Chili

We got these fancy hot dogs and didn't have any chili in the freezer. So I ended up making some chili for our fancy hot dogs.

1/2 cup dried kidney beans
1 beer
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 lb ground meat
2 T chili powder
2 T fresh oregano, chopped
1 T cumin
1/2 T red pepper
3-4 diced tomatoes
Salt

Soak the kidney beans in water for about 8-12 hours. Cook the kidney beans in the beer. (I use my pressure pot but, one can cook them in beer and water for 45-60 minutes and get about the same results.) Set aside the beans with their cooking liquid. In a different pot, cook the onions, garlic, bell pepper, ground meat, chili powder, oregano, cumin, and red pepper. When the meat is browned, add the tomatoes and cook for 30 minutes covered. Add the beans and their cooking liquid and boil until the chili becomes thick. (You're evaporating the excess water from the chili.)

I hate carrots.

I will sometimes eat carrots to make my mother happy. I know that they are good for me especially since bad eyes run in my family and yet the fact remains that I hate carrots. So in an effort to eat something other than green vegetables, I decided that I would have to find a way to eat some kind of orange vegetable.

Carrot Fries are a good way to eat carrots. When these came out of the oven, I commented to Paul on how good they looked. Paul looked at the fries and said, "That's 'cause they look like seasoned fries." I started to get excited by this observation, "Maybe they'll taste like seasoned fries!" Well they don't taste like seasoned fries but they don't really taste like carrots either. So I still don't like carrots but I can eat Carrot Fries to get some orange vegetable in me.

Carrot Fries

3 Carrots, cut into fry shape
1 Tbl Oil
Salt
Pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the Carrot sticks in the Oil, Salt, and Pepper. Put the Carrots in a pan and try to keep them from touching each other. Bake for 30 minutes.

We ate ours with some ketchup to further disguise the carrot flavor.

Vaguely Healthy Omelet - at least it's not a donut

So lately, I've been attempting to make more nutritionally balanced meals. My success is not very encouraging, but I've decided to just keep at it until I get it right.

Goat Cheese Omelet with Green Onions and Oregano

1 Tbl Butter
3 Eggs
2 Tbl Green Onions, chopped
1 tsp Oregano, chopped
3 oz Goat Cheese, crumbed

Whisk the Eggs, Green Onions, and Oregano. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. When the butter starts to foam add the Egg Mixture. Gently shake the skillet until the bottom eggs are set. Add the Goat Cheese and gently stir the top of the eggs without scraping the bottom eggs. Continue to stir the top eggs occasionally until the omelet is cooked. When the omelet is cooked, you can either fold it in half or fold it in thirds.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

One of Paul's (and my) favorite combinations are Peanut Butter and Chocolate. Lately I've been trying to get a good combination of the two in a cookie. This is my latest attempt, so enjoy.

1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
3/4 cup Peanut Butter
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Salt
2 cup Flour
1 1/2 cup Chocolate Chips

Cream the Butter and Sugar together. Add the Eggs one at a time, until combined. Mix in the Peanut Butter then add the Baking Soda, Vanilla Extract, Salt, and Flour. Once the ingredient are combined add the Chocolate Chips. Bake at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Strawberry season arrives and it's time to jam!

I went to the fruit stand this Thursday and was very excited to see the low price of strawberries. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to try making and canning strawberry jam.

4 lb. Strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 Lemon, juice
1/2 cup Water
No Sugar Needed Pectin

Combine the Strawberries, Sugar, Lemon, and Water. Bring the Strawberry Combination to a boil and add Pectin as per the package instructions.

If you want to can the jam, follow these canning procedures