Tummy Tuesday - Taste Testing

We love food! I love when the whole family gathers around a table for a huge meal with multiple courses for no special occasion at all. Food often times brings families and friends together and is the center of so many things! Growing up I was very blessed to have had a warm homecooked meal every single evening. Now, as a wife and mama, I am beyond amazed at how my mom did that every single night. Just coming up with the meals for the week is tough enough. We have tried our best to continue the tradition with our family. We truly understand and appreciate the importance of sitting down every evening with our family and having that time together to discuss our day. Of course Sophie likes to use that time to ask "How many more bites until I can have dessert" but hey, she's 3! Luckily, with the wonderful invention of Pinterest, I have def broaden my cooking/baking skill as well as my weekly menu making skills and this makes my family, especially the husband, very happy! I am also very lucky to have a professional taste tester on staff to try all the goodies. Such a sacrifice but she is willing to take one for the team!

There is nothing I love more on a cold winter day/night then a warm bowl of homecooked Chili. I have been on a mission for over year to find the most perfect chili recipe. While they have all been great - I have just not found "the one" until now. I love Wendy's Chili and came across this recipe via Pinterest (of course!) a few months ago and have since made it multiple times. http://www.mamalovesfood.com/2010/11/wendys-chili-well-not-really-but-sort.html

While it does taste very similiar to Wendy's Chili, it still has its own flavor and I add a pinch of brown sugar to the mix. This crock pot recipe calls for a HUGE batch which I usually trim down to feed the 3 of us and we still have leftovers for a few days. Nothing better then coming home from work to the cozy smell of chili in the crock pot and ready to eat. No dishes or kitchen to clean post dinner - best feeling ever! 

For the Super Bowl this past weekend we had  friends over and matched the yummy Chili with all sorts of good toppings and some Frito Chips. Uh-mazing and they loved it! For the appetizer, we had Crock Pot Queso Dip. As you can tell, with all the children in attendance, I was trying to steer clear of spending too much time in the kitchen. I first tried making the crock pot queso dip during football season for our tailgating menu. Super easy and it was gone in 2 seconds - everyone loved it! While the recipe calls for meat or sausage - I have made it with sausage both times and personally think that is part of what makes it so good! http://goodenessgracious.com/2010/11/goode-goodeness-cris-queso-dip.html

My mouth is watering and the tummy is growling!!! Enjoy!