Posts Tagged ‘make it do’

Are you looking for ways to entertain the family this Halloween?  Why not scare the daylights out of the kiddies?

The other night we made caramel apples with the kids.  We used Honeycrisp apples and rolled them in melted caramel and then into crushed Butterfinger bars.  They were so good!

Then we popped a big bowl of popcorn and snuggled in to watch the old Disney classic, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad.

That movie will scare the pants off you, let me tell you.  And we all loved every minute of it.  Ba, ba, ba, boom… Bing Crosby’s voice is awesome.  The animation is timeless.

I don’t remotely remember ever seeing the Mr. Toad part when I was a kid.  But the Headless Horseman… him I didn’t forget.  He’s just absolutely frightening and wonderful.

A scary movie night is great “Make it Do” entertainment this Halloween.  Now if the kids wake me up with nightmares, I guess I asked for it.

My husband doesn’t venture into the kitchen often.  But when he does, the results are always delicious.  I wish I could get him in the kitchen more.

Every Halloween half our neighborhood turns up before Trick or Treating for a bowl of his World Famous Chili and a some of my homemade bread sticks.

So maybe his chili isn’t world famous… but it is a little famous around these parts.

This past weekend, we both decided we couldn’t wait for Halloween to eat a bowl, so he whipped up a pot.

Here’s what the kitchen looks like when Drew cooks:

Notice all the little bowls of everything.  Drew cooks like he’s on Food Network.  He preps everything before he ever turns on the stove.  He measures every last ingredient, pours them into separate bowls and lines them all up, waiting for the pot.

I don’t cook that way.  My goal is always as few dirty dishes as possible.  But guess who usually does the dishes when Drew cooks….  Umm,  Me.  Come to think of it, maybe I don’t want him to cook more often.

Never mind.  I will happily do the dishes when the food tastes this good.

One thing I love about Chili, it doesn’t cost much to feed a crowd… beans are famously cheap.  Drew uses round steak in his chili, which is very inexpensive, and often goes on sale if you watch the ads.

Chili is hearty, flavorful and it’ll warm you up on a chilly day.  Chili/Chilly.  Is that how it got it’s name?  Or is it the chili’s?

Here’s the recipe:

Drew’s World Famous Chili

For Chili:

• 2 lbs. round steak, cubed
• ½ cup flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 2 Tbsp. canola oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and chopped (mix of green and red or colors of your choice)
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped (you can leave the seeds for a hotter chili)
• 3-5 cloves of garlic
  
• 1 Tbsp. cumin
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 12 oz. bottle of beer (Ale is best)
• 2 cups beef stock
• 4 cups crushed tomatoes (1 quart home canned tomatoes)
• 2 16 oz cans of kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1 16 oz can of pinto beans drained and rinsed
  
• 1 16 oz can of black beans drained and rinsed
  
• salt and pepper to taste

Toppings:

• green onions, chopped
• red Onions, chopped
• cheddar cheese, grated
• sour cream
• sliced jalapenos

Heat your oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  In a pie plate combine flour, salt and pepper.  Add cubed steak and toss to coat. Shake off excess flour.

Turn up heat to high and cook meat in batches to get a good sear. Cook until browned on all sides and remove from pan onto a plate.  Add remaining steak and brown.  Remove to plate.  Don’t worry about all the delicious brown bits in the bottom of the pan.  That’s flavor!  Reduce the heat to medium high.  Add a little more oil if necessary and throw in the onions.  Cook about 5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about one minute.  Stir in the green, red and jalapeno peppers and cook for about 3 minutes.

Add chili powder, cumin and oregano.  De-glaze the pan by pouring in the beer and beef stock.  Be sure to stir the bottom of the pan to scrape up all the yummy brown bits. Return meat to pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Cover and cook about an hour or so, until the meat is tender.

Add crushed tomatoes and cook for 20 minutes.  Stir in the beans and simmer for 15 minutes.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.  May be kept on low until ready to serve.

Serve with toppings of choice including: cheddar cheese, green onions, red onions, sour cream, and sliced jalapeno peppers.

Click on over to Tasty Kitchen for the Printable Recipe.

Drew’s tips:

• He loves chili with heat… as in spicy.  He has experimented with all sorts of pepper combinations much to the chagrin of our unsuspecting neighbors.  To be fair he always makes a large safe to eat pot, nice and mild.  But in his hot pot, watch out.  He has tried everything from adding more jalapenos with all the seeds to adding a habanero.  He also loves to add Tabasco.  He can eat that pot all by himself if you ask me.
• Drew also tries different combinations of beans.  What ever sounds good, and sometimes, whatever we have in the cupboard.