Chili Weather - Welcome Fall

Well it's finally here. Autumn has finally arrived and descended upon the midwest.

found these cuties at Whole Foods

Well at least temperature wise. I'm enjoying the fact that it isn't a scorching furnace outside and can actually enjoy my runs without having to take my shirt off. (Don't get all excited now.)

So 'tis the season to start making warmer foods for dinner. Since it has been a bit chilly lately, 50 degrees and lower, Mike and I thought chili sounded good. This all stemmed from the fact that there is a chili cook off at my office on October 17. I'm entering my mom's hearty chili and hope to win that $20 gift card. I could use some free money.

So Mike and I thought about chili and what type to make. We eventually came down to wanting white chili. White chicken chili to be exact. White chili, for those that do not know, is white beans (navy or northern or both), chicken, broth, jalapenos, onion, and herbs and spices.

We used a Paula Deen recipe for reference. It's her white chicken chili recipe. We just used the same basic ingredients. Didn't follow exactly. Mike likes to make things his own. No problem with me, I prefer tweaking recipes myself. (I'll post about that later).

So we used boneless skinless chicken breasts, two jalapenos, 1 poblano pepper, 1 medium onion, 2 cloves garlic, 3 cans great northern beans, 2 cans navy beans, 1 pkt white chili seasoning, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, garlic powder, bay leaf, cumin, and some other spices added as we went along and tasted.

When trying to figure out the flavor it took a bit to find that right balance. It tasted good, just didn't have the right flavor to it. We were trying hard to figure out what it was missing. Couldn't quite put our finger on it. Mike at one point said "what about poultry seasoning." Tried that. Ok, better but not quite right. We soon came to a point where the light bulb came on. Mike was more or less like "DUH! CUMIN!" Every chili has to have cumin. So once that was added it was just right. Much like the three bears porridge, except chili.

So we started off by sauteing the onions, peppers, and garlic together before adding in the beans, chicken, and spices. Then it sat on the stove on med/low heat for probably 2 hours until chicken was cooked through and finished.

We served with corn bread muffins, which I guess I was supposed to add jalapenos to, but I didn't because there was a little miscommunication between Mike and I. I missed that somehow. Oh well, all is right in the world. Though I do have to say that after a day or two those boxed muffins start tasting a bit off. Maybe it's just me but they get this chemically flavor. Hmmm---probably just my suspicions of boxed anything right? Right...well, yeah - whatever.

After dinner he began to work on his layout since he had the possibility of hunting the next day if they could get the spot. Turned out he wouldn't be going hunting perse but he did get to go scouting and then would come stay at my place till morning so he could go test for a new job possibility.

Preparing his layout for hunting - added "grass" to it.
 Fun to watch this process.

So once the weekend was over I headed to work Monday morning and took some chili with me, I mean, come on - just can't leave ALL of it there. He's gracious enough to let me have some and share. Such a good man. I thoroughly enjoyed that as lunch that Monday morning.

So when Mike and I aren't together, we obviously text and call each other often. Well, things like this happen.

Yes, we are dorks. We belong together - for obvious reasons right?

So Monday morning and afternoon he was off to the sporting goods store in search of a marsh foot and push pole. (I have had to have him explain these things to me since I have never dealt with hunting before.) Basically he's a gondolier when he's in his layout boat hehe. Of course after going out with the boat and push pole he has decided to purchase a small motor to make life a little easier come hunting time. Well while he was out with his buddy and out scouting the hunting grounds and looking for geese, I found the geese on my lunch walk.

Honk Honk!

He didn't get any geese while out, unless you count the decoys he came home with. Eventually he can go goose hunting. I'm all for it, go have fun and kill the birds and bond with the boys. As long as he takes me shooting now and then I'm happy as a clam with guns and hunting.

So this last weekend we didn't see each other because of his job and being super busy and then Roomie's parents coming in town to boot. Better to just not get involved in that and only see him for maybe a few hours after he has recovered from overtime at work. That and we get a long weekend together this weekend for the pig roast. I'm sure we will have pictures.

So as is typical of me, when I get bored at home I tend to bake. So this time I had found a "donut muffin" recipe. Sounded simple enough and sounded good with the cinnamon sugar topping it promised.

Well I made it, and the first time I made it I followed the directions to the letter. Of course while following the directions I was thinking to myself - this is an awful lot of nutmeg. This can't be right. Then thinking I said to myself "well, the recipe says..." So I put the full amount of nutmeg into the muffin. Well, yeah, that was a bad idea. Can we say spice overload? Ugh, it wasn't terrible but it was a truly too strong nutmeg taste. So I ended up tossing those. Then I decided I would try again. I did and had success by cutting the 3/4 tsp nutmeg down to 1/4 tsp and then adding 1/2 tsp cinnamon to the batter. Much much better flavor.

Sugar overload -
yes I did lick up the extra sugar on the pan

So during this week that I knew I wouldn't see Mike he did text me a picture that made me grin ear to ear. I have seen this decal in sporting goods stores and thought it was cute. I mean, the browning buck and then a doe to create a heart. Too cute. Of course Mike makes a face and says "Ewww mushy stuff!" Ha ha! But this made me smile, he saw it on someones vehicle and sent me a pic. Made my day.

RECIPE:

Donut Muffins
Makes 24 Mini muffins or 6 regular sized muffins

For Muffin:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup all-purpose flour

For topping:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 F (190 C), Grease muffin tin of choice.

Mix 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter, nutmeg and cinnamon in large bowl. Stir in milk, then mix in baking powder, and flour until just combined. Fill prepared cups 1/2 full.

Bake in oven until tops are lightly golden, 15-20 min.

While muffins are baking, place 1/4 cup melted butter in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix sugar and cinnamon.

Remove muffins from their cups, dip each muffin in melted butter and then roll in cinnamon sugar. Let cool and serve.

So this weekend we have a pig roast and a road trip to St. Louis area. Great outdoors here we come!

Now go out and cook!

Beyond the Normal Steak and Potatoes

This weekend was a lazy weekend. We didn't really feel like doing a whole lot of anything. We were going to go to the lake and meet some new friends but decided it was 1. too hot, 2. we didn't get up till 10 AM Saturday morning and 3. We would have had to drive at 8/9 am after going to bed at 3:30 AM/4:30 AM. Yeah not so much. So we decided to stay in for most of the weekend.

We drove into the city to go to Best Buy and Bed Bath and Beyond. We looked for bread pans (the ones you would make french bread loaves in - or even find mini ones to make hot dog buns.) for my pretzel bread adventures. No luck, the man at the store that we asked said "It really isn't baking season." Um, excuse me, it's always baking season. I even said "It's always baking season." LOL

So we got whisks, my whisk recently broke - grr, granted I've had it for quite some years now and wasn't what I would call a SUPER sturdy whisk. Basic and cheap from Walmart. So got that and headed off to Bets Buy. Mike wants to get a good tough camera for when he goes duck hunting this fall/winter. From what he says he inevitably ends up in the water and so a water proof camera would be a fantastic idea. His phone stays in a zip lock or air tight container and he doesn't really want to ruin an expensive electronic device, phone, camera or otherwise. So we found what he was looking for and then they didn't have it in stock. We ended up leaving and going back to the apartment and he ordered it online. Should be a fun toy. Won't have to be just for hunting. :)

*the wheels are turning for food pictures*

So that day we went to "Mighty Melt" for lunch, I got the cheese sandwich on wheat where he got the Chili Cheese potato. HOLY CRAP was that a HUGE potato. The Frito's on top were meh and stale and the knock off type. The cheese was just your basic nacho cheese dip and the chili was actually quite surprising. I would say it was the best part of that potato. My sandwich was good, fair amount of cheese but not too much and the veggies that were on it were good too, lettuce, tomato and mushroom. The wheat bread was border line dry but not bad. will probably stick to the white when I go back.

Beer brats are the lighter ones and
chicken chipotle jack are the brown ones on the left

That night we did bratwurst on the grill and used the pretzel bread buns to hold them. We sauteed up onions and peppers to put on top and then topped with spicy mustard. They tasted great, the only issue we had was that the pretzel buns had gotten hard. They had been in zip lock baggies, so not sure how they got hard and almost rock like. Edible but the crust was tough.

sauteed peppers and red onion

I made mine work and finished it all, hand held. Mike chose to cut his up with knife and fork.

Brad on pretzel bread, onions, peppers and mushroom rice

So because I've posted pictures of Mike cooking he took my phone and decided it was time for one of  me cooking. Yes I do cook, I prefer to bake but I do cook. I help with the pan work while he works the grill and the knife. 

Me laughing once I realize what he is doing.

 So that was dinner Saturday night. We ended up falling asleep not long after, about 10pm on the floor and couch. Sprawled out and tired old people that we are. (26 and old already haha.)

So Sunday we got a take and bake pizza from Papa Murphy's. Mike wasn't feeling leftovers since that was what he had been eating for a week. We had a chicken, bacon and artichoke de-Lite pizza. Was fabulous.

Then we napped. Like I said, lazy and relaxing weekend. We then got up and headed out to our friends house for a swim and some people time. We were also told to take home some bags of groceries - they had a neighbor moving who cleaned out her pantry. Free food, not going to argue. She says she'll have baking stuff soon too. YAY!!! I'm excited about that.

So after getting some vitamin D and having some time with friends we headed out to come back and make dinner. We had, that morning, picked up some lamb steaks, sugar snap peas, sprouts, onion and Greek seasoning. So came back and Mike prepped the onion, tomatoes and garlic for the veggie stir fry that I would be cooking up and he prepped the grill for the lamb. He coated each side of the meat with a generous sprinkling of Greek seasoning (Go to Walmart and pick up some - fabulous on lamb).

Sprouts - fresh

Tomatoes fresh from our friends garden

Garlic Herb seasoning from our local farmers market

Snap peas and onion saute

All veggies mixed in and sauteed up

So after coating and chopping up veggies he got them on the grill, the grill tried to flame broil them at one point, making cook time shorter than expected but still turned out great.

Mike saving the Lamb from the flames

A little charred but not badly

Mmmmm grilled lamb steaks :)

So Mike saved the lamb from a fiery death and promptly brought them in at a medium rare temp and doneness. :) Then we heated up some of the left over mushroom rice from the night before and plated.

From the rice, my steak was
much smaller than Mike's MAN steak ;)

From the veggie side of the plate

Let me just say this about the look, fresh and crisp on the veg, rice was good and the steaks were beautifully pink. Oh, yum, come play in my mouth for a while.

Moving on to flavor, the char really did not affect the flavor much, if at all. In my case I thought it was pretty good.

I may have mentioned this before but when Mike starts grunting and making yummy sounds while eating you know it's good. I agree - it was FANTASTIC! Mike used choice phrases. "Fucking amazing" "God damn that was good!" "That was awesome!" and so on. Went on until we went to bed. I am in total agreement. I even would be quoted, while getting water 2 hours later "Oh my god that was amazing."

This was definitely a hit and was definitely worth the time and effort and will be done again.

Y'all should try this too, amazing. No real trick to it, just cook. So, allez cuisine folks!

Great minds think of Chicken Fajitas

Tonight Mike and I made dinner at our respective apartments. Although, by chance we both had chicken fajitas on the brain - in a sense. He was more direct about his fajita desire than I was. I had polenta at home and chicken, then what do do with it....

So he asked what he should use for his fajitas. I suggested the usual suspects of toppings: bell peppers, onion, garlic, add some mushroom for fun. Of course seasoning is just a packet of fajita seasoning as it's easier than experimenting with seasonings randomly - though that is a fun thing to do sometimes, can get tricky but is fun to find new and fun flavor combinations.

I just needed to find something to go with polenta and chicken. He suggested I pick up shrimp, but being the cheapskate I am I chose not to get shrimp. Though I did pick up red onion, mushrooms and a green bell pepper for the mix. Then I said cheddar cheese would be good too - he suggested to mix it in the polenta or even just sprinkle on top. I did more of a sandwich in the middle. He ended up forgetting cheese with his altogether.

Being the foodies we are we talk about these things back and forth via text and pictures. Of course prior to his shopping spree he tells me he doesn't like doing legs then cardio at the gym. I of course giggle to myself at work when I see that and the picture because I have been there. (This is why I do cardio first).

Handsome man getting his sweat on.

 So after getting this handsome picture I was finally off work and off to the store to pick up the needed ingredients for my fresh and unprocessed dinner. (polenta was homemade folks).

I whisked myself off to Whole Foods, rarely do I shop there, since I only had a few things to grab and it ultimately would cost the same in gas to get to Hyvee and such. So, WF it was. I then snapped a cute pic of myself while heading back to my car with my small sack of veggies.(The little boy helping the bagger was cute in that he wanted more groceries to bag but I didn't have a lot - his reaction was funny and the employee said "She's a no nonsense lady today - knew exactly what she wanted" then smiled at me as I left. - another reason I like WF - friendly and happy employees).

So as I get in my car and head home I receive "flowers" from Mike.

"Flowers to brighten your day." - Mike

He's a sweetie if you couldn't tell.

So home I go and unload my veggies onto the counter and prepare them. Chicken in the skillet browning up with some garlic and onion powder, salt and pepper (basic). Then I get the veggies started and get the onions opaque and the mushrooms browned while the peppers still have a slight crunch to them.

The polenta was made last night in a crock-pot - pretty basic. 4 cups water (boiling) then add 1 cup yellow (or white) cornmeal until desired thickness. It will thicken as it sits - also make sure to stir or it will get lumpy and chunky.

I also found a delicious looking peach while at the store. I had to have it and eat something sweet so I sliced that up and added it to my dinner. Yes I am using a compartmentalized "tray" of sorts. My inner child came out and my peaches weren't touching my hot food. 

Chicken and Vegetable Cheddar Polenta a la Sarah

He also used bell pepper (red), red onion, chicken and mushrooms. He also used a poblano pepper, black bean corn salsa and fajita seasoning. 


He's really good at chopping up veggies with his "ninja knives." as you can see he has some mad skills. Uniform and pretty.

He browned up the chicken with the seasoning and some lime juice for added flavor and depth. (Yumm!)

Looks like he cooked up the corn salsa in a pot and made it that way, corn and black beans and spices. Then he added the chicken and veggies together. Beautiful! Makes your mouth water doesn't it? It's making mine water and I'm still full from dinner.

To serve he wrapped it all up in a jalapeno cheddar flour tortilla - he forgot to add cheese to his burrito but from the sounds of it it didn't' really need it.

Lime Chicken Fajita Burrito a la Mike

Great minds right? He had his twist on fajita style chicken and I had mine. We both had delicious dinners that hit the spot and filled us up to the top. I felt like rolling around my living room because of how full I was. I'm not sure if he felt the same way. He said the heat in his burrito snuck up on him a bit but was delicious. He called it "very good" and when I said "yumm" in response to the photo he said "very." That is what we call a successful dinner. When Mike says very, very good. Then it's a good dinner.

I can't wait to see what this weekend brings for food...guess we will just have to wait and see what our minds conceive this time for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Let us know if there is something we should try out or if you just want to know a recipe.