My chili recipe

I sent this to David on FB, and realized others may want it. It's actually a reworking of a recipe one of Will's friends sent him, adjusted to how I cook. Since I tend to play with almost every recipe I try, this is the one that has made Will decide I make better chili than he does. :)

All weights and measures are estimates and depend entirely on how much you need/want to make/desire in flavor. I tend to cook by taste, and usually use the cup of my palm to measure for stuff like chili.

2lbs ground beef (I would recommend against the extra lean kind as the fat is an important factor in the texture and flavor)

chili powder (some people use it to the exclusion of other spices. I prefer to use a mix of spices and use chili powder to boost the flavor. But that's me, and I have a fully stocked spice cabinet ;)

one (at least one) good sized whole coarse chopped onion

5 or so whole garlic cloves, peeled and pounded or very thinly sliced. Use a garlic press if you have one.

Variants:

Depending on how tomato-ee you like your chili, you can add any combination of the following to suit your taste

-tomato sauce (about an 8oz can or so) You can get various kinds that include various seasonings (here, we have a brand called "Rot-el" that has chilis, or jalepenos in it. )

-canned whole stewed or cut tomatoes (My personal preference. I prefer my tomato flavor to come from actual tomatoes). Do not drain.

-tomato paste (great tomato flavor but adds less liquid for a firmer body) Sometimes I use it, sometimes not.

Add salt to taste. I tend not to use a lot of salt while cooking, preferring to let people salt their food at the table.

Black pepper - a good palm full. 1/4th tsp minimum (to me at least)

Cayenne pepper (be careful, a little goes a long way. Start slow, add more as needed and sampled)

Cumin - sparingly. Too much, and it's all you'll taste. It's chili, not curry ;)


Espresso powder -- dash or two. You get almost a mole-like flavor. Not too much. It's chili, not mole.

Cinnamon -- same as for my marinara, just a dash. You don't really want to taste it. 

The rest:
Chopped bell peppers
Chopped jalapeno or chili peppers (to taste. A little goes a long way with these.) I've been known to add a habanero as well...but they are HOT! Make sure you wear gloves to de-seed them.

Beans:

Whatever kind you like or have on hand. I usually use a combination of black beans and red or pinks. I also add corn. Don't drain the beans, the juice adds the needed water and gives it good body.

Prep: Can be done in a pot on the stove, or a crock pot.

Brown the beef with the onions, garlic and peppers. Once the beef is browned and the onions are caramelized, drain. Add to the pot with the rest of the ingredients. If you're doing this in a crock pot, start out at high and then turn it to low. If on the stove, allow the mix to come just to a boil and then lower the heat.

After about 20 min or so of this mix working together, sample and start adding spices to taste. Go slow with spices as you don't really get the impact of them for about 30 min to an hour after adding them. Adjust it slowly upward in the heat factor/salt factor/flavor factor until it suits you.

Cook covered at least an hour, stirring gently on occasion. If you're doing this in a crock pot, you can leave it on low for the day.

If needed, you can add masa flour, which acts as a thickener. I don't usually use it, but I have in the past. Make sure to add it slowly or it will clump. I don't think it's usually needed unless you added too much liquid. We have a spice here called "Caroll Shelby's Chili Kit" (or something like that) which has all the basic spices in it. I don't know if it's available in Canada, though.

Serve over rice, or polenta or whatever. Cheddar cheese and sour cream toppings are always good.

Well, there you go. Chili. I don't think I've ever made it the same way twice. It's kind of like my marinara sauce: I just throw it together and let it bubble.

Falling off, and getting back on again

Both Will and I have fallen off the wagon, both diet and exercise wise. Not enough to gain a lot of weight, we're both still staying put or yo-yoing up and down a pound or two.

But, we start back this week. All over again. No more binges, no more doing nothing. Our Halloween festivities are over, so there won 't be any more late night Waffle House runs. I refuse to undo all the good work I've done by being irresponsible and weak.

I'll be bottle feeding newborn puppies for a couple of days, so won't be going to the gym until the next person takes over on Tuesday, but I can at least do some stuff here. Pain is not an excuse. Neither is fatigue. I will be at least doing some yoga, since I also asked to become part of the Burning Desire Fire Theater and need to get stronger and more limber so I can perform.

Maybe all I needed was a goal; besides just losing weight. I'm fitting into smaller clothes and want to get more toned, stronger and shapely by DragonCon 2012. Since I'm planning to make a Steampunk Borg costume, I have to able to fit into something rather form-fitting. 

Oh yes, it is going to happen.

Getting there

My first big sewing project, and it's very slow going. Granted, I've put it aside a few times due to life or other things getting in the way. But now, since Halloween is around the corner, I need to get moving on it and get it done.

I have a few buttons still to put on the jacket and make the bustle but I finished the skirt today after having to redo the entire ruffle. Thankfully, I didn't have to replace the fabric, just pick out a ton of stitches.

Here it is so far:

Beef, Mushroom and Barley Stuffed Tomatoes

This was made completely out of items I had in my kitchen. Surprisingly good, although I used mild cheddar instead of feta because that's what I had. Using feta will give it more of a tang, which was missing with the cheddar. Oh, and it's 6 Weight Watchers points per serving! Can't beat that! :D

Ingredients:
1 pound(s) 90% lean/10% fat raw ground beef
1 medium onion(s), chopped
2 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced (medium)
1/2 cup(s) mushroom(s), chopped
6 large tomato(es)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 cup(s) parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1/4 cup(s) fat-free beef broth, enough to moisten mixture
1 cup(s) cooked barley
1/2 cup(s) reduced-fat feta cheese
1 tsp olive oil
1 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350. Cook barley according to instructions.
2. Brown meat and drain well. Set aside.
3. Spray same pan used to brown meat with some cooking spray. Saute mushrooms, garlic and onions over medium heat until mushrooms have released their moisture and onions are tender.
4. Cut the tops (1/4 - 1/2 inch) of the tomatoes. Using a small spoon, carefully hollow out the tomatoes, keeping the tomato shells intact. Save the tops and pulp for other uses.
4. Add meat, barley , spices and broth to vegetables and cook, stirring until heated through.
5. Remove from heat, and stir in feta cheese. Stuff into tomatoes carefully.
6. Drizzle small amount of olive oil over tops of tomatoes, then sprinkle some parmesan cheese.
7. Arrange tomatoes in a baking dish so that they are held securely in place. Bake in oven for 20-30 minutes or until tomatoes are tender and cheese is lightly browned.

New projects

Now that my shoulder is mostly back to normal -- I have about 95% range of motion back, all except being able to get my arm behind my back. Truly, if I'm never able to do the cow pose in yoga, that's fine by me -- I'm back to doing all the stuff that's been waiting for me.

So far, I've canned 6 quarts of plum tomatoes, 9 pints of salsa, 11 quarts of dill pickles and 5 quarts of bread 'n' butter pickles. Out of all that, only the jalapenos came from my own garden. My tomato plant is producing, but only enough for eating here and there and my cucumbers died off completely. I've planted some seeds and will see how they go, along with more green bean seeds. I'm not counting on being able to harvest much from them, but we'll see. The extreme heat is really taking it's toll except on the peppers which love it.

I've also (FINALLY) start sewing my Steampunk costume. I'm using this Simplicity pattern as the base. It's my first time REALLY sewing something since I was 13-14, and my mother was there to help me. I'm moving very slowly, with 5 books and various web pages to guide me. OF COURSE, I not only choose a pattern that requires princess seams and darts and such to allow for the curves of  the body, but also a fabric that is slippery (in this case, I'm using a shantung.) Not quite the thing to do for a first sewing project but since when do I do things the easy way?? So far, I've gotten the back panel and two front panels finished.

I think I'm actually getting the hang of it. I've figured out how to clip the edge to allow for curving, overstitch the edge to keep from unraveling and press the seams correctly. Since I've started losing weight, it'll probably be too big for me, but I'll make adjustments as I go. I'd rather it be too big and have to take it in that make it too small.

I've also finished a few knitting projects I was working on. One tank top was finished a while ago, but I forgot to take a picture. The other tank (the purple one) I finished a couple of weeks ago and have mostly finished a Give it Forward project -- that one just needs some finishing and it'll be off in the mail.

For the purple one, I had to make adjustments in the pattern because it was obviously written for people without boobs. One inch for the bust is NOT going to cover me up! LOL So I added a few inches of the bust band as well as to the straps. The green one is slightly short on me, but hopefully as I lose weight, it'll settle better on my body.

So I've gotten quite a bit accomplished lately. I'm feeling rather proud of myself.

My garden is not a happy garden

The extreme heat is taking it's toll on my little garden. It's a container garden, which is harder to maintain than a conventional garden but I've been diligent in watering the plants either early in the morning or late evening so the sun doesn't burn the plants.

The only plants that are still thriving is the patio tomato, the jalapenos and the oregano. The bell peppers are holding on, as is the Stevia, but everything else is dying. There's no way I can salvage the cucumber -- it's dead. The roma tomato isn't doing well, I had to cut down the basil and hope it can recover and my green beans are hanging on by a thread.

This is sad. Last year, it rained so much most of the plants drowned. Yes, I have drainage holes in the pots and also use perlite or small pebbles to allow for more drainage. This year, they're wilting from the heat and there's no where I can put them to make it better. When it's 97° in the shade, it's just a bad summer. And it's not even really summer yet.

*sigh* Guess I'll have to shop the farmer's markets again for enough produce to make pickles and such.

Mexicali Pork Chops

I made this up a few years ago, and I'm glad it fits within the Weight Watchers points system.

	1 14 oz can tomato sauce
	1/2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
	1 can sweet corn, drained
	1 medium green pepper, chopped
	1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
	1 small raw onion, chopped
	2 tbsp Goya sofrito sauce
	4 lean boneless pork chop
	1 small can chopped green chili peppers

Instructions

Sprinkle chops with salt, pepper and garlic powder (or use Goya Adobo powder). Saute over medium heat in pan coated with cooking spray, about 2 minutes per side until browned. Add rest of ingredients, bring to slow boil.

Lower heat and simmer, covered, about 20-30 minutes until pork chops are cooked through.
Serve over spanish style or yellow rice.

Pirate hat?

This latest project is a reworking of some horrible hat I found in a thrift store. It's a peach straw hat that had a ribbon rose thing around it. Perfectly terrible, but good bones. It started out looking somewhat like this, minus the netting and in a bridesmaid peach color:

I had found some funky paisley fabric in the remnant section, and used that to cover it after trying to dye the straw failed. Then, I sewed a ribbon to the brim and stitched the sides up to the crown to make it more in a tricorn shape.

Added some rosette trim to the top of the brim and braided trim to the bottom. I cannabalized a Halloween hat I had for the black roses and net in the back and added a few feathers, a button and a pin. Voila! A sort of pirate hat/Victorian style ladies hat.

New Project: Goggles

I've made a couple of other things, but I didn't post here about them. Today, I created a pair of goggles for either mine or Will's Steampunk outfit.

Here's what I used:
Faux leather from a thrift store jacket -- I cut the collar off and used that part.

Some plastic from an egg carton, specifically the domed part:.

And a couple of brass napkin rings from the Salvation Army. At least, I think they're napkin rings, I'm really not sure.

First, I cut the egg carton so I had a dome shape that fit inside the ring, and hot glued it in. I then cut another piece of straight plastic and put that in the other one. I used some Sharpies to color in the middle of the dome and attached old clock parts to the straight piece.

Then, I wrapped some of the leather around the ring, sewed it together and used hot glue to glue the excess to the inside of the ring.

I took a small piece of the leather and sewed it into a tube, then turned it inside out the make the nose bridge. A few more pieces of leather created the cuffs on the outer edges and the straps. Now I'm just waiting on Will's decision on how he'd like to wear them; either around his head or on a hat. I still have to figure out the closure of the straps, but I'll probably do it with the buttons from the same coat.

This is what they look like at the moment:

Not too bad for a first attempt. I'm still learning all this stuff, so I'm pretty proud of myself.