Christmas Time 2017

I used to live in the Southwest (El Paso, TX, Tucson, AZ, and Alamogordo, NM). I feel like the Southwest is most like "home" to me, even though I've lived all across the country.

But, since I no longer live there, I enjoy having little touches of the Southwest where we now live (eastern Iowa).

I have some chile* pepper lights, some Southwestern ornaments on the tree, and a Southwestern style ladder I'd gotten in Santa Fe way back in 2006.

*(Note, I didn't say "chili" pepper: "chili" is that stew-like meal with meat, sometimes beans, and chili powder spices, along with other ingredients. "Chile" is what you call the actual "chile peppers," such as jalapeño, Serrano, Hatch, habanero, etc.)

Anyway, I always like the glow of the chile pepper lights that I wrapped around my Santa Fe ladder.

I'm sitting in the kitchen with Jock and a cup of coffee, enjoying the Christmas lights and the Christmas tree, before the rest of the family gets up.

Study Breaks and Chile

Here's what happens when a study break and chile photos "collide":

Here's the original photo - Hatch chile just put out on a screaming hot grill.

Here's one edited with Picnik's "Duo Tone" effect, using green and black, obviously.

And here's the other, also with the "Duo Tone" effect, but this time, obviously, with black and red.

I couldn't decide which one I liked best, so I saved one version each of the green/black and the red/black. Kinda fun and crazy colors, aren't they?

I guess if I were back in New Mexico, today would be a "Christmas" kind of day, with my not being able to choose between green or red - deciding, rather, on both.

A Taste of "Home"

Okay, so I was kinda missing my New Mexico home lately. But this past Sunday, I'd been in the grocery store and just so happened to have found some green chiles all the way from Hatch, NM! Now, Hatch chiles are rather famous, so I was quite excited to have found some fresh ones out here in corn and soybean country!

I only bought three, not knowing when I'd get a chance to roast, peel, and eat them (since my semester started this week).

I have a lot of homework to read for tomorrow, but I suddenly got worried that the three chiles that I'd bought would go bad before the weekend, so I went out to the grill to roast them. I figured I'd go ahead and roast and peel them now (during a study break), so that I'd have them ready to eat before they went bad. Maybe I can put them in some scrambled eggs tomorrow morning, before I head to class.

Well, I ended up taking a photo of them (of course!) while they were on the grill. And then I had to play around with the photo on Picnik.

Here's the resulting photo:

This recipe sounds yummy on a frigid day!

So we're getting a super cold spell here in east central Iowa. Last night, the low was below zero (-8, I think?) with wind chills easily approaching -25 (yes, negative twenty five) with the gusting wind.

And today isn't much warmer, even with sunny skies - the high is supposed to be 6. We're at about 4 right now, with a wind chill around -10.

Because it's so chilly out today, I thought I'd try a chili recipe I found in Food Network Magazine. It's "Slow-Cooker Texas Chili."

First, it's a nice, warm meal (with a bit of spice, as well), and it's a slow-cooker recipe, so aside from the prep work, all I have to do is let the slow-cooker do the cooking all day. And it'll make the house smell delish.

Anyway, I received a year's subscription to Food Network Magazine from my mother- and father-in-law last year for Christmas. And I must say I've really enjoyed this gift. I get new recipe ideas every month, as well as food tips.

Usually Andrew, Livie, and I have enjoyed the recipes I've tried.

Once in a while, one of us (or all three of us) end up not caring too much for a particular recipe. Maybe it was the recipe; maybe it was user error (as in I didn't execute the recipe just right).

But for the most part, we've been happy with the results.

When I got the September 2010 issue and saw this recipe for "Slow-Cooker Texas Chili," I thought it looked tasty and I marked the page. Texas Chili is the kind without the beans, by the way.

And when I saw the weather forecast for this week, I remembered that I'd marked this recipe, and knew it would be a good one to try for the cold spell we'd be expecting.

So when I dropped Livie off at Pre-K, I came back to do the prep-work.

The recipe in the magazine said there'd be 30 minutes of "active" time plus the seven hours of inactive cooking time in the slow-cooker.

Well, it took me a little longer than 30 minutes before starting up the slow-cooker. It was more like 45. Maybe it was because it's the first time trying this recipe - it always takes me a little longer the first one or two times making a recipe. Or maybe I should've set out all my ingredients before beginning.

It smells awesome so far, because I had to prepare some of the aromatic ingredients (the onion, garlic, chili powder, chiles, etc.) in a skillet before putting it into the slow-cooker.

I sure hope it turns out! I tried getting the mildest chiles possible, so Livie enjoys it, too. If it were for just Andrew and me, it could be much spicier.

Anyway, here's the recipe:

Slow-Cooker Texas Chili, courtesy of Food Network Magazine

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 4.5-ounce cans chopped green chiles, drained
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3/4 cup chili powder
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with chiles
• 1 to 2 tablespoons green hot sauce
• Sliced scallions, fresh cilantro and/or sour cream, for topping
• Tortilla chips, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Toss the beef with 1 tablespoon each brown sugar and salt in a large bowl. 
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 
3. Cook the beef in batches until browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes (do not crowd the pan). 
4. Transfer to a 5-to-6-quart slow cooker.
5. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onion to the skillet and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. 
6. Stir in the garlic, chiles, cumin and chili powder and cook 3 minutes. 
7. Add 1 1/2 cups water and the tomatoes and simmer, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom, about 3 minutes. 
8. Transfer to the slow cooker, cover and cook on low, 7 hours.
9. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar and the hot sauce to the chili. 

Serve with scallions, cilantro and/or sour cream for topping, and chips, if desired. 


Nutritional Information Per serving: Calories 482; Fat 29 g (Saturated 11 g); Cholesterol 117 mg; Sodium 1,227 mg; Carbohydrate 11 g; Fiber 0 g; Protein 36 g


Oh, and when I stopped at the meat department of my grocery store, the guy at the counter didn't know what I was talking about when I asked for 2.5 pounds of chuck, in cubes. So I got 2.5 pounds of ground chuck. So we'll see how it turns out. 

And now I'm off to clean up the mess I made while preparing the ingredients before they went in the slow-cooker.

Random Farmers' Market photos

We were at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers' Market yesterday. Here are a few random photos from the Market.

Here are a few flowers adorning Court Avenue:

Here's a pupusa on the griddle. This one is stuffed with frijoles y queso (beans and cheese):

Here are the finished products:

Liv's is in the foreground with the mild chile "cole slaw" and mine is in the back, with the hot chile "cole slaw."

"Hotel Kirkwood" just off Court Avenue:

Here's an alley mural that we see when we exit the parking garage:

HGTV Dream Home » HGTV Dream Home Cocktail

HGTV Dream Home » HGTV Dream Home Cocktail

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This "Norteño Margarita" looked very tasty when I saw it on the HGTV Dream Home episode located in New Mexico. One of these days, I'm hoping to try it. When I do, I'll be sure to report back on how it turns out!