Chili, fixins too good to pass up

We held a chili cook-off at work Thursday, with Teresa Ward winning first place out of six chili entries. Many others brought desserts, hot dogs, chips and other fixings, and everybody said they really enjoyed it.

Of course, I ate four small bowls of chili and three desserts. And a chili dog. And some chips and guacamole. Now stop that chuckling! You know I had to try some of everything ...

Just so you know, my chili came in dead last in the contest. The last time I participated in a chili cookoff, when I worked at The Mountain Press in Sevier County, I came in first. I guess that means I went from a hero to a zero!

I did get a lot of compliments on my guacamole, so I'll share that recipe with you. Apparently, avocados are filled with the good kind of fat, so guacamole is a comparatively healthy dip. Chips aren't so great, though.

I liked everybody's chili, but I have to give proper respect to my friend Jane Corley. She and her husband, Harold, invited me over for a bowl of her homemade chili Wednesday evening, and in my book, hers was the best out of all of them. She puts spaghetti noodles in it, and the seasoning was perfect! Harold says he was lucky enough to be married to the best cook in the county, and I believe he might be right.

The Times-Gazette Chili Cookoff was a fundraiser for one of our own, Danette Williams, who has been going through a battery of expensive cancer treatments, and is about to undergo another one. Danette has been a real trooper and we all look up to her and the way she goes on despite her challenges.

Of course, she said she wished we hadn't done it, but we were happy to help and raised a good bit of money for her. It's only a drop in the bucket, but every bit helps.

She is a true inspiration to me personally, and I'm sure she is to many others as well.

I have been running more and more, and now a 2-mile run is getting pretty easy for me. Three miles is still a little too long, but I know I can do it, thanks to the United Way Spooktacular.

I've also been lifting some weights with head pressman Martin Jones, and the combined strength and cardio workouts have been good for me.

Despite pigging out yesterday, I still dropped a pound since last week and weighed in at 226 this morning.

Here's a few selected recipes from our cook-off:

Teresa Ward's A-Ward Winning Chili

1 1/2 lb. Ground Chuck

1 large onion

2 pkgs. McCormick Original Chili Seasoning

1/4 cup water

2 cans chili beans

1 can kidney beans

1 can black beans

1 26 oz. jar of Medium Salsa

Brown ground chuck and onions, drain and return to pot. Add chili seasoning and water mix well. Add remaining ingredients. Let simmer for about 10-15 minutes on low heat.

John Carney's Chipotle Chili

3 pounds stew meat

2 teaspoons oil

1 teaspoon salt

1 (12-ounce) bottle of beer

1 (16-ounce) jar salsa

30 tortilla chips, crushed

2 chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce, chopped

1 tablespoon adobo sauce (from the can of chipotle peppers)

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 bay leaves

2 (15-ounce) cans of beans, drained (I used one can of red beans and one can of black).

Place the meat in a large mixing bowl and toss with the oil and salt. Set aside.

Heat a 6-quart heavy-bottomed pressure cooker over high heat until hot. Add the meat in 3 or 4 batches and brown on all sides, approximately 2 minutes per batch. Once each batch is browned, place the meat in a clean large bowl.

Once all of the meat is browned, add the beer to the cooker to deglaze the pot.

Scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the meat back to the pressure cooker along with the salsa, tortilla chips, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, tomato paste, chili powder, ground cumin and bay leaves and stir to combine.

You can adjust the spice level downward by leaving out one of the chipotle peppers or upward by using hot salsa instead of mild.

Lock the lid in place according to the manufacturer's instructions. Adjust your stove to bring the cooker to a safe pressure and maintain it according to your model's instructions. For some cookers, that means a weak whistle; for others, it means the little regulator on top hisses and rocks back and forth. Once you are at pressure, cook for 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the pressure to drop according to your cooker's instructions, unless your cooker allows you to release the pressure immediately.

Open the cooker, stir the chili and remove the bay leaves. Drain the canned beans and add them to the chili, if desired.

Serve immediately, or refrigerate for the next day (it will be even better). (Adapted from a recipe by Alton Brown of the Food Network)

Carol Spray's Cranberry Cheese Bars 2 cups flour

1 1/2 c. oats

3/4 c. plus 1 T. firmly packed brown sugar

1 c. (2 sticks) butter of margarine, softened

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1/4 c. lemon juice

2 T. cornstarch

1 (16 oz.) can whole berry cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine flour, oats, 3/4 c. brown sugar and butter, mix until crumbly.

Reserving 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture, press remainder firmly on bottom of greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Bake 15 minutes.

In small bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth; stir in lemon juice. Spread evenly over prepared crust.

In small bowl, combine remaining crumb mixture, 1 T. brown sugar and cornstarch; stir in cranberry sauce. Spoon evenly over cream cheese layer. Top with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 40 minutes or until golden. Cool. Chill. Cut in bars. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

Sadie Fowler's White Chicken Chili

Boil 3 bone-in chicken breasts until cooked (I added one chicken bouillon cube while it was cooking). Reserve 3 cups of broth after chicken is cooked.

Discard remaining broth. Cook 2 medium onions, garlic, and one green pepper in olive oil for a few minutes until translucent. Add 5 tablespoons of flour 2 cans of chilies, drained, some Adobo seasoning, some lime juice, and a tablespoon of cumin to the onions, garlic and peppers. Cook for 2 minutes.

Add chili powder, cilantro, and cinnamon to your liking (a dash here and there :-0) Add four cans of white beans, and three cups of the chicken stock.

Bring to a boil, simmer and cook on low for 10 minutes or until thickened. Shred chicken and once chili sauce is thickened add chicken. Then add 2 cups of frozen corn. Cook 'til warm.

My Killer Guacamole

4 ripe avocados

1/2 red onion

2 large cloves garlic

1 Roma tomato

3 tbsp. fresh cilantro

1 serrano pepper

Juice from one orange

Juice from one lime

Salt to taste

Mash avocados together, leaving some chunks. Dice all other ingredients and add to avocados, add juices, then salt to taste. Serve with white corn tortilla chips. Feeds 4-6 as an appetizer.