What I Made for Dinner: March 20, 2009

Pork and pepper chili with homemade bread.

Basketball and chili. Basketball all day. I can barely complete a sentence at this point.

During the KU game, I made bread. I like to have something to do when the game is on, and I've been meaning for a while to improve my breadmaking skills. Or to develop any breadmaking skills.

I used a Jamie Oliver cookbook. I like Oliver's recipes because he's really loosey-goosey on the measurements. Even with the bread recipes, he reminds you to use your best judgment on texture and moisture. (That would be great if I had any judgment about bread dough.) Anyway, I used to love his cooking show, and he seemed to enjoy making bread most of all, so I thought I'd turn to him first.

The bread was okay. It rose, at least. It had a nice flavor and the crust was, well, crusty. The texture was kind of dense, whereas I prefer chewy. I'll call it a good first attempt, but there is definitely plenty of room for improvement. I need some tips.

What I Made for Dinner: March 1, 2009

Chicken and white bean chili, green salad with dijon vinaigrette.

Is there anything better on a frigid day than a big pot of chili on the stove and a fabulous basketball game on the TV?

The answer is No. No, there is not.

What I Made for Dinner: February 15, 2009

Chicken and white bean chili, garlic bread.

This chili was awsome!!! I am writing down the recipe so I can look it up later, because I won't remember.

20 oz. of ground chicken; a sweet onion, a green pepper and a red pepper, all diced; a tablespoon of minced garlic; one fresh jalapeno, diced, seeds removed; a tablespoon each of of cumin and dried cilantro; salt and pepper; a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes; a can of cannellini beans; a Boulevard wheat beer. Brown the chicken in a tablespoon of olive oil; then cook the veggies until soft. Add everything else, cover and simmer for 2 hours. Ten minutes before serving, turn heat to high and boil to thicken.

Nothing funny or exciting to write about today. Eli is on hour 40 of scary-high fevers but no other symptoms, and no one is getting much sleep. Still gotta eat, though.