Chilly Willy

I had such a whirlwind weekend! I found out about the bar late on Friday. We already had plans to go to my friend Quang's house to have dinner with his wife and three year old daughter. I went to school with Quang, but he started a year after me, so he has not yet taken the bar. He and his family were still happy to celebrate with me.

Quang is Vietnamese and he cooked some chicken thighs in a Vietnamese-style. They were so flavorful and delicious. I am actually going to ask for the recipe. His wife, Kristi, is Korean and made black rice (mixed with brown rice) and marinated cucumbers. We also had some seaweed sheets, which are similar to that used for sushi rolls, but is much thiner and salted. It's their potato chip!

We also some champagne that I brought to celebrate.

Plus I brought some chardonnay. Quang also made the most delicious margarita ever. It only lacked triple sec, but it was made with real limes, not a mix. It was strong, but good. Delicious way to celebrate.

On Saturday, we continued with celebrations by going out with my parents for John's birthday (we will celebrate my passing of the bar next weekend when my great aunt can come). We also met with our realtor and bought some paint supplies as I will be painting a few rooms next weekend. My bright orange and green walls will not show well when we list the condo for sale.

Today was a wonderful day of free time. We did our grocery shopping this morning. Then I went to the gym for BodyPump. After that, we attempted to catch up on Tivo- we're still behind. I also started taping off the trim to paint next weekend.

And I made a wonderful Fall meal. Chili. Chili always makes me think of the Chilly Willy song from Woody Woodpecker. "I'm always Chilly Willy. I'm frozen through and through...." Anyone remember that??

I used a chili spice kit from Carrol Shelby that rocked! Getting the spices right with chili is not a strong suit of mine. I loved that with the kit, the salt was in a seperate packet plus it came with masa flour to thicken it. I also made a few modifications to the box directions.

Chili
- 1 pound ground beef (I used 93/7 Laura's Lean Organic.)
- 1 pound Hot Italian Sausage, removed from casing (This was a co-worker's suggestion and it is awesome!)
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 red peppers, diced
- 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 2 cans water to rinse tomato sauce can
- Spice Kit

The kit only called for beef and the tomato sauce. It was super easy. Brown the meat. Add the peppers and onions and continue to sautee. Then add the beans, tomato sauce, water, and spices. Cook for about 15 minutes. Then add the flour to thicken. To serve, I added some shredded habanero cheddar. It was perfection!

Off to watch the Phillies! My current state is playing my future state!