the reluctant pioneer

I dislike flying as much as the next person - hurtling through the air in a claustrophobic missile - not my cup of tea. On the other hand, I enjoy the prospect of flying because I often see the hand of God a little more clearly than I do on a daily basis. Problems? Delays? Missed Flights? No money? No speak-a-the-language? No Problem. He's got it. He's God.  I call this Traveler's Grace. I could rattle of a few awesome stories for you, but that's a post for another time. This post is about how I'm feeling a whole lot of Traveler's Grace from the comfort of my recliner, in my living room. My living room that wasn't supposed to be mine anymore come Nov. 3rd, but is suddenly mine for an indeterminate amount of time longer. We've outgrown our current house. After months of house-hunting, we found our dream  home. It needs some serious work, but there's so much about it that is just amazingly dreamy. I definitely have a house-crush on that house. Bi...

I'm sorry to say, I love Doritos. I know they're laden with all sorts of goodness, like neurotoxin MSG, artificial colors, etc. So, what's a girl to do, but scour the ingredient list for what makes them so darn good (well, you know, besides chemicals). I was surprised to discover green bell peppers on the ingredient list. It's one of those veggies that I've always placed in the no-flavor-just-crunchy category. Like cucumber. Well, wouldn't you know, after reading that list, I've started to become more aware of the nuances of green pepper and I when I was at Aldi, I picked some up with the express purpose of adding it to things. Tonight's dinner includes homemade pasta sauce. I had 1/2 lb leftover browned ground beef (grass fed, 'cause you know, snobbery) that I dumped in my trusty dutch oven along with finely diced 1/2 green pepper and 1/2 onion and 2 minced cloves of garlic. A bit of sautéing later and I added: - 2 more cloves of minced garl...

Ingredients: 1.75 lb beef, cut into 1-2 in. pieces couple Tbs. Olive Oil 1 1/2 Tbs or so (generous splash) Red Wine Vinegar [for deglazing] 4 cups Chicken Stock (next time I'll do 1/2 chicken, 1/2 beef if i have it on hand) 2 cloves garlic, minced 3-4 bay leaves 1 stalk celery, chopped in half 1 large onion, chopped into large chunks 5-6 small potatoes, cut into large chunks 3 carrots, cut into 3rds another couple Tbs Olive Oil to coat veggies for roasting generous splash Red Cooking Wine (1-2 tbs) Salt and Pepper to taste Directions: - pat-dry beef with paper towel - heat dutch oven on med-high heat, pour in olive oil to coat bottom. - Sear beef briefly in batches, remove - pour vinegar into pot, scrape pot - pour Chicken Stock into pot and scrape some more - lower heat - Return beef to pot; add bay leaves, garlic and celery stalk - bring to gentle simmer while heating oven to 325 - Place covered dutch oven in oven for a couple hours An hour before ser...

So, I guess I'm on a soup kick. It's Fall, I'm allowed. I really like Wendy's chili. I've tried and failed at copycatting it in the past. Today I came close and in the end, I think I prefer my version. Mark wasn't thrilled with it. He said it lacked flavor. He also says that about my taste in Chinese take-out (I like broccoli and chicken, he likes the deep fried stuff). Here's the secret to my chili: No tomato anything. It almost sounds heretical, right? If you must call it something else, feel free. "Delicious beef soup" works, but people might wonder why you're boasting about your own cooking and, "What is it really  called?" Ingredients: 1/2 lb ground beef (extra oil for sautéing everything, if needed) 2 tsp - 1 tbs ground cumin 1-2 tbs paprika 1 large green pepper, chopped 1med/large onion, minced 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 2 cloves garlic, (I use 2 Trader Joe's frozen minced cubes) 2 bay leav...

I don't know about you, but when I create a new dinner dish that turns out to be repeatable I think, "That was easy, no need to write it down, I'll just file it away in the old memory." Fast forward a month and I think "How did I do that?" Yeah. Every time. Today that changes. Equipment: Crockpot, saute pan Ingredients: 8 cups water 1 small whole chicken, raw, skin removed 2 carrots cut to fit in crockpot 2 carrots chopped or diced 2 stalks of celery cut to fit in crockpot 2 stalks of celery chopped or diced 1 med/large onion, quartered 1 med/large onion finely chopped 3 or 4 bay leaves 2 cloves of minced garlic (or equivalent) coconut oil for sautéing salt & pepper to taste Directions: In crockpot combine - water - chicken - 2 carrots - 2 stalks of celery - quartered onion - bay leaves Crockpot it until chicken falls of bone Discard veggies, bay leaves and bones* Place shredded/chunked meat back in broth in crockpot Add...