When it's chilly, it's chili....

We are now close to 2 months into our home and are getting unpacked and well adjusted.  Every week new things are added to the house like drapes and blinds, new furniture, and decorations on the walls.  We are far from being unpacked.  The garage is full of boxes, still, but we have the important things unpacked and are starting to feel at home.  

Now that we're moved in, the election is over, work projects are winding down for the holidays, I can get back to the point of this blog.  Our favorite times in life are spent with family and friends.  We enjoy taking time to visit, often around the dinner table, with good company, a good meal, and a glass of wine (or two...). We enjoy traveling and meeting new people and just enjoying our short time on this earth.  And it can be short.  My mom taught me to cook, and how to have fun.  She was the type of person who did for everyone else, and rarely worried about herself...to the detriment of her health.  She was the typical worry wart mom, the doting aunt and a loving wife.  And boy, could she cook.  Sadly, she passed away at a young 64.  She passed on to me her love of family and friends, and her passion for cooking, sewing, and reading books.  When I am not working, I am usually doing one of those three things.  

My mom Donna

I am very lucky to have married a man who enjoys spending time with friends and family and he LOVES to grill/smoke.  He's on a quest to find the best way to smoke a brisket.  He'll even attempt to cook something inside and I often tease him because he literally follows a recipe to a T!  I cook so differently....I rarely measure anything, and I often deviate from a recipe.  I just have to put my own spin on it....that I get from my mother.  

  Cooking together days before my wedding

So....chili.....fall has officially arrived in southern Texas.  It does actually get a little cold here from time to time.  I think our high today was only in the 60s.  When the weather gets cold, it gets chili in the Beckelheimer house....and so tonight I made a big batch of chili.  Quin loves chili....he really loves chili.  He loves MY chili.  So...I make chili for him.  I love making chili for him.  Ok, I think you get it now.  I tend to make chili different every time I make it.  There are basic ingredients I always use...well, no not really.  Well, sort of.  And I don't measure anything.  

I have one secret ingredient.  And I'll get to that in a bit.  I start out with ground meat.  Usually ground beef or ground sirloin.  I've been known to use some pork in with the beef.  I've even been known to use ground bacon.  Don't judge.  It was a moment of curiosity with a meat grinder. It didn't disappoint.  There is almost always chopped onions.  Did you know that if you put an onion in the fridge before cutting into it, your eyes won't burn.  Yes, you have to leave it in the fridge til it's cold.  Just putting it in there and taking it right back out won't help.  Tonight I added some scallion and garlic.  

Throw it in a pot and get it hot!

Then it's time to get is a bit saucy.....

The trifecta of sauciness

I used crushed tomatoes, usually.  Sometimes I just use a few fresh tomatoes that I've seeded, blanched, and cooked down a bit.  Heirloom tomatoes can be very yummy.  Diced tomatoes are always good.  I used lime/cilantro flavored ones tonight, but usually I get Rotel brand chili fixin' flavored diced tomatoes.  Then there are the beans.  True Texas chili does not have beans.  If I was making chili for myself....I would omit the beans.  But the cowboy loves his beans.  So beans it is.  If it was up to him, he'd have me use Ranch Style Beans, and sometimes I do.  But I like these Grillin Beans from Bush's but you must use the Texas Ranchero ones.  They have great flavor for chili.  Don't use any of the sweet barbeque-y ones....that just makes your chili taste like crap. I know....I've gotten the wrong ones before.  Quin still loved it, but it was crap to me.  Throw the whole can in (not THE can), juice and all.  I sometimes don't use the can of crushed tomatoes.  If you like it to be very beefy, you can actually get away with just the beans and their sauce and the diced tomatoes.  It still has some sauce and it's thick and hearty.  Now my brother-in-law, Drew (who is a chef) would tell you that it ain't chili unless you put in a bottle of beer.  It does give it another layer of flavor....but we rarely have beer in the house.  I had some in the fridge (it's been there for weeks), guess I should have added that too...but didn't realize I had any in there.

Seasonings.  I usually throw seasonings in when I'm browning the meat....then add more to taste later.  The one definite seasoning I use...and I use a lot of...is Cumin.  My mom never used cumin until the last year of her life.  She had been out to visit us and I made chili one night.  Actually, she made chili and she had me tell her what to put in it, because she wanted to make sure she made it the way I do...for Quin.  I just pulled out a bunch of seasoning and told her to throw them in.  When she got to the cumin, she realized that cumin is "the flavor of chili".  She always thought her own chili was missing something, and at that moment, she realized it was cumin.  She thanked me profusely for teaching her how to make chili, and told me that over the next year (she would pass away almost a year later).  I am happy that I got to teach her something new in the kitchen!

I rarely use the same exact spices twice.  This was tonight's combo!

I love Penzey's spices.  I know there are other spice shops out there.  I just have always had a Penzey's close to me.  I don't any longer.  I'll either have to go to Penzey's when I'm in Austin, or mail order it.  I use a good tsp-tbs of all these spices.  I would say that I use about a tsp or less of the chipotle and the crushed jalepeno.  I actually don't make it spicy, at least it doesn't seem spicy, but your nose may be a runnin' by the end of the bowl.  But the cumin.  Oh.  There is a reason why I buy that big bottle.  It doesn't last long.  I use many tbs of cumin.  Depending on how much I'm making, it might be closer to 1/4 cup.  Then if that isn't enough, I do more.  And yes, you can put in too much cumin.  I know...I've done it.  And you can't fix it.  When I am basically finished cooking, I add some all purpose seasoning.  It's the equivalent of adding salt to taste...it just has a bit more stuff in it than salt.  My favorite is Ozark seasoning.

I grew up in the Ozark mountains of Missouri.  When I smell this seasoning it takes me back to the fried fish and chicken of home.  I think Branson and Silver Dollar City as soon as the scent hits my nose.

Here it is coming together.  All that powder on top is cumin....just the cumin...a lot of cumin...then I added more...that much more...it could have used even more.

Now for the secret ingredient.  I heard a chef mention that they do this on a cooking show...kind of as an aside.  You could almost miss it when they said it.....but I heard it.  It's Masa!  Corn Flour Masa.  The stuff tamales are made from.  Now it is the stuff my chili is made with.  

You'll find it in the hispanic food aisle.  Or in the flour aisle.  In southern Texas, you might find it in every aisle.  

Masa will do two things to your chili.  One, it will give it a wonderful, southwestern flavor you would not expect, then when you taste it, you're like...."wow, why isn't this always in chili?".  It's subtle, but you'll notice it.  Two, it will act as a thickener.  So, go ahead and use that whole big can of crushed tomatoes, it won't be too thin, because, Masa will make it all better.  I put water in a bowl and then add some masa to make a "slurry"...something a bit looser than a paste....that sounds kinda gross doesn't it?  But it's yummy.

Masa slurry

Then pour that into your pot of chili.  Now you have a perfect pot of chili.  We like chili better the 2nd night. So I make a big pot and we have it for a few meals.  Left overs make wonderful chili mac.  Some people don't like left overs.  But some left overs are better than the first night, so don't judge if you don't do left overs.  

Pouring in the slurry.....

The finished bowl!

I then do one more thing that Quin doesn't.  He thinks it's weird.  I think it's not.  I usually will add either:  sour cream (no fat, low fat, full fat, your choice), greek yogurt (I'm cooking more healthy these days), or guacamole (something else I rarely make the same way twice).  Especially if the chili is spicy, the cool creaminess of one of these items makes a nice balance.  It does the same thing cheese does, except it's not stringy.  

Tonight it was sour cream

We usually serve with cheese, crackers and/or fritos.  We didn't have any of that tonight.  

Chili is a great source of protein, fiber, and antioxidants.  Adding garlic adds a whole other set of health benefits.  Like increasing your metabolism, decreasing cholesterol, and warding off vampires.  The beans usually render Quin some alone time.

Chili...it's what was for dinner tonight!

   

Country Jamz, Crock Pots and the DPS

The adventure continues and we have now hit 35 1/2 days left.  Who said I'd be bored during these 7 1/2 weeks in a seedy motel while we await the completion of our house construction.  Oh, that would be me...and I was so wrong.  So, so wrong!  Lots to do, and who wants to sit around a motel anyway....

We have slowly become more comfortable in our little motel by the freeway.  The "comforts of home" often include listening to the daily playlists of our downstairs neighbor, aka "Country Jamz".  It is not unusual to awaken on a Saturday morning to the musical swooning of George Strait coming from a boombox in Country Jamz's room...while he leaves his door wide open, sits in the bed of his pick up truck having a smoke and pettin' his dog.  He also finds the middle of the weekday, while I am on a conference call, a fine time to do said activity.  It really doesn't bother me, except for the fact that Country Jamz looks suspiciously like the wanted "armed and dangerous" serial robber that has been loose in the greater San Antonio area.  Needless to say, I do not complain.

Cooking in our temporary, humble (and I do mean humble) abode is challenging but not impossible.  Besides, I love a challenge.  Our simple kitchen comes complete with a dorm size microwave, and a dual burner stovetop.

Stovetop with Orgreenic non-stick pan.  It works just like they say it does on TV.

The kitchen also comes with a limited selection of pots and pans, flatware, plates, cups, etc.  Upon review of these tools, I have ventured out to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to buy a few necessary supplies.  I will admit that I am borderline OCD and feel just a bit better about having my own things that no one else has goobered up in any ill-conceived fashion.  We do not have an oven, so Aunt Martha to the rescue has loaned us a crockpot that I have put to very good use.  Tonight it is Chicken Tortilla Soup, crockpot style.  Taking into consideration a few days out of town for work and a few nights out with friends/family, I should only need to come up with 25 more crockpot dinners.....Should be an easy challenge.

During the last 2 1/2 weeks we have managed to get a lot done in preparation for the final move.  We officially have our new address set up and active and our mail is starting to be forwarded.  We have changed  things like insurance (we have saved a crap load moving everything over to USAA - they rock!), checks, and licenses.....oh dear...the license nightmare.  The Department of Public Service, also known as DPS is like a horrible black hole that sucks you up then it will spit you out all shredded and broken.  We spent the better part of 2 days getting new car tags and our driver's license.  You would think it would be as simple as going to the office, surrendering your out of state license, paying a fee, and taking a vision test...but they are out for blood.  In Texas, they want your first and last born before they will issue you a license....if you only have one (or none like us) you're simply screwed.  You must get your tags on your car before you can get a driver's license.  If you don't own a car, you have to take with you the person who owns the car you will drive and they have to show proof of ownership, proof of residency, proof of citizenship, proof of sanity, and  give an oath to support and defend the Alamo as long as you have one foot in Texas.  You think I am kidding?  Oh, I do not jest....We first started this mini-adventure by getting our cars inspected.  We had to show proof of insurance with a minimum amount of coverage as stated by Texas law.  The Cowboy had USAA for his insurance...San Antonio is the home to USAA headquarters.  His proof of insurance was accepted by a glance.  I have American Family out of Colorado....I had to give a blood oath and copies in triplicate of my minimum coverage amount, finally deemed acceptable after a review by the board of directors at Express Lube.  That trip alone - 45 mins.  We were handed a form that we were expressly and wholeheartedly told to never NEVER fold...because the Tax Accessors did NOT like the form damaged in any fashion.  I was told not to even look at the form for fear that it might spontaneously combust.  I am absolutely NOT joking about this.  They put the fear of God in us over that form.  Off to the County Tax Accessor's office where we spent about 1- 1 1/2 hours.  This trip included another thorough review of insurance, a review of my new Betty Boop bank checks which was the only thing we had on us with the new address, to prove we were indeed converting to the Texan lifestyle and the form we were given at Express Lube to show we were inspected and approved and unrumpled in any form or fashion.  

We now move into the final and most dreadful phase of the licensing process.  We were told by everyone to fear the DPS.  I now see why.  I know that in any state, going to get your license can be a daunting task and most offices have a bit of a wait, depending on the time of day, week, month that you go.  In Texas, everything is bigger, slower, and a longer wait...and you have to take every bit of information about your self or you will have to return, over and over.  We had spent most of the morning/day messing with our car plates, but had hoped to get our licenses before the end of day.  We started at one office....the "better office" in town.  After a 1 hour wait in line, we got to the "Welcome Desk".  It is at this point that you declare what you bothered to come in there for, are handed a ream of forms to fill out, told you don't have all the proper paper work and asked to return when you have your crap together.  We didn't have our crap together, despite having followed everything we read online, told by friends/family about the process.  Off we went to get more proof that we are humans, worthy of living in the fair Republic of Texas.  We also had to pee....you don't dare step out of line to pee, in fear that you will lose your place and have to start over.  We left, we peed, we gathered data, we proceeded to another office.  We felt too much shame to go back to the first office where we were unable to prove that we were indeed alive and able to drive.  While standing in the 100 degree weather (at least it is dry here this season - so it was a dry heat) outside under a tent, we realized that the "short line" was just a short line into the building, and did not include the multi-hour wait inside.  We were told that in Boerne, TX, just 25 short minutes away, it would be a quick, slam dunk process.  That ended up being somewhat good advice, yet it was very much not we expected.  By the time we got to that office, it was 3:30pm.  Although the office doesn't close until 5pm, ticket numbers are not given out after 3pm, due to the sheer volume of people that come in.  We later learned that the last person to get in to see the personnel at DPS had arrived at 11am that morning.  We woke up bright and early on the next business day to arrive at the office at 8:15 - just 15 mins after they opened.  We were number 45 in line.  That is not a joke!!!  45!!!  We waited for 3 hours...3 friggen' hours before we were allowed in the super secret room where we would get to see the Wonderful Wizard of DPS.  Our concern was that we did not have 2 ample forms of proof of residency at our new address.  I thought I did, but we did not think that Cowboy did...he had not started changing his address on bank statements and paychecks (I did, but I am a woman...we do that kind of thing immediately).  After yet another hour of reviewing documents, emailing contracts, insurance forms and a picture of our semi-constructed home from the iPad (thank God for that iPad), swearing oaths (yes, I swear that we swore), taking an eye test that I technically failed, but the poor lady kept saying (on the very last line I had to read...) "is that an eight?"  Me:  "Or it could be a six"  Her:  "Yes, a six, continue..." and finally the infamous horrid driver's license picture, we were finally declared a legal citizen of the Republic of Texas and 4 hours - *4 FRIGGEN HOURS LATER* we left and now we have a license to drive like every other insane driver on the freeways of San Antonio....and they are all insane....and I do believe, we are too.

Goofy Golf and Sugar Comas

We took a break from packing and organizing things (no we didn't....because in our heads...we're still organizing, making mental notes, etc) to have dinner with friends on Saturday night and family on Sunday night.

I also took my car in to get an oil change and $900 later (and lots of labor, parts for a dozen different things)....it is in great shape for a road trip to San Antonio...except maybe the tires.  They could blow...at any time....another mental note to decide to chance it or drop another $400+ for new tires.  Mechanics say they're fine for the trip - but just telling me that one is about to wear out means I will not forget that and drive for 15 1/2+ hours with a clenched stomach wondering when the tire will go.  It will A) blow out 45 mins outside of town in the outer realm of hell away from any semblance of cell coverage while my BFF and Princess Harleigh shoots me looks in the 98 degree weather of the New Mexican desert that would turn us all into ice, or B) not give me one problem, but will have my stomach in such knots  the whole way there in fear of what ultimately won't happen, that I'll need the jaws of life to pull me out of the car because I'll be in a permanently rigid state that no human could get me out of.  New addition to the ever growing list of things to be done before I leave...consider new tires.

I have officially set up mail forwarding to take affect next week, leaving me cold and clammy over the thought that it may be a few weeks before I can get my weekly copy of Soap Opera Digest.  Since I will likely miss some episodes of Days Of Our Lives, I will have to depend on SOD to keep me up to date on the happenings in Salem USA.  God forbid I miss Stefano's return...because you know he never really dies....

So this weekend we had our last dinner club with two great couples that I will sorely miss.  I'm trying to figure out a way to continue it by forcing them to come to San Antonio every month...I'm sure they won't mind the month payment to American Airlines.  The theme of the night was Cuban and we had an awesome dinner then went out into a field behind our host/hostess' house in Black Forest to play Goofy Golf.

Appetizers:  Marinated Peel and Eat Shrimp/Bruschetta

Dinner:  Cuban Lime Chicken, Saffron Rice, Black Beans, Potatoes

Dessert:  S'More bars...not so Cuban but was perfect after a night of Goofy Golf

Goofy Golf:  Using putters, we aim for an agreed upon stake in the yard...

First one to hit the stake determines the next stake aimed at...

You can steal/trade with someone else's ball 2ce per round.  Kinda like a white elephant gift exchange...with golf balls.

Much cheating ensues...except for me...I NEVER cheat...ok once...ok a few times...always....

The Cowboy and I were in charge of dessert.  Which means, I planned and made the dessert.  Cowboy drove me to the store to get the ingredients...and watched me make it.  I made S'more bars...because you can never have enough S'mores and it is my birthday month (my damn birthday).  I got the recipe off of a website I found on Pinterest and true to fashion...I didn't follow it.  I used it as a guide.  Mine came out gooey-er and kinda like a molten lava mess...because we didn't let them finish cooling...because they were S'mores..who wants to wait for that chocolate-y goodness to cool?

I took pre-made sugar cookie dough and mixed with graham cracker crumbs.

Then I put half of the mixture in the bottom of a foil pan.  I imagine a wider pan is better than the small one I used - would be more bar like and less like a thick pan of goo (but it's yummy goo).  But I didn't want to make too much for just 6 of us, even though I used the same amount of ingredients.  (That's the way I do math...I never said I was good at math)

Then layer with Hershey's chocolate.  No other will do!

Then comes the marshmallow creme.  By accident I found that if you punch a hole in the paper cover on the jar, in altitude, the stuff oozes out of the jar giving you a bit of a pour effect that keeps it from being messy, at least initially.....

Then it gets messy, and sticky...but it wasn't that bad.  Run your knife under very hot water before you dig into the jar....then it glides on....

Put the other half of the cookie mixture on top.  Rolling it out like pie crust will let you put it on easy.  I don't do easy, I do fast...so I added it on top of the marshmallow cream in sections and patted it all down.

This is what it looks like when it's hot...it is a gooey mess of choco-mallow-graham loveliness with a side of homemade vanilla ice cream.  When the rest of it cooled...it sliced like a bar dessert...and was equally as yummy...

We took the left overs to my in-laws for dinner Sunday night.  I didn't bring any home...it was gone.  It was good.  Now I'm trying to recover from the sugar coma that was this weekend.  I'll recover while the movers pack our house and the drywall guy starts covering the nail holes in the wall and any other little maintenance things that need to be finished up before we leave.  And I'll work....must work to pay for those tires...

Six Degrees of Separation or How Bizarre is That?

We had some unexpected company today.  Not totally unexpected....but pretty close.  The buyers of our house stopped by unannounced.  They had scheduled with our Realtor to come by to see how to work the controls on the "as is" hot tub, then we got a call back that they had to cancel.  Apparently they were freed up after all, but couldn't get a hold of our Realtor...so they just stopped on by.  Luckily it was late enough and we both had showers and coffee...however, the house was a mess because...we are moving and packing.  Still, it felt odd, as if I needed to quickly stage the house for "potential" buyers.

They are very nice people.  A lovely couple not much older than ourselves who are buying the house then renting to their college son and his roommate.  No wonder they don't mind the "as is" hot tub.  While they were here, we went through all of the things we do to the house throughout the year, to make sure that it's snug and tight.  I think they were impressed with our regular maintenance routines and the upgrades that we've done and why.

While I was talking with the wife, she asked me where we were moving, because they new we were moving to Texas.  I mentioned that we're moving to a little town called Helotes, TX just outside of San Antonio.  I noticed the wife smiled oddly when I mentioned it, but she just mentioned that she had a son that lives in San Antonio.  I thought that it was an interesting coincidence.  Later when all four of us were talking, the husband asked me where we were moving and once again I said Helotes, TX.  He started laughing and said that was where his son lived and that he and his wife/family just moved there about 2 years ago.  Talk about six degrees (or two maybe in this case) of separation.  That is just bizarre.  Helotes is a SMALL town on the outskirts of San Antonio.  A beautiful town on the edge of Hill Country.  Of all places for there to be a connection between us and the buyers.  The husband and his wife go down a couple times a year to visit.  They said that if we wanted to leave our info with them, they'd be happy to bring down anything we might "leave behind".  How sweet.....but we won't be leaving anything.  If for some odd reason we do, my in-laws visit much more often than twice a year...we'll let them schlep anything we need.

I kinda have mixed feelings about meeting them.  They were just wonderful people and they have given us no grief over anything throughout the sale.  After the inspection, the list of things they requested of us was quite small and all simple things like labeling paint (which was already done, they just didn't look at the cans well) or closing out a permit we didn't realized had never been finalized.  They are paying their own closing costs and did not ask for any kind of financial allowances or warranties.  If I had met them in a different setting, I would think we would be good friends.  But they are our buyers.  I feel very good that we have created such a nice home, and are leaving it to people who will equally take good care and continue to upgrade and keep things well maintained.  The little fear in the back of my mind is that if we strike up a friendship and something goes wrong with the house after we are gone, they may make comments about it to us or try to cause us grief.  But since they didn't ask for a warranty, once the sale is complete....it is theirs....it is their issue, not ours.  I don't think that would happen...I don't think they are the kind of people that would do that...but one just never knows.  I saw the movie Pacific Heights (excellent drama/thriller)....I'm only so trusting.

More hurdles passed...more to come I am sure.  This weekend we are continuing to pack/organize the personal items we plan to take with us.  Monday the packers will be here again to do another large amount of the house.  They'll basically get everything except what we need left to finish out the last week of our stay in this house.  Then it will be theirs...not ours...we'll be homeless...but just for a short while.

Tonight we are having our last "dinner club" get together.  Two other couples and ourselves get together monthly and pick a theme.  The hosts makes the dinner/sides, one couple does appetizers and one does dessert.  We visit, have a glass of wine (or two....yep..more)....visit, play some games, eat, and just enjoy each others company.  These are the times I will sorely miss when we leave...but the memories will last a lifetime.

My Damn Birthday

Today is my birthday and as I've been saying for weeks, it's not just my birthday, it's my damn birthday!  ;-O  By the time you're my age, it is no longer about balloons and presents and all day celebrations....it's actually just getting through the day and smiling at the end and having a reason to enjoy company with family and friends!  I had a great day and a wonderful evening and now I'm about to enjoy the last of it with the Cowboy relaxing in front of the TV.

We had packers come today and they killed it!  They packed the one room I thought would take days...my craft room, with all kinds of Girl Scout crafts and my endless shelves of scrapbooking and stamping supplies. They also finished the other 2 spare bedrooms.  All in less than 6 hours...and it was CHEAP!  It's all easy from here on out.

We also had an electrical inspector out....apparently we had an old permit that we pulled years ago when we upgraded our electrical panel and somehow someone failed to get the inspector out a last time for the final inspection.  The problem with that is the code as changed and now there are a few breakers that need to change out for a new design....so that needs to be changed before we can call that complete.

Princess Harleigh was none to happy about all of the strange people coming and going.  It takes a few days of you being in the house before she decides that it's safe to come out from hiding and visit.  So she spent the entire day hidden in the couch.  I don't know how she does it but not only does she hid behind the couch, she actually gets IN the couch.  By mid afternoon, I think she was dying to come out and started peaking her head out.....and as she often likes to do she stared at the wall for a while.

What is she staring at?????

For dinner tonight, the Cowboy and my BFF took me to Mona Lisa's Fondue.  Locals will know or at least heard of Mona Lisa's.  It is a wonderful fondue place, in an older building in Manitou Springs, Colorado in the foothills outside of Colorado Springs.  Unlike most fondue joints, you grill meat at your table rather than deep fry it in oil or bouillon.  I say it's healthier but when you combine that with cheese and chocolate fondue...well..you quit worrying about the calories.  Cowboy and I have been going there for our anniversary since we've been married.  We've maybe missed one or two years, when we've been out of town for special trips.  I wanted one last time there before we moved.  We had such a great time of conversation and we laughed til we cried at times.  I don't think any of us had our phones out at any time, with calls and text messages being ignored.  My father-in-law would be proud (he loves to tease anyone who sits at the table and plays on their phone).  

My damn birthday may almost be over, but we'll celebrate into the weekend.  Just because.....

Living In Limbo

Returning to blogging once again....during the middle of our chaos.  The chaos of a state to state move.  We have been oh so lucky to have so many things about this move from Colorado to Texas to be timed so well.  During the middle of the Colorado wildfires, a change in department for Quin at work, and a very hectic work/travel schedule for me, we were somehow able to sell our little house on a busy street.  Our house backs up to a fairly busy street that became our nemesis.  This street was not nearly so busy when we bought the house and we never dreamed it would be such a negative strike against us for a future sale.  My Aunt Pam would tell me "it only takes one offer".  Indeed...and that offer came this past month.  We literally had two more weeks left to receive an acceptable offer or we risked losing the house we were building.  When the Cowboy got a call from our builder that "things had been going well and we are ahead of schedule", we started to panic and decided we just needed to move as much out of the house as possible.  During the middle of moving things out, we received an offer and now here we are....packing.

An important part of this move has not been timed perfectly, but almost....unfortunately it is off enough to cause a little anxiety.  We will be homeless for about 6-8 weeks as we close on one house and await the completion of construction on another.  We were hoping to find some inexpensive temporary housing in the form of a furnished apartment in San Antonio that we could rent on a monthly lease, but apparently an affordable one is unheard of, unless you consider $4000+ affordable.  We do not.  We do have family in the area to fall back on, but are still hoping we can find a place to hang our hat and let Princess Harleigh "have her space".  We have looked into everything imaginable including RV rentals and vacation cabins (they make the $4k seem reasonable).  The extended stay hotels that we considered "reasonable" (actually there is only one that is available) looks like a working meth lab and front for a business of ill-repute.  We are hoping to get a favorable response from a bed and breakfast business that has a carriage house that could be ideal.  It merely depends on whether their current tenant happens to vacate on time.  We are approaching it all as an adventure, and think we may just roam from family member to family member and see what last minute hotel deals we can get along the way.

In the meantime, we have begun the packing process and have found what we believe will be an awesome independent mover that has so far been very attentive and helpful.  His company will do the bulk of the packing and we just need to get things prepped for them to make the whole process go smoother.  We have also deemed meals from here on out to be "Project: Cleansing of the Fridge".  I told the Cowboy not to expect any normal meals...no matter what time of day the meal of the moment will be a hodgepodge of items left in the fridge/freezer and all meals will be served on fine paper and plastic ware.  I do draw the line at coffee....the coffee cups are not yet packed and the Keurig machine is not yet out of my reach.  So tomorrow's breakfast may consist of clam chowder, asparagus, and Blue Bell ice cream.  Dinner tonight is almost normal....a one skillet meal with hamburger, potatoes, onions, tomatoes, sunburst squash, and red bell peppers, borracho beans cooked in chipotle olive oil and Mexican seasonings and a little masa flour slurried on top.  I think I'll call it an inside out picadillo tamale  That's about the last normal grouping I have.  Tomorrow is looking like crab cakes and cinnamon rolls.

Now it's back to packing....wishing I could just box myself up and ship on out!  The rest of our stuff will follow, I'm sure.  The mover just came by to look at the house...again...and we dropped a bomb on him, I think.  I believe he was expecting to just pack up the valuable/breakable stuff...the stuff that we'd make him liable for.....we said...nope....you're packing 99% of it.  I have a feeling he left the house a hoopin' and hollerin' as it seems that with the wildfires, his business fell off a bit...I guess some people were rethinking moves here or something.  I'm happy to help the local, independent business person...especially if it saves me all the work!

Princess Harleigh!

Girl Scouts and Homemade Pasta

It's Girl Scout weekend at our house.  I have been blessed to work with many wonderful girls over the years in Girl Scouts and I have enjoyed them all.  Katie, Christina, Taylor, Sarah, Tess, Keryn, Madie and Katie (oh, snap, I think I even listed them from oldest to youngest) have all been in troops that I have led and they have all been fun and a blessing to work with.  I am currently co-leading a Senior troop of three girls:  Phoenix, Maria, and McKiya.  As always, we are having a blast!  I have also been blessed with great parents and volunteers to work with (Sue and Pam, you two were dreams to work closely with; Tina and Tami were always committed as well).  I am now in cahoots with Mrs. Patty (Pinkie!). 

The girls are spending the weekend working on their new blog (http://www.troop401-weretrippin.blogspot.com/) where they will journal about their adventures and their work (fundraising mainly) toward their Senior trip in 2015.  Well....go on...open another browser tab and check out that blog....I'll wait for you to come back.....

OK, now that you're back....besides working on their blog and discussing their trip, they helped me in the kitchen.  Tonight we broke in my new pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer (oh that is my favorite kitchen toy!).  I made a bolonese sauce (from scratch) with a hearty mix of onions, celery, carrots and bell peppers....ground beef and sweet italian sausage.

Yum!  It should be slow cooked ALL day....we got a few hours in is all, but it was still very good and the girls loved it.

For our first pasta try, I used a pasta mix from Williams-Sonoma.  It makes 4 servings, but it was plenty for a total of 6 of us.  It was suggested we try a mix first to get use to the proper consistency.  Smart idea!  The girls helped to knead the dough and make the dough into walnut size balls.

OK, you can't see the dough....but that's what they're doing...and a fine job, I must say.  Then we attached the pasta hopper and started making some rigatoni.

See the pasta coming out of the end of the white hopper?  And you know the Cowboy was behind them watching too.  He loves him some pasta!  Now he can have it fresh (and healthy - lots of wheat/brown rice pasta in our future).

There it is boiling.  You'd think I'd get a picture of the finish product but sadly, no....we were all hungry and scarfed it before I had a chance to get a picture.  Next time!  But trust me, it was good.

Now the girls are working on henna tattoos.  They're going to a Girl Scout lock-in later in the month and will be hosting a henna tattoo booth to help raise funds for their Senior trip.  And where are they going?  I think it will be Montana for hiking, camping, white water rafting, swimming, shopping and all those things that Girl Scouts do!

Beans and Fluffernutters!

The Cowboy and I went out for one last hurrah before we get back to a normal eating schedule.  Most of the leftovers of the holiday are gone with a big pot of ham and beans and another of blackeyed peas to finish off. 

We both had the day off today so we just kicked around the house not accomplishing much and decided to head downtown to a locally owned placed call PB & Jellies.  Art and his family opened up PB & Jellies earlier this year.  It is a wonder New York Deli with house made PB and locally made Jellies.  They also have a wonderful selection of Boar's Head sandwiches and soups.  We just never seem to stray from the PB sandwiches, with the exception of the kniches (awesome too).  What great comfort food, especially in the winter time and right after the heavy foods of the holidays.

I had their Smasher sandwich which consisted of dark chocolate peanut butter and wavy kettle chips (plus the chips that come on the side).  The Cowboy had the dark chocolate peanut butter and banana sandwich.  Then we split a fluffernutter with regular peanut butter.  Oh....that brought back some wonderful childhood memories!

If you are local to Colorado Springs, head down town to visit Art at PB & Jellies.

Tomorrow it is back to the gym and back to a normal eating routine!  OK...well, I am sure we'll be eating some beans/ham and cornbread for a few days, but I'll throw in a salad and call it healthy.  ;-)  And actually, the beans and ham are not too bad for you.  I mix pintos and great northerns, soak them overnight then pressure cook them the next day (I have a wonderful electric pressure cooker, besides my manual one).  I put the ham bone with ample ham left over from Christmas (we get HoneyBaked Ham) in the crockpot and cover with water, as well as a chopped onion and cook all day. I season well with salt, pepper, and Ozark Seasoning from Penzey's. Once the beans are done in the pressure cooker, I add to the ham in the crockpot. You can eat them that night, but I suggest you wait til the second day. After you put them in the fridge overnight, then reheat them they tend to take on a thicker consistency and have more flavor. Add a side of cornbread and salad and you have a pretty fantastic comfort meal full of protein, fiber, iron, potassium, B6, and folic acid.

Not a bad way to start the new year.    

Dr. Pepper Wings!

So, a few weeks ago, while visiting Dallas, my little sister Nikki and her kids took me to dinner at Pluckers.  Pluckers is an Austin based wing/sports bar joint that had some fun flavors.  One particular flavor is Dr. Pepper.  I don't drink a lot of soda, but I do enjoy the occasional Dr. Pepper.  I couldn't imagine Dr. Pepper wings though.  I was intrigued.  Surprisingly, they were fantastic.  A bit of a barbeque type sauce without the vinegary tang.  Instead it had a bit of Dr. Pepper aftertaste that made you think you had just had a drink of soda. 

I kept telling Quin about these wings and decided to see if I could find a mock recipe.  I didn't but did find many Dr. Pepper bbq sauce recipes online and decided to make them myself.  Pluckers has a boneless wing plate that is really just a plate of large chicken tenders (they do things big in Texas, ya know).

They came out pretty close to Pluckers and probably a bit healthier.  Let me tell ya' though, my Aunt Pam makes the best fried chicken tenders evah!

Tonight I am starting the holiday cooking.  Christmas dinner is at our house this year.  A small group of family.  I am looking forward to it, so that I and my family can spend more time visiting and less time in the kitchen.  My cowboy is preparing some birds to fry!  With about 6-7" of snow on the ground, he'll be frying in the garage.  He's not yet caught the house on fire....hope we continue with that tradition!

Cornbread Waffles and Chili

And yes....that cornbread waffle is in the shape of Texas!