Texas Chili

.25 c canola oil
4 lbs ground beef
1 onion pepper
7 cloves garlic, 6 jalapenos
2 tbsp cilantro (fresh), 2 tbsp oregano
1 tsp asian white, 1 tbsp tumeric, 2 tsp nutmeg, 1 tbsp paprika
2.5 tbsp cumin, 4.5 tbsp chili powder
3 tbsp ketchup, 4 tbsp asian chili sauce
3 tbsp salt, pepper to taste
2 c beef broth, 2 c beer
4 tbsp flour, 1 tsp cornstarch
*heat oil in pan. brown beef and drain fat. add rest of flavorings, beef broth, and beer. let simmer 20 min. once all ingredients have softened, add flour and cornstarch to thicken.

Here it is! My first chili! I love the consistency and the taste of it! It's stewy and it tastes smoky with a lingering spicyness in your mouth. It's not hot enough to need a drink of milk, but you can taste the heat and you'll want to have another bite. Wish me luck! I hope I win tomorrow!!

Chili Favors

Every year on Boss's Day, our group has it's annual Chili Cook-off. This is my 2nd Boss's Day celebration and 1st time entry in the Chili competition. I also volunteered to help with preparations and my first job was to think of a creative way to package the prizes and favors. The favors for contestants are 2 little jars of hot sauces and the 1st and 2nd place winners get gift certificates to Chili's. Here's what I came up with -- I thought they were pretty cute :)

I was given red cellophane bags w/twist ties, tissue paper, and a bunch of balloon ribbons. The cellophane bags were really boring to me and with just the hot sauces sitting in them, looked really cheap. So I took yellow and green ribbons and cut them into 2ft long sections and made them all curly. I dropped a few ribbon sections of both colors into the bag with the favors and pulled out 3 strands for overhang as I twist tied the bags. Then I curled the ends of the overhanging ribbons. For the 1st and 2nd place prizes, I taped a popsicle stick to the gift card envelopes and stuck them on top of the bag -- so it looks like they're growing out of it.