 |
| Bug note card with a sweet letter on the other side. Ring pop. Spider web with spider hair clip. Glow in the dark nail polish. Skittles. Starburst. |
Thursday, October 24, 2013
Halloween Treat!
My lovely youngest sister, Maureen who lives too far away, surprised me today with a Halloween package. I came home, from picking the kids up from school, and saw it on my front step. It was such a nice surprise and made me feel all warm and loved.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Yummy Chili
For Holly, who really liked the chili I made a few weeks ago.
Um... I am going to do my best recreating it here..... hope I can remember it.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of bacon grease (yes, I cooked bacon just for the grease... my husband and kids munched on the cooked bacon)
2 tablespoons of butter (I like using salted butter)
1 Anaheim chili, roasted, peeled, chopped small
1 Poblano chili, roasted, peeled, chopped small
1 red bell pepper, chopped small
1 jalapeno, chopped small
1 small yellow onion, chopped small
1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic
boneless chuck, trimmed the fat and cut it into small cubes... it was a little over a pound when I bought it.
2 lbs of ground beef
3 tablespoons of chili powder
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste but I start with 2 teaspoons of each while I cook the meat.
1 small 6 oz can of tomato paste
I think I used a 29 oz can of crushed tomatoes
And I may have added some tomato sauce...if I did it was just a medium sized can.
1 cup of beef stock
1 15 oz can of red kidney beans with the juice in the can
1 15 oz can of pinto beans with the juice in the can.
I added a little bit of brown sugar...Maybe 2 Tablespoons worth
I also added a small handful of semi sweet chocolate chips (I like the Ghirardelli choc. chips)
The last thing I add before I set it to simmer is add Tony Chachere's creole seasoning to taste (I think it brings out the flavor in just about everything), not sure how much, I just sprinkle it on... I just know how much I like. Sorry I can't be more specific! And I add a little swirl of Sriracha sauce or rooster sauce as we call it around here.
If you want more heat to your chili just add more roasted anaheim and poblano peppers, more jalapenos too. This chili isn't too spicy because I want my kids to be able to eat it.
Directions:
First you'll have to cook the bacon to get the grease, while that is cooking you can roast the anaheim and poblano chili's and chop and cook your meat...I add half of the bacon grease to the meat while I cook it and I cook the ground meat first (don't forget the salt and pepper!), move it to a bowl and leave as much of the grease from that meat in the pan to cook the boneless chuck. I don't drain any of the grease from the meat, it will all go into the chili. Then I prep everything. Before I put the chili together I make sure I have all the ingredients ready to go, all the veggies chopped, powders measured and mixed together in another dish, the meat cooked and set aside. For the chili I use a cast iron dutch oven, I have made chili in other things like a slow cooker, or a stock pot... the cast iron just gives it a better flavor in my opinion... I heat it up, add the rest of the bacon grease and throw in the butter. Cast iron gets really hot so it doesn't need to be on the highest heat setting... just so the butter melts and everything feels hot, I have an electric stove (boo) and I keep mine on the number 7 for this first part... which is medium high heat. Add the anaheim chili, poblano chili, red bell pepper, jalapeno, and the onions and cook about 5 minutes or just starting to caramelize. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the meat, stir in the dry ingredients (chili powder, cumin etc but not the sugar or chocolate chips yet) after you stir that add the beef stock, the tomato stuff (paste, sauce, crushed), the beans with the juice from the cans, now add the sugar and choc.chips. stir it all together. Add the Tony C's and Sriracha sauce. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for about 2 hours.
I had David try the chili before I cooked it two hours and he said "eh it's alright". Then he ate some after the two hours and he was all "wow, this tastes really amazing".
Sorry if this is really confusing!
Um... I am going to do my best recreating it here..... hope I can remember it.
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons of bacon grease (yes, I cooked bacon just for the grease... my husband and kids munched on the cooked bacon)
2 tablespoons of butter (I like using salted butter)
1 Anaheim chili, roasted, peeled, chopped small
1 Poblano chili, roasted, peeled, chopped small
1 red bell pepper, chopped small
1 jalapeno, chopped small
1 small yellow onion, chopped small
1 heaping tablespoon of minced garlic
boneless chuck, trimmed the fat and cut it into small cubes... it was a little over a pound when I bought it.
2 lbs of ground beef
3 tablespoons of chili powder
2 teaspoons of ground coriander
2 teaspoons of ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste but I start with 2 teaspoons of each while I cook the meat.
1 small 6 oz can of tomato paste
I think I used a 29 oz can of crushed tomatoes
And I may have added some tomato sauce...if I did it was just a medium sized can.
1 cup of beef stock
1 15 oz can of red kidney beans with the juice in the can
1 15 oz can of pinto beans with the juice in the can.
I added a little bit of brown sugar...Maybe 2 Tablespoons worth
I also added a small handful of semi sweet chocolate chips (I like the Ghirardelli choc. chips)
The last thing I add before I set it to simmer is add Tony Chachere's creole seasoning to taste (I think it brings out the flavor in just about everything), not sure how much, I just sprinkle it on... I just know how much I like. Sorry I can't be more specific! And I add a little swirl of Sriracha sauce or rooster sauce as we call it around here.
If you want more heat to your chili just add more roasted anaheim and poblano peppers, more jalapenos too. This chili isn't too spicy because I want my kids to be able to eat it.
Directions:
First you'll have to cook the bacon to get the grease, while that is cooking you can roast the anaheim and poblano chili's and chop and cook your meat...I add half of the bacon grease to the meat while I cook it and I cook the ground meat first (don't forget the salt and pepper!), move it to a bowl and leave as much of the grease from that meat in the pan to cook the boneless chuck. I don't drain any of the grease from the meat, it will all go into the chili. Then I prep everything. Before I put the chili together I make sure I have all the ingredients ready to go, all the veggies chopped, powders measured and mixed together in another dish, the meat cooked and set aside. For the chili I use a cast iron dutch oven, I have made chili in other things like a slow cooker, or a stock pot... the cast iron just gives it a better flavor in my opinion... I heat it up, add the rest of the bacon grease and throw in the butter. Cast iron gets really hot so it doesn't need to be on the highest heat setting... just so the butter melts and everything feels hot, I have an electric stove (boo) and I keep mine on the number 7 for this first part... which is medium high heat. Add the anaheim chili, poblano chili, red bell pepper, jalapeno, and the onions and cook about 5 minutes or just starting to caramelize. Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the meat, stir in the dry ingredients (chili powder, cumin etc but not the sugar or chocolate chips yet) after you stir that add the beef stock, the tomato stuff (paste, sauce, crushed), the beans with the juice from the cans, now add the sugar and choc.chips. stir it all together. Add the Tony C's and Sriracha sauce. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for about 2 hours.
I had David try the chili before I cooked it two hours and he said "eh it's alright". Then he ate some after the two hours and he was all "wow, this tastes really amazing".
Sorry if this is really confusing!
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Progress Reports!
Liam and Violet got their first progress reports of the school year. Liam is in the 1st grade now. His teacher said Liam is above what they are expected to know in math and that Liam tested easily above a DRA level 38 (which is end of 3rd grade, beginning of 4th) His teacher said he can actually read easily at a greater level than that, but his comprehension doesn't go above that. She said we need to work on correctly spelling words at home. She suggested that he seems to thrive in competition and I should make a game out of it.
Violet is reading what they expect at the end of Kindergarten! DRA level 3. I was pleasantly surprised... Violet has a hard time sitting down with me to read (she doesn't enjoy it, in other words). But I guess she knows more than she lets on. Teacher noted how sensitive Violet is and that she is doing well to bring her social issues to the teacher. I'm proud of her for that as well. She says Violet is at the expected level for math. I am proud of Violet and told her so, but she made a sound like "awww" as in "awww, darn it" like she was disappointed with that report. I know it's because she is quite good at counting past 200, adding and subtracting numbers to 10, at home... but at school she goes too quickly and skips numbers when counting, they haven't started adding or subtracting yet. Teacher said she is working on slowing her down so she counts properly.
I love this school's progress reports so much more than the previous school Liam was at. The teachers really show how well they know the children by their comments. They also give suggestions for improvement they can learn at home (no matter what level they are at) and comment on what they are working on with them individually in class.
Violet is reading what they expect at the end of Kindergarten! DRA level 3. I was pleasantly surprised... Violet has a hard time sitting down with me to read (she doesn't enjoy it, in other words). But I guess she knows more than she lets on. Teacher noted how sensitive Violet is and that she is doing well to bring her social issues to the teacher. I'm proud of her for that as well. She says Violet is at the expected level for math. I am proud of Violet and told her so, but she made a sound like "awww" as in "awww, darn it" like she was disappointed with that report. I know it's because she is quite good at counting past 200, adding and subtracting numbers to 10, at home... but at school she goes too quickly and skips numbers when counting, they haven't started adding or subtracting yet. Teacher said she is working on slowing her down so she counts properly.
I love this school's progress reports so much more than the previous school Liam was at. The teachers really show how well they know the children by their comments. They also give suggestions for improvement they can learn at home (no matter what level they are at) and comment on what they are working on with them individually in class.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)