Tomorrow is Roscoe's 9th birthday. In honor of my favorite coconut retriever I've put together a little retrospective of his life - half of which he spent on St. Maarten and half of which he has been in Wisconsin.
I was up until 12:30 a.m. baking cookies so I'm a little fried this morning. This is insane! I told myself I was going to cut back this year and instead I made even more! Argh.
Note the time on the stove. Yep. I started at 3:30 and went for nine hours. Good freaking grief.
I found this picture of my brother with cookies we made when we were little. Two damn sheets was all we made back then and we were completely happy because we didn't know any better. Plus - my mom had us to help her decorate!
Kevin looking cute - circa 1984
Nowadays it's just me and the dog in the kitchen and the dog isn't much help except for keeping me company and giving me something to talk to besides myself. And the only reason he sticks around is because two years ago we left him alone with the cookies that had been left out to dry and he managed to eat EIGHT giant stockings. We came home to find a bare spot on the table, a crumbled piece of wax paper on the floor that had been licked clean, and a coconut retriever with red frosting all over his snout.
The scene of the crime. The dog is conspicuously absent. I think he was hiding in the basement.
Matteo, Roscoe and I went for a walk this afternoon. The weather was beautiful and there must have been at least 30 people on Lake Monona, skating or playing hockey. This picture was taken about five blocks from our house.
If it had only been snowing, it would have been exactly like this:
I had a meeting for work today in a little town about an hour south of Madison. On my way home, driving through an even littler town, I stopped to check out the town thrift store. Holy moly did I score some awesome stuff! I got a bunch of vintage Christmas children's books, a really sweet handmade tree skirt for $2, and best of all - a really nice full Santa suit for $5 that even comes with fake Santa eyebrows!
I also got three little rubber ducks for Matteo - one is a snowman, one looks like Ebenezer Scrooge, and one is a Santa. We tried them out in his bath tonight and discovered the Santa duck lights up. Of course, I had to hit the lights and turn up the music. (Old habits die hard.)
It's been cold as f*&@ here this week meaning it's time to make chili! I've been using this recipe this winter and since it involves the slow cooker, it's easy AND makes your house smell awesome all day while it's cooking.
Slow-cooker Turkey Chili
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 8 hours Yield: Makes 4 to 6 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey 1 large onion, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels (I use hominy instead) 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes 1 (15-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce 1 (1.25-oz.) package chili seasoning mix 1/2 teaspoon salt
Toppings: shredded Colby and Monterey Jack cheese blend, finely chopped red onion
Preparation: 1. Cook first 3 ingredients in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring until turkey crumbles and is no longer pink; drain. Spoon mixture into a 5 1/2-qt. slow cooker; stir in corn and next 7 ingredients until well blended.
2. Cook at HIGH 4 to 5 hours or at LOW 6 to 8 hours. Serve with desired toppings.
Another great chili recipe I've made this year is Nigella Lawson's Quick Chili from her book Nigella Express. This chili has a mix of delicious spices but includes a good amount of chorizo, which is also delicious but not quite as healthy as the other chili recipe.
Here is a video of Nigella making her Quick Chili on a local new show. Listen to how she flirts with the newscaster.
"You're very helpful...I wish I had you around all the time."
"I love when things have fire, but are tempered with a little bit of sweetness as well."
Good grief, even the way she says "cardamon pods" oozes sex.
