I was "that" person last night....

We had a busy afternoon/evening last night, so when we got home from Scouts at 7:45,  I sprinted to my room to change into my ratty tee shirt and PJ pants.  We had just finished dinner and Maggie yells down the stairs, "the hair dryer just turned off and there is smoke coming out of it".  The first thought that went through my head was not, "Are you ok? Do you have any hair left on your head?"  rather "Are you friggen' kidding me?  I have to change out of my ratty, comfortable clothes and go get a damn hairdryer?"   I just could not bring myself to change back into my clothes, so I threw a coat on and the closest shoes and off I went to  Walgreens to get a new hair dryer. 

Yep, paisley patterned pants and zebra print clogs.  I did apologize to the cashier...she didn't care and quite frankly neither did I.

In honor of my comfy clothes, here is a soup recipe that is comfy too!  I got this recipe at one of my bridal showers 17 years ago and I still make it several times a year.  It freeze beautifully too!  Thanks to Richie Hilbert for the yum!  xoxox

Ground Beef Vegetable Soup

1 1/2 lbs ground beef
2 onions, chopped
1 pkg frozen green beans
1 can shoe peg corn
1 pkg frozen lima beans
1 can tomatoes, cut up
2 cans tomato soup
1 1/2 soup cans of water
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Brown meat and onions, drain fat.  In a large pot mix everything together.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 2 or more hours, covered and stirring occasionally.

Remember that this freezes very well.  Serve it with grilled cheese or salad or just a hunk of bread.

Enjoy!

My friends call me MF....

This weird thing happened in the past couple years.  More and more people are calling me MF and MF'er.  I grew up my entire life with no one but my dad calling me MF.  Now people shout MF across a room or in a very less than full ball park and you get looks of horror and embarrassed laughs.  I think it is funny and I love it because it usually brings a smile to the face of the person calling me MF.  It is nothing more than a term of endearment. 

Sorry for the delay in posting something delicious for you.  I worked all weekend, so this is the first opportunity.  The weather has turned cool here, and we were jonesing for some chili.  It was fantastic and quick......kids really loved it too.

Beef, Pork and Bean Chili

1 1/2 lb meatloaf blend meat (mixture of ground beef and ground pork)
1 jar roasted red peppers
1 1/2 cups diced onions
2 TBLS chili powder
1 can black beans, drained
1 can chili beans, undrained
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
salt and pepper

Start heating couple tablespoons of oil in a large stock pot.  Coarsely chop roasted red peppers and dice onions.  Add to pot with chili powder and cook until onions are tender.  Add meat and cook until done.  Stir in beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce and salt and pepper.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes.

I served mine in a bread bowl, but put it over rice if you want.  Add cheese and sour cream.  You can even add hot sauce to heat it up a bit.  Mine simmered for much longer than 15 minutes because I forgot about it, but it was still great. 

Enjoy!

On My Mind Lately...

Today is the day!  The day I decided to start writing on this blog again.  I am going to try and do recipes everyday, but that may not always happen.  What I do hope is to be consistent and use this as an outlet for the randomness that clutters my brain.  No one may read it, and that is fine, but I may touch just 1 person and if I do,  I have done what I intended.  So often I focus on the people and situations that tear me sideways and miss the blessings of the silent ones.  The silent ones are who I want to team with.  They are the ones that make an impact in the lives of those around them.  They do it not for themselves, but for others.  That charges my batteries, not this other crap.  I can't really say what's truly on my mind, as I am not ready to get that vocal yet.  I will say that in the past 2 months, I truly see the value in having a handpicked small group of people that you know will hold you up when you need it.  I have always known this, but I honestly have lived it the past couple months.  Friends who join me in giving so unselfishly of their time to the school have been my rock (insert eye roll) and safe place many days.  They love me (I think) and remind me to always laugh at myself and not take myself too seriously.  Suzanne, Sarah, Susan and Kara, this post and a sip from a 2-liter is dedicated to y'all. I truly heart you all!

I will throw in a short recipe, as a week or so ago I posted that a spoonful of this makes everything ok.  The "this" is my mom's Homemade Hot Fudge Sauce.  It is just decadent (read: so damn good) and doesn't even need to be heated or poured over ice cream. Scooping a spoonful right from the jar works just fine!  Enjoy!

Mary Jeter's Hot Fudge Sauce

2-1 ounce squares unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
pinch of salt
1-6 ounce cane evaporated milk
1+ Tablespoon vanilla

Stir the first 5 ingredients together until the chocolate and butter melts, the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil.  This will take about 5 minutes or so over medium high heat.  Stir it constantly or it will burn.  Once it comes to a boil, remove it from the heat and stir in the vanilla.  Pour it into a glass jar  and store in the refrigerator.  This will make 2 cups. 

I usually double this and at Christmas I quadruple it and it will make 5 pints or 11 half pints to give as gifts.