The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨
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Sweetnicks

Food and Life

Greatest Hits: Manly Manny’s Chili

December 3, 2007 · Narrative

This morning I woke Nicholas up by whispering in his ear, “You’re going to be happy when you look outside.” Finally, we have had our first dose of “real” snow. Not the kind that disappears as soon as it hits the ground. Not the kind that turns to rain or sleet and makes a giant, dirty, slushy mess. But the kind that snow angels and snowmen are made of. Now unfortunately, there were only a few inches in total accumulation (maybe 4-5 or so), so perhaps not enough to make snowmen, but enough to make our little five-year-old positively beam as he scampered over to the window, nodding his head slowly as he saw it. A great way to start the day. Of course, his day continued by him and The Girlfriend jetting off to a 9:15 am birthday party, so he has no complaining to do.And what better way to end it than with a bowl of some tummy-warming food? Trying to decide between soup or chili, I went for the latter, thinking The Husband would prefer it after working all weekend. We first had this Rachael Ray recipe back in March 2004 (yup, I’m a geek like that, recording when we have things and how the recipe fared against the critics) and it probably hits our table a good two or three times a year. It’s from one of her earlier cookbooks, 30-Minute Meals. It’s definitely doable in the 30 minutes she calls for and is achingly simple to make.

Delivering a warm bowl of smoky goodness at the end of a blustery 26 degree day, it was the perfect thing.

Manly Manny’s Chili
Recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray, 30-Minute Meals
Makes 2 quarts, up to 6 bowlfuls

2 tablespoons corn or vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lbs ground sirloin
Montreal Steak Seasoning or coarse salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 bottle beer (6 oz)
1 can (14 oz) beef broth
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1-1/2 tablespoons dark chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 oz smoky BBQ sauce
2 oz Frank’s Red Hot or other cayenne pepper sauce (about 3 tablespoons)
6 oz shredded smoked cheddar cheese for topping (optional)
chopped raw onions, for garnish (optional)
Corn tortilla chips, for dipping

Heat oil in a deep pot over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic and saute 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, till onions are soft. Add ground beef and brown, another 3-5 minutes. Season meat and onions lightly with Montreal seasoning or salt and pepper. Add beer and let it reduce by half. Stir in broth, paste, chili powder, cumin, smoky BBQ sauce and cayenne pepper sauce. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Serve with shredded smoked cheddar cheese and chopped raw onions and corn chips.

Cate’s Notes: I top mine with a dollop of sour cream and a handful of shredded Cheddar.

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Posted In: Narrative

Comments

  1. leosatter says

    December 3, 2007 at 7:35 am

    I am going to try to whip this up tomorrow! Thanks for the recipe!
    Maybe you can help me out with something…? I want to order all of my food online from now on because of various reasons, but I don’t know where to go for quality food. I have tried 2 companies so far, Fresh Dining, and and Celebrity Foods, but I wanna get others I can try out. Do you know of any? The main thing I’ve ordered so far is steak. I guess you can say, I’m a steak junkie. LOL!!! From what I have found out (from what I have ordered so far) I think I am able to regulate the quality of beef I buy. I hate going to a store and getting that crappy slab of beef that I have to cut down until there is like nothing left. Hahaha!!!! (its so true though) Anyhow, sorry that I made this comment so long. If you can help me out or point me in a direction where I might find more quality foods online, I would greatly appreciate it. Have a good day or night! (depending on when you read this) LOL!!!!

    Reply
  2. The Cookbook Junkie says

    December 3, 2007 at 3:28 pm

    A 9:15am birthday party????

    Reply
  3. TD says

    December 3, 2007 at 4:06 pm

    Nothing geeky about keeping track of what was a hit and what was a miss. You avoid a lot of strife that way. We have a rating system (1-5) to avoid mishaps (like the time I was told “it’s good” and made it again three weeks later only to be told “it wasn’t THAT good”–ARGH!) If it’s under a 3, it gets tossed, 4s could make it into a regular rotation. There have only been two 5s so far (in 11 years). If you’re a geek, well, so am I! :)

    Reply
  4. Culinarily Obsessed says

    December 3, 2007 at 5:12 pm

    Sounds pretty good, similar to my chili recipe, except beans are a must when eating chili in our house. The addition of bbq sauce sounds like it might add an interesting flavor.

    Reply
  5. Alisha (Cook. Craft. Enjoy) says

    December 3, 2007 at 7:40 pm

    We’ve had that chili several times and it always goes over well. Thanks for reminding me about it.

    Years ago I used to write down every dinner we made and give it stars (gold, silver and red) on the calendar as to how it was. It was a great to be able to tell at a glance what was a hit and what wasn’t.

    Hmmm… that maybe be my New Year’s resolution to start up again. LOL

    Reply
  6. Cate says

    December 3, 2007 at 9:33 pm

    Leosatter – not knowing where you are or exactly what you’re looking for, not sure who services your area. You might try schwans.com, peapod.com, freshdirect.com, or homebistro.com. A lot of grocery store chains now offer home delivery too (Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, for example). Hope this helps!

    The Cookbook Junkie – lol, yeah, definitely a little on the early side; only time slot she could get.

    TD and Alisha – a proud geek. :) I don’t save any that didn’t get a thumbs up all around, so only keep “very good” on up. I think it’s fun to look back and see the notes I made, the occasion it was for, etc. Like a trip down memory lane. ;)

    Culinarily – I have a very dog-eared one from Woman’s Day that is delish, has beans and is a 10 Minute Chili. Might have to dust that one off this week. Easily been making that one for 8+ years – good stuff, and perfect weather for it.

    Reply
  7. Claire says

    December 4, 2007 at 1:15 am

    I wish we had snow! Yesterday I think our high was around 80 and then today in the 50’s. MS weather is C.R.A.Z.Y!!!

    Reply

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The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛

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The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter nee The long, dreary and grey months of the Winter need a little bit of color, so here you go. 😍 Love this chest of drawers. Discovered it buried in a local shop and bought it specifically for the green color (one of my favorites). Vintage Coke crate was a $10 score from a garage sale place on Facebook some ten years ago. And the assorted markers in Roy G Biv order (natch) that aren’t used anymore because my kids have sadly left that phase. 🙃
Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo s Weekend Photos in Review, old school still photo style, hope you had a good one! ✨
A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if A friend was taking a trip to Ireland and asked if I wanted her to bring me back anything. Would you believe me if I told you I asked for salt? I love picking up different varieties, whether we’re traveling or I’m just visiting a new shop. Maddie grabbed me a super cute one from her trip to Paris last year, and the Magic Unicorn Salt I get locally is another favorite. What’s yours?
One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a One of us hops like a bunny down the steps, has a serious case of FOMO on the daily, gets hiccups more than anyone we know and has perpetual bed head. She’s quite the unique roommate but may be exactly what our home needed. 💛
I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw th I haven’t had a bagel in ages, but when I saw that @njdotcom had picked six bagel shops at the “best in the state,” and one was reasonably local, all the sudden I needed one. I was never one to fall prey to peer pressure, but I’m very definitely a marketer’s dream. 😂 Alfa Bagels is on Route 10 in Randolph and has a good assortment of bagels, including all the usual suspects, but with a few others like rainbow, Asiago and French Toast throw in for good measure. Their bagels always seem to have a nice chew, which I appreciate and I love their sesame one. My go-to order lately is a double toasted flagel with lox spread and tomato. Their lox spread is a little ho hum, but the bagel is delish. Check them out next time you’ve got a craving (or get motivated by a local news story 😝). What’s your bagel order?
✌🏻 ✌🏻
When you really really really want to be best frie When you really really really want to be best friends. 💛
When a stressful week with deadlines ends with Nat When a stressful week with deadlines ends with National Cheese Lovers Day, how could I not partake? Tbh, I wasn’t especially hungry, and the appetizers are always the best section of any menu, so the queso blanco from El Mejicano in town wasn’t too hard a choice. It’s smoky and cheesy and I could have licked the bowl clean, but a girl’s gotta have some boundaries. Happy weekend, friends! ✨

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