Counting my Blessings

I spent last night counting things I'm thankful for instead of sheep (like the song Count my Blessings Instead of Sheep" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgZJGl101KE ). It actually helped me fall back to sleep at 4 when the puppy woke me to go outside. She's been sleeping well, but I think the growth spurt is forcing her to eat more and with more food, comes more emptying.

Everyone here survived Thanksgiving once again. Although the boys came screaming to me at 7 pm that they were starving and needed food, because they couldn't eat their other grandmothers Thanksgiving dinner. Overcooked jerky turkey that was too dry to chew, "gravy" that was just grease with no thickening agent, green beans that tasted like water, and sweet potatoes that were just cooked and barely smashed (not mashed). The only edible things were the garlic mashed potatoes and corn souffle that my DD made and the store bought pies. We filled up on that.

I had to feed the boys, because their parents went off to stand in line for black Friday deals to buy them gifts that are too nice at prices they could afford. Those boys are spoiled, but when you consider that they politely  thanked their other grandmother for the horribly prepared food, they might have deserved it.

Luna want shopping with them, because she still can't be separated from her mom at night. They took her stroller for her to sleep in, because the last deal was at 5 am. But DD couldn't make it and her FIL came to rescue her and Luna at 11 pm while Luna's dad stayed for the final deal.




Some of the things I am thankful for.

The health of my family, including my son who finally got his heart patched up and ticking in a way that will make it last longer before more surgery.

A roof over my head, small and tight, but warm, and food in my stomach.

The ability to think and work and earn an income, no matter how small it is.

All of the lovely friends and customers have because of my journey into the online retail business.

The fact that anonymous posts to this blog are blocked :)

Hope you all had a joyous Thanksgiving and can count your blessings instead of sheep too.

What's Cooking - 20 minute Chili

Ever have a craving for Chili, but just didn't plan enough in advance to make it? When my kids were young, I was working and going to college. Talk about having no time.

I came up with this recipe one crisp Autumn day, when I really wanted a pot of chili, but just didn't have the time to make a pot to simmer all day. I called it Dump Chili, because all you do is dump ingredients, but because the term might be taken the wrong way, I'll call it 20 minute Chili.

20 Minute Chili Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
2 - 15 oz cans of beans (dark and light kidney or kidney and red)
1 - 26 oz can of seasoned spaghetti sauce
1 - 28 oz can of whole tomatoes drained and crushed
1 - 15 oz jar chunky salsa (mild to hot depending on taste)
garlic powder to taste
chili powder to taste
Optional - sugar - cinnamon

Directions:

Brown ground meat in pot. Dump in all the other ingredients. Season to taste and simmer for 20 minutes.  Serve with some shredded cheddar on top.

There, wasn't that easy? The really great thing about this is that it uses ingredients most of us have in our cupboards anyway. I never made this vegan style, but I'll bet if you omit the meat and add one more can of beans, you'll have a great vegan chili too.

The reason it works - Most of your ingredients are already simmered to perfection. Spaghetti sauce has seasoning that is used in real Chili, like oregano, and salsa has the right mix of peppers and onions (At least that's the kind I look for).

Optional ingredients: We love Cincinnati style Chili and always add a bit of sugar and cinnamon to ours.

Now of course this won't taste exactly the same as the Chili you've simmered all day, it's a bit fresher tasting, but a darn good quick substitute. Also the sodium content is sky high, so if you are watching your sodium, beware. I can't really eat this anymore. I have to make mine with low sodium tomatoes and reconstituted dried beans.