Spice and Everything Nice

I saw a Bald Eagle in the dry cow lot Thursday!!
Sorry, I had to get that out.

I pretty much feel like the luckiest.person.on.the.planet.
Who gets that opportunity??? Well, besides Dolly Parton.

I did manage to get a picture of it using The Heats' camera, but that's the only thing I know how to do using said device...
Trust me. It happened.

Tennessee weather never ceases to amaze me.
I started out Thursday not wearing my UA cold gear, which was the BIGGEST mistake eva, only to wear it yesterday which also turned out to be a rather large mistake.
Holy sweat Batman.

Ugh I am not a fan of the sweating-under-layers feeling.
But I managed to run home and change at lunch...then I froze when I got back to work.
Hmmmmm...maybe it's me?

You know what else I did when I ran home at lunch?
Hmmm? Do ya?
I made crock-pot chili that could make a grown man cry..it was so good.
It was also pretty spicy-hot...speaking of sweat...

I might tweak it a bit to make it less spicy-hot, however I will not change it much because it changed me.
It changed the way I will forever look at chili.
It completed the chili circle.

See, I have never been a chili fan.
Cornbread? Heck yes. Chili? Nah, not so much.

Now I am a chili believer thanks to Martha.
Martha has opened my eyes to chili possibilities.
Before it was just a little meat, some beans and tomatoes with their juice.
Now...it's, it's like the chili secret garden.  It makes sense.

I used Martha Stewarts "30-Minute Chili" recipe BUT I slow-cookerized it.

The only ingredient I added was a diced jalapeno with the onions.

The process I changed a bit....

I am a "browned-meat believer", so I got my pot screeeeeeamin' hot and browned allll the ground beef.
Then set it aside.
Then...THEN(this is of the utmost importance) I removed all but 1 tblsp of the drippings and sauteed the garlic,onions and jalapeno in it.
This is a flavor situation here people.

Once the onions were soft I added the tomato puree and spices and stirred them around so the flavors fell in love.
Then I added the beer and poured the whole shebang into the slow cooker.
Once all tucked in, I stirred in the tomatoes and beans and cooked low and slllllow for 5 hours.

Wait!  I almost forgot..almost forgot the KEY to chili success...are you ready?
The cinnamon.
Yep. Cin-na-mon.
To chili?  HeckToTheYes.

Do it. Don't doubt, don't think, don't limit yourself to a cinnamonless chili lifestyle.

I don't know what it is about the cinnamon, but oh man, Martha was on.point. that day.
I like it so much that I took a vow, right there in front of that slow cooker, to never again deprive my chili of this spice.
Never again.

The chili was no fluke, my friends.
She knows her spice.

I made Martha Stewarts "Pumpkin Bittersweet Chocolate Marble Brownies", to accompany the chili..and she did it again.

She added cayenne pepper to the brownies...at first I was all like whaaaa??? but I trusted.
She didn't let me down.

Try them..you won't be disappointed.