2014 Chili Cook-Off

This year’s UT Arlington Homecoming was jam packed of entertaining events that all led up to the highlight of the week, The Big Game; Houston Baptist vs. UTA Mavericks . I had never attended a homecoming and I don’t know why I hadn’t because it was a lot of fun. I love that the university allows events like these to happen because they really do showcase school spirit. It just amazes me how a large group of people can come together and celebrate their school spirit. 

Good Chili

Potbelly Chili

Needless to say there was plenty of food and music to go around. One of the events that I attended was the 2014 Annual Chili Cook Off hosted by UTA Accounting Department.  Another thing that I had never tried was chili. To my surprise, it was really good. It’s such a comfort food, like meat loaf or beef stew. Of course, not all of the chili I tried was amazing but it’s still nice to go around and sample different types of chili. 

The Setup

UT Arlington Campus Rec Staff

The chili cook-off was setup in the UC Mall. There were tents setup outside and 16 UTA organizations who had prepared their version of chili. It began at 12pm and students had the liberty to walk from tent to tent and try all the chili you’d like. The only rule it seemed you had to follow was, bring your own spoon. I wish I had known this because at one point I was drinking chili from a Styrofoam cup. Another mistake I made was arriving 30 minutes late. By the time I arrived, most of the “good” chili was gone. If I had to pick which organization had the best chili, it would    be the Chili Mac made by the Campus Recreation staff. It was wonderful, to say the least. It had pinto’s beans and my favorite part about it was that it was spicy. When I got my chili, I asked them for the recipe and they just smiled and said it was a secret. 

The Chili Environment

UTA judges waiting for the chili

The environment was very laid back and inviting. There were games and prizes at the Chili Cook-Off and the 8 judges that were sat on stage were very friendly. Somehow I missed which organization had the best chili, but to me they were all good. Besides who doesn’t like warm chili on a cold day, right?

What was your favorite part of Homecoming? What’s your favorite type of chili?

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie

Yes, Pie. Specifically pumpkin pie. Again. It’s Thanksgiving month. Pumpkin is allowed, right? This week I decided to put my mom and friend in the spotlight and share their favorite pumpkin pie recipe with you all. 

Do you want to be a star?

Let’s start with mom. She was actually quite nervous while I was filming her. When I approached her, I asked if she wanted to be an actor. She looked at me and said yes. She immediately ran to the bedroom and grabbed her chef’s coat and put it on and said she was ready for the camera. It was probably one of the cutest things I had seen in a while. During the video, I noticed I moved the camera a little too much, so bear with me guys. I tired asking my mom questions to loosen her up. It seemed to have worked.  Actually, while the pie was in the oven, I interviewed her and she was much more upbeat, smiling and her sweet personality came through. Oh and yes, my mom does work for Whole Foods Market. No, this isn’t a sponsored video. I wish.  Switching over to my friend Nikki. She was such a great sport. She ended up doing all the baking while I just stood back and filmed her. I actually felt really bad because I wasn’t helping, but from what you see in the video, she was actually enjoying it. I remember her saying she was nervous as well, but from watching the video, you would never know. 

The Pies

 

The pies that I baked with my mom and friend were both delicious. They had similar ingredients and methods, but looked different in the end result. The first pie was a walnut pumpkin pie. It was quite delicious. I took one of those pies to work and in less than five minutes, it was gone. I had one coworker ask me where I bought it. Her face was priceless when I told her it “homemade”. I link the recipe here so you guys can get the same reaction too. The second pie we baked was much simpler. That was actually my first pumpkin pie. I did a blog post over this a week ago. I will also link that here if you guys want to know more and find out the recipe. Both pies were equally delicious, but if I had to choose, the gold the medal would go to the first one. The topping just did it for me. It was perfect. 

I Am Thankful

In the end, I had a great time learning new recipes and spending time with my mom and friend. They are both wonderful women that I am very grateful to have in my life and am thankful for both of them. That's Thanksgiving for ya, right? Being thankful for all the blessings in your life. 

Hope you guys enjoy your Thanksgiving. Eat lots of turkey and sweet potato casserole and l spend it with your loved ones.

What are you most thankful for? Which pie did you like the best? Let me know in the comments down below.

My First Pumpkin Pie!

I have two words for you. Pumpkin pie. This screams Thanksgiving to me and who doesn’t like a good slice of pie and whip cream?  I have never made a pie, especially a pumpkin pie, so this was all new to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried it before, but store bought, not homemade. So, you could imagine how excited I was to whip one up. It was surprisingly easy to make. Maybe it’s just me, but I always assumed pie making was ridiculously difficult. It probably is, if you’re making it from scratch. Technically, we (my friend and I) cheated and used a pre made pie crust and pumpkin puree instead of the fresh pumpkin and crust, but nobody has to know, right? 

The Ingredients

My friend and I headed to Target to pick up the rest of the ingredients that we needed. For example, ground clover. I didn’t know what this was, but it smells delicious. Basically, they come from an evergreen tree called a clove tree and they have a strong pungent aroma to them. They’re used in Indian dishes and/or foods that feature nutmeg or cinnamon. I loved the smell. We also picked up a deep dish pie shell and some whip cream.  When we got home, we went to town. When we were pouring the batter into the shell, I noticed we had made a little too much. We panicked but then realized we just had to ladle out the excess. 

The More, The Merrier

We decided to make two pies to test out different tastes and textures. In my pie, we used sweetened condensed milk and three eggs. In hers, we used evaporated milk and two eggs. The reason behind this was because of some of the recipes that I read claimed that it was better with evaporated milk and others claimed that it was better with sweet condensed milk. So, we decided to try both. And I think the three eggs and sweet condensed milk pie tasted better, but both equally delicious. 

Smells Delicious!

The best part of all this, besides eating pie, was the smell. If there was such a thing as smell vision, I would include it in this blog post, but there isn’t, so I’ll just explain it as best I can. The smell filled the kitchen and living room and it smelled like Thanksgiving. You could smell the cinnamon and ginger for sure. It was quite satisfying. In the end, we had a great time making my first pumpkin pie. I’ve linked the recipe that I used here if you guys would like to try it out. 

I also live tweeted my whole experience using the hash-tag #MyFirstPumpkinPie.

Let me know what you guys thought about it and send me your recreations. 

What dessert reminds you of Thanksgiving?

The Chili's Experience

Chili's in Mansfield, TX.

Chili's?

I have a confession. I have never been to Chili’s. Yes. Shocker. The saddest part is I live about 10 minutes away from one and still never managed to go. My friend was craving their cheese fries, so we decided to make a day out of it. 

            If you don’t know what Chili’s is, like I did, it’s a grill and bar that serves Tex-Mex style food. As we went in, the host stand was decorated in Halloween décor. It was quite adorable. To the left was the bar area and to the right was the actual dining area. A server greeted us and took us to our booth. Her name was Patricia and she was very nice. I told her that it was my first time and she welcomed me and walked us through the menu. 

The Menu

 

            The menu had a wide variety. They have everything from burgers to chicken sandwiches to salads and soups to pasta to all kinds of appetizers and desserts. Basically, anything you wanted, they had. It was great. My friend suggested we try their famous 2 for $20. This is a great deal.  It consists of a shareable appetizer and 2 entrees of your choice. All for $20. Not including tax, of course. The appetizer choices they had were Fried cheese, Texas cheese fries, chips and salsa, chips and guacamole and fried onion rings. For the entrees, you could choose from a Bacon Burger to Chicken Quesadillas to Cajun Chicken Pasta to Ribs, etc. The options seemed endless. 

The Meal

Cajun Chicken Pasta

            We started off with the half order of cheese fries and can I say how good these were? They came in a miniature skillet, topped with bacon, chives and jalapenos and served with a side of a ranch. Needless to say those cheese fries didn’t last two minutes at our table.  For our entrees, my friend ordered the Classic Bacon Burger. I was still a little indecisive. It was a toss-up between the Cajun Chicken Pasta and the Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Fingers.  In the end, our server convinced me into getting the pasta. When our food came out, I was quite excited. My entrée consisted of penne pasta tossed in Alfredo sauce served with grilled Cajun chicken, diced tomatoes, chives and parmesan sprinkled over top and served with a slice of Texas toast. Is your mouth watering yet? Mine is.  Half way through my meal, I was full, but I powered through it like a champ and finished every last bite. Which, probably isn’t the best thing to do, because I couldn’t even get out of the booth, but it was completely worth it.  

Thoughts

 

            Would I go back? Definitely. I highly recommend this place. Apart from the great prices, the food is really good, in my opinion of course. Next time I visit Chili’s, I’m definitely going to have to try those Crispy Honey-Chipotle Chicken Fingers, because they sounded really good.


Check out my twitter @dm_foodmadeeasy for my complete Chili's experience. #myfirstchilis

What is your favorite meal to order at Chili’s?