football

It is football season and my husband, Jay, loves chips and dip. He has never met a dip he didn’t love. It is game day, so I decided to throw together some snacks and toss them on the kitchen island. I have a feeling the boys will come by- fingers crossed- and maybe even a few friends. In typical fashion, I made a little something (this cowboy caviar) and purchased some things as well.

Many recipes for cowyboy caviar call for avocados and cilantro, but here is my take on it. Avocados can turn to mush, they need to be perfectly ripe and they aren’t very good left over. As for cilantro- did you know 10% of people find it tastes like soap. Turns out, they share a common smell-receptor gene cluster called OR6A2. I am in this group. So if you love it, add it. Cilantro is a hard no for me.

Many of you have asked me to link to things in the pics. I am new at this and it is hard to link some of my things, especially my Memaw’s melmac bowls from the 50’s. But as for the cute table runner, I took a chance last year on this pvc table runner. Turns out, it is one of my favorite things. It was long, and it curls on the end, so don’t expect it to hang down. I cut a piece for our bar and a piece for the island. The edges curl around the top and it wipes off very easily. So I actually got two runners out of the one purchase. When I am done, they just roll right up and I throw them in the china cabinet.

There is a cute orange and white custom glass plate with a tiny square of red in the corner. It was a wedding present to Jay and I from our friends, Franklin and Jennifer. The plate was a custom piece from Kim Currin Creations- Glassworks. The red is for Jay- he is my Alabama guy.

I have a Nora Fleming cocktail napkin holder that I am a little obsessed with- the corner mini is interchangeable-and don’t ask me how many minis I have. Cocktail napkins are my thing and I even have them organized in zip lock bags. And if you ever see the Nora Fleming Frankenstein hand mini for a reasonable amount of money- text me immediately. Of course, today I have inserted the football mini. We have a great, local store called Southern Traditions and they carry many of the Nora Fleming pieces and also the minis. I always buy local when I can.

Cowboy Caviar

Servings: 6-8
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Ingredients

1 can black eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
1 jalapeno, diced
1 red onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced

Dressing
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

Directions

Mix dressing ingredients into a jar and shake. Mix dip ingredients in a bowl and stir in the dressing.

Make this recipe your own. Add cilantro, add the zest of the lime. Turn up the acid and add an additional lime. Toss in a cucumber. Add white beans. There are endless options to change up this recipe.

I spent the morning in the basement trying to organize some clutter (I have a long way to go) and came across my tubs of fall decor. And even though itâ€™s not technically fall yet, I decided to decorate early. And if you are going to decorate for fall, you might as well make some chili. Did I mention Jay was also watching the first football games of the season?

I also found some leftover fall cocktail napkins when I was unpacking the tubs, which lead to the organizing of all my cocktail napkins. I have a touch of what some would call OCD but I actually love that part of myself and consider it one of my best qualities- until I am up at 3am trying to organize my cabinets.

As I get older, I have the attention span of a squirrel and often find myself falling into rabbit holes. Today is a good example: basement clean up led to fall decorating, napkin organization and chili.

I have never made the same chili twice. I always find myself looking in the cabinet for things to add. The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond, has what I consider to be the perfect basic chili recipe. I always start with that and then add in whatever feels right in my heart. Yes, I could make up my own chili recipe, but why reinvent the wheel?

The recipe cards I include in my posts are my real recipe cards and as you can see, this is the basic chili recipe with no real directions, complete with food stains on the card.

The most important part of chili is the toppings. Today, I lined up sour cream, onions, jalapenos, shredded cheese, lime wedges and chips. At the last minute, I decided to add tater tots. I crisped them in the oven on a large baking sheet and tossed in this pan to serve.

If you are feeding a crowd, double or triple the recipe. And for a crowd I like to make a pot of spicy chili and a pot of not so spicy chili. Tonight this pot of chili fed 6 adults and a few of those adults had multiple helpings. I was looking forward to chili left overs because it freezes beautifully, but there was none. And that is the best compliment I could receive.

Pair this with sweet tea or ice cold beer.

Chili

Servings: 6-8
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Ingredients

2 lbs ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can Rotel tomatoes with chilis

Directions

Brown the hamburger meat and drain. In a large pot, saute the onions for a few minutes. Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add all the spices and mix with the onions and garlic. Toss in the spices and mix well. Add the hamburger meat and the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, usually low, and cover for at least an hour stirring occasionally. You can simmer it much longer, but at least an hour.

Make this recipe your own. Bump up the heat with red pepper flakes, add different types of beans or omit the beans, add a spicy sausage or use ground turkey or chicken. Don’t settle for the recipe and listen to your heart. If you want more chili powder and cumin, add it. If you love garlic, add more.