This and That on May 2

Funny that, for a whole month I have had my blogs prescheduled so last night I completely forgot to post this blog, most of which I had written.

Now that the A to Z Challenge is over, we can get back to our normal lives. I am sure you will be delighted to hear that our bed bug problem has disappeared. Mind you, almost immediately we got an ant problem instead but with the purchase of some Terro that too has been dealt with.

Funny, I donated to a local animal charity and was given a Lambsy as a thank you present. I received it in the bowling alley and showed it to the younger of the two owners. A few minutes later he gave me a soft toy which was a bowling pin!!! I guess they think I am a big baby, well I guess I am. I thought these were both cute. Why on earth the bowling alley would have such a toy I cannot imagine. The owner wouldn't tell me.

Talking of bowling, which I do quite often, today is our last day of the winter league with a lunch first and then just some team bowling for fun plus prizes. Unfortunately I don't think we qualify for any of them. My  bowling average has been descending all winter. Our summer league doesn't start until May 18 as the younger owner is swanning around the Dominican Republic for a while and says his dad couldn't cope with all the computer stuff. Probably true. I have been warning him about things in the Dominican. They already have had some shots which is a good thing. I got an upset stomach along with many others and there was one woman so bad she had to be flown home on a stretcher. I also told him about the expanse of topless bathers and the many women in bikinis who are the size of several houses. One thing one has also to beware of is the water. You cannot clean your teeth with tap water and you certainly cannot drink it. However, they do have lots of sunshine to enjoy. I wouldn't mind going back but nowadays the hassle of airports is something neither of us want to deal with.

I haven't made a white chili in a while, but I do enjoy it

White Chili.

WebMD Recipe from EatingWell.com

 Total Time: 45 mins

This fragrant "white" chili is an unusual, delicious alternative to traditional tomato-based chilis. Serve with lime wedges and a dollop of sour cream or a sprinkling of cheese.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 4-ounce cans chopped green chiles
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 15-ounce cans great northern beans, rinsed
• 4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups diced cooked skinless turkey, or chicken
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar

Instructions

Step 1

Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in chiles, oregano, cumin and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in beans and broth; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add turkey (or chicken) and vinegar; cook for 5 minutes more. Serve.

Have a great day
 

Bowling Day, Spring Birds

One of those days where I seem to almost eat breakfast and lunch at the same time. Purely because it is so impossible to get parking at the bowling alley. I think we have definitely decided to change for the next season and go to Elmira (where we bowled last Thursday) although further away, it won't actually take much more time because of Expressways leading in that direction and they have a huge parking lot. Not only that, they have a bit of competition between the teams, nothing major, but enough to spark one's interest to try harder which is what the present place really lacks.

Tomorrow is April, seems unbelievable bearing in mind the weather. Although today it is raining and it hasn't been that cold for the last couple of days, but it sure doesn't seem very springlike. Once spring really starts though, it only seems to take a few days from no buds to fully leafed trees, it always surprises me every year. We have loads of American Robins about the place which is always a good sign and yesterday we had some Canadian Geese honking outside our window, when I looked out they were amongst the robins picking up all kinds of stuff from what bare grass they could find. There is more and more grass showing these days. I could swear I heard a Chickadee the other day too which is another good sign of spring, they must know something we don't as there is still a lot of snow everywhere.

This is a recipe for White Chili which I got from World Wide Recipes.com some years ago, I have made it a few times and think it is good - it isn't very spicy though if that is what you are looking for.

WHITE CHILI
Serves: 4

Comments: Serves 4 (hungry) or 6 (mildly hungry) people. OK to freeze leftovers to serve later.

4 15 oz. cans any kind of white beans (Navy, Pinto, Great Northern, etc.), un-drained
6 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (or 6 chicken bouillon cubes)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 Tablespoon butter
2 4 oz cans chopped green chilies (peppers) (mild)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 to 3 teaspoons chopped cilantro
2 bean cans of water (30 oz)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste
3 cooked chicken breasts, torn into bite sized pieces
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In a 4 1/2 quart (or larger) saucepan, cook onion in butter until soft, add bouillon, beans, water and chilies. Simmer till heated through (and bouillon cubes are dissolved if using cubes) - about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Then stir in cayenne pepper, cilantro, cumin and chicken and simmer again to let flavors mingle and everything is heated through. Serve with shredded Monterey Jack cheese on top.

Have a great day.