dinner has been so good this week,
we are sharing it with you

When life slows down, I may go all food blog-y on you and take step-by-step photos of the recipes during preparation, but for now, let’s be serious.

I’m cooking for a teenage girl who prefers seven-course Southern-style meals and a little boy who considers cookies a perfectly acceptable go food on the go, slow and whoa food chart. Everything I make is an experiment in potential rejection and the effects it has on my desire to continue parenting.

This week, however, has been a hit with both kids: green chile mac n’ cheese casserole and Texas Two-Step chili.

The difference between Kroger (across the street from the house) and H-E-B (about two miles away) is that Kroger’s layout makes it easy for the processed foods family to shop for boxed meals at will. H-E-B is designed more for the frazzled chef family who uses pots and roasting pans and indoor grills over the microwave, but may not have Iron Chef skills or creativity.

I shop at Kroger when I have given up on life, HEB when I feel life is worth learning how to use the stone cookware I bought 100 years ago. Kroger: frozen taquitos and the hugest ever box of Frosted Flakes. H-E-B: recipes and store chefs who answer my dumbest questions.

Tomorrow night: tilapia tomatilla fresco. We sampled it, then bought the ingredients.

No hyperlink to the two-step chili, so here it is. It’s our favorite so far:

Texas Two-Step Chili [prep time, 5 min; cook time, 15 min; serves 6 to 8]

2 lbs uncooked ground beef

1 jar Texas Two-Step chili

1 can pinto or black beans, rinsed and drained [optional: we used Ranch Style beans with sweet onions]

season to taste with chili powder or flavored rub

Toppings:

1 cup shredded cheese

1 cup crushed corn chips

1 cup prepared pico de gallo or chopped onions [we skipped this]

Brown beef 6 to 8 minutes in large skillet [which needs to be fairly deep; you're making a pot of chili] over medium-high heat; break beef into crumbles with edge of cooking spoon. Stir in two-step chili; bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes over medium heat.

Add beans, if desired. Stir; simmer 5 minutes. Serve right from skillet. Top individual servings with cheese, chips and pico de gallo or onions.