideas and hope you enjoy this chili recipe!

B’tayavon!

Kosher Spice

Can I see a show of hands of how many of you watch “Giada At Home” on Food Network??? … Ok, good…a few.  For those of you who don’t, the show features Giada creating perfect meals for her perfect husband and perfect friends,  served on perfect plates, in her perfect ocean view kitchen, in her perfect house that sits on the perfect California beach…oh, and while perfectly dressed.   

Well, just be forewarned that the next time you tune it, don’t be surprised if you see our very own Buffalo Dick cooking in that perfect kitchen instead of Giada.  I’m just sayin…It could happen!  You’ve got to admit, it does have a ring to it “Buffalo Dick at Home”  And Buff, I hope you put your foot down if the producers try to make you show cleavage. 

Well it appears that we have a White Bean Chili Smackdown.  

This is what makes food blogging so fun, a little bit of friendly competition.  So in my best Michael Buffer voice: Are you ready to RUMBLE???

A couple of weeks ago I unwittingly posted a White Bean Chili recipe that I watched Giada make on her “Giada at Home” Food Network program.  Delicious, so I quickly blogged, and confidently exclaimed that it was the best White Bean Chili EVER.   You can review that post by clicking HERE.

Soon after the post, I  received an email from Buffalo Dick over at “Opinions and Rectums, We All Have One”   saying that he had an Award Winning White Bean Chili recipe.  How could I resist a comparison.   You can view his blog HERE I begged him for the recipe, gained his permission to blog about it and here’s my opinion (see he’s right, we all have one) about his Chili.  This just might be the best White Bean Chili recipe EVER!  Folks, my husband and I had a FIT over this recipe, right there at the dining room table – a FIT.  After Thanksgiving, I highly recommend you give this a try. 

Move over Giada, here we go:

Gather ingredients.

These cumin seeds smelled sooooo good while toasting.  We’ll add about 2 Tablespoons of  these towards the end.  After lightly toasting, Buff said to grind them, but in my excitement I forgot to do that. 

Beautiful bell peppers.

Chop and brown chicken breasts and Italian Sausage separately.  Remove to a plate.

Finely chop jalapeno (seeds and veins removed), sweet onion and bell peppers.  I sautéed these in the same pan that I browned the meats.  Deglaze the pan first with a bit of chicken broth to scrape up all those delicious browned meat bits sticking to the bottom.  Buff said that you can also add some chopped celery.  Didn’t have any, so didn’t.

I used fresh frozen Colorado sweet corn that I froze in September.  It’s so delicious.

Return meat and add remaining ingredients (except Alfredo Sauce, Jalapeno Pepper and cumin seed) to the Dutch oven and let simmer for about 30 minutes.

About 5 minutes before serving add the toasted cumin seeds, Garlic Alfredo Sauce and the Jalapeno Salsa.  This is where I became scared…very scared.  I have never used Jalapeno Salsa before and wanted to make sure I didn’t add too much heat.  This really ended up to be a great flavor addition to this Chili.  I probably used 1/2 of the can.

Voila!  Delicious.  I love the flavor that the sliced black olives added to this soup.  And of course that cheese!  Yum.

Here’s Buff’s unabridged recipe:
1. 3 Lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts, seasoned with light salt and white pepper, cooked and cubed
2. 2 15oz. cans of low sodium chicken broth
3. 1 lb. of sweet Italian sausage, crumbled and browned.
4. 1 yellow, 1 green bell pepper chopped
5. 6-7 Jalapeno peppers , seeded and chopped finely
6. 1 jar of Great Northern white beans- around 30 oz, rinsed and drained
7. 1 large onion, chopped
8. 2 teaspoons of white pepper, 1 teaspoon crushed garlic, 2 teaspoons of Mexican Oregano
9. 1 15oz can of sweet corn- crisp, and drained
Simmer all ingredients until veggies are soft, but not mushy
Add 1 to 1-1/2 jars of garlic Alfredo sauce , stir in slowly until incorporated into liquid
Add ground hot Jalapeno salsa (La Victoria) to taste
Garnish when served in bowls with grated Parmesan and Romano cheese, and sliced black olives.

So Buff, thanks for the inspiration to try another White Bean Chili Recipe.  Can’t wait to serve it to friends and family, my popularity will sky-rocket!  I’m sending you the “My Year On The Grill Inspirational I Can Cook  That  Award”