Chili Cookoff 2010, continued (Dorthy)

Mel and Sarah started off the night decorating cookies Mel and Steph made earlier last week.  I, of course, had to muscle in on the action because I have a habit of doing that sort of thing (just let me finish that knitting for you....Sorry, guys. I'm trying to be better.)

Some of my favorites included Frankenstein's monster,

witch's boots,

and cute little owls.

Tim and Rory talked some sports before dinner, since their wives wouldn't let them play video games.

 And here are Steph's yummy pepper jack corn muffins.

Before we sat down to eat, Mom brought out some little cups so we could taste a little bit of each of the different chilis.  Everybody's was really good and a few people ended up mixing a couple different kinds in their bowl so they didn't have to choose just one.  For some reason, I didn't think to take pictures of the actual entries, but Mel had that covered, so we're good.

After dinner we played Hedbanz, as Mel said earlier.  It was a lot of fun and even Abi got in on the action.

Here's my recipe for Sweet 'n' Tangy Chili, as Mel has dubbed it.  Ror and I kind of made it up as we went along, so some measurements are guesstimates.

1 lb stew meat (I used part of a bottom round roast)
1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 jalepenos, diced

1 small can tomato paste

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 can of beef broth

2 cans diced tomatoes (we used the kind with green chiles in them)

1/4 to 1/3 cup brown sugar, to taste.

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

salt and pepper, to taste

In dutch oven, sear meat.  Remove meat and set aside.  Saute onion until translucent, then add garlic and jalepeno.  Saute a few more minutes.  Add tomato paste and seasonings, allow paste to carmelize a little.  Add beef broth, diced tomatoes and brown sugar.  Stir in meat and beans.  Let simmer until meat is tender (we let ours go about 4 hours).  Serve with your favorite chili toppings.  We like lime juice and a little Tabasco.