A weekend in Bradford

Dear Sally,

I have discovered that I am a country girl at heart. I like living in the city BUT nothing beats the sunset over snow-covered hills and the crisp country air.

Jesse and I were inspired by your soup the other day and decided to make chili on Saturday afternoon. Between the rain and the cold we really just wanted to curl up with something warm and delicious and relax. We picked up some ingredients for chili and started throwing things in a pan. We added a little bit of this and some of that and made a delicious spicy chili.

Hot Tamale Chili


2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans
3 stalks celery
1/2 green pepper
3/4 yellow pepper
1/2 onion
2 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tbsp. Valentina hot sauce
4 tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. red chili flakes
ground beef
olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp dijon mustard
3/4 cup chicken stock



1. Pour both cans of crushed tomatoes and chicken stock into a large soup pan and turn on medium heat.

2. Pour a small amount of olive oil into a frying pan and cook the garlic for about 2 minuted. Chop onion, peppers and celery into small pieces and add to the pan. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat till softened. Add to the crushed tomato.

3. Cook ground beef until no pink or liquid is left and also add to the tomato mixture. Open the kidney beans and pour half of the can into the pot. Crush the remaining half of the beans using a fork and pour them into the pot.

4. Bring the pot to a boil and stir everything together. Add the red pepper flakes, chili peppers, dijon and brown sugar. Simmer till all ingredients have blended. EAT!

Today God really spoke to me about some fears I have that are stopping me from furthering his kingdom and he gave me a nice little shove in the right direction. I realize that this has nothing to do with cooking but I know you would be able to appreciate his little nudge in our lives. I hope you had a wonderful weekend.

I love you so much and am truly blessed to have you in my life.

See you soon!
Jess