Cake, Chili and Garlic

Yesterday manfriend and I woke up early to go to the Farmer's Market and then the grocery store... the later in the day the busier and more crowded these places become. It was cool and rainy and perfect. My produce bag was well-stocked, as well. I found inside: a few pounds of potatoes, a butternut squash, three tomatoes, a small pumpkin, two peppers - one hot and one sweet, and two cucumbers. I think this bag will do me some good this coming week. I've a counter full of produce to use, so that is my challenge for this week and coming weekend.

We attended two parties last night: one for my job and one for close friends who are moving soon - it was also her birthday! I decided to try out my new KitchenAid mixer and whip up a from-scratch Angel Food Cake with Lemon Frosting to take with us to share with the birthday girl. Although I was a bit nervous about it, I was told it was fabulous. One person even said, 'This makes me believe in Jesus.' Dang. Must have been magical. But we also must evaluate the crowd: a few beers deep and ready to devour anything in arm's reach. Nonetheless: pretty tasty!

After our grocery store adventure yesterday we also decided chili sounds fantastic considering the weather, so manfriend (with a little guidance) put together a delicious batch of dump chili. Spicy, but not too much so, and great texture... couldn't have asked for more!

Today I have to go meet another gal to help plan a bridal shower, but when I get back this afternoon I'm going to make that 5 Garlic Chicken recipe I posted last week. I've got the garlic roasting right now and it smells wonderful; I can't wait to put together the rest of the meal: risotto and brussel sprouts. Yum!

Here is my recipe for chili. It came from my grandma, and she used Turkey Burger for it - it's not bad that way, but when I make it with turkey the meat seemed a bit rubbery. This is just the base recipe; we always load it full of spices and other surprise ingredients based on what we have on hand and what sounds good that day. Hope you enjoy!

Dump Chili

1 pound ground beef
1 whole onion, chopped

Brown the beef with the onion. Then add:

2 cans diced tomatoes (or however you like them - stewed, whole, sauce, etc...)
3 cans beans - any variety and combination (we like black beans, chili beans, and kidney beans)
1 can whole corn
1 packet taco seasoning
1 packet dry ranch dressing mix

DO NOT DRAIN ANY OF THE CANS BEFORE ADDING.

Bring to boil and simmer until time to serve.

Tada! That's it. We like to add garlic, peppers, tomato paste, and a variety of spices, so crazy and make it yours! It's way easy, way fast, and way delicious.

Hope you have a delicious day!