Momma Angela's Shredded Beef Chili

I am sharing my shredded beef chili recipe because Linda Stewart asked for the recipe.  This is not only one of my family's favorite but Houston's team mates from football, wrestling, and baseball use to love it when I fixed it.  They still request it when they come to visit.  It is not hard to make but requires a large pot of patience and time.  It's perfect for an fall or winter meal.

Two of the most important parts of the recipe are to coat the meat with the chili seasoning and use the juice/drippings from the roast beef.  Do not following seasoning package directions.  Coating the meat brings out the flavor of the seasoning.  Using the juice/drippings also adds a fabulous robust flavor.  Be sure that when cooking your roast you brown it on both sides first making a nice brown crust on it.  Once the roast is done take your whisk and scrape the crust off the pan into the juice/drippings, this makes the flavor stand out.

Tips:  This makes a good amount but it freezes well.  If you want to make regular chili leave out pot roast but not the juice/drippings.  I always freeze plastic containers of left over pot roast juice/drippings to use for chili or soups.

Ingredients:
One shredded roast beef or you can use what was left over from your pot roast dinner.
2lbs. ground beef browned and drained.
Juice/drippings from roast.
2 pkgs. Williams Chili Seasoning Original.
2 to 3 cans petite toms not drained. (depends on how meaty you want it or soupy).
2 to 3 cans dark red kidney beans not drained (depends on how meaty you want it or soupy).
Salt to taste.
Optional: You can add a can of sweet corn for a little twist.
If you want it to have more heat add Rotel to it.

Prepare Meat First:
Brown ground beef and while it is browning shred pot roast.
Drain ground beef and coat with one package chili seasoning and then take the other package and coat the shredded roast beef.
Put in large pan and pour juice/drippings over it with burner just above medium.

Add:
Toms, beans, and salt.

Simmer:
Simmer on medium low for one hour or more.  The longer you simmer it the better it is.

 

Texas Size Chocolate Cupcake with

 Peanut Butter/Cream Cheese Filling

 

 

I absolutely LOVE making cupcakes!  They are so much fun to bake and decorate.  There is just something about a cupcake that makes people SMILE.  This weekend I had the opportunity to make one of my most loved cupcakes because the Fabulous Foursome Gang Houston, Cara, Nick, and Jessi came home from college for the weekend.  Most of the time you cannot go wrong with chocolate, peanut butter, or cream cheese.  This cupcake can be used for any season or any holiday.  Here's the recipe which is very simple to make.

 

You will need:  2 Texas size cupcake pans along with the cupcake liners.  I purchased mine at Wal-Mart but I am sure Targets or an kitchen place carries them.  This makes a dozen cupcakes.   Also a Pastry bag/dessert gun decorator, and a melon baller. 

 

1 Devil's Food cake mix (required ingredients the mix calls for), 8oz package cream cheese, 1/2C peanut butter, 2TBSP milk, 1 stick of real butter, 2C powdered sugar, 6 TBSP. cocoa, 1 tsp. vanilla

 

Preheat:  oven to 350

 

Cake Batter:  One box of Devil's Food Cake.  Pick what every your favorite brand is and follow the directions.  I use a 1/4 measuring cup to pour batter into each cupcake liner and then a medium cookie dough scoop to add the rest.  You can figure out your own measuring way and if you come up with a better one please let me know.  Follow the suggested time on the cake box.  As soon as you take them out of the oven cover it with foil and put it in the refrigerator or freezer.  This locks in the moisture which makes your cupcakes very moist.   (I also do this with all my cakes I bake)

 

 

Filling:  8oz Cream Cheese softened, 1/2C real butter, 2 TBSP milk.  Beat together until smooth and ingredients are completely combined.

 

Take a melon baller and use the bigger end to scoop out a portion of the cupcake on top and lay that aside.  Then put filling in a pastry bag and squeeze into hole.  Replace scooped out portion back on top of cupcake.  It will be sticking up but that is okay because when you frost the cake it will give the frosting heights and a much prettier look.

 

Frosting:  1 stick of real butter softened, 2 C powdered sugar, 6 TBSP cocoa, 1 tsp vanilla.  Beat together until all ingredients are completely combined.

 

Then fold in one 8oz carton of Cool Whip until all ingredients are combined.

 

Use a pastry bag or a dessert gun with star tip to pipe the frosting on top.  Start on the outside and work your way up around to the top and top it off with a peak.

 

Then top off with one mini Reeses peanut butter cup and white sparkling sugar.

 

I keep the cupcakes refrigerated until I serve them because of the dairy products in them and it also hardens the frosting so that it holds in place.

 

Presenting them on a cupcake stand also adds a nice touch for those special occasions.

Costume for Fun-Wal-Mart Bag Lady.

Semper Fi

Last night I pulled into Kum & Go in Springfield, MO off of Glenstone and James River Express to put gas in my car.  I noticed as I was driving into the parking lot to my pump a bum sitting on the concrete up against the store.  There was something about him that made me want to look at him and check out what his "bag" was.  Instantly I began to have a left brain/right brain conversation.  Left brain "Don't make eye contact.  Don't look at him".  Right brain, "Hey look at that dude what's his bag?  What's his sign say?  I see Vet on it"  "No, no don't look at him.  He might come over here.  He's probably fake."  "Hey check it out, he isn't even looking at anyone.  There might really be something wrong with him.  He's a veteran for goodness sakes."  This little back and forth jargon went on all the while I pumped my big buy of $20.04 of unleaded gas.  Finally the right brain won out and said, "Give him that five bucks you got in your little change purse so he can put some food in his stomach."  The left brain gave in with only one condition that I ask the clerk in the store if the guy hung out there all the time or not.  If the clerk said yes then there would be no hand outs.

I went into the store still not making eye contact with the man.  I paid for my gas and asked the clerk about the homeless man sitting out front.  The clerk didn't know anything because he didn't actually work at that store.  He was just filling in that evening.  I told the clerk then I was just going to go for it then so the man could put some food in his stomach. 

I had the five bucks in my hand as I walked out of the store and approached the man.  He still wasn't staring anyone down or trying to get their attention.  He was just sitting there with a kind of far away look like he was thinking about something or remembering something.  When I walked up to him, it kind of surprised him.  That's when I saw what his sign said, "Marine homeless Vet".  That was it nothing more nothing less.  I handed him the money and told him very firmly put something in his stomach to eat with it. Then I said, "My daddy was a Marine."  A spark of life came to his eyes when I said that.  I told him he was in the Korean War and the Vet told me he had been in Nam.

I could tell that something wasn't well for him.  He is probably one of thousands of those people with mental health conditions that fall through the cracks.  They get no help from anyone.  The government doesn't want to deal with them and they are not well enough to deal with themselves.  I say government as a whole, not just Republicans but yes you democrates too.  No one in Washington left or right is dealing with this situation of citizens with mental health issues. 

He began to talk about people not understanding what he was going through.  You could hear the  hurt in his voice and the loneliness.  No I don't understand what he is personally going through but I do understand what it feels like to go through something and people not understanding, not caring, and pretending that you are alright.  It's a lonely dark place to be.

I started to walk away and the words came to me to say, "Don't give up.  Don't quit believing.  God is watching over you, he will see you through."  At. those words he perked up even more and said, "Yes I know."  I asked him then if he knew Jesus, if Jesus was in his heart.  He told me yes I've known him for a long time.  I asked if he was born again.  He kind of chuckled and said yes.  Then my attention was drawn back to the sign.  I said, "From my daddy to you Semper Fi."  If love and pride could pass over a person's face visually it did at that moment.  He sat up straight and said, "Semper Fi".  As I started to walk away he asked if I knew what Semper Fi means.  He said it means "Always Faithful".  I stopped and pointed my finger at him and said, "Yes that's right and so is God Semper Fi.  He is always faithful."  Understanding came over him instantly like a light coming on in the darkest room.  He smiled and chuckled, "Yes that is right.  God is always faithful."

Day Two Technically on Day Three.

It wasn't too long after I started my "Why I Meet Strangers" blog that my daughter Courtney and I were discussing it.  I was laminating that I had not written in it for quite awhile.   The reason I stated was I felt I needed to have a very meaty moral of the story blog post each time.  My extremely intelligent daughter (ever noticed how your kid can be smarter than you) replied that I should just write something each day.  She said I didn't have to pull out all the whistles and stops in my blog post each time.  Well today was a very long enjoyable day.  I worked until 1:00 then headed to Springfield to shop for the afternoon.  At 6:30 I met my beautiful niece Amanda, my son Houston, his girlfriend Cara, and my handsome husband Doug at Red Robin for dinner.  I didn't get back from Springfield until 10:30.  By the time I sat down to the computer it was after midnight and I had no meaty moral of the story to shout from the mountain top.

So...taking my daughter's advise...I will write SOMETHING.

Day One of My New Blog

I love telling stories and writing. I realized that Facebook doesn't really give me the opportunity to share the meat of my thoughts and stories. Blogs seem to be a wonderful idea to shout it from a mountain top. I hope you enjoy all I share whether it is a story, a recipe, a craft idea, or just plain anything going on in my nifty fifties life.