there are many reasons i wanted to go into business for myself, but one of the biggest reasons was my schedule. i detest living on someone else's schedule. while i'm a hard worker and work most of my waking hours, i want to work on what i want to work on, when i want to work on it. if that happens to be at eleven at night on a tuesday, so be it. it's on me. 

of course there are downsides. there is never anyone to cover for me, there is no "vacation" time and i work most holidays. but i do have control over my days off. so this sunday i scheduled myself off so i could actually ATTEND a party. 

naturally, i'm bringing some food (it is my bestie's house, i can't not contribute). and when she suggested i make chili, i knew exactly where to go searching for the perfect recipe... 

last year when i stopped working and was finalizing all my wedding planning, i went DEEP into chili recipes. i tried at least a dozen recipes and used wes and my mother as test subjects to hone in on the BEST chili. i was looking for a classic, go to chili you count on for events just like the super bowl. 

after flipping through pages of scribble recipe notes covered in oil droplets and sauce stains, i found just what i was looking for. the page with a large note at the bottom. "WES REALLY LIKES THIS ONE." winner, winner. 

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish. 

in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. 

season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes. 

press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high. 

add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. 

allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon. 

when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine. 

continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.

pour in the tomatoes. 

and the beer. 

bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes. 

add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans. 

stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld. 

serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs. 

xo, a

super bowl chili
serves: 5-6
prep time: 20 minutes
active time: 40 minutes
inactive time: 2 hours
total time: 3 hours
ingredients: 1 lb ground beef. 2 tbs olive oil. 1 brown onion, diced. 1 bell pepper (your choice of color), diced. 1 jalapeno pepper, all but about 10 seeds removed, and small diced. 5 garlic cloves, minced. 1 chipotle pepper, seeds removed and small chopped. 1 tbs fresh chopped oregano. 1 tbs cumin. 1 tbs brown sugar. 1 bottle of beer (i used new castle but use what you like to drink). 1 14oz can diced tomatoes. 1 14 oz can kidney beans, rinsed. 1 14 oz can pinto beans, rinsed. 4 cups chicken stock. 1 tbs salt. .25 tbs ground pepper. 1 cup mexican blend cheese. handful of cilantro for garnish. lime wedges for garnish.
in a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot. add in the onion, jalapeno and bell pepper. season with one fourth of the salt and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent. about 7-10 minutes.
press the veggie mixture to the sides of the pot. pat the ground beef dry and season the meat with half the remaining salt and pepper. turn up the heat to medium high.
add the beef to the center of the pot and allow the meat to sear on one side before flipping it. about 5 minutes. allow the other side of the meat to sear before breaking it up with a wooden spoon.
when you have broken up the meat, add in the garlic, oregano, brown sugar, cumin, chipotle and stir well tog combine.
continue to cook the mixture, stirring every minute or so until the garlic is fragrant. about 2-3 minutes.
pour in the tomatoes.
and the beer.
bring the mixture to a simmer. allow it to cook down for about 5 minutes.
add in the last of the salt and pepper, chicken stock and beans.
stir well to combine and bring the chili to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat till the liquid is gently simmering. simmer on low for 1-2 hours for the liquid to reduce a bit and the flavors to meld.
serve hot, topped with cheese, lime and a couple of cilantro sprigs. 

another wild one in the books folks. exciting things are developing in the minichiello household. i can't go spilling all the beans just yet, but good things are in the works. all will reveal itself in due time. 

in addition to normal food deliveries and fitness classes, we had another styled shoot this week with some awesome new vendors. part of the color scheme this week was blush colors so i was digging deep into the grapefruit ideas to get a pop of color. i experimented with some great things, but the clear winner was this refreshing cocktail. 

paloma
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 4 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila or mescal. 2 oz grapefruit juice. 1 oz lime juice. 1 tsp sugar. 3 oz club soda. 1 tsp grapefruit zest. 1 grapefruit slice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 4-5 ice cubes. 

start by combining your salt and grapefruit zest onto a shallow plate. mix till well combined.

rub the edge of your glass with a little bit of lime juice. 

then gently dip the rim of the glass into the salt and grapefruit zest mixture till you have lightly coated the rim of the glass. 

in the bottom of the glass, combine the grapefruit juice, lime juice and sugar. 

mix well till the sugar is dissolved. 

pour in the tequila and mix. 

add in the grapefruit slice and ice. 

top with the club soda. 

stir till combined and serve. 

xo, a

paloma
serves: 1 cocktail
prep time: 3 minutes
active time: 1 minute
total time: 4 minutes
ingredients: 2 oz tequila or mescal. 2 oz grapefruit juice. 1 oz lime juice. 1 tsp sugar. 3 oz club soda. 1 tsp grapefruit zest. 1 grapefruit slice. 1 tsp kosher salt. 4-5 ice cubes. 
start by combining your salt and grapefruit zest onto a shallow plate. mix till well combined. 
rub the edge of your glass with a little bit of lime juice. then gently dip the rim of the glass into the salt and grapefruit zest mixture till you have lightly coated the rim of the glass. 
in the bottom of the glass, combine the grapefruit juice, lime juice and sugar. 
mix well till the sugar is dissolved. 
pour in the tequila and mix. 
add in the grapefruit slice and ice. 
top with the club soda. 
stir till combined and serve.