Thursday, January 30, 2025
We’re so glad you stopped by!
We hope your week is going well!
Today Laura is sharing a new recipe…
one that’s perfect for any family gathering
or, perhaps, for the BIG Game Day that’s quickly approaching!
In last Friday’s Weekly Snapshots post,
I told you about our recent “Meet the Grooms” party
that Hubby and I hosted for his side of the family!
We have two nieces getting married later this spring
and this gathering offered an opportunity for most to meet the grooms
and to officially welcome them to our family!
We played a few games to get to know them better
(you’ll find these ideas at the end of this post)
and we had a yummy meal together!
For our family gathering earlier this month,
I asked my sister-in-law to bring a crock pot of chili
and she brought her White Chicken Chili.
YUM!
Since my hubby is gluten free
I wanted to make sure that the dish I made would be one he could enjoy
and one that everyone else would like, too!
Packed with extra protein and lots of comfort,
it ended up being a crowd favorite!
With the SUPER BOWL only a week away,
this recipe may be just what you’re looking for!
INGREDIENTS
(This recipe makes about 8 servings - I made a double batch for the party!)
🟡 1 cup cooked quinoa
(prepare ahead of time - follow directions on package to do so)
🟡 1 Tablespoon olive oil
🟡 1 lb ground beef
🟡 3 Tablespoons minced onion (or 1 onion, chopped)
🟡 1 tsp garlic powder (or 3-4 cloves, minced)
🟡 2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (do not drain)
🟡 2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
🟡 1 4.5 oz can diced green chiles
(I typically add ½ of the can to control the spice for some)
🟡 2 tsp ground cumin
🟡 1 ½ tsp paprika
🟡 1 ½ Tablespoons chili powder
🟡 ½ tsp cayenne pepper
🟡 1 15 oz can kidney beans, drained & rinsed
🟡 1 cup cooked and shredded pot roast
(I usually make mine in a crockpot a few days ahead of time... enough for two meals!)
DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare your quinoa, following the package directions. (I do this while I’m browning the ground beef.)
2. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. If you are using freshly chopped onion and freshly minced garlic, cook those while stirring for about 2-3 minutes. (We have some allergies to fresh onions and garlic, so we use the dehydrated/powder versions.) Add the ground beef and brown. Drain any excess oil at this point.
3. Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles and spices and mix together. Stir in the cooked quinoa, kidney beans and the shredded pot roast. At this point, you may want to add a cup or so of water, depending on your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
4. Reduce heat to low and cover your pot. Simmer until thickened, at least 30 minutes. We often leave ours simmering for up to an hour, but check back regularly (add a bit more water, as needed).
5. Your chili is ready to be served! If it’s just Hubby and I, we usually add a few corn chips, a bit of shredded cheese and sour cream, cilantro (for me) and some pickled jalapenos and onion (for Hubby)!
CHECK OUT OUR TOPPINGS BOARD BELOW!
It will make any gathering extra special!
It’s a given that not everyone likes the same thing
and when it comes to chili this is most certainly true!
Some like it spicy while others like a milder version.
Some like the addition of cilantro while others say “No way!”
With our large family gathering,
I solved this problem by creating a Toppings Board for our chili!
Everyone was able to customize their bowl of chili to their liking…
DELISH!
Here’s how I built our Toppings Board!
First, I placed the following bowls on a big wooden board:
🟡 a big bowl of shredded Cojack cheese
🟡 a bowl of sour cream
🟡 a bowl of sliced avocado
🟡 a small bowl of pickled jalapeno peppers
🟡 a small bowl of pickled onions
🟡 a small bowl of lime wedges
Then, I filled in the spaces around the bowls with the following items:
🟡 corn chips
🟡 black olives
🟡 cilantro
🟡 bacon slices
Finally, I added a bottle of hot sauce to the board!
NOTE: You could also add a bowl of corn! (I didn’t think of this until I was prepping the board!)
In addition to the chili and toppings board,
We served corn muffins with butter
and a pretty salad that I prepped ahead of time!
I filled the bottom of my serving bowl with mixed salad greens.
Then I topped the greens with
🟡 pomegranate seeds
🟡 mandarin oranges (1 or 2 cans, drained
🟡 candied pecans
Right before serving, I added store-bought poppy seed dressing and tossed everything together. (I also had a bowl of feta cheese nearby for those who wanted to add some!)
THE SALAD WAS THE PERFECT ACCOMPANIMENT
AND A GREAT OPTION FOR OUR WINTER GATHERING!
As I mentioned above,
we played two games at our family gathering in early January.
These games offered a fun way
for everyone to learn more about both of our nieces’ fiances!
Game #1 - Which Groom Said What?
A week or so before the party, I sent each groom an email with a series of questions for them to answer.They graciously answered my questions and emailed them back to me.
I then created a document that included each question and both of their answers, too. I made enough copies so each family member at the party would have their own copy.
To start the game, family members were given ten minutes to write each groom’s first initial next to the answer they thought each had provided.
Then, we all discovered the answers together! As an added twist, each bride shared their guess for each answer, telling us all which answer they thought their own groom provided. The grooms then confirmed (or not) if their bride was correct!
The player with the most correct answers
(other than the grooms or brides, of course)
was the winner!
Here were some of the questions I asked of the grooms:
🟡 What is your favorite color?
🟡 What is your favorite comfort food?
🟡 If you could adopt any pet, what would it be?
🟡 What is your favorite movie? Favorite movie genre?
🟡 Who is your celebrity crush?
🟡 What’s your favorite sport to play? To watch?
🟡 What was your dream job as a child?
🟡 What’s your favorite holiday?
🟡 Where’s a destination on your bucket list?
🟡 What word best describes you in the morning?
🟡 What’s one of your favorite things to do on a day off?
🟡 What household chore do you dislike the most?
🟡 What’s your dream car?
🟡 What’s your favorite TV show?
🟡 Using 3 adjectives, how would you best describe your bride?
AS YOU MAY BE ABLE TO TELL,
THIS GAME TAUGHT US A LOT ABOUT BOTH OF OUR GROOMS!
Game #2 - The Shoe Game!
Have you seen this game played before?
It’s a fun one!
The bride and groom (or in our case, the brides and grooms)
each answer the same question simultaneously!
It’s a great way to test each couple’s knowledge of each other!
You’ll need a space with two chairs placed back to back for each couple. Each couple sits back to back and takes off both of their shoes. Each couple trades one of their own shoes with their partner so each person Is holding one of their partner’s shoes and one of their own.
Someone else is chosen to be the host and he/she reads a question out loud (see below) for everyone to hear. When a question is asked, the bride and groom both raise the shoe of the person the question best describes!
The fun comes as everyone (including the bride and groom) discovers how well the couple knows each other!
THIS WOULD ALSO BE A FUN GAME
TO PLAY AT AN ANNIVERSARY PARTY, TOO!
Here were some of the “Shoe Game” questions I asked the couples:
🟡 Who said “I love you!” first?
🟡 Who is the better cook?
🟡 Who is most likely to wake up early in the morning?
🟡 Who is the better driver?
🟡 Who is more likely to apologize first after a disagreement?
🟡 Who is more likely to ask for directions when lost?
🟡 Who is more likely to make special plans for a date night?
🟡 Who made the first move?
🟡 Who is more likely to lose the car keys?
🟡 Who is more tidy?
🟡 Who is more of a night owl?
🟡 Who is funnier?
🟡 Who is better at keeping a secret?
🟡 Who is the better dancer?
🟡 Who has read more books?
🟡 Who is more stubborn?
🟡 Whose car is cleaner?
🟡 Who’s better at multitasking?
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR GROOMS AND THEIR BRIDES
FOR BEING SUCH GREAT SPORTS!
If you are hosting or headed to a SUPER BOWL PARTY next week,
or any other winter gathering for that matter,
we hope our chili menu gives you some yummy ideas for what to serve!
You can’t go wrong with chili and a toppings board, too!
If you have any Super Bowl menu ideas of your own
or thoughts about other items that might be fun to include on our board,
please share!
The more options, the yummier for everyone!
Simply leave a comment at the end of this post
or feel free to email us directly at ourgrandlives@gmail.com.
where we share new content regularly!
We’d love it, too, if you would consider subscribing to our site.
We’ll be back tomorrow with a few of our favorite WEEKLY SNAPSHOTS!
See you then!
As we say our goodbyes, we’ll leave you with this joke,
in honor of the upcoming Super Bowl...
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Tuesdays with a Twist Link Party from God's Growing Garden
Senior Salon Pit Stop from Scratch Made Food for Hungry People
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Chili is one of my favorite meals in winter.
Take care and best wishes.
Oh my goodness, I'm in love with the toppings board. What a fun and yummy idea! Thanks for sharing this post with us at the Will Blog for Comments #55 linkup! Hope to see you again at #56. :)
I love the idea of serving Chili with a topping board! So fun for a gathering!
Jenna from the Painted Apron
Yum! That chili recipe sounds wonderful. We're actually making chili later this week. I enjoyed the questions you put together; that's a great way to really get to know someone and learn a little more about them. And I love that toppings board concept. Thank you for sharing at The Crazy Little Lovebirds link party #74.
Steph@CrazyLittleLovebirds
WOW this sounds great. I am featuring you and this wonderful celebration meal at SSPS #346! Thanks for sharing with us, Melynda @scratchmadefood!