Lacy's Life From Scratch: Easy Nights

For the past week and half or so we've had pretty low temperatures in the 30's. I had some pepper plants outside that I was trying to let ripen completely before I set them out for seed drying. But...since I was late planting them and they clearly weren't hitting their fully ripe stage, I went ahead and snatched them off the plants before frost hit. I put them on my kitchen windowsill in hopes that they will ripen.

If y'all have any tips on this, please share!

Agave, bamboo, and another plant I'm not sure the name of! Getting everything inside before cool weather really hits.

Baby red bells & cayenne peppers

Tobasco peppers waiting to be turned into homemade tobasco sauce

This morning I had all intentions of coming home after work and spending the day mastering meatloaf....but that didn't happen. Starbucks & Jason's Deli sounded like a better idea so I decided on making an easy dinner instead. Ever have those days? I have them about 3 times a week (and I usually cook 5 out of the 7 so it happens more often than not.)

With the chilly temperatures we've been having, I figured a comfort food was in order. Joe will be excited to see that chili is on the menu instead of meatloaf. He wasn't too thrilled when I told him that's what I had planned for the evening.

Now, chili is one of those dishes that everybody makes different and I think you like whatever you grew up on. I'm a simple person so I like simple dishes. When it comes to chili, I don't want to spend my time throwing in veggies, curing the sauce, using a bunch of herbs or whatever else it is that people put in it. Okay so it may not be too complicated, but I like eating what I grew up on and veggies were not in it!

My chili has tomato sauce, chili beans, homemade taco seasoning, extra chili powder, and ground beef. I brown the ground beef and drain it, add it to my pot of tomato sauce, chili beans, and seasonings, and let it simmer for about 45 minutes. Voila!! Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Add a pan of homemade buttermilk cornbread and a big ole' glass of milk and you've got a delicious and easy supper.