Lost and Found

Yesterday was traumatic. For me, anyway. I lost baby girl in a sporting goods store. She was there one minute, and then she was just gone. I don't do well with this kind of scenario...just ask my husband. He's usually the voice of reason, but reason was working at his job when this happened.

I started yelling for her. She didn't respond. My little guy was yelling for her too. Nothing. I ran to the associate working at the front door and asked him to watch for her. I was thinking as long as she doesn't leave the building I'll surely find her. 

Another associate came over and got on his walkie talkie to let the employees know we were looking for a little girl when all of a sudden my little guy spotted her. She was inside a rack of clothes. Just hiding in the middle. She had actually climbed up on the metal so we wouldn't see her feet when we looked underneath the rack. 

I am convinced God sent me baby girl to show me that I didn't know nearly as much about parenting as I thought I did. She's a challenge. And a blessing. But a challenge nonetheless.

After this traumatic experience, I needed a dinner with little involvement or thought on my part. I settled on chili. It afforded me the opportunity to use my favorite kitchen gadget: the crockpot. And it's just good, warm comfort food. 

Here's the ensemble.

First you're going to brown your meat and drain any excess fat. Then, dump it right in the crockpot.

Next you'll need to chop an onion. Or you can just let your food processor do it for you like I did.

Now it's time to add all the canned stuff. 

And some chili powder. It's kind of an essential component.

Finally, take your empty tomato sauce can and fill it with water. Add that to your mixture. Then fill it up about halfway, and add that too.

All that's left now is to stir it up and walk away. Come back at dinner time and voila! Dinner is done! We all eat it a little differently according to personal preference, but we like cheese and a little dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt. The little guys usually have some corn chips with it too.

Slow-Cooker Chili

• 1 lb. lean ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 lg. onion, chopped
• 2 cans pinto beans
• 15 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 can rotel
• salt and pepper to taste (I didn't use any)
• 2+ Tbsp. chili powder (I used closer to 3 Tbsp.)
• 1-1/2 cans water (use the tomato sauce can)

~Mix all the ingredients together in a crockpot. Cook on low all day or on high for half a day.

What's your favorite quick and easy go-to meal?