Foodie Friday--St. Michael's Alley Chili

A few centuries ago when I was but a youngling, my friends and I would hang out at this place called St. Michael's Alley. It was a restaurant/pub type of place that was housed in a corner BEHIND a strip mall near 31st and Harvard.

If my kid wanted to go to a place like that in this current day and age, I would have a tough time letting her go. Times were different then and now St. Michael's is closed.

And I have a couple of their recipes . . .

This chili recipe has been ever so slightly tweaked by me: one can of tomato sauce and one diced poblano pepper. The rest is all St. Michaels. The reason I added the can of sauce was to prolong the cooking time to allow hubs to finish what he was doing without burning the chili.

Yes, it is very spicy.

St Michael's Alley Chili

 



2 pounds ground beef
1-2 large yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped
1 poblano pepper, seeded and chopped
1 Tbls chili powder
2 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1 Tbls. Worcestershire sauce
2 (16-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
1 (16-ounce) can tomato sauce
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Brown ground beef in large pot or kettle. Drain grease. Add onions, peppers and garlic to beef, stir. Mix in spices. Simmer 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook 20 minutes more. Add sauce if the mixture seems to be overcooking.

Top with cheese and diced red onions, if desired.

Tips & Tricks:

• If it is too spicy for you, take out the jalapenos and use green peppers.
• Poblano peppers aren't as spicy hot as jalapenos, so dice two of them instead of jalapenos
• No there are no beans in this--it wouldn't be chili, right??
• 1/3 cup chopped jalapenos is about 2 medium peppers
• Next day chili is really good, the veg is softer and everything has mellowed out.

Enjoy!

Do NOT eat this if you are going to wander far from home. Sometimes the spice might have an adverse effect on your intestinal system . . . jus' sayin'.

Sorry, if it's TMI.

The Story of Will

Will is sad.
Will is a sad swim dad.
But why is Will sad?
Will is bald.
We don't know why Will is bald . . . but he is.
Will is a bald, sad, swim dad because his head gets cold.
Poor sad Will.

But wait!
Will has an idea.
Will will start chatting up the nice crocheting lady. Every swim practice, she set up her chair and her fingers start flying.
Will chats to the nice lady, but Will is patient. He waits until the right moment to strike.
It is cold outside.
Will asks the nice lady if she had made any beanie hats.
"Why, yes, I have. For my daughter."
"Could you make me a beanie?" asked Will.
"Tell you what, Will. You buy the yarn you like and I'll figure out how to make a beanie for your man-sized melon."
A few days later Will returned with Camo colored yarn, and the nice lady measured Will's melon. The tape measure loops around his head.
Then from ear-to-ear, over his head.
And one last measurement across the top of his head.
The next night, the nice lady started crocheting Will's beanie.

She had to rip out many, many rows to get the top nice and flat for his flat melon.
If she had to make it wider, she didn't want to start the side rows.
She wanted to measure it on Will's head.
That night, she put it on Will's head.
It looked like a camo yamaka. But it fit!
Nice lady finished the beanie hat.

Will is happy!
But wait. . .
Will wonders if nice lady could make it a little longer to cover his eyes.
Nice lady looks at the remaining yarn.
"Yes, I can make another one."
And she does.
Now Will is very happy.

Will has two beanie hats.

Later, Peeps! I'll post the directions under my Crochet page!

FOODIE FRIDAY -- Coleslaw with Vinaigrette Dressing

This will be a short and sweet post this week.

I like cabbage, but the fam does not. In fact, I've been relegated to heating up sauerkraut on the grill (just wrap it in double foil and toss on the shelf above the main grill)--{totally nummy with grilled bratwurst and German mustard!}. If your fam doesn't eat cabbage, it can get funky-monkey in no time. So I opt for the packaged pre-shredded stuff, though it's more expensive this way.

Two weeks ago on the Weight Watcher website, a well-known chef took julienned (thin shreds--like lettuce on your fast food tacos) collard greens, cabbage and carrots. Basically, she took a few liquid ingredients (oil, balsamic and other herbs) mixed them together and poured it over her raw veg, toss to coat and refrigerate for 2-3 hours to soften the cabbage.

Well, guess what? You can do this, too! But it's even easier if you use salad dressing!

Coleslaw with Vinaigrette Dressing

2 cups shredded cabbage mixture (0 WW points plus)
2-3 Tbs. light oil-based salad dressing (btw 3-4 WW points plus, depending on the dressing-calculate it out)

Toss in small sealed container and refrigerate. One very nice single serving as it breaks down the tough leaves.

I used Newman's Light Roasted Garlic Balsamic dressing, but think of the other options:

 Newman's Own Lite Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Cranberry Walnut Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Honey Mustard Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Lime Vinaigrette

Newman's Own Lite Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Raspberry & Walnut Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Red Wine Vinegar & Olive Oil Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Roasted Garlic Balsamic Dressing

Newman's Own Lite Sun Dried Tomato Dressing
There you go! A different type of coleslaw for every day of the week!

 

Enjoy, Peeps!