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National Chili Day

Today is

National Chili Day!

This is not my first chili post.  I’ve posted a chili recipe on this blog before.  You can find it here and it is very tasty.

It is my Cave Girl chili and the one LB likes the most.

But this year [on Super Bowl Sunday] I tried a new recipe:

Red Lentil Chili

Red Lentil Chili

  • Servings: 4
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients

  • 1 onion diced
  • 6 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 red pepper diced
  • 4 tablespoons tomato paste 
  • 2 bay leaves 
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano 
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin 
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder 
  • 3 teaspoons smoked paprika 
  • A large can (27.5 oz) whole or diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup (215 grams) red lentils rinsed
  • A large can (20 oz) kidney beans drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup vegetable stock 
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt 
  • Pepper to taste

Directions

  • Sauté the onion and garlic in a pot with 1/4 cup of water over medium heat. Once soft add the red pepper and cook for a few minutes to soften.
  • Once most of the water has evaporated, add the tomato paste, herbs and spices and stir for about 30 seconds to release the flavors of the spices.
  • Add the tomatoes, lentils, beans and vegetable stock. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover. Allow the chili to simmer very gently until the lentils are soft – about 30 minutes. If too much liquid evaporates, add a touch more stock or water.
  • Finally, stir in the brown sugar, salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings to your taste.
  • Serve with fresh lime to squeeze over and your choice of toppings.

 I discovered the recipe on The Stingy Vegan’s website here.  My recipe was doubled and tweaked just a bit.  The texture of the lentils was not to my liking, so I simmered in the slow cooker for several hours.  All day, in fact.

Eventually, I loved it.

Sadly, I was the only one who loved it, so I packaged it up in small containers and put it in the freezer.I’ll be making it again!

~

Thank you for taking time out of your day to stop by my blog.

Friday Favorites

TGIF!

To say I’m happy to see Friday again would be an understatement!

Right now it is June and I am in Florida, which means there is a LOT of rain.  So much, in fact, there is a lake in my front yard and a river in the back.  I love LAKES AND RIVERS and this would be great if I had waterfront property.

But ALAS I do not.

However… I am a happy girl because I GET to NOT go to the office for TWO WHOLE DAYS in a row.

(source)

To celebrate Friday, it is all about my Favorites this week.  Let me start with this text from my sister.  Apparently Gina saw this and it reminded her of me.

Favorite #ONE

She knows me well… I could not agree more!

Then there is the Icing on the Carrot Cake.  Because LB has to have a dessert EVERY night, and because the only boxed cake mix I had in the pantry was carrot, I made a cake from a mix and topped it with a homemade cream cheese frosting.

Favorite #TWO

My Favorite Cream Cheese Frosting recipe is the frosting recipe for the Carrot Cake Trifle that I found here.              It contain : 8 ounces cream cheese ( softened )
1 1/2 stick butter ( softened )
3 1/2 cups Powdered Sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla

To use it in the trifle, fold in 16 ounces of cool whip.

Schmear this on any cake and you will be a happy camper!

Favorite # THREE

This is a good product.  I’ve used it twice now and already see a difference.  You can read more about this MK charcoal mask here.

Favorite # FOUR

This week I joined the ranks of the fitness community and purchased a FitBit Flex 2 Activity Tracker .  It was delivered to the house today and I am charging it right now.  I am so excited about my new favorite toy!  I’ve already taken a whole 68 steps (I’m so proud) and I didn’t even break a sweat!

Favorite # FIVE

My Cat Elvis

Featured in two of my posts this week, Elvis is my Very Special Fur Baby and DEARLY LOVED (by myself and my allergic LB).  Who could resist him?

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