Surprise!

In preparation for my department's Super Bowl Chili Cook-off, I made a test batch on Sunday.  This was my first attempt making chili, so it made sense to try it out prior to office humiliation.  I opted to make a vegetarian version, as we have a couple omnivores.  I found a recipe for sweet potato chili on allrecipes.com.  After reading the reviews and gathering the non-meat ingredients, I ended up with the recipe below.

Sweet Potato Chili (4 servings)

1 sweet potato, diced (I suggest microwaving the potato prior to avoid A-breaking the knife or B-breaking your hand.  Also, the smaller chunks the better.)

12 ounces diced, stewed tomatoes with chili seasoning

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup sweet onion, diced

1/3 cup celery, diced

1/4 cup water

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 cup corn

12 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed

1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder

pinch teaspoon ground cumin

pinch ground cinnamon

pinch of cayenne pepper

pinch of salt

pinch of ground black pepper

pinch of garlic powder

pinch of onion powder

The original recipe was for cooking in a crockpot, but I opted for stovetop cooking to avoid the 2-1/2 hour wait.  After mixing the mess in a large pot and cooking on medium until it got a little bubbly (I know, that's very technical, I should write cookbooks.) it was good to go.  The surprise part is two-fold.  

Looks nasty, I know.  I also know it's delicious.

One, the chili was really good.  I mean, not to brag, but the picky, picky, picky husband had a spoonful last night and a WHOLE BOWL tonight.  That means, whoa, I make a MEAN chili.  Oh yeah!  Boasting over...now.  Part two of the surprise...the chili was very hot.  Whoa.  So hot, that I had to Google it and text my dad, the chili connoisseur.  For the record, everyone has their own way to fix hot chili, but most just say to leave it alone.  I opted for milk as my beverage while eating, in case you were wondering.

So, for the next go round, AND the win at work, I'm cutting the cayenne pepper.  I'm hoping that'll wind it down a little bit.  I'll keep you posted if that happens to be surprise number three!

Calorie Count

Today's post is supposed to be about food.  In a roundabout way, mine will be.

What feels like a really long time ago, I took a nutrition course, my sophomore year in college.  This course convinced me to become a vegetarian.  That lasted about six months, until my mother opened a can of tuna (I know, what a weird thing to bring me to the light) and I was done.  The same class suggested that I count calories of what I was eating, if not for anything else, just to see how healthy I was.

From then on, well kinda, off and on, I counted my calories, for a hopeful change.  Unless you're a label reader, you're unlikely to know just how many calories are in ONE slice of American cheese.  That'll make you think twice about a double-sliced grilled cheese AND tomato soup.

Not only does this website (and now app) house your calorie intake, but it keeps track of your other stats.  Carbs.  Fats.  Nutrients.  Vitamins.  The whole thing, for free.  No, I'm not getting any kind of cash money from this post.  I am not a sponsor of Calorie Count.  I just believe it gives you some insight on your life and what you can do to make it better and last longer.  Besides, YOLO!