A Serving of Life

Scene: Jeff just comes out of the bathroom.

“I forgot the worst part of chili cook-off,” he said. “(Groan), my tummy.”

Not quite as ambitious as yesterday, I guess.

It’s 8 a.m. and I’m still full from yesterday’s chili cook-off.

And I’ve been thinking, we need to come up with a plan for winning because as I said, they all really do start to taste the same afterwards. Here are the rules: No beans. No noodles.

When I make chili at home, I usually use both. I like it spicy. And I like lots of meat, big chunks. I also never follow a recipe so it’s a little hard for me to even say how I do it. So, I guess I’m asking you: What makes or breaks chili? I need your suggestions so I can begin to develop a winning recipe for next year.

As an aside: Yesterday we also did the annual Shelter Trek here in Oshkosh. It’s a fundraiser for the humane society where about 200 dogs did a walk through the park. Usually dogs are not allowed in our parks. We got Jack a bandana with chili peppers on it in honor of the chili cook-off. This is how tired he was afterward.

Wisconsin State Chili Cook-Off. Oh my.

This is the second year we attended the event. And we are planning to enter next year so we tasted what seemed like a million different chilis. Probably like 20 kinds each. By the end, I admit, they all start to taste the same.

So full. But so worth it.

We’ve been using our cast iron pan for everything lately, it seems.

Last night for dinner we made cheddar cheese burgers on toast with carmelized onions. Oven potatoes on the side.

Sometimes Jeff cooks, and for that, I love him.

Shrimp Pad Thai

Corn bread in cast iron. Mmmmmm.

We used a 12-inch pan instead of the required 8-inch one so ours was a little thin. But it was still great, complete with jalapenos mixed in. Mmmmm.

If you have a dog or cat and experience even near the amount of pet hair in your car as I do, this will be the best 10 bucks you could ever spend.

It’s Fur-Zoff. It’s even made by a guy in Wisconsin. Out of two beer bottles. Because here in Wisconsin we need to get rid of all that beer bottle waste. Kidding.

It feels sort of like a pumice stone and you rub it in one direction along your car seats, carpeting, couch, bed sheets, whatever and it seriously MAGICALLY takes all the hair out.

Buy it. You will thank me.