Okay, blog. I admit it. I forgot you existed. I'm sorry! You see, there was this other blog....anyway, we won't go into the details. I'm not making any promises of paying much more attention to you, but at least I remembered you, right?
This semester has been crazy--it's already midterm! Yikes! But I thought I'd share a couple of the things that are helping me stay sane.
First--cooking! The reason I was alerted of this blog's existence again is because I made some delicious chili, and a friend asked for the recipe. She suggested I post it on my blog. "My blog?" I said, "Oh yeah..." So here's the recipe for chili and cornbread I made last week. Disclaimer: I don't claim to write a recipe blog--so this won't include any delicious looking pictures.
Weeknight Chili (Serves 6-8)
From Our Best Bites Savoring the Seasons cookbook
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (yellow or white)
1 green pepper, chopped (I used jalapeño instead)
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15-ounce) can light kidney, black, or pinto beans, drained
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce (I used a 15 ounce)
1 (15 ounce) can beef broth (substituted chicken broth)
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper, to taste
Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper, to taste, optional
Shredded cheddar cheese and/or chopped white or yellow onions, for garnish
1. In a large stockpot, brown the ground beef. When the beef is about halfway cooked, drain fat, if necessary, and then add onion, pepper, and garlic and cook until onion is translucent. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth, chili powder, and Italian seasoning and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer 20-30 minutes (or longer, if you have time). Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you want a little heat, add some Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper.
2. Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese or chopped onion, and serve with your favorite cracker.
Delicious, easy, and lots of leftovers!
Honey Cornbread Muffins
From foodnetwork.com
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk (or whatever milk you have…we used evaporated last time)
2 large eggs
½ stick butter, melted
¼ cup honey
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Into a large bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.
3. Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.
Okay, last recipe. So the only time I'm really ever tempted to break the Word of Wisdom is when McDonald's starts advertising their Pumpkin Spice Latte. Guys. I love pumpkin. Not just love--I devour anything and everything that has pumpkin in it--especially if it includes chocolate! So, you can imagine my joy when I found this recipe on Pinterest today and gave it a whirl. YUM. The only thing that would make it better is whipped cream. And a fireplace. And fuzzy socks. And maybe if it was snowing outside (don't worry--I can wait for the snow, and make this again in December...or tomorrow.) Seriously so good!Other things keeping me sane, in no particular order.
1. Harry Potter audiobooks read by Jim Dale. I listened to the entire 2nd book last week.
2. Dates with Nick. On Friday we saw the movie The Saratov Approach. It's about two LDS missionaries who were kidnapped and held for ransom in Russia in 1998. It was an incredibly intense and powerful movie. Go see it!
3. Diet Coke. And more specifically, Dirty Diet Coke. I'm not addicted, I can stop whenever I want...
4. Netflix & HuluPlus (okay, these might be keeping me sane, but they're certainly not helping me overcome my procrastination problem). Unfortunately, I'm hooked on like 75% of the shows that premiered this fall. Grey's Anatomy, Parenthood, Once Upon a Time, Dancing With the Stars, Bones, and The Mindy Project. I think that's it.
5. And last, but certainly not least. My family & friends! It's so wonderful to be close to family, especially now, when all of my siblings are currently living in like a 20 mile radius.
So even though I'm taking 5 classes, working 25 hours, commuting like 9 hours a week, and a million other things, life is good. How can I complain when it's the season of crunchy leaves, pumpkin flavored everything, and brisk fall air?!
