Souper Saturday - 7 Can Chili

Today's topic - Chili.

I love love love chili. Especially the leftovers.

Link up to your favorite chili recipe or any other great soup recipe you may have.

I know a few of you are watching each week to see new recipes. How fun! That makes me smile lots. I can't wait to see yours and have been trying at least one a week.

Here is my easy peasy chili - I get many compliments on this and it has actually won 2nd prize at at a church cook-off! Well, actually Hubby made it when it won, but I was there!

7 Can Chili

2 lb. ground beef - cooked and seasoned with S&P - drained
1 10 oz box of frozen corn
1 cup chopped mushrooms (optional)

The 7 cans part...
1 large (28 oz) can tomatoes
1 large (14 oz) can tomato sauce
1 can kidney beans - drain and rinse all beans except baked
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can butter beans (yes, indeed)
1 can baked beans - Don't drain these.

Add 2 TBSP of the chili seasoning below -

We add some jalapenos, too - but that is to taste

Add all ingredients to a large stock pot. Heat on medium to medium-high until it comes to a boil. Cover and reduce to low or simmer for at least 2 hours. Longer if you can. It would actually be a great crockpot recipe.


Here is the Chili Seasoning Mix recipe
Makes about 1 1/2 cups - it will last you a long time.
Prep 5 min

3/4 cup chili powder
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. dried oregano
2 Tbsp. dried minced onion
2Tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. dried minced garlic



Soups On!

Toxic Burning Smell

In our attempt to do some much needed home maintenance, I decided to have our gas fireplace looked at.

Last Winter whenever I turned it on I would get a headache. I smelled this weird burning smell, too.

So, I immediately turned it off and called the fire department. JUST to ask them a couple questions about what I should be looking for.

They were at my house in 2.5 minutes - in a fire truck. Not the big one, but still a fire truck.

My son was beside himself.

Yeah, me too, as the neighbors each came out of their cozy homes to see what was going on.

So, the fire department took a look and tested for Carbon Monoxide.

Which I told them was not the problem because like a good mom - I have Carbon Monoxide detectors and the batteries work. Plus, isn't Carbon Monoxide odorless? I was definitely smelling something.

They next tested for gas leaks - none.
Their answer to my problem was simply that there was nothing they could find wrong. Don't you just love that answer!?!?!

Basically, it's like saying, "You are crazy lady. Nothing wrong here."

So, since I was the only one in the house that could smell it and got headaches, thanks to my super duper sense of smell, we just left it off the rest of the year.

Until this Winter when B turned it on again and I got the headache.

This time I called a professional gas fireplace checker guy.

He came out today and guess what he does for his main job? He's a Fireman. For the Fire Department that I called out last year. Yup.

He did a very thorough job checking out my fireplace. I assured him that there was definitely something toxic coming out of there to be putting off such a smell and causing me the headaches.

He said yes there was.

Dirt.

He pulled, well, I am a little embarrassed to even say... A.LOT. of dirt and dust from my fireplace.

Apparently, it was clogging it up and burning and putting off that smell which in turn gave me a headache. Which is not unusual for me. Sometimes high fragrance candles do the same thing.

Dirt.

Not Carbon Monoxide, or gas or anything toxic but good ole' fashioned dirt.

'Cause I'm a good housekeeper and all. But seriously, who cleans inside their gas fireplace?

Alas, the ending is happy to this story. It only cost me $45 for him to clean out my fireplace. But, now there are no headaches or burning smell.

Amazing

Anne Jackson is having a little fun with Lyrics Friday over at her blog today.

The rules are to list some lyrics to a song that have impacted you this week.

For some reason, this Aerosmith song has just stayed with me all week. I have it on my old MP3 player which I am using since I misplaced my iPod. Anyway, I was walking and this song came on and the lyrics just struck a cord with me. And then I heard it later in the week while driving in the car.

My 15 year old niece is going through such a difficult time. As I watch her make terrible decisions that will impact the rest of her life, I reflect on my own teenage years when this song was popular.

I wish I could just give her a glimpse of her life 10 or 15 years from now so she can see how all of the things that she thinks are so important now don't really matter at all.

I know the teenage years are a right of passage, but for some it is harder than others. I am surrounded by people whose teenagers are really struggling right now with all the wrong things. Some even feel like they would be better off leaving this earth.

So, this is my song this week...for the desperate hearts. Hang in there.

Aerosmith
Amazing lyrics

I kept the right ones out
And let the wrong ones in
Had an angel of mercy to see me through all my sins
There were times in my life
When I was goin' insane
Tryin' to walk through
The pain

When I lost my grip
And I hit the floor
Yeah,I thought I could leave but couldn't get out the door
I was so sick and tired
Of livin' a lie
I was wishin that I
Would die

It's Amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It's Amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
It's Amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight

That one last shot's a Permanent Vacation
And how high can you fly with broken wings?
Life's a journey not a destination
And I just can't tell just what tomorrow brings

You have to learn to crawl
Before you learn to walk
But I just couldn't listen to all that righteous talk, oh yeah
I was out on the street,
Just tryin' to survive
Scratchin' to stay
Alive

It's Amazing
With the blink of an eye you finally see the light
It's Amazing
When the moment arrives that you know you'll be alright
It's Amazing
And I'm sayin' a prayer for the desperate hearts tonight

Desperate hearts, desperate hearts

Lyrics by Supa,Richie/Tyler, Stephen
@EMI Music Publishing

Did you know that the Aerosmith ride at Disney is my most favorite roller coaster of all time? Random, I know. But true.

Letters

I just wanted to share this post from the Compassion blog with photos of the kids reading letters from their sponsors.

It is really touching.

I know that when we get a letter from our sponsored child, we get very excited and huddle around to read it and look at his latest drawings. I save each of his letters in a scrapbook.

I hadn't really imagined what it was like for him to receive ours.

His to us comes amidst so many other pieces of mail.

I wonder how much mail he gets? What a joy it must be for him to see our photos, the kids drawings and hear about our prayers for him and his family. Just look at those children and all the letters they save as prized possessions.

It just inspires me to write more.