Checking in been busy and a few treats, screen savers and 30 minute chili!

Technorati Tags: cooking,halloween,30 minute chili,screen saver,black cat,pumpkins

Well I have been busy the last 4 or 5 days and have not been able to catch up with my old and new blogger friends blogs....but I will try to catch up by today or tomorrow. This weekend was a total lazy weekend, it was freezing! Both days where between 40-50's and in the 30's at night! We had a fire going both Saturday and Sunday it was nice and cozy, my kitty Delilah curled up with me all weekend. Sunday we made a wonderful homemade beef stew. I have tons of it left over. Whenever we cook our winter Sunday meals like, stew, chili, etc we always seem to make enough for an army and there are only 2 of us, (the dang cat wont eat chili). I am going to try a new recipe in the slow cooker from my friend in Florida- pulled pork she made it Sunday, I have to get the instructions again but when I do I will share. It takes 16 hours to cook and its true Southern pulled pork...yum! Hope everyone had a great weekend, I wish it was Friday already.

Well as promised here a few treats:

The first 2 are desktop backgrounds free from HGTV, click on the picture to save it to you pc, then set it as your background very cool.

And now from www.Marthastewart.com and easy fast recipe for our cooler nights, it may seem like it took all day to cook but how does 30 minutes grab ya!

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, chopped
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 pounds ground beef chuck
• 3 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 bottle (12 ounces) mild lager beer
• 2 cans (14.5 ounces each) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions

1. In a Dutch oven or large (5-quart) heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add tomato paste, chili powder, chipotles, and cinnamon. Cook, stirring, until mixture has begun to brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beef, and cook, breaking it up with a spoon until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
3. Add tomatoes with their juice, beer, and beans. Bring to a boil, and reduce to a rapid simmer. Cook over medium heat until chili has thickened slightly and beans are tender, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.