Time for chili

The Shorts Magazine loves chili. White chili, brown chili, chicken chili, beef chili or even vegan chili. When it gets chilly it warms the body and soul and wraps its foodie arms around you and hugs you. Beans are a vital part of chili. This is our heart healthy version of the chili that warms our souls. All the grease drains away. This amount made enough for me to send some home with the child.

Start the pintos on a quick cook method two hours before.

Grill up the meat onions and spices. Cumin, Chili Powder and S&P to your taste. We always throw in some Goya Sauzon cuz it’s sooo tasty.Give it five minutes with the lid closed and turn it all and cook a couple more minutes till there is only a tiny bit of pink left. Don’t overcook, it is going into the boiling beans.
When all the grease has drained away add it to the beans along with one small can of tomatoes and green chilis to your preferred spiciness.
Keep it low and slow for about an hour.
Have some wine and relax. Dinner is ready as soon as you want it to be.

The bread bowl was a plus, but sure enough crackers are awesome too. We just use the unsalted ones. I know some of you were eyeballing the pork, but the flavor minus the grease is irreplaceable. I also can’t tell you how important cumin is in any chili or taco recipe. Stop buying taco seasoning or chili seasoning. it is all a balance of cumin and chili powder.

Beans are a great source of protein and the spices are all great for circulation, try it without salt added and add some good wine vinegar for a kick. The Reverend is going to put Sriachi Garlic sauce on it, so we will save the sodium till then.

Seriously, if you don’t know flip about cooking it’s time to learn the basics.

I hope you eat healthy and snuggle up to a bowl.

Island Plate

I am not ashamed to admit it, I do it just like 130,000 other people do in this area. From time to time I visit the foodbank. Usually I will go for the sole purpose of taking someone who really needs to use the services. Due to unseen tiny cute circumstances, I visited for myself and the Reverend to get a few healthy meal options to extend the not-cardiac-friendly pantry we have been suffering through.
Almost all of the items used in this recipe were donated through a Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. I got more than I needed for this wonderful meal with left overs and other healthy pantry fillers as well. Enjoy this Easy Peasy Dinner42

2lbs thin sliced chicken breast marinated in 1/2 cup BBQ,1/4 cup Soy Sauce, 1/2 cup beer and Coarse ground pepper.
2lbs of assorted chunks of melon and pineapple chunks.
2lb bag of mixed salad greens and 1lb bag of shredded carrots
one can of sliced black olives (optional, Of course)
I love to use the George Foreman for these things. So heat it up.

Give the chicken a good ten minutes to marinate, but as it does I use my tongs and really press into the meat to break down those fibers and make sure it is getting the marinate deep into the meat. The rest of this is easy. It can be cooked and turned between Hulu commercials for you #TVAddicts.

Give the grill a spray with whatever you prefer. Place the chicken firmly onto the grill.
Place your melons and pineapple all around the outside edges and try to make sure its all even height. Chicken to fruits.
Go load a show and have a glass of wine. Give it ten minutes, or check if a commercial comes on.
Flip it all over, move the less brown things too where the browner things are real quick, and give it another five. Just time enough for a refill.
Next commercial, put the chicken and fruits to one side and put on the shredded carrots and olives, pour the marinate that was left over everything and shut the lid. Resume programming.

The only thing left to do is do a bed of lettuce an/or greens of your choice. I was using what I received that day. Arrange it any flipping way you want, it’s going to taste awesome. It makes it’s own dressing as well. Give the chicken a few minutes to rest and then slice it into strips.

Arrange the strips or throw them in the middle, we don’t care Gotham is on! Dinner will get less creative as Supernatural starts.

Hamburger Salad

Breadless Hamburgers

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It has been a bit since I posted a recipe, but I feel this one deserves the Empty Nest label.

Our daughter has had a tiny, tiny eater. Hopefully, her appetite will develop. In the meantime, adults need to eat. The Rev. will testify to my dislike of bread ,and my love for the veg.
The last time I published a recipe, I was dealing with empty nest syndrome.
I have learned to cut the meals down to a portion of good size, and leftovers for lunches.
This is my bread free creation for the two of us. Cheeseburger Salad.

I use the trusty Foreman grill and a bit of fresh onion. Grill to the temp and done temp you prefer. Sprinkle a bit of cheese and I guess the rest is visual and self explanatory. If not , you can e-mail me and I will personally walk you through the process. The whole point is it’s easy peasy and just for two. Hey grill some toasty buns while your at it.

One quarter head to half of whatever lettuce you prefer.
One peeled cucumber, or not. The Reverend hates them.
Three sliced Roma tomatoes.
One quarter bottle of Italian dressing
2OZ. Mustard
and One half cup of Mayo

I just mix the wet stuff together and shake it up. I love to mix the greens up with Iceberg, leaf and butter lettuce. The tomatoes are choices too. The whole point is it’s dinner for two. As all my creations go, I put some aside for a lunch or snack the next day.