Sundays, Not Always Fundays

This is what a snowy winter weekend is all about.

We had a small snowfall Friday.  One that was anticipated for all day.  When it started, I grabbed that as an excuse to get out of my cubicle and head for the closest door.  Snowflakes the size of fists came down in the most calming way and knew just where to stick themselves.   And when I woke on Saturday morning, they were all still right where they landed. 

I have issues with Sundays.  Can't live with 'em, cant live without 'em issues.  Early morning is usually spent running errands, trying to give myself the time limit of "Ok, lets get this, this and this done before noon".  I do this because I get home and there are millions of other things to do.  This morning it was Lowes, Target, and Grocery Shopping.  I could think of better things to do and better places to go but we need to get prepped for the week.

Lowe's was our first stop this morning.  Blah! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good trip to Lowe's every so often, but thats in the spring when you walk in the doors and are instantly hit with the smell of plants and dirt.  Yes, I like the way dirt smells.  To me, it's the epitome of Spring being around the corner just like the way burning boat fuel lets me know that summer has begun (I'm really jones-ing for that smell right about now).  And today there was none of that.  In fact there were empty shelves and empty aisles.  

So as I pushed the cart and followed my K around while he was looking at small plastic parts for something, I have no idea what, I was thinking about how I hadn't posted on my blog for a few days.  Then I looked down at our cart and realized that I had a tip to share!  I had ran into a friend one day at Target and she looked at my cart and said "What a good idea, I've never thought of doing that"  It's become such a habit to me, that I don't think twice when I do it, it just happens. 

Buckle your goods in!

I do this for many reasons:

#1- I dont want to carry it around.

#2- My hands are usually full of other things, coupons, lists, pens, my phone.

#3- and this is my biggest reason- If someone ever tries to snatch it, it's "Sorry Sucker", they aren't getting away with it!

Back to my case of the Sundays, not always fun days.

Given the snowy and chilly weekend and a possibility of snow during the week I wanted to make a big pot of chilly.  One that would suffice for dinner at least two nights and maybe a lunch or two with a frozen batch in the freezer for a Chili for dinner on a whim at a later date. 

I spent the afternoon cooking 4lbs of meat, not my favorite thing to unwrap, cut, cook, look at....but I do it.  And although I hate the process, the outcome is delish.  I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I can make a darn good Chili.

 If you are ever looking for a good chili recipe, this is what I start with and use as a foundation: 

I use this False Alarm Kit and the 2 Alarm Chili Kit.  I combine the two and there is a kick but I'm not running for a glass of milk.  It gives you all the seasoning you could think of putting in there.  Each box is made for 2lbs of meat and all it calls for is tomato sauce and water. This is a great foundation chili because there are so many other ingredients you can add to it.  

I start by cooking 2 pieces of bacon per pound of meat while sauteing onions, red onions, green/yellow/and orange peppers, a chili pepper and garlic.  I mix it all together, saute it a little more then mix it all together and at the end throw in some kidney beans. Yummy! And I'm not even too big of a meat eater but all the flavors really come together and it's irresistibly good.