Summertime Food

Last night, the hubs and I ate Chili Cheese Fries for dinner. Yes. Yes, it was delicious. Yes, I devoured Tums afterwards to save myself and the baby. Yes, it was worth it.

I forgot to take a picture in my haste to devour, but the recipe I used for chili can be found here. The recipe is for Chili Dogs, but I'm not the biggest fan of those. Besides, hubs and I went to Johnny Rocket's the other day and their chili cheese fries looked really good. I'm not a big fan of eating chili at cheap restaurants because, let's face it, who knows what goes in there? Better to stick to plain cheese fries and make your own chili cheese fries at home.

I almost always follow a recipe exactly the first time I make it. The only thing I changed when I cooked the chili yesterday was to use half beef and half ground turkey instead of all beef. Me and beef aren't the best of friends this pregnancy. Here's what I will change the next time I make Elise's chili recipe:

- DRAIN MOST OF THE BACON GREASE!!! the bacon produced an awful lot of grease and it just wasn't necessary

- add a diced green bell pepper in with the onions

- add 1-2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce with the beef broth and tomatoes

- add a few generous splashes of hot sauce instead of cayenne pepper (we like Chalula hot sauce here)

- add some black pepper

- cook all ingredients in a pot and then put into a crockpot to simmer on low for at least 4 hours. I think it would help the flavors immensely

That's it for now, folks. I'll let you know how those changes go next time I make the chili. In case just the thought of this recipe gives you heartburn, check out these delicious bran muffins we love. NOTE: the oven temp she has in this recipe is WAY too hot! If you're making the baby size ones, all you need is about 6-7 minutes at 375. THAT'S ALL! If you make full size muffins, 10 minutes on 375 will do you fine. Try them with craisins and toasted walnuts mixed in. Or even just blueberries. Yum.