chili is for lovers

“Why do I do this to myself?” was the question I asked when my alarm clock went off at 4:30 this morning.Perhaps it was because I felt as if I had been beaten to a pulp throughout the night. The husband has a tendency to sleep with his arms above his head, which is fine, as long as he doesn’t elbow me in the face every. single. time. he moves them.

If you think I’m a little whacko, you can stop reading… now. My life doesn’t get any less nuttier than that. While part of me wished I could stay in bed, I knew it was for my own good. After running the Chicago Half Marathon on Sunday, my hamstrings have felt as if they could rip apart at any given second. I knew I had to stretch them out really well and get them moving so the lactic acid which built up while running my half would break up a little. So, I bit the bullet and set out to do some hardcore stretching and a little bit of elliptical’ing (is that even a word?) before school this morning. It was light and quick, don’t get me wrong, but it defintely helped me to feel a bit better as I am very sore!

I was craving a huge bowl of hot oats this morning, so although I knew they would take longer, I sacrificed shaving my legs so I could make them. No one noticed my two day stubble (or at least pointed it out), so I think it was well worth it. I gave the husband a few of my strawberry banana muffins to which he approved - “wheew” that’s two recipes over a 24 hour period. Things are on the up and up over here!

I’m not sure how this happened, but this is my afternoon snack - I could have moved it underneath my picture of my lunch, but frankly, I’m feeling a bit lazy at the moment. I hope you understand.

The lunch I packed today was a little subpar - not much to it.. I was too busy throwing tonight’s dinner together this morning to really think about what I was packing. So, I ended up with a measly salad, some crackers, an apple, and some dates. I’m sorry, but what in the world was actually going through my brain when that happened? So, I decided to join some co-workers to go out for lunch. I ended up with… a measly salad. Sometimes, having so many intolerances blows. Especially when you get up to the front of the line to pay and realize after you have ordered that the cafe you are eating at has gluten free noodles. Measly or not, this salad totally rocked. It was the grilled vegetable salad and had all kinds of lovely veggies on top.

After I left work today, I had Hobby Lobby on the brain. We are having people over on Saturday afternoon, and I really am lacking in the decorative department lately. This is sad news for someone as myself who loves to decorate. We have just been really busy, strapped for cash, and well… too tired. However, I marched myself over to Hobby Lobby with autumn decorations on the mind and came out with so much! I may or may not have spent over an hour parousing the aisles of that store. I could easily spend my life savings in there… which would be really difficult since everything is always 50% off.

When I got home, I had dinner waiting for me. The joys of having a slow cooker keep revealing themselves to me, one meal at a time.

“Almost Mom’s” Vegetarian Chili
(I call this almost Mom’s because I didn’t have a few of her staples on hand to really make her chili - still wonderful and delicious, but not quite reminiscent of my childhood)

What you’ll need:

• 3 cans diced tomatoes (2 mexican style, 1 regular)
• 2 cans black beans
• 2 cans kidney beans
• 1 can great northern white beans
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 5-6 red potoatoes, diced
• chili powder, crushed red pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper to taste (I add a LOT of all of these!)

How it’s done:

1. Put all ingredients into your slow cooker and set the setting to “low”.

2. Go to work.

3. Come home to a deliciously easy dinner.

I honestly smelled this chili when I got out of my car. The scent was wafting through the neighborhood. I love chili, and I am pretty sure if you are trying to eat healthfully on a budget, chili is the way to go. This batch probably cost me no more than $10, and will feed the husband and I about 3 meals apiece, if not more.

After dinner, the husband hit the road again (a customer having a crisis with a sump pump.. gross.) and I got to work on some autumn decorating. This is just one of my projects….

I’m having a hard time with that third shelf because it is really an odd sized opening. I have a couple of picture frames I could set in there, but I’m not sure what else to do… any suggestions?

Question: What is a meal you have found to be very friendly on the wallet? Care to share any recipes?

Tagged as: autumn, breakfast, chili, dinner, home decor, lunch, oatmeal, salad