Color Me Kris

It's finally September, which means my favorite season is approaching quickly. With Autumn comes apples! I recently planted an apple tree in my yard (along with a peach and a cherry tree), but I'm sure it will be decades before it bares fruit large enough to enjoy.

 My mother-in-law, however, has a huge apple tree in her front yard, which was planted by her father. The apples are finally ripe and ready to be picked. 

I wish I could say the apples from this recipe came from the tree planted by my wife's grandfather and give you a whole nostalgic story about warm apples and family roots, but the truth is if I tried to  reach for one of the apples on that tree, I'd probably get my hand popped. My mother in law is a little rotten (pun intended). {Seriously, she's a handful but I wouldn't change her for the world}.

  

Anyway, on to sweeter and better things. Brown sugar, cinnamon and red delicious apples make up this delightful recipe.

 

So cinnamony and good. 

 

Ready in just under an hour.

When I tell you its flippin' cold here in TN, I mean its cold!  Burrrrr cold, don't stop moving or you'll freeze in place cold! Bundle up and don't go outside unless you have to cold! That translates into 41 degrees. Ok, you may not think 41 degrees warrants the term "ridiculously cold" but being the cold-natured person that I am...let me put it this way, the 40's ain't gonna cut it! (Unless of course it's a 40oz beer and well maybe, just maybe we can chat).

I'm sitting here laughing so hard thinking about the kids this morning. I dressed them layer upon layer, until they pretty much resembled the marshmallow man (speaking of marshmallows, here's my recipe for homemade ones). They were not happy campers, but I assure you I had the best intentions.

Anyway, after the marshmallows, I mean kids were off to school, I made my way over to the fridge standing with door wide open (my wife hates that), trying to figure out what I'm going to make for dinner. I thought it'd be a great day to whip up a quick pot of chili bean chili. The kids absolutely LOVE this dish and the best part its ready in under 20mins! Seriously, you can jump up and make it just a few minutes before the family walks in. Cheers to more free time! 

 I usually use Italian sausage, because that's what my family prefers, but you can totally use ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken. The sausage comes in sweet, mild, and hot. Again it's up to you. For this batch I used the sweet (I usually use mild) but for some reason my wife raved on and on about how great this batch turned out, and even asked what I did different, the only thing swapped was the type of meat (she can thank the grocer for being out)...but since they're not here I'll bask in all the credit and glory. :)

I diced half of a green pepper and half of a yellow onion, spritzed a pan with olive oil cooking spray and over medium heat browned the meat. Once the meat was done, I pushed it to one side of the pan, then grabbed the onions, peppers and garlic and put those in the pan.  I let them cook until they were soft, then drained the dish.

 I chose a large sauce pot and dumped the meat and veggie mixture into it. I added 1/2 pack of McCormick chili seasoning (you can add the whole thing, if you like things a bit more spicy), a jar of pasta sauce (I love Prego chunky garden because of the bonus veggies), but again feel free to choose your favorite sauce, and of course the star of the show 2 small cans of Bush's chili beans.

Gave it all a good stir and allowed things to come to a boil. Then lowered the heat.

After a few moments of simmering, I just topped with some shredded cheese and dug in. Yum!                   

                                                            Warm, comforting, and delicious.

                                                         

No Fuss Chili Bean Chili

Here's what you need:

1lb. Italian sausage (or ground beef, turkey, chicken)

1/2 yellow onion diced

1/2 green pepper diced

1tbsp minced garlic (or 2 cloves, minced)

1pk of McCormick Chili seasoning mix (I use mild)

1 (23oz) jar Prego Chunky Garden Combo pasta sauce

2 (16oz) cans Bush's chili beans (mild sauce)

Olive oil cooking spray

(shredded cheese and sour cream to garnish) *optional

  

Here's what you do:

1. Spritz pan with olive oil cooking spray. Over medium heat cook meat until browned.

2. Push meat to one side of pan and add green pepper, onion, and garlic. Allow to cook until slightly soft (about 5mins). Drain.

3. Pour and meat and veggie mixture into a large saucepan. Add remaining items (pasta sauce, beans, chili powder). Stir.

4. Allow contents to boil, stirring occasionally. Once it begins to boil, lower heat to simmer for about 5-10 minutes.

 5. Garnish with cheese and sour cream if you choose and serve.

How do you like your chili?

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