Halloween

We had a really great Halloween this year. The girls got to dress up in their costumes four different times for a carnival, two trunk-or-treats, and then of course for the real deal, Halloween night. Sophie was Sporty Spice from the Spice Girls, and Franny was Uniqua from The Backyardigans.




On Halloween night we did a little bit of trick-or-treating, and headed back for a warm chili dinner with the Jensens. I tried a new recipe for chili and I loved it! Here it is with the changes I made, but you can click here for the original.



Boilermarker Tailgate Chili

• 1 pounds ground beef chuck
• 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
• 2 (15 ounce) cans chili beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can chili beans in spicy sauce
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 3 cubes beef bouillon
• 1/2 cup apple juice
  
• 2-3 Tbs chili powder
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 (10.5 ounce) bag corn chips such as Fritos®
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large stock pot over medium-high heat. Crumble the ground chuck and sausage into the hot pan, and cook until evenly browned. Drain off excess grease.
2. Pour in the chili beans, spicy chili beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste. Add the onion, celery, green and red bell peppers, chile peppers, bouillon, and juice. Season with chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, hot pepper sauce, salt, pepper, paprika, and sugar. Stir to blend, then cover and simmer over low heat for at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. After 2 hours, taste, and adjust salt, pepper, and chili powder if necessary. The longer the chili simmers, the better it will taste. Remove from heat and serve, or refrigerate, and serve the next day. (I started making it at noon, and I let it simmer all day until we ate at about 7pm).
   
4. To serve, ladle into bowls, and top with corn chips and shredded Cheddar cheese.

We also had homeade applesauce, courtesy of Ina Garten. She is a genius. I really liked this recipe, although I think next time I will not add as much cinnamon and allspice. It seemed a little strong. I love the texture of the applesauce. Delicious. I served hot apple cider and Natalie brought delicious cornbread. Chili on Halloween has always been a tradition in my family that started when I was very young by our family's home teacher, Bro. Selley, who used to bring homemade chili over every Halloween.

Homemade Applesauce

1 large navel orange, zested and juiced
1 lemon, zested and juiced
3 pounds Granny Smith apples (about 6 to 8 apples)
3 pounds sweet red apples, such as Macoun, McIntosh, or Winesap (about 6 to 8 apples)
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the zest and juice of the oranges and lemon in a large bowl. Peel, quarter, and core the apples (reserving the peel of 2 of the red apples) and toss them in the juice. Pour the apples, reserved apple peel, and juice into a nonreactive Dutch oven or enameled iron pot. Add the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and allspice and cover the pot. Bake for 1 hour, or until all the apples are soft. Remove and discard the red apple peel. Mix with a whisk until smooth, and serve warm or at room temperature.