Poor Man's Chili

Tonight was pumpkin carving night in our house! I love everything about fall, but pumpkin carving has to definitely be one of the top things! Needless to say, it took us a while to finish them so it was a crockpot kind of night. 

I ended up literally going through my freezer/pantry and throwing in a few random ingredients that seemed like they would possibly taste good together. Well luckily for Kevin and I, it came out delicious!  We decided it was more of a chili than anything else, so I have Kevin run out and grab some cornbread.

My Pumpkin on the left, and Kevin and Brooke's pumpkin on the right!

I call this recipe "Poor Man's Chili" because most people will have pretty much all of these ingredients on hand on any given night. 

All I did was throw a package of frozen hamburger in along with all the ingredients and let it cook on HI for about 5 hours. It's not pictures, but I also added a can of premade chili with beans to the crockpot. You know, the kind that you put on nachos or chili-cheese dogs. I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the finished product because it was all gone before I got the chance! ;) Like I said before, I had no idea what I was trying to create. I originally thought it would come out more like taco meat...hence the tortillas that we didn't end up using.

All ingredients ready to get cooking!

Poor Man's Chili

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

1 package ground hamburger (about 2 pounds)

1 can of diced green chilies

1 8.75oz can of corn

1 package of taco seasoning mix

1 jar of salsa

1 can of chili with beans'

Directions

Add all ingredients to crockpot. 

Cook on HI for 4-6 hours depending on if your hamburger is frozen or not. Stir occasionally. 

I recommend serving with cheese and corn bread.

S'mores Dip

Tonight was movie night in our house! HBO had just put up American Sniper, which Kevin had yet to see, and I was more than happy to watch over and over. I'm not usually the type to re-watch movies over and over, I just get bored. But this movie is definitely in the top of my favorites list. We both had a sweet tooth, and Kevin had the idea of making a recipe we had seen on Pinterest recently. Off to the pantry we went!

 

This S'mores dip was to die for! So simple and delicious. It could easily be doubled or tripled for a crowd. I think I may just use it for our Halloween party! 

Start out with a glass or ceramic pie dish. I'm sure a metal pan would work, but it may burn the chocolate if you're not careful and it won't look as pretty... 

Layer a thick layer of chocolate chips on the bottom of the pan, no Pam needed if using a glass or ceramic dish. Any kind of chocolate chips will work. Semi-sweet, milk, dark, whatever your heart and sweet tooth desire. Then place on a single layer of marshmallows, feel free to pack them in!

Now pop them in the oven at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Yes, 5 minutes is all you need if the oven is pre-heated! The marshmallows come out all brown and toasty and the chocolate is perfectly melted. We used graham crackers to dip, but you can use whatever you'd like, possibly some pretzels?

Look at all that melty goodness!!!!

'

Sriracha Bacon Rings

Dinner was a fun one tonight! I love when Kevin comes out with an idea once in a while, and BONUS, this time he made it! He saw a video on Facebook and decided that he wanted to make it for me. Sounds good to me any night! These bacon wrapped sriracha onion rings were delicious and certainly hit the spot.

 First, start by grabbing a large onion. This recipe will feed 2 people, use more onions for more people! I went with a vidalia onion because there were some pretty big ones this time around. Cut it up into slices a little thicker than onion rings would be cut. This allows them to hold up a bit better with the bacon wrapped around them. We decided to chop and saute up the rest of onion innards for a topping for our burgers we made.

We didn't use all the bacon! We had about 3-4 slices left that I cooked for burger toppings!

Next up, it's time to coat the slices with some heat. We actually used Frank's Hot Sauce this time around because I wasn't sure if I even liked sriracha... Try either putting some in a bowl and moving them around to coat like we did, or maybe brush the sauce right on. Once all the slices are coated, it's time to wrap the bacon around. There is not real trick to this, it's just a little messy. Start at one end, and wrap around until you run out of bacon. I would not recommend squishing too much bacon onto one slice as it will not fully cook. As you can see in the picture below, there was some spacing between the wrapping. Then stick a skewer through 2 rings so they hold their shape better while cooking.

Now it's time to pop them in the oven. 400 degrees for 40 minutes, on a cooking sheet coated with foil and cooking spray will do the trick. Trust me, you'll need the full 40 minutes. I didn't believe it at first, so I only put them on for 20, but they were even close to being done...so back in they went.

They may take a little finagling to get them off the foil!

While the rings were cooking, I prepped a dipping sauce. I used equal parts sriracha and mayo, with a splash of lemon juice. It was a delicious, creamy accompaniment for them. Yum!

Yummy dipped sauce! BRING ON THE BACON!

These rings would likely be equally as amazing over a grill. Just make sure to adjust cooking times, as they will probably vary.

Art on the Rocks Paint Night

This week I decided to treat myself a bit and finally take one of those awesome sounding Paint Nights. You know...the ones you can bring your own booze?! Well, let me tell you! This was one of the best ideas my friend and I have had in a long time! It was so much fun and took up pretty much the whole night...well at least from 7-10...with a few 5 minute breaks to give our bums a break from sitting too long.

Left: Stacey's she did right along with us,  Right: Original, helped us get the "big picture"

Anyways...my friend invited earlier in the month to me go, and of course I agreed! I looked through the calendar of scheduled paintings and I fell in love with the one we decided to do. It was a scarecrow with a small pumpkin and stalk. Perfect timing for my obsession for decorating for the fall season!

Our starting canvas, who knew it'd look so beautiful after!

The instructor, Stacey, was one the coolest, sweetest people I've met in a while. She was so easy going and even shared a drink with us which made the night even more fun! She had our canvas' and paint set up for us before we even got there. Once we introduced ourselves and cracked open our first drink we got down to business.

Basics shapes are done, time for a break to let the paint dry!

Stacey truly was an amazing teacher. Her patience amazed me because at times even I couldn't handle my pickiness! I kept having to tell myself that it was a painting being made by a girl who cannot paint (myself)! Repeat it with me now, "It's Just Paint!" She took us literally step by step, even instructing what paint brush to use and why. By the end of the session I felt like I could take on painting anything! Good thing I didn't try though, it wouldn't have been pretty...

Almost done, time for the little details to pull it together!

The end results were amazing and I can't wait to hang my new artwork up on our blank wall in the apartment. I definitely plan on making one for each month. But who am I kidding, I'll probably get around to doing it again next season, which is totally fine too. ;-)

The beautiful end results! We all LOVED Stacey's angry eyebrows  >:-)

There are three local shops she has set up and multiple pieces of art work that change every month.The classes range from $25-40 depending on if you catch the coupons that occasionally come out, and they usually start around 7 pm with sporadic nights. You could even set up a private party if you wanted to. I may suggest it as a team building night for my office! Feel free to take a peek at the site, or shoot Stacey an email to set up a private party. If you or someone you think would enjoy this lives in the area, PLEASE check this place out!  I promise, you won't be disappointed! 

The Worcester Studio, gotta love the artwork on the walls!

https://artontherocksma.com/

email@artontherocksma.com