Chili Cook Off Champion!

My church had a fall themed gathering last night. It included a chili cookoff and dessert contests. I won first place in the chili cookoff, so I thought I should share my prize winning recipe. I started with a chili recipe that I found somewhere years ago, but I've altered it so much over time that I think I can safely call it mine:

Prize-Winning Chili

3 pounds ground beef (I used organic grass fed)
1 large organic onion, chopped
2 cloves organic garlic, crushed
2 pounds fresh or frozen organic tomatoes, peeled and chopped
a little olive oil
6-8 teaspoons "Better Than Boullion" Beef Base - (secret ingredient, shhhh!)
1 tablespoon raw organic turbinado sugar (second secret ingredient...)
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons black pepper
about 1 cup water
sea salt to taste

Brown ground beef, garlic, and onions in large skillet, drain grease and dump into slow cooker (I do this in two batches). Into same skillet place all other ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook until tomatoes are tender and have fallen apart. Pour this combination over the ground beef in the crockpot. Stir. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. This makes a mild chili, which is what I like. Add more chili powder and cumin if you want it hotter. Enjoy!

New Clothes!

The girls have new collars. I've had them for a few weeks, but wanted to wait until Sam was gone before I "dressed" them. They'll get dirty enough soon enough without his help. Didn't the girls pose nicely for their picture!

Here's a closeup of Una showing the embroidery. It says "Sweet Garden" which is my herd name. I ordered them from http://goodcollar.net/. It's ok to spoil them a little bit...

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Sausage Links, Cheese Omelet, and Gogurt with Blueberries

Main Meal: Chicken Breast, Peppers, Onions, and Carrots sauteed in Mojo Sauce, Swiss Chard Bake

Evening Snack: Church Function Tonight - typical snack foods.

Ingredients in today's menu from Sweet Garden Farm: Eggs, Gogurt, Peppers, Carrots, Swiss Chard, and Cheese in Swiss Chard.

Samurai Comes to Visit

It's breeding time at Sweet Garden Farm so the girls have a suitor, NC Promiseland SAI Samurai. Sam arrived on October 20. As of this past Wednesday, November 4, he had bred all three does. I was actually ready to return him to his home this morning and saw him mounting Tigger! So, he'll be staying a few more days to make sure that Tigger doesn't come back into heat. I do want to be sure of this pairing for Tigger as I plan to keep two of her doelings if she has two. Sam is related to several national champion milkers, and Tigger is my best milker, so I'm hoping the combination will be good. Tigger has the capacity, but not the form. Sam should bring capacity and form. Click on his picture in the sidebar to go to the website for his herd, Tiny Town Goats.

For those of you who are new to goats and their ways, Sam is actually completely white. During rut the bucks pee on themselves, especially their front legs and faces. This scent is supposedly very attractive to the does. Really! He does smell though, so I'll be happy to get rid of him, although he is an extremely well behaved boy, and no problem at all other than the odor. :) He was a bottle-fed baby, just like my three girls.

I hope to have kids the last of March and first of April. I will certainly have some available for sale, as I plan to keep only two doelings, but should have a total of five to seven kids.

Today's Menu:

Breakfast: Bacon, Simple Fried Eggs, Gogurt with Blackberries
Main Meal: Grilled Chicken Thighs with Homemade Seasoned Salt, Cheesy Kohlrabi, and Cole Slaw
Evening Snack: Cheeses and Salami, Grapes, Wine, and Dark Chocolate

Ingredients in today's menu from Sweet Garden Farm: Eggs, Gogurt, Kohlrabi, and Cabbage

Seasoned Salt
3 T Coarse Sea Salt
1 T Paprika
1 T Celery Salt
2 t Garlic Powder
1 t Raw Sugar
1 t Onion Powder
1/2 t Cayenne
1/2 t Tumeric

Mix all ingredients and then pour into small shaker bottle. Shake on pork chops or chicken thighs before baking or grilling. YUM!

Link to Kohlrabi Recipe: http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/11783/summer-kohlrabi.html
I added about 1.5 cups of shredded cheddar cheese to make it "Cheesy Kohlrabi."