Bean Chili

So many tomatoes from the garden, what now?

My mother-in-law brought over tomatoes from the garden this past Sunday. After all the yummy pasta dishes I've been making recently, I hadn't gotten to add them in. It was most certainly my husbands turn to cook. He is a far better cook than I am. Being kind of sick of pasta we tried to come up with things to do with these damn tomatoes. I had originally suggested he make his delicious homemade vegetarian tomato sauce but alas, that is usually the topping for some starchy treat. Chili seemed like the only option. 

Last year my husband and his friends entered the chili contest in Grand Island. It was a lot of fun, even though they did not place in the top 3. It was kind of tough because someone made white chicken chili and since it was so damn different it ended up winning. I tried most of the chilis and the one that won was certainly delicious but it was kind of cheap to make a chili that didn't have tomatoes or beef in it. 

Every year these fellas get together around football season and have a chili contest between each other numbering them A. B. C. D. and D happened to be the winner. "Savor the D" was among the silliness that happened and it stuck. They entered the contest with "Savor the D". The reactions were mixed. Some loved it, others frowned and quickly hurried on. The chili was absolutely delicious though. 

It's about that time of year again actually which means i'll be eating chili for the next 4 months. Haha. Oh boy. Well, this particular recipe isn't the one he made in the contest, it was just an experiment that came out wicked tasty. My husband could turn a pot of boiling water into a 5 course meal. 

Delicious bean chili with tomatoes

• about 14 tomatoes or however many you want in your chili
• peppers, red and yellow bell
• an onion
• 2lbs ground beef 80/20
• Green Chili peppers, canned or fresh
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp tobasco
• 1 tbsp red vinegar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 4 cans, (black beans, chick peas, red kidney beans) We had one can that we thought was beans but it turned out to be diced tomatoes with chili peppers in them. we used that because it's all we had.

1. Blanche tomatoes, remove seed, take stems out, diced
2. Remove seeds from peppers, diced. Chop onion
3. Saute veggies until translucent, set aside
4. Brown 2lb of ground beef 80/20 because "fat is flavor" in large pot. Sprinkle in some salt, cumin, pepper, powdered garlic, chili powder, crushed red pepper, Tabasco, peppers. Once it is all cooked add in the veggies, tomatoes and beans.
5. Add in 1 tbsp red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup brown sugar. Let it simmer for 30 minutes. 

I linked how to blanche tomatoes. It's pretty easy. The prep time for this is quite long but it's definitely worth it because now we don't have to cook for a few days.

Waiting for 30 minutes for it to simmer is the hardest part. The smell surrounds the air. I'm sure people could smell his cooking straight down the hall. I took the dog out and could smell it for sure. 

I like to put my chili in a cup, and eat it that way. It's just a way of portion control, but I end up having quite a few teacups full. I don't mind thought because it gives me some time to let the food settle a bit. 

We like to top our chili with cheese and crackers but really it's whatever you like to put into it. 

Spicy chili helps your sickness out of your body

Everyone knows the minute you start to eat spicy foods your nose opens straight up and you better have a tissue handy. Well, I certainly knew that in a few days time I would certainly be feeling under the weather. The baby had been fussing recently with a runny nose and I knew it wouldnt be too long behind before I caught it as well. 

Capsaicin in the chili's are what give your body that fiery, runny nose feeling. I personally don't love it, but when I'm all stuffed up it sure is nice to be able to breath for a minute or two. This stuff also jump starts the metabolism too, which can be good for everyone. However, with this delicious chili recipe it is real hard not to get the "itis". You know what I'm talking about. 

Are there different classifications of chili soups?

I tried to look this up. What are the different types of chili? You have mostly meat chili's, spicy chili's, bean chili. There has to be a vegetarian chili. What if someone cant have red sauce, then white chili. Maybe chicken chili. Is there a list out there somewhere? I tried to search for a good source of different types. Perhaps I could make one because I know I can't be the only damn person in the world who wonders how many different types of chili there are. 

Now i have to come up with different ways to eat chili. 

Chicken Cheese Spinach Manicotti with Bacon

Chicken Spinach Manicotti with Bacon

  

Completed Manicotti deliciousness

• 1 1/4 cup spinach
• 14 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 15 oz cup of ricotta
• 1/2 cup of cottage cheese
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 egg white
• 2 chicken breast, cooked then chopped finely
• 4 strips of bacon, cooked, drained, patted dry and finely chopped
• 14 manicotti noodles cooked until al dente
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• Jar of sauce

Cook that bacon up, you only need a few strips. Pat it dry to remove all of the greasiness  Chop it up. Use that bacon oil in the pan to cook that chicken. Spice the chicken with some salt and pepper. Once cooked to deliciousness, chop it up into small bits and put into a bowl with the bacon. 

I have a delicious beverage here, nothing too fancy, just some vodka with cranberry/raspberry. Very important to this process. 

Cook up the onion until translucent and just when they are about done add in those garlic cloves. Cook up for a few minutes and remove from heat. Add to the bowl of chicken and bacon. Set all this aside. 

In another bowl mix the ricotta, the cottage cheese, oregano, that fresh basil, pepper, salt, egg white, Parmesan cheese freshly grated. 

I grated this cheese here. It is quite amazing. It is a bit expensive but it really is yummy. You can take any type that you want though. 

Add this right into your bowl. 

It definitely helped to have a kitchen helper. My husband was chopping up the bacon and chicken for me while I made my cheese bowl. He is so super awesome. 

Oh no! My glass is empty, time for a refill. 

Mix the two bowls together. 

Cook your manicotti right up until they are al dente. Just a little bit hard. They will cook when it is in the oven. 

While that is boiling, scoop up all your ingredients in the bowl into a piping bag. 

Put a layer of tomato sauce down into the pan, pipe your ingredients in and place on the sauce. 

Once you get them all in there, put another layer of sauce into the map then top with cheese. 

I used this cheese and sprinkled generously on top. 

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 5 until that cheese on top is a nice golden brown. Let cool for 15 minutes. 

Oh this was soo good! I loved it just the way it is, my husband however had to add some salt. He always adds salt to every thing!

Hastings stole county seat from Juniata 

On my adventures out last week I had asked several home grown Hastinites to tell me something about this place. Hastings was founded in 1872. Only one person happened to know this exact year but at least three people told me that Hastings is on the county seat because they stole it from Juniata, a nearby already established town. I've tried looking this up on the web and could not quickly come up with the information. At Central Community College I was referred to a book on the History of Hastings that describes they stole a physical piece of something, probably a gavel, and this meant that they were in business in the county seat!

Seems kind of silly really and you would think that this might be all over the web, but it is not! I confirmed this story with someone who knows all about the History of Hastings. 

As of 2010 Hastings, Nebraska is home to 24,907 people according to the census. This town is tiny as hell. Everyone seems to know everyone, and every time I go out the bartenders and regulars have already learned my name. While that certainly is flattering and honestly kind of sweet, it sure is different from back home in Springfield, Massachusetts home of 153, 552 as of 2012. My hometown also holds the county seat but there is no interesting story around that, and up until I looked up the population number on Wikipedia  I had absolutely no idea. 

Apple Banana Cranberry Bread

Drag show at the route 6 diner in Hastings, Nebraska

Oh man this was so much fun! Luna and I met up with some friends there. I wish I had gotten pictures but I was just so taken by all the fun things happening around me. 

I only managed to take one photo of myself before heading out for the evening of fun. 

The girls performance was amazing. I am absolutely enthralled by Giselle Jacobs stage presence. She was magnificent as well as the other people there too. The crowds was absolutely LOVING IT.

I am excited about going to see them perform again. 

After the show closed we made our way to Wanda's because karaoke and cheap booze. I realized I left my credit card at rt 6. That totally sucks. I still haven't been back there to get it. 

Matt and Alex are outside smoking a cigarette here. It was a gorgeous night. They didn't do karaoke then again neither did I. 

I danced a little bit. Someone should get a video of this because it's silly as hell.

I was absolutely tired by the time I got home. I wished I had had something delicious to eat. When I woke up today I looked up this recipe and made it. 

Apple Banana Cranberry Bread

• 1 1/2 cups of flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cream of tartar
• 3/4 cups of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp of vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp milk (I used whole milk)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 12 cranberries
• 2 apples peeled, cored and chopped
• 2 bananas mashed

1. grease a loaf pan. Pre-heat the oven 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, sugar, salt. 
3. In another mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, apple and banana stir in the dry ingredients until combined. 
4. Pour into the pan and then top with 12 cranberries and push them down into the batter. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.

I located this recipe and tweaked it a little bit to fit the ingredients that i had on hand. Her blog is far more organized than mine, haha and she has yummy pictures of this tasty treat. 

http://www.mykitchensnippets.com/2012/02/banana-cranberry-and-apple-bread.html

Her recipe called for salt and i totally spaced on adding that. Sometimes that sort of thing happens to me. Sigh. Oh well. She also added baking powder which I did not have, however I did have cream of tartar. I learned today what baking powder really is. 

The difference between baking soda and baking powder

http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm

I'm taking the information straight from there. Both of these ingredients are used to make things rise, such as breads. If you do not have baking powder you can use 2 parts cream of tartar to 1 part baking soda instead. 

So i forgot to add the salt, silly me. Last recipe I forgot to add the brown sugar. Salt is a very important part of this recipe. haha. oh boy. 

Gosh this picture looks soo inviting! It really came out delicious, but I absolutely hate the cranberries in it. Hmm, oh well.