Tony and I had to leave at the same time yesterday.  As soon as we walked out the door, this cold wind smacked us in our faces.  I actually wore a coat yesterday!  You know why?  It was 13 degrees, but because of the wind, the radio said the wind chill was –6.  ON THE FIRST DAY OF SPRING!

Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be an end of our arctic air in sight – I don’t think we’ll even reach the 40’s until April.  I am so over winter!

I’ve written this before, but I usually bake 2-3 baked potatoes over the weekend just to have on hand.  They keep for a week in the fridge, if not longer.  Yesterday I made a breakfast potato boat.  Half a potato, scoop out the insides and then cook the potato with 1 egg, a slice of ham and baby spinach.  I put the potato skin in a separate bag and the egg mixture in a container.

When I got to work, I heated up the toaster oven to broil.  Stuffed the potato with the egg mixture, microwaved that for 1 minute, then topped with a sprinkle of cheese and broiled until the cheese melted.  Delish!

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I went to work out with my co-worker and he drove.  About 16 minutes into the workout he asked when I was going to be done.  His heel was hurting and he was just done.  So it was a quick workout – I did 30 minutes of 1:1 intervals – 1 minute at 6.0 mph and 1 minute of 3.0 and ended up doing 2.1 miles in 30 minutes.

Back when Tony and I were first married I could not make chili for shit.  We even had a party before we got married and had all of Tony’s friends over to meet me.  I made this giant pot of beef chili, spent all day on it, but it was super watery and didn’t resemble chili at all.

I believe I have come a long way in chili making!  My Buffalo Chicken Chili is one of the highest recipes on this blog, getting about 100 hits a day.   But Tony? He likes Cincinnati chili, simply for the fact that it doesn’t have beans in it!  So first time around, I serve it without beans, and since he doesn’t eat leftovers (much!), I added a can of black beans and kidney beans to the leftovers.  I haven’t figured out the calories for this one, but will update it soon.  This makes A LOT!

Cincinnati Chili

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 2 cups of water
  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 5 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 can black beans, drained (about 2 cups)
  • 1 can kidney beans, drained (about 2 cups)

In a stock pot, put the meat and water in the bottom.  Let the water come to a boil, and using a wooden spoon, break up the ground beef.  Cook this down for about 15 minutes, adding any more water if it starts to evaporate, up to an additional cup.

Add remaining ingredients, stir and cook for 1 hour.  It thickens as it cooks.  Serve with cilantro, shredded cheese, sliced jalapenos and tortilla chips for dipping.

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The combination of flavors is really complex, you can taste the hint of cocoa powder, with the cinnamon and cloves, then a touch of sweetness with the honey.

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We had this for dinner over the weekend, I had a bowl and gave it to two of my co-workers yesterday and I probably still have 3 servings left to freeze!  #winning!

Remember the roast I marinated for Sunday Dinner?  Well, there was a lot leftover.  I am shocked as shit that Tony has actually been eating sliced roast beef sandwiches with the leftovers this week.   I ended up using the leftovers to make beef stroganoff, one of Tony’s favorite dishes. 

I had to redeem myself, because a couple weeks ago when I made sauerbraten, I told him I was making stroganoff.  Oops!  So I told him last night I was actually making stroganoff, and he said “well, I am cautiously optimistic that I’ll get that.”

I used the sauce from this blog since I was using leftover beef.  I really like the mustard paste called for in the recipe.

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After the sauce was made, I tossed in the beef just to heat through – about 2 minutes.  My dinner pictures turned out like ass – I had the completely wrong setting, so I am stealing Joelen’s picture – thank you!

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The verdict?  Tony loved it!  Exactly the taste he was missing with the sauerbraten dish! Open-mouthed smile

I forgot to tell you guys the birthday loot I got!  My PIL gave me a Bed, Bath & Beyond gift certificate.  My boss gave me a Visa card, and Tony gave me all this loot – the big gift was the Modern Wave gift card to the local hair salon/spa by our house.  I need a hair cut desperately.  Now that I am middle aged, I can’t have hair longer than my shoulders – maybe I’ll get it cut short?!

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That Coppola wine?  It’s called Claret, and if you ever need to bring a nice bottle of wine to someone, get that one – its delicious and super affordable at $15 a bottle.

The best though was the card Tony got me!  Lyle the Squirrel!!

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It looks just like him!

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Alright – I have to take Chobani banana muffins out of the oven, shower, get dressed, make coffee and leave the house in 15 minutes – totally doable! 

Make it a great day!