Wednesday, December 5

Chili!

We've all had those days where fixing dinner is the absolute last thing on your mind. I had one of those days yesterday. Who am I kidding? It's very unusual for me to think about dinner all day. My menu has just run out, so I'm fresh out of ideas. Thankfully, Michael doesn't mind eating dinner at 7. Or 8. And yes, we've been known to wait as long as 9.

So what do you fix when you need to shop and can't think clearly? This is the topic for this week's Works For Me Wednesday, so if you find yourself in this "what on earth are we going to have tonight?" quandry more often than you care to admit, head on over and check out what ideas other people have. This is what I made yesterday, put in the Crock Pot at 4pm. I cranked the heat up to "HIGH" and it was ready in an hour. Aaron ate his right then, and loved it. But we ate ours three hours later, over rice.

Easy Chili (served 3 hungry Muths)
1/4 lb frozen ground beef (yep, just toss it right in the bottom)
1 pint home canned tomatoes (but a 15 oz can works too)
1 can chili seasoned beans (we like Bush's brand)
more chili powder

I used white rice since I have tons right now. Brown would be spectacular. I also put some cheese on top - yum. I usually add another can of beans (not chili seasoned) but I did not have any on hand.

8 comments:

4urpets said...

That recipe sounds pretty good. I think I'll try it.

Hillary (Mrs. Einstein) said...

What an easy chili recipe! I like chili over rice, too, but we usually serve ours over baked potatoes. Add some cheese, some sour cream, and some ranch dressing, and you've got a very filling meal!

Rosemary said...

Now THAT sounds easy!!! I'm going to give this a try. I love chili on cold days like this, and I love using my home canned tomatoes in the middle of the winter. We get warmed up just remembering how HOT it was in the kitchen on the day that I canned all those tomatoes... :-)

Elaine said...

Chili! Yum! When I looked out the window at all the snow this morning I thought about making chili, my favorite cold weather meal! Of course, I sneak some chili in the summer too...
My "last-minute-what-on earth-can-I-make?" meal is usually tacos. We get tons of taco shells from food pantry and I always make a double batch of meat and freeze half for such evenings.
It made me chuckle that you often eat late. When I was growing up you were expected to be at the dinner table at 5 o'clock for a family dinner. When I would be at Bryan's parents they would start talking about dinner plans at about 6 or 7! I thought I was going to die of starvation! Apparently late dinners are the norm in South America were they had been living. Thankfully, we've all adjusted. To anyone who can eat later than 7pm - more power to ya!

Jenny said...

HA! Funny you should mention that, Elaine! Growing up my dad wanted to eat no LATER than 5, but preferred closer to 4!! Turns out he has blood sugar issues - go figure! The later dinnertime was an adjustment to me, too - but I've made the transition now! Ha ha!

Unknown said...

That sounds ridiculously easy! Was it tasty with so few ingredients? Wish my hubby liked to eat on a european clock . . .

Carrie said...

We ate at 5:30 almost always - the negative we usually have a snack around 8:15.
When I haven't planned I usually go for my flash frozen chicken - microwave for 2 min. cut in up put it in a pan, egg noodles in another and brocolli in the other - 15 min you got chicken, brocolli, cheese noodles.

Tricia T said...

Another add in that my family loves is a can or jar of Spaghetti sauce. If it is a little too tomato-ey just throw in a pinch of sugar. :)