Chili cook-off/Enid eatin'

Now that I am working on base (and *loving* my job), I am also really really enjoying quasi-military employment life.  I always loved the camaraderie and unique sense of mission and unity you experience as part of the Uniformed Services and as a contractor, I get a large chunk of that back, coupled with the great sense of purpose integral to any work in the healthcare field.

Since I started work (about a month ago) the Medical Group has participated in/hosted two basewide exercises, several commander's calls, a Christmas party in the works, holiday collections for community children-in-need, and a chili cook-off.  Due to my training schedule, limited hours (20h/wk), and the huge backlog of work I needed to catch up on after finally securing computer access, I haven't gotten to participate in as many events as I'd like (particularly in terms of potlucks as I LOVE to cook and try out new recipes on crowds--but with general home cooking, plus regularly preparing lunches for Matt and the girls, supplying Matt's scorpion flight and the girls' school with baked good treats every couple of weeks, and preparing for company/the holidays, I haven't been having a lot of extra time in that department).

I do however, love a cook-off, so I decided to enter a pot of sweet potato chili in the mix.

I initially thought I'd go with Indian chili (a Rachael Ray recipe I have been wanting to try for quite some time), but that recipe was too much shopping (would require a trip to the BX on top of the commissary, for beer) and complicated cooking (I prefer dumping things in a crock pot for mass-quantity weeknight cooking).  I thought a sweet potato chili (vegan) recipe would be fun, fresh, different--and therefore pretty popular against a sea of mostly beef and bean dishes varying primarily by degree of hotness.

While Matt and I loved the dish, I left work that afternoon with nearly half a pot left (which is even less when you take into account my spilling a bit on the way into work that morning).  I was really surprised that most people seemed to come in, get a bowl of something beefy (maybe mixing/sampling one or two [of 10]) pots, and vote based off of that.  But then again, I came in, got a bowl of only sweet potato chili (not a big beef eater, and I definitely get more than my fill on our Saturday nights), and then opted not to vote (obvious bias, lol).  As I was eating, I overheard two older men laughing at the "idea" of vegetarian chili, which Matt had warned me about--some folks are definitely more comfortable with what they are used to, and it is always hard to distract a predominantly male group from large pots of meat--particularly in a small and familiar town, lol.

Needless to say, my pot did not place, but we gained a tasty, fresh, and healthy new recipe and meals for about two weeks in the process!  :o)

Saturday night steaks

We have never been a big "red meat" family.  I am much more of a fish/veggie eater and Matt prefers poultry.  The kids like just about all meats, finding just about everything to "taste like chicken".  However, Matt has been wanting to amp up his energy and iron prior to each week of flying/spinning/throwing up, so we have started cooking steaks on Saturday nights.  I don't have a lot of experience with steaks, particularly as we are currently grill-less, so I am enjoying experimenting and trying out new cuts and recipes.

Last weekend was a sirloin cut, cooked rare (me) and medium-well (Matt and the girls).  I just followed basic directions for preparing steak, and rubbed each piece with olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic, before searing in our cast iron pan and then transferring to the oven.  I also learned that for as-is natural-flavor steak, ribeye is apparently the best cut.  Our sirloins were tasty, but I will probably give that cut a try next time.

Tonight we are marinating a flank steak, which is best served rare-to-medium-rare (120-130F).  I cannot believe how big this thing is (1.99 lbs).  It is currently sitting in the fridge, in a gallon-size Ziploc, soaking up the flavors of salsa, lime juice, olive oil, and garlic.  Kids are getting a kick out of preparing dinner in a bag, lol.  :o)

Update (many hours later): steak was delish and all 1.99 lbs were consumed.  :o)

That was one big hunk of meat!