A few of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, one recipe at a time.  Feel free to join us!  The next assignment will be at the end of this post.

Yum….chili!  The perfect comfort food.

I made this for a weeknight meal about a week or so ago, and it turned it just fine.  It was fairly simple to pull together, so I guess it was aptly named.  It had a mild flavor that makes it suitable for kids…even Cap’n Jack Henry ate some!  And it is customizable in that you can throw in or omit ingredients according to your family’s personal preferences.

All in all, this recipe is fairly similar flavor-wise to my old standby.  Mine is a tad more practical for me though because I make it in the crock pot.  I usually throw it together a little before lunch time, and then it’s ready for us to eat by about 6:00.  I also missed the presence of the fresh vegetables that I use in mine.  I always include chopped onion, green bell pepper and celery.  One addition I liked of the Pioneer Woman’s that I will probably add to mine from now on was the use of mesa flour.  If I had one complaint about my recipe, it was that it was a tad on the runny side sometimes.  The mesa does a good, flavorful job of thickening the texture.  I think, even in the crock pot, if added towards the end of the cooking cycle, it would make my concoction thicker and heartier.  I also added some canned beans.  I chose one can of pinto and one can of black since Big D doesn’t care for kidney.  I also added a can of fire roasted tomatoes.

Here’s a shot of the Pirate Family enjoying our chili dinner…

Please excuse Bonny Annie’s tank top.  She was leaving for her TaeKwonDo class and didn’t want to eat in her uniform jacket.

So, did you all make a pot of chili?  What did you think?  How did it compare to your usual recipe?  You can still send some pictures or links to your blog of your chili experience.

Our next assignment is from the Supper section:  Chicken Fried Steak on pages 142-145.  This is not something I have ever cooked or would even normally order at restaurant, so this should be interesting…  Have fun!

Update:  Oops!  I forgot to put a due date.  Please have your chicken fried steak prepared by Tuesday, Mar.30….that’s when I’ll post about this dish!