Chili Soup

This recipe is a little bonus recipe of sorts and it came to be completely by accident. I was in the middle of testing another recipe when I added too much water to the Chili! I was so disappointed! I was kicking myself. I had the perfect amount of water and I didn't trust it and I added more. And as it cooked it became obvious it was too much. So much so that it turned into a soup. I thought supper was ruined but I was wrong!

So this recipe is great for leftover Chili, or if like me you accidentally added too much liquid to it. So we are going to explore both options.

First, the Chili. I started with an Onion, a Sweet Bell Pepper, and two Cloves of Garlic. (You can substitute the Bell Pepper for a hotter pepper if you prefer.) I pan-fry the vegetables (you can add others if you like, Mushrooms, Corn, Carrots, etc.) with a pound of hamburger meat and one package of Chili Seasoning pre-mix, salt and pepper generously. To that, I add Beef Broth (or Water and Beef Bouillon) according to the package directions. Once the meat has browned, add it to the crockpot.

To that crockpot add a can of Mixed Beans, a can of Kidney Beans, and a can of Navy Beans (drain them all before adding). Along with a can of Roasted Tomatoes (Stewing Tomatoes).

This is the main recipe for my Three Bean Chili. Now to make it into soup. Simply add one cup of Broth to the chili (you may need more depending on how much water cooks out of the meat) to the crockpot. I let this cook for 6 hours on low. If you enjoy spice, feel free to add a Taco Pack to your seasoning! Or Red Pepper Flakes!

Mario Monday - Character Graph

Today we are sharing another item graph! This week it is Luigi! And this time he is holding the bomb. Again if you are crocheting everything and making multiple projects you will want to crochet this. If you are just picking from these, which ones you like, you can choose to do this or overlook it. It can replace any of the graphs shared this month (In this Crochet Along and the Freebie Fridays) with this graph to create layout 1 or 2. And you can also make it into a scarf as always!

We have graphs for the other characters holding the bomb also so keep an eye out for those!!

Recommended Colours for this graph:

- Blue (Light Navy)

- Green (Darker than Lime)

- Yellow (or Gold Color)

- Skin Tone

- Black

- White

- Red

- Light Grey

Writing Challenge - Month Long Special - Writing Prompt (Week 22)

 Well, it is the end of the month, and that means this is our last post for the Writing Prompt Boot Camp. Today we are focusing on Day Fourteen. And that theme is Matchup! And basically, the prompt gives three things your story has to feature. I won't list them here you can find them in the PDF file of course. But while you read through the story see if you notice odd things that seem to stand out!

Sebastien Lecroix knew that he was playing a dangerous game. But ever since his experience last summer, he had vowed to help out the world any way he could. And though buying up Ouija Boards on eBay didn’t seem like one of the ways to do that, he knew it played a bigger role than most thought. As he loaded the large Tupperware of holy water into the trunk of his car. Next, the holy oil was put beside it and he threw a pack of matches on top. This ride was one of the longest he had ever taken but it was a beautiful Sunday and two and a half hours really wasn’t that far.

As he got into the car, Sebastien checked to make sure he had everything. Wallet, Keys, cellphone, St. Michael’s Medal of Protection, Crucifix, a stray bottle of Holy Water, some Sage Sticks, Ghost Hunting for Dummies book, and a Fire Extinguisher. As he pulled up the ad on eBay again, he made sure he had the address copied right as he put it into Google Maps. As he pulled out of his driveway, the water in the back swished.

Two hours later he was turning down Thornhill Lane, three cities over. As he slowly drove down the street he tried to find the correct address. As he drove he was careful to figure out what side of the road it would be on and about how much further it should be. When Sebastien pulled up to an empty field, he was confused. He checked the map app again and it was correct. He checked the eBay message he had received to make sure he had put the address in correctly and he had.

As he got out, Sebastien had every intention of trying to find out what had happened. Maybe the person just didn't want all kinds of weird people from the internet showing up at their home. He hoped that was the case. As he walked, he noticed a huge area of the property was a concrete slab. It was obvious there had been a house there once, and when the upper part had been destroyed they filled in the basement.

Sebastien looked around hopeful. He half expected the Ouija Board to be sitting on the slab waiting for him but it wasn’t. As he looked around, it didn’t seem like anyone had been there in a long time. It was odd, he thought as he stood in the middle of the place.

“Can I help you?” The voice pulled him out of his daydream. The older man seemed to be a little pissed that he had been pulled away from whatever it was he was doing to come and check on some city prick. Sebastien didn’t blame him. They probably got a lot of trouble makers out this way looking for a large space to party where they could do all kinds of things away from the eyes of the city.

“I am not sure,” Sebastien admitted as he closed the gap between him and the man. “I paid for an Ouija Board on eBay and was told to come here and pick it up.”

The man eyed Sebastien and tried to size him up. He must have decided that Sebastien looked to have good intentions. “The house that was here burned in a fire about 8 months back. Before that it had been abandoned for about five years.”

Sebastien sighed and nodded. Now he wondered if it wasn’t all just a rouse to get money. He had only paid ten dollars for the board but if ten other suckers just like him did the same thing at all added up to a hundred dollars. Maybe the fact that the person only that the Ouija board listed on his profile was a sign.

“Maybe it is someone from the neighbourhood,” Sebastien asked as he tried to cling to what little hope he had left. “Does the name Michael Smith ring a bell?” He knew it was a long shot, probably a made-up name for the sake of eBay, but it was worth a shot.

The way the man’s face turned pale, made Sebastien slightly nervous. “The Smiths used to own this property.” Suddenly Sebastien was feeling ill at ease. That couldn’t be a coincidence. “Their son Michael was the one that set the place on fire. He claimed there were spirits haunting it.”

All of this made Sebastien want to vomit. He had heard similar stories before, hell his own story had parallels to it. But it didn’t make sense. “What happened to him?”

The man shrugged, “Last I heard he was in a psych ward up in Boulderville.”

Copyright: A.L Keegan (2020)