Angie's (+ Sharing Friends) Sausage Chili

May I wax eloquently for just a moment?

This chili is so hearty, flavorful, and filled with texture that I really wanted to eat more than one bowl. But I restrained myself. Leftovers are always better on the next day.

This chili recipe came about as I combined resources from several venues, including the gift of leftover (not a bad thing, but as in I-have-way-too-many-mushrooms-take-them-please kind of way) chanterelles and oven roasted chilis I put in the freezer last summer. My only disappointment was the low level of heat. This Angie-lotsa-hot (as called by a Chinese food vendor in Spokane after ordering possibly too many stars of spice) loves spicy foods.

How do I know if my food has enough spice? The sweat factor. Back of neck? Hairline? Facial?

Check. Check. Check. Mmmmm.

Angie's (+ Friends that Share) Sausage Chili

Cook the following in a Dutch oven until the sausage is cooked through. Break sausage into small pieces as it cooks.

1 pound spicy sausage
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 onion, diced
2 small carrots, chopped into small pieces
1 small can fire roasted chilis (or a package from the freezer that was roasted last summer; I divided them into portions for individual dishes like chili)

About 1 cup of chanterelle (or similar) mushrooms, sauteed with garlic and butter; chop into smaller pieces (or use the last package of said sauteed chanterelles, garlic, and butter from the freezer; again I divided them into portions for individual dishes)

Add the following ingredients and simmer over low to medium heat for about an hour. Stir often and adjust heat as needed. Between my Dutch oven and the gas stove, I must constantly adjust my heat as I cook.

1/2 small head of cabbage, chopped
1 T. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. Mrs. Dash
2 T. cumin
3 T. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 T. oregano (dried)
1 15-oz can chicken broth
1 15-oz can tomato sauce
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes
1 15-oz can cannelini beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15-oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15-oz can hominy (drained and rinsed)

Serve with your favorite toppings. We were going to crunch corn chips over the top, but they were stale. So we dipped rustic, nutty buttered bread in the sauce instead. Too delish.

Sour cream
Grated cheese
Corn chips
Chopped green onions

One of the best things about this chili? Leftovers and plenty to share.

Enjoy.

A Month of Thanks - November 21 - Friends Who Share Leftovers

Look at me. It's not even Thanksgiving yet, and I am already talking about leftovers!

Today, November 21, I am thankful for friends. Specifically, for friends that share their leftovers.

Dinner last night was Angie's spicy chili. A new addition to that chili was a package of sauteed chanterelle mushrooms and garlic in butter, which I had prepared last month and stuck in the freezer. Those chanterelles arrived on our dinner table compliments of my friend and her husband. He is such a great and diligent 'shroom hound that she brought (to our girls get-together) a large bag full of extra chanterelles.

Yay for us! Even after splitting it several ways and eating some of the pretty beauties while we were at our weekend away, there was plenty of fungi to go around.

I think perhaps the sharing of leftovers is a special gift. Really. Any kind of leftovers.

Just think. You are home, staring into the empty fridge, wondering what in the world will end up on the dinner table. And then you spot those leftovers from Auntie So and So or Suzy Next Door Neighbor.

Tah-dah. Those leftovers just saved your life. This is especially true if you have starving teenagers.

Or, perhaps, you don't have time to put together a lunch. You can grab that container and head to work, reassured that you will not starve. And you will enjoy a lovely meal.

You may even be securing the sanity of your friend. You know, the one who shared the leftovers. I know by the third day, I am ready and willing to give my leftovers away. To anyone. We are tired of eating that chili, spaghetti, soup, etc. etc.

Nothing goes to waste in this home. No, sir.

Be thankful. Share some leftovers.

Generous Neighbors = Apple Nectarine Cobbler

Fresh Apple Nectarine Cobbler

We returned home from vacation to find a bag of fresh nectarines in the refrigerator, compliments of our next door neighbor.

Shortly thereafter, our son announced that he was going to pick apples at a friends' house. And would we like some?

Previous to those separate events, I had cut out a recipe from the Yakima Herald-Republic for a fruit cobbler. The recipe is generic and calls for any combination of tree fruit and berries.

So, thanks to the generosity of neighbors, family, and the newspaper, we will be dining on freshly baked apple nectarine cobbler tonight.

Sharing the abundance. Love being in a great neighborhood.

The dehydrator is also full of drying apples, while many more apples are awaiting their turn for the sauna.

In the spirit of neighborhood, I am willing to share.

Sage, yellow squash, or basil anyone? Please call.