Bean Me Up Scotty!

This weekend is a big deal if you are from the Midwest (especially Illinois and Wisconsin) and have not been living under a rock the past few weeks. (Honestly with it being -1.3 and beyond this morning and throughout the day that would more so be an ice block.) Sunday is the Bears/Packers game and so Sunday will be football football FOOTBALL.

When I think of football food chili is one thing that always comes to mind. I was discussing this with Hubs earlier. Chili that is, not football since I'm just getting it now in terms of more of the rules and whatnot. (For the longest time football was big guys in tight pants crashing their heads into each other. Just pause and think about that. It is true in at least some element, right?) I like chili with several types of beans, usually two to three cans and at least a pound and a half of ground meat. Sometimes I add corn, diced tomatoes, or bell peppers (non green ones) to the mix. Hubs is more so one kind of beans and more meat.

I keep forgetting this when I make chili. I get all in the zone and next thing I know there is a big crockpot simmering. Then I forget to freeze part and I am eating chili for a week. Ooops!

I might still make chili this weekend but using the smaller crockpot if I do. There are always other kinds of football food to make - nachos, baked potato skins, and whatnot - if we all decide to do a potluck. I just need to wait and see what the vote is from everyone menu planning wise.

No dough

Well no dough for now since I didn't set up enough time for it to rise. (More dough of the other kind is always a good thing.)

I have a bad habit for bread. I decide I want to make bread but then forget that it needs to rise. True I can still make it now but fresh bread earlier in the day is always a great thing. Plus it makes the house smell so good.

I have make breakfast breads and egg twist (or egg braid if you prefer) before and both turned out well. There is a recipe in The Blue Ribbon Country Cook Book that I want to try for white bread. I have had homemade white bread before (my gram makes really good bread) and am hoping it turns out well when I actually make it.

Worst case, I'll have homemade croutons.

Do you have any bread success or horror stories?

Frosting on the cookie

I have limited experience making cookie frosting. I can only recall one year I made elves (My mom still has the cookie cutter.) for Christmas. There is a Polaroid picture somewhere of me grinning and holding the plate of decorated cookies with a big grin on my face. I even dyed the dough with food coloring so there were REALLY red ones and REALLY green ones.

I need to find the photo and scan is mostly due to the title of the picture. Scrawled in my kid handwriting is something along the lines of The Evil Cookies. Since they were evil we didn't eat them. Actually, it wasn't due to their moral standing it was due to the shortening being expired. OOPS! and GROSS! at the same time.

I don't even remember why I didn't check the date since it was so long ago but every time I see a larger tub of shortening it makes me think of that plate of cookies, especially around Christmas.