Halloween

We didnt' participate in many Halloween festivities this year, but we did attend our ward's annual Harvest Carnival. Madeline dressed up as a "flower fairy" this year, thanks to one of my co-workers who lent us this adorable costume.

We decided against trick-or-treating on Saturday due to scheduling conflicts. I also wanted to get Madeline in bed early - she hadn't been sleeping well since our vacation. I guess I should have had Scott take her, because when I called home from work at 8:30pm she was prancing around the house in her costume. Scott couldn't get her to stay in her crib, so she got to stay up. She thought she was the queen of the house.

I guess as a good culmination to my weekly chili challenge, my chili won first place in our ward chili cook-off. The recipe was adapted from my Uncle Delwyn's chili. He made it for a family reunion that I didn't attend. I guess several family members asked for the recipe because it was so good, so he emailed it out to all of us. I made it last year and it was excellent. I made a few changes to it last week which I think made it even better. Try it out!

Allison's Version of Uncle Delwyn's Chili

1 lb ground beef, browned

1 lb Jimmy Dean sausage, browned

1 onion, chopped

4 stalks of celery, finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

2 cans kidney beans, drained

1 can black beans, drained

1 15 oz can tomato sauce

4 green onions, chopped

1 green pepper, broiled until skin blisters and begins to blacken, seeded and chopped

1 red pepper, same process as green pepper

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

2 bay leaves, remove before serving

salt and pepper to taste

Put all of the ingredients in a crock pot if you have all day, or in a stock pot if you don't have as long. Cook until it tastes good.