It's Chili Weather

I like chili almost anytime of year, but when the weather turns crisp in the fall, the chili is better than ever. I like mine a little on the spicy side and I have a recipe that is great. As a matter of fact, I have entered friendly cook-offs at the church, office, and among friends and this recipe has never been beaten. Here it is, but remember, you have been warned, it is on the spicy side.

Rollin’ Thunder Chili – Base Recipe

4lbs stew meat
2 cans Ro-tel chunky tomatoes & green chilies
2 cans diced tomatoes
2 large cans tomato sauce
2 packages Williams chili seasoning
2 fresh jalapeno peppers diced. (Remove seeds)
1-2 teaspoons crushed red pepper
1 medium-large white onion chopped
2 pablano peppers, chopped (may substitute green bell peppers)
8 oz Worcestershire Sauce
Garlic salt
1 can red kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can chili beans

Cut stew meat into bite size pieces.
Place in large backing dish.
Pour Worcestershire sauce for marinade
Add garlic salt to taste and one package of chili seasoning to meat.
Marinate 4 hours to overnight.
Brown meat and ½ of onion in skillet
Place meat in crock pot
Add other ingredients and cook until done (1 1/2 -2hours)
Add beans & jalapenos during last ½ hour

If you can find either Durkees "Six Pepper" spice or Tones "Southwest Chipolte" spice, you can add either of those to the marinade section.
One last note, cut everything chunky style. My motto is "If it ain't chunky, it ain't chili."

Enjoy!!!

Happy Birthday Oklahoma!!!

Our first State Flag. 1911-1924



Friday, November 16 is the 100th birthday of my home state, Oklahoma. Oklahoma is the birthplace of Will Rogers, Garth Brooks, and me. They picked entertainment, I picked architecture. I guess we know where fame and fortune really lies.
Prior to statehood, Oklahoma was known as Indian Territory because the government used it to relocate Native American Indians onto reservations. As a result, 39 different tribes are still represented in the state although, most people are familiar only with those known as the Five Civilized Tribes, Choctaw, Cherokee, Creek, Chickasaw and Seminole. It was also the location of one of the early century oil booms. Tulsa became home to so many oil companies that it was known as the oil capitol of the world. That title moved to Houston because of offshore drilling, and now title now probably resides somewhere in the mid-east.
While I was born in Henryetta, I grew up in Tulsa and still consider it my home even though I haven't actually lived there since 1984. It was a great place to live as a child. I was ten years old when the state celebrated its semi-centennial. Tulsa buried a time capsule, including a 1957 Plymouth Fury in a concrete vault. Earlier this year the vault was unearthed to discover that time had not been kind to the car.
Water had leaked into the vault and turned the automobile into a rusted hulk. Maybe next time they'll just rent a climate controlled storage unit.
At any rate, it's a great state, with some great people and a great heritage.
Happy Birthday Oklahoma!

Thursday Thirteen No. 5

My Thirteen Favorite TV Sitcoms of All Time A few weeks ago I offered up my 13 favorite comedians. Since I am always up for a good laugh, today I give you (in no particular order) my 13 favorite sitcoms. Every sitcom today seems to have one premise...sex. Everyone one of these had something different to sell and they did it better than anybody. 1…. All In The Family. Carrol O'Conner starred as Archie Bunker in this groundbreaking comedy series. 2. WKRP In Cincinnati. This might be my favorite. There was magic chemistry among this cast. From Johnny "Dr. Fever" Caravella, to Mr. "Big Guy" Carlson and Les Nessman, this cast of characters was unique. 3. M-A-S-H. Based on the movie of the same name, this comedy respected the horror of war and brought humor to the everyday life of the soldiers in the M.A.S.H. unit. 4. The Cosby Show. Bill Cosby has always been at the cutting edge of television. As the first African American actor/comedian to land a starring/co-starring role in the TV series I Spy he was spectacular. The Cosby show brought us an African American family that was upper class, inner city, and smart comedy. The parents were in charge, they were smarter than the kids, and they gave us some good lessons about parenting in a humorus venue. 5. Newhart. Bob Newhart had several hits but the setting of he and his wife running a struggling bed and breakfast was great. It gave us the memorable brothers, Larry, Darrell, and Darrell. 6. Cheers. I don't think I need to say much more here. Norm and Cliff were my favorites. 7. Fraiser. Perhaps the most successful spin-off in the history of television. 8. The Carol Burnett Show. While not a sit com, it is still among my favoites. 9. Taxi. As you can probably tell by now, I like unique characters and this show had them. Jim was just the best. 10. Lavern and Shirley. This is probably the closest thing to I Love Lucy ever made. 11. The Andy Griffith Show. Everybody wants to live in Mayberry. 12. The Dick Van Dyke Show. Van Dyke brought a unique combination of humor and slap-stick to the television each week. 13. Happy Days. "The Fonz", enough said. Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

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I Think It's ADD

I think I'm developing ADD. I find myself not being able to focus on anything for any length of time. Last night my wife and I were watching Dancing With The Stars.
We've been following this show all season. However, last night I found myself bored by the end of the first round. Nevermind the the music almost never seems appropriate to the dance or that some of the judges comments are a little silly, I was just bored with it all. I never watch the results show. Who can stand to watch something for an hour that ought to take 15 minutes maximum...including commercials? I went into another room and watched Monday Night Football for awhile until I got bored with that. Then, I rejoined my wife in the first location to watch the news. Maybe it comes from spending too much time surfing the net. If you get bored with one site, you just go somewhere else for entertainment.
Between two televisions and two computers, I think I've got ADD, Alternative Display Disorder. If I don't like what's on the screen, I either change the channel, surf another site, or relocate to another room.

CSI Arkansas

Yesterday I went to my granddaughter's soccer match. The fields are adjacent to a creek that I used to fish quite often. Since the soccer fields have been built, access to the creek is very limited. I decided to take my rod and reel to do a little fishing during half time. I was on this little point of land in the creek when I looked down and discovered the remains of an animal. Some of the fur and most of the bones were there. The skull was there, less the lower jaw bone. I picked it up because I knew my granddaughter would be thrilled to take this treasure to school. She has always loved picking up insects, worms, and the like. It drives her mother nuts! Sure enough, after the soccer match (which her team lost 3-1) I gave Katelyn the skull. Her eyes lit up like she had just gotten the best Christmas present ever.
After I got home, I did a web search to try to discover exactly what kind of animal remains I had found. It didn't take too long to determine I had stumbled upon a raccoon. Well, as they say, "Parts is parts." The amount of information available and the ease of access to it through the Internet still amazes me.

Thrusday Thirteen No. 4

Thirteen Things I Like About Living in a Small Community

There are alot of advantages to living in a smaller community. My wife and I moved to Northwest Arkansas 20 years ago from Dallas. Three years ago we built a new home in a wooded subdivision and I can honestly say that I have no desire to live anywhere else on planet earth. I could write a book about all of the great things associated with this part of the world, but I have chosen to show you thirteen of the reasons I like my life and where I live.

1. Hometown restuarants. There is nothing like a good hometown BBQ restuarant. You can keep Famous Daves, Rib Crib, Smokey Bones, and Shorty Smalls....give me the Whole Hog every time.

2. Football Friday Nights!!! What's not to like about a good highschool fooball game in small town USA? Half of the town shows up for every home game. It is just great. We're the team in black

3. My church. The truth of God's Word is taught and preached here every week. It is a place to refresh the spirit and the soul. I had the privilege of being the chairman of the building committe for this new sanctuary. We've been in it about 5 years now

4. Saturday Farmer's Market on the square. At one time, this town was as close to a real life Mayberry RFD and it could get. The Farmer's Market was brought back to the square about 6 years ago. In the spring and summer, fresh vegetables, jellies, jams, and honey can be had. In the fall, the fare turns more craft oriented.

5. The Grandkids. Our grandchildren live about 7 miles from us. We see them every week in church. We go to the soccer matches, dance recitals, etc. They have sleep-overs at our house. It is just great!!! It is such great fun watching them grow up. I feel very sorry for grand parents who live hundreds of miles from this incredible source of joy. If you only get to see the grandkids a couple of times a year, you are missing one of the true blessings in life.

6. The corner coffee shop. This place has a little more urban feel than the traditional small town coffee shop. You won't necessarily find the local retired farmers in here solving the worlds problems, but you will get a great cup of coffee and a quiet place to relax and enjoy the company of friends or just sit and read a good book.

7. The Nature Trail. This trail is about 2 miles long and is just 10 minutes from our home. There are several great photo opportunities along the way. This particular spot happens to be my favorite. I have spent some time on that bench just thanking God for His marvelous creation and for giving me the privilege of enjoying it.

8. Fishing. There are dozens of lakes, rivers, and streams within an hour of the house. The lakes range in size from 20 acres to over 30,000 acres.

Smallmouth, Largemouth bass, crappie are the targets in the lakes while (both rainbow and brown) and smallmouth bass are the most popular species in the streams. Again, this is mostly about getting outside and enjoying the entire experience.
9. The drive to work. I live 14 miles from the office and the first 4 miles looks like this. There is an expressway about 3 miles in the opposite direction, but I don't get to work any quicker and it is too much like larger cities. I avoid the fast lane whenever possible.

10. Our home. We build this place three years ago and we just love it.

11. Space. This is a view of the area surrounding our new office building. We are only a mile from the center of downtown and this is actually looking a little west of the downtown area. You can't get this view in New York City, Chicago, Dallas, or LA. I've been in all of these cities and I like this view the best.

12. Christmas at our house. My wife is one of Santa's original elves. It is her favorite time of the year and that makes it a favorite time for everyone else. You cannot imagine the boxes of decorations that are in the basement. She puts it all together like a pro and makes everyone's Christmas Special.

13. Playing in the park with the grandkids. It just doesn't get any better than this.

An Afternoon at the Movies

I took yesterday afternoon off and went to the movies. This is the first time I have ever done this, but it may not be the last. You get great seats, no lines, and lower prices. What's not to like about that? I have been waiting for this movie ever since I saw the previews. With Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe in the lead roles, this has got to be the best gangster movie since the "The Godfather", right? Well, it is a great movie, but it is more in the vein of "French Connection" than "The Godfather".
I won't bore you with the details of a movie review here, but I will tell you it is worth going to see. Washington and Crowe are two of the best actors working today and they prove it once again in this movie. Their chemistry is very good, but not electric. The movie is set in the late 60's. Washington plays a black drug kingpin in Harlem while Crowe plays a cop trying to stop the flow of heroin into this country. Crowe is also fighing the internal battle of being an honest cop in a dishonest setting. This storyline, while true, seems to be borrowed from "Serpico".
The movie is based on a true story. That's about all I'm going to say so that I don't spoil it for you.
Reward yourself. Take an afternoon off and go to the movies. Next week, I think I may go see "Michael Clayton" starring George Clooney.