Go BC!!!

Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, MA was rocking last night!!!  The Boston College Eagles upset 9th ranked USC with a 37- 31 victory!

Go BC!!!

    

A Chili Weekend

Go team!

It was a great weekend and also cold!  Not ideal for taking a walk, but there were other things on our agenda!   We are always up for watching the Boston College Eagles Men's Basketball team and Saturday afternoon's ACC game brought a W!  That quickly led to the NFL Divisional Playoffs!  Sunday afternoon, again, we watched the Playoffs.  Who had time to think about making dinner???  Sure "take out" could work, but my West Bend Slow Cooker is a great little appliance.  Chili made in the Slow Cooker is so good!  Did I mention so easy?

On Saturday evening during the Saints/49ers game we dined on the delicious hearty Chili that had basically cooked itself, with little help from me.  Then came the game we in MA were waiting for - Tom vs. Tim!  :)  Sunday afternoon we were once again glued to our t.v. screen and also enjoying watching former BC Football players in the Divisional Playoffs.  It's unusual for us to be just glued to the t.v. screen, but the Giants/Packers game took our attention.  Dinner time rolled around - again.  I was planning on a dish with chicken, but time just disappeared.  Ah, fortunately in our fridge just waiting to be reheated for dinner - there it was - the extra delicious Chili! 

This is a great meal to prep in a Slow Cooker or Crock Pot.  My Slow Cooker has a nonstick surface, yet I do spray it lightly with PAM.  I also brown the Ground Beef before placing it in the cooker's pot to reduce the fat content. 

(Usually I place one veggie on the pot's bottom and then add the meat/chicken I am using.)

After watching all of the games and enjoying ALL of our Chili, there are no photos to share.  I can share that Chili tastes wonderful on a frigid day and it's very easy to prep this family fave!   

Slow Cooker Chili

Ingredients:
1 to 1 and 1/4 lbs. Ground Beef
1 small Green Pepper, cut into small chunks
(1) 14.5 oz. can Diced Tomatoes, drained
(2) cans Red Kidney Beans (about 19 oz. each)
Chopped Onions (I use 1 Tablespoon dehydrated Onions.)
Chopped Parsley (I use 1 Tablespoon dehydrated Parsley.)
2 teaspoons Chili Powder, more if desired
1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1/2 teaspoon Oregano
(2) cans Tomato Sauce (15 oz. each)

Method:

1. Spray nonstick cooking pot of Slow Cooker with PAM.
2. Brown Ground Beef in a frying pan.
3. Place Green Pepper chunks in cooking pot.
4. Add browned Ground Beef.
5. Add drained Diced Tomatoes.
6. Drain Kidney Beans and rinse in cold water.  Drain again.
7. Place on top of Tomatoes.
8. Sprinkle on desired amount of chopped Onions & chopped Parsley.
9. Then, sprinkle Chili Powder, Garlic Powder & Oregano on top.
10. Pour Tomato Sauce over top & spread.
11. Place lid on top.
12. Set temperature to High for 2 and 1/2 hours.  Then, reduce to Medium for 1/2 hour.
13. Stir before serving into bowls. 

We enjoy our Chili with a dollop of Fat Free Sour Cream on top.  Rye Bread is great for dunking!

Do you Enjoy Chili?
Yummy!

                 

What? No Buttermilk???

Usually, I am very aware of what is in my fridge. Usually, I have all of the necessary ingredients for a recipe.  Usually I recognize the difference between an opened and an unopened container on the top shelf in the fridge, even if it is located in the back.  The important word here is usually. Every morning I consider black coffee to be in its very own important food group. So this AM after enjoying a cup of my necessary first food group, I was ready to start in on the Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes for breakfast. The variety of pancakes we did not have last weekend.  I was envisioning a breakfast of light fluffy cakes dotted with dark blueberries.  A stream of maple syrup would be dripping down the pile on a plate. Yummy!

After the majority of ingredients were ready, only the liquid needed to be added to the batter. Once again the fridge door was opened, but the familiar quart container of Fat Free Buttermilk was no where to be seen. So, thinking way back into the depths of the memory to what I sometimes did years ago when 1 Cup of Buttermilk was needed but not to be found...  1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice is placed in a liquid measuring cup and Milk added to make 1 Cup. O.K. I needed 3 Cups, easy enough. I had Lemon Juice and I had 1% Milk.


The resulting batter was o.k. The pancakes tasted good. Maple Syrup did roll down the stack just as I had envisioned. :) There were many pancakes to place in our freezer - always an added plus.  My DH gave them 2 thumbs up!  Sweet! 


However, my light fluffy cakes dotted with dark blueberries were no where to be seen. :( You know the expression - Flat as a Pancake.

Well, last week the opened quart container in the fridge had been tossed, because it only contained a small portion of Buttermilk.  The grocery list containing the word Buttermilk was lost on the way to the grocery store.  Then, getting ready to drive into Boston for the Boston College Football game took top billing. 

Ah, next time I better double check the Fat Free Buttermilk situation.  My flat pancakes tasted good and more are located in our freezer.  But more importantly, BC won the game!  :)