A little GW Bush humor to start your day.

The Chili Recipe
Ok, to my defense, I don’t think, “hot summer day – make chili”
We did have a cold front move in for two days, making me think of the fall, and the cooler temperatures to come. That made me think of the chili. Once I have chili on the brain nothing will do but to make it, no matter the temperature.

My favorite recipe comes by way of my brother in Montana. In fact, the name of the recipe is: Montana Gourmet Chili. Which is to say it has bacon in it. If you’re in Montana and you add bacon to your recipe you can, by law, call it ‘gourmet’ – but you can not call it healthy.

The recipe is very simple, but takes a long time to cook and, as previously stated, it is BAD for you. If you are faint of heart do not read on. Just looking at the recipe can clog your arteries.

Montana Gourmet Chili

1 lb ground sausage
1 lb ground beef (though I use grd turkey – better flavor)
1 lb bacon (get the good kind – not that low fat turkey stuff)

1 medium onion (gotta have your vegatables!)
1 green pepper ( I usually leave this out since it takes away from the meat)
4 15oz cans of kidney beans (or any other bean you like – black is always nice)
1 28oz can of chopped tomatoes< 1 pt tomatoe juice (a 15oz can of sauce will substitue if you don't have any juice) 1 heaping tbsp (might be a tsp - be careful) of Garlic Powder 1 heaping tbsp (I know this is a tbsp) of Chili Powder 1 heaping tbsp ground Cumin (this makes it good) 1 regular tbsp Oregano 2 tsp Cinamon (the 'magic' ingredient) 2 tsp Sugar 1 tsp Salt (add to taste) In a large pot add the tomatoes, juice, and beans and start them simmering. Fry up the bacon then set it aside. Chop your onions (and peppers) then saute them in the bacon grease. Once the onions are done add them to the pot and crumble in the bacon. Fry up your ground meat, then crumble it into the pot. Bring it all to a boil for 40-60 min. to reduce it to the consistancy you want. Then simmer it for 2 hours, stirring every 15 min. Serve with mild sour cream and grated cheese. Enjoy.

I love looking through this weblog. Everyday he puts up a new photo and they are amazing. Go take a look for yourself.

There are four areas to which I defer absolutely to Kevin. In these aspects of our life, he rules supreme. One of these areas is chili.

I’m not sure why, but Kevin was given the gift of chili. I think it’s because he has eaten so much chili, he has developed a sixth sense with regard to what makes a killer chili. Strangely enough, he feels the need to create his masterpiece when it is hot outside. Now, most people would think simmering pots of beans all afternoon in hot weather would be suicide. But not Kevin, oh no, for Kev, heat and chili go hand in hand.

This weekend was nice and hot. A typical August day and Kevin got bit by the chili bug. We were having some friends over for dinner and Kev decide it was a chili day. He tried something a little different and made one pot of veggie chili and one pot of good old fashion meat lovers chili. And, as always, it was wonderful. We had to eat outside because our house was a sauna but it was worth it. We still have at least 10 lbs left so I’m thinking chili dogs, chili cheese nachos, sloppy joe’s – the possibilities are endless. Maybe I’ll see if he’ll post his recipe here online. Then you too can experience the joy of hot chili on a warm summer day.

Kevin’s latest idea is to have a dog BBQ. No, I don’t mean we’ll be BBQing actually dogs. Rather, he wants to invite all of our friends who own dogs over, turn the canines loose in the backyard, and bbq for all the humans. Now, I have two small issues with this plan.

Issue 1 – Artie. We love our dog but he has some issues. He simply has to be the top dog. This means he is always trying to dominate any other dog that looks funny at him. Little dogs he doesn’t have a problem with. He knows he’s bigger. The big pooches, however, he sees as a true challenge. He has launched himself at these huge rotties and shepards fully prepared to kick some canine butt. Lets just say, it’s a miracle he’s survived this long.

Point 2 – Kevin’s cooking. Most of you out there already know the Kevin cooking stories. However, my favorite is the last time we tried this dog BBQ. We had two dogs – little Melo and Daisy. Daisy belongs to Kevin’s brother, Chris, and she is the reason we got Artie. She is a very sweet dog but very scared of strangers. She loved Melo and they began romping around our backyard. Kevin was out there cooking away. Of course, he had a ton of coals and had used 1/2 a bottle of lighter fluid so we had some serious flame going on the old weber grill. Melo & Daisy were playing chase. Melo took a sharp corner around the barbie; Daisy followed but didn’t quite make it. Next thing we knew, the grill was tipped over, charcoal all over the lawn, and we watched in fascination as the grass caught fire.

Now, that was just two dogs. I don’t even want to think what would happen if we try and add more.

I always suspect I was something special – this just confims it. I am worth $2,119,270.00. That’s right, you’ll need over 2 million to get yourself your own Chrissie. Go here to find out what you’re worth. But don’t worry if you can’t beat my asking price. I am pretty special!