chili for a chilly day

It's tradition in my family, since I was little, to have chili, homemade potato rolls and pumpkin pie on the first cold day in Fall... so, yesterday we did just that.

I started on it right after church about 12:30 p.m. and we sat down about 4 p.m. to eat. A lot of work, but let me say that it was worth it, since these days, we generally don't eat anything that takes longer than 10 minutes to make:)

The chili was hot, perfectly sweet and spicy.

Mom's Famous Chili

1 or 2 celery stalks

1 green pepper

1 onion

1 Tbs. butter

Saute together until caramelized. Brown 1 lb. hamburger and add to vegetables.

Add:

2/3 cup catsup

½ cup water

2 Tbs. lemon juice

1 Tbs. brown sugar

Dash of salt and pepper

1 tsp. vinegar

¼ tsp. dry mustard

Cook altogether and add 2 large cans (4 regular size) of kidney beans, 2 qts. tomato juice, and

1-2 Tbs. chili powder.

The rolls were, mmmmwwwwaaaa!

This is my mom's potato rolls recipe that is the highlight of every holiday meal in my family. They are sweet, soft and oh my heavens, practically melt in your mouth.

P.S. they are also a pain to make and to get just right

Mom's Potato Rolls

1 potato (2 small)

2 ¼ cups water

3 Tbs. yeast

2 cups milk

1 cube butter

¼ cup evaporated milk

1 T salt

1 c sugar

2-3 cups flour

4 eggs

About 10 cups flour

Boil potatoes in water until tender. Cool to luke warm. In a blender, blend the potatoes, the water the potatoes boiled in, and yeast until smooth. In a mixer, mix milk, butter, evaporated milk, salt and sugar. Add the potato mixture. Then add the 2-3 cups flour and mix. Add eggs. Then add as much flour to make a good bread dough. Put dough into a bowl and put melted butter all aver dough. Let rise. Roll dough out and cut. Place on baking sheets and let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

And now I am going to brag. After 3 failed attemps in my marriage trying to make Mom's potato rolls... I did it... and had 4 of them last night just to make sure I wasn't mistaken:)

This is what my family did while I slaved over the stove for 3 1/2 hours. They just laid there...

...dreaming of the delicious meal they were about to eat, since they hadn't had lunch yet.

The pumpkin pie on the other hand was not so good, but only because it mistakingly burnt to a crisp. That's what I get for taking a nap and having my dear sweet husband take over oven duty. I'm very proud of myself, though. I kept my furious anger inside and forced a smile when he nervously gave me the bad news. I mean, come on, I can't expect him to know how to work an oven.

So, instead we made pumpkin pie shakes and they were oh so good!

And just in case you have time to make pumpkin pie, too, this is my very favorite recipe and it really does make a good shake { just omit the burnt pie crust.}

Mom’s Pumpkin Pie

3 eggs

1 large can Libby’s Pumpkin

1 c brown sugar

1 c sugar

2 T flour

1 t salt

1 t cinnamon

½ t allspice

¼ t nutmeg

1 can evaporated milk

¼ c water

Beat eggs thoroughly. Add pumpkin and mix well. Add sugars, flour, salt, and spices. Stir until blended. Add milk and water stirring well. Make crust. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat and bake at 325 degrees until firm (about and hour). Makes 2 pies.

Here's to a cool Autumn day!