Food Friday: Especially Quick and Easy Chili

In keeping with the idea of keeping things simple, Dear One and I were out yesterday.  We needed to go to the farm to get some fresh produce, not too much since we are beginning to have our own.  On the way home we stopped at Big Lots.  I had put out the suggestion that a shower caddy would be very convenient.  I don't know about anyone else,  but I deplore the shampoo bottle dropping off the narrow little shelf that came with this shower and hitting my little toe with a resounding crash.  Very unpleasant!  So we made the stop.

Dear One was thinking there might be some snack he would like.  He ALWAYS wants a snack (or two) in the evening while watching Netflix.  Always.  While I was looking for a shower caddy (which I found almost immediately) he found some snacks.

We also found some Bear Creek Darn Good Chili mix.  The angel sister who is the shift coordinator at the temple on our day always brings fabulous soup to share.  She starts with Bear Creek then adds other thing to make a truly superior soup.  That being our experience, we decided on the various vegetarian options of Bear Creek mixes.

Last night for supper I looked at the package and did not want to spend the time hovering over the pot on the stove.  I decided to give it a try in the Instant Pot.  IT WORKED!!


Darn Good Chili, Quick and Easy

Put one can tomato paste in the bottom of your Instant Pot inner liner.  Slowly stir in 7 cups water until the paste is more or less not paste anymore.  Stir in the Bear Creak Darn Good Chili packet and set the pressure to HIGH for 20 minutes.  (I had watched a YouTube video on a nice older portly gentleman and his friend reviewing the soup they made on the stove.  The directions called for 10 minute apparently and the beans were crunchy.  Not good.)

After 20 minutes we let the Pot decrease pressure naturally, mainly because we were both doing other things at that time.  When we got to serve the chili, we both felt is was excellent.  In fact,  it was good enough that Dear One asked for more for his supper tonight!  A big plus.

This picture is not very good but the chili really is!

So, quick and easy made yesterday much simpler, and made me happy to boot!  Try it.

Michaels Free Class: Quick Easy Stretchy Beaded Bracelet

Michaels' free classes are pretty interesting Tonight was a quick make-a-bracelet class.  We used two different kinds of glass beads...round and faceted.  Other supplies were 12 mm split rings,  Stretch Magic .7 mm cording, and various charms, though I only used one kind as the "mixed stars" called for were not visible to me anywhere in the store!

To make the bracelet you make a lark's head knot over the split ring with the stretch cord doubled.  It was very tricky to keep the stretch cording ON the split ring.  One thing I learned while checking out YouTube about Stretch Magic and Stretch Bracelets is that you are supposed to stretch the elastic BEFORE you do anything else.  Apparently some brands of stretch elastic forget where they are supposed to be and do not snap back to their original length.

After tying on the lark's head knot, you string on your beads.  You do not need a beading needle to do this, just thread the two strands of the elastic through the beads.  When you like your design (you should measure around your wrist before cutting your elastic so you have a sort of estimate of length...remember: doubled!...and add an extra 1.5 to 2.0 inches for tying off at the end.) you can then use a "surgeon's knot", well, two surgeon's knots to tie off the other end of the beads to the split ring.  If you do it right, you can give a little tug on the elastic and pull the knot into the beads to hide it.  I cannot tell you what that way is because it was a fluke that my effort worked.

At this point you can use jump rings on whatever bangles you want to add. I only added the one but they look pretty cute with multiple bangles.  The jump rings give them a little  room to "jingle jingle jangle"

Food Friday: Simple Montreal Steak Seasoning Pan-seared Tofu

After making the Instant Pot Meatless Loaf there was about half a box of firm tofu left over.  I had already drained it, didn't want to re-wet it and store it, so I decided to pan sear/fry it.

Son number four had just made some bacon in the large cast iron skillet and had left a tiny amount of greasiness in the bottom of the pan. I started heating that up over medium heat.

The chunk of tofu was easily sliced into quarter-inch "steaks".  I got out a plate and dumped on about 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch then added almost 1 teaspoon of Montreal Steak Seasoning.    I mixed them together well then dredged each side of the tofu in the cornstarch mixture then placed the slices carefully in the heated pan. I let them sear/cook for about 5 minutes per side then removed them to a plate.

We ate them with some Sweet Chili Sauce from the Asian market. The pan frying/searing made a nice chewy crust on both sides and a little bit of softness in the middle.  We had this as an adjunct to the failed Meatless Loaf dinner.  These also were not popular.  Well, again, I liked this and will eat slices on a sandwich during the next week.