Playing Hostess

Growing up, one of my favorite "games" was playing house. I would force my brothers to play with me. I have always been a mother hen, and I absolutely adore taking care of people. It's a passion of mine. Last week, Andrew asked if I would make chili for a friend of his at work. Before Andrew moved, if you will remember, I made a big pot of chili and froze the leftovers to send to New York with Andrew. He shared that chili with his friend. His friend loved it, and Andrew told him that I would make a fresh pot for him.

This was no trouble to me, because I really, really like chili. Andrew's Nana shared her recipe with me (which is definitely a favorite of ours), and this is the recipe I've been using. Between her recipe and my mom's, we will never hurt for a fantastic pot of chili. I posted my mom's recipe months ago, but I'd also like to share this one!

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 cans chili beans (medium works best)

1 can diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon sugar (trust me- it's the secret!)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Preparation:

Brown ground beef and onion in skillet. Pour all ingredients into crockpot. Simmer on low for 6-8 hours.

Last night, since there were going to be four of us eating (and three of them were guys!), I doubled the recipe. It was perfect. We had enough for everyone to have a large bowl, and then we were able to send a helping home with each guy as well as keeping some for ourselves.

While dinner was finishing, I got to fancy up our new table with our pretty dishes.

Yes, I realize there are no cups on the table. You see, we don't have any of our glasses here. So, everyone drank out of red plastic cups last night. Oh well, everything is still a work in progress! It is now coming along rather nicely. There is still a long way to go before things are how we'd like for them to be, but it's well on the way!

Following dinner...

We all found a cozy place to sit and watched The Next Three Days. It was a pretty intense movie, and we all got pretty into it. I think it's safe to say that we'd all recommend it!

It was so nice to have enough couch space for everyone to get comfortable! Now all we need is a rug, a T.V. stand, and some end tables. Oh, and those giraffe print lamps I've been eyeballing. ; )

It was nice to meet a couple of the people Andrew works with. It was VERY nice to host a dinner in our new home. I cannot wait to get here and spruce everything up even more with the items we already have. I am also looking forward to having Theodore here. I didn't realize how much that furball keeps me company when I'm alone. It would have been nice to have his company while Andrew was at work. Most of all, I miss his crazy antics that make me laugh. We'll all be together in May... and we are all counting down the days! Life in New York is going to be great... being together will be absolutely amazing!