Sunday, September 8, 2013

Da Bears.

It is officially football season in the Ellis household, we have switched from watching the Diamondbacks to watching the wildcats and bears. Saturdays and Sundays are now devoted to football, pork, couches, beer, and Da Bears.  Bear Down is screamed out on a regular basis, along with Bill Swerski and the Super Fans quotes. We wear jerseys, eat bad food, and scream at our TV, all in the name of football. This is one of my favorite times of the year, not because I am a overly devoted football fan but because I am an overly devoted food fan. I love cold weather, football themed food. Yes it is still over 100 degrees on a regular basis in Arizona but that's our fall season. We will be trick or treating in tank tops and shorts...  So with fall and football comes pumpkin spice lattes, brauts, chili, and all sorts of dips. Can we just take a few minutes to pay homage to all the dips?
1. Cheese dips, this is a general category because I don't have the time to list all my favorite cheese based dips.
2. Bean dips
3. Spinach/Artichoke Dips
3. Salsa Dips
4. Ranch/onion Dips
5. Cream cheese dips
Plus all the fantastic dipping vessels, toasted bread, fresh pretzels, chips, etc.

I love all this food but I can't eat all this food so I have to stay away from it all. So on this rainy Sunday morning as I sip my coffee and watch Da Bears I am writing, because if I am writing then I am not eating, or cooking, or baking. Which is exactly what I would like to be doing. We are having turkey chili for dinner, this is kind of a compromise on my part. It sounds good, and it sounds like rainy day football food but its healthy. I know, I know. This is very un-american of me. Somewhere up in heaven Chris Farley is crying over his sausage and beer. But I can't let myself rationalize every bad food decision I make. Believe me this was hard, I walked around the grocery store for a good 45 minutes picking up and putting down different ingredients for different calorie laden, deliciousness. I finally squashed the fat kid who was running around the cheese aisle like a bath salt crazed maniac and left with the few items I actually needed. I didn't even buy cornbread or biscuits to go with our Chili. I am resolved to not make a holiday out of every weekend and allow all the work I do during the week to be crushed. I will repeat this over and over again to myself as I enjoy my chili and try to not pout over the lack of pie.

Happy Sunday everyone!


Turkey Chili recipe:

Extra lean ground turkey (1lb)
1 green bell pepper chopped
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 onion chopped
can of tomato sauce (low sodium)
can of pinto beans
can of kidney beans
cumin, red chili flakes, salt (all to taste)

brown ground turkey, onions, garlic, and bell peppers until turkey is cooked all the way through the vegetables have softened. Add tomato sauce, beans, and seasoning. Allow to simmer on low heat and serve when ready. This also works well in a crockpot!

We top with cheese and onions

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