'Twas the night before the great Chili Cook Off..."

Don't have much time to post tonight. I just finished the chili for the Chili Cook Off at school tomorrow. I am exhausted...and almost broke. Chili ain't cheap anymore!! It turned out very well...has just enough "bite" to it and even if I don't win, I have enough to feed Cox's Army.
I have a little secret ingredient that I will share when this is over...I used a good friend's recipe and must give him all the credit! (I've driven him and his wife nuts over the last few days with questions.)

This afternoon I got all sorts of opinions on the type kidney beans to use...everyone who came down the aisle and heard the grocery store manager and I discussing kidney beans had a thought on the subject. (Probably..."Who is this creature and what on earth is so important that she is reading the ingredients of every kidney bean can on the shelf?") I settled on a type that I will reveal when I tell my "secret" ingredient...Miss Anonymous came up with the bean type and it took a visit to three stores before I finally found them.

Anyhoo, the chili's in the pot and I'll close with this old quote, "A girl can win a man with the smell of perfume, but she can't keep him without the smell of good food." Do I hear an amen?

* The Fairy Godmother & Hot Chili

Holy cow! Ask for a little help from your friends and MINE respond pronto. I have so many chili recipes in my email and on the blog, that I'll be testing all week getting ready for the big day next Friday! Thank you one and all! I can't wait to try all the advice on for size...speaking of which, if we eat all this, those polyester pants from Bon Worth will get a real workout.

I am hesitant to repeat this, but now that it's been a few hours since it was said, I can smile. Teacher sends student to the library to give me something...student asks which librarian I am...the one with the bun that looks like a fairy godmother? Oh, heaven help me....first it was Aunt Bea now the Fairy Godmother...I think it was the cartoon one that is popular now...hope not Cinderella's ...dumpy little thing...should I laugh or cry?

Going to read more recipes... will post later this weekend. Thank goodness it's almost Friday.

Chili Season Anyone?

As some of you may know, I taught Foods and Nutrition classes at our local high school for a number of years before I became a librarian. Now, just because my major was Home Economics does NOT mean that I am a great cook. (Similar to the adage "because you are standing in the garage does not mean you are a car".) When I was in high school, I had a wonderful Home Ec teacher, Mrs. Davis. I LOVED her classes and took all three years of Home Ec.

I liked everything she taught, even sewing. (I was a pretty bad seamstress...bad as in bad, not bad as in good like they say today.) Once I had a school annual deadline to meet and a sewing project to complete on the same night. I had to turn in the sports section of the annual and make a lined vest in Home Ec. My father (who being a professional photographer would have been the logical one to take on the annual task) decided he'd help me out and complete the vest. He did and it was the best grade I ever made in a sewing class...

I only had to teach high school sewing class one year and they all made boxer shorts. Even the girls loved wearing them at that time, so you'd think we could have done a pretty fair job at it. Wrong! One of my former students (who now teaches with me) was in that class and to this day, her father laughs at the memory of those horrible shorts...one leg much shorter than the other. I probably discouraged the entire female population of the Ross Barnett Reservoir area from ever tackling such a project again.

Back to subject at hand. One of the great things about my teacher, Mrs. Davis is how she taught us to really take care of our homes and our families. (She always wore the June Cleaver shirtwaist dresses with an apron.) I loved how much she loved her family. She genuinely enjoyed making her home a haven. That made a tremendous impression on my young mind. She was one of the main reasons I majored in Home Economics.

All that being said, today I signed up to enter a crock pot full of chili for our school's Chili Cook Off. (Why do I volunteer to do things like this?) If all goes as planned, 12-15 people will cook and be judged by the Administrators. Faculty will eat what isn't consumed by the judges.

If you'd be so kind, would you comment and let me know any little tips that may help my dish? The last time I tried a new chili recipe, I didn't wear my glasses and added 20 chipolte chilies instead of 2 and permanently scarred my esophagus. I am slightly frantic and need the help by next Friday. Thank you for any tips you might have that might at least help me not come in 15th.