Cadillac Cowgirl Cheeseburger Casserole

Good Morning!!! 

It's getting close to Thanksgiving!  My Honey Baked Ham will be here today and I'm going to start brining our turkey tomorrow.  Lots of good food on the menu and I'm going to try a new Mac and Cheese recipe.  I'll be sure to share if it's a success.  I am also going to spice up my pea salad with a little jalapeno relish this year.  I don't know why I hadn't thought of that before....maybe it's the copious amounts of wine I consume while preparing the Thanksgiving meal that sometimes clouds my thinking skills.

Last night I made Cheeseburger Casserole.  I haven't made it in forever and when I used to make it, there was never enough, so I decided to double it.  I also made it better by adding a few Mild Bill's products to it.  Duh!!  I think it came out great and it's really easy to make, adapt for your tastes and double or triple if needed.  Check it out:

Cadillac Cowgirl Cheeseburger Casserole

2 lbs lean ground beef or ground turkey
1/2 onion, diced fine
1/2 bell pepper, diced fine
1 Tbsp Mild Bill's Budda Burger Seasoning
1 Tbsp Mild Bill's Jalapeno Ranch Dip Mix
8 oz sour cream
2 tubes refrigerated Crescent Rolls
2 cups shredded Velveeta or American Cheese

Preheat the oven to 375.  In large skillet, saute the onion and bell pepper over medium heat until they both start to soften; add the ground meat and cook until the meat is done and the onion and bell pepper are completely soft.  Drain if necessary (usually don't need to with lean ground beef and/or turkey) and allow to cool slightly.  In the meantime, spray a 13x9 casserole dish with non stick spray.  Unroll the crescent rolls, keeping them in large strips, and lay them out in the baking dish.  Carefully push them up the sides as you are creating a bottom crust.  It's okay if some of it overlaps and make sure there are no gaps.  Place in the oven for about 10 minutes so that it can prebake.  While that is cooking, combine the Budda Burger Seasoning, Jalapeno Ranch Dip Mix and sour cream with the beef mixture in either the skillet you used or a large bowl; taste for seasonings and adjust if necessary.  Remove the prebaked crescent roll dish from the oven, pour the meat and sour cream mixture over the crescent roll crust and top with grated cheese.  Bake for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.  Be careful not to burn the edges of crescent roll crust - you can always wrap the edges in foil if needed in order to cook it a little longer to melt the cheese.  Serve with a multitude of potential side dishes and enjoy :)

I've done something to my back.  And this is not related to my drunken fall out of my bed prior to Terlingua.  That impacted my ass and tailbone only and this is completely different.  It also predates my drunken fall.  That my mother witnessed.  I've probably just shamed her even more for telling people that she was there when it happened.  Sorry....I had a little too much wine :)  Anyways, my back is effing killing me and I really don't know what else to do besides what I've been doing - self medicating on booze and pills.  Paige and I are skipping the Turkey Trot this year because there is just no way I can do it.  I don't want to go to a back doctor because I don't want someone cutting on me and I'm not big on chiropractors.  I think this is the perfect time to book a massage!  Don't ya'll?

How about all of the Mild Bill's customers kicking ass last weekend?  Wow!!!  So many friends and customers racking up points at the various cook offs.  I love, love, love it!!!

Anyone can put flowers in a vase and sell them.  Doesn't make them a florist.

Wow...that was a random!!!

Paige is obsessed with aliens.  She doesn't believe they exist, but she is constantly watching alien videos on the internet, movies, etc., looking for proof.  Well, Saturday morning, she decided to scare PawPaw by donning an alien mask she had made and waking him up while she was wearing it.  Problem is, PawPaw thinks aliens are pretty cool, so Paige didn't know quite how to respond when not only was PawPaw not scared, but wanted her to take him to her leader!  Oh Paige.....never a dull moment.  She had money on a Walmart gift card, so she bought a scooter.  She rides it constantly.  She was riding it in the house Sunday night a wiped out in the kitchen.  It was pretty funny.  She didn't hurt herself, that's why it was funny.  If she had hurt herself, I would have checked on her and then thought it was funny.  Hey, what can I say?  We're a tough crowd in Ellis County!

Be sure and check out the website for all of our new products - Bob Coats Championship Chili, EC Special (Hell Yeah!), Mild Bill's Chili Magic, Spice Mistress BBQ Rub and Terlingua Sunrise Jelly. 

Spreading my own special brand of kindness, joy, passive aggressive behavior (more passive these days....ruins all the fun) and the unmistakable aroma of fresh, cooler kept spices......

The Spice Mistress

And I Shall Call It Doggie Fantastic

Paige has asked me to help her start a blog.

Wait for it.......

She wants to call it "Doggie Fantastic".......

It will be a blog dedicated to cute dogs.  People will email her pictures of their dogs and she will pick the cute ones and post the pics on her blog.  She even thinks she can make money off of it.....

Paige:  You know what?  People will want pictures of their dogs on my blog so bad that they'll want to pay me to post the pics.
Me:  You mean you're going to charge?
Paige:  No, I mean that people will want me to think their dog is the cutest, so they'll give me money to pick their dog.
Me:  Oh, so like a bribe.
Paige:  What's a bribe?
Me:  When you pay someone to do something that helps you that they might not otherwise do.
Paige:  Oh.  Well, I don't see it that way.  I mean, if their dog is really ugly, then I won't let them buy me.  But if there are a few really cute dogs and it's close, then I'll consider taking a couple of dollars.
Me:  Sounds like you've got it all figured out.

My kid is just the best ever.  I told her she should start a blog on solving math problems.  She didn't think that was very funny :)

Back to work.  Busy Friday at Mild Bill's.  I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

Oh, before I go, I need to let everyone know that you can now order EC Special, Mild Bill's Chili Magic, Spice Mistress BBQ Rub, Bob Coats Championship Chili Blend and Terlingua Sunrise Jelly via the website, www.mildbills.com.  I'm also going to make sure I get pictures posted this weekend as well.  And I'm making more jalapeno jelly.  And I'm going to try and cook chili tomorrow.  And I've got to do my Thanksgiving grocery shopping.  Gary's going to the deer lease and P is going to Gammy's.  It'll just be me and the boys :)

Have a Spicy Weekend!!

Kelly

Paige Hearts Hooters

"Mommy, I could work at Hooters. I could be a little Hooters girl and serve the kids meals to the kids. Do they make Hooters girl outfits in my size?"

That was our dinner conversation last night while we were at Hooters. Paige loves Hooters - because of the owls. It's her favorite place to eat. She took extra care when coloring the outfit on the Hooters girl on her kids menu.

"I could make outfits for them when I have my fashion design company Shimmer and Shine."

She was also highly concerned with them catching cold if they wore their outfit outside when they went home. I explained to her that they change into their regular clothes when they leave....kind of like strippers.

I didn't share the stripper part with her. But I was thinking it.

It's a busy day in my spicy part of the world. As the country slowly marches into fall and winter, people want chili. This week has been particularly busy and I'm happy to see it. We've been busy with walk in business at the store as well. Life is good :)

I made chicken fried steak the other night and while I was making my gravy, I had a question...."what would this taste like with a little jalapeno powder in it?"

Answer? Freakin AWESOME!!!

I used green jalapeno powder and it was so good. It added the right amount of warmth and it wasn't overpowering at all. I really liked it. As much as I try to avoid green jalapeno powder, this was the perfect opportunity to use a little bit of it. Try it!!!

Time to scream CONGRATULATIONS to fellow Renegade, friend and customer TJ Cannon for winning TICC!!!! WTG to all of our friends and customers who placed this year. Also a Renegade shout out to Melinda Sawey for placing 8th - HELL YEAH!!!!!! I was so happy to see Melinda get up on that stage and when TJ's # was called, we were already behind the stage with Champ, Mel, Jason, Ron, Gary, Delo, Sam and Toby for 3rd place show (plus Sam and Tobey both placed - RENEGADES!!!) and we went batshit crazy! How awesome is that?!?!?!?! Mild Bill's and the Renegades had a great year - 4 of our group placed in the Top 20 and we won 3rd place show. How freaking cool is that?!?!? Plus, Auntie Delores Sanders placed in the Top 10 this year. Hell Yeah! Again, congratulations to all of our customers and friends for kicking serious ass this year. Thank you all for being such fabulous customers!

Another customer of ours, Cynthia Whittenberg competed in the World Food Championship in Las Vegas and got 3rd Place in Red Chili!!! Way to go Cynthia! She was also kind enough to hand out business cards and product lists to the public in an effort to let more people know about Mild Bills. We can't thank her enough for flying her banner and talking about us - you rock, Cynthia!

And - Dr. Ted Hume? Now he can be known as Dr. Ted Hume, TWO TIME Behind the Store Champ! So glad to see another customer win as well as our customers dominate at OTICC Behind the Store cook off.

Guess we've got some high quality spices that some really amazing folks that know how to cook some bad ass chili with!!


It was such a fantabulous week for Mild Bills. Oh, and our customers from China - they came to Terlingua and we got to meet them! What a great group of guys and we hope they make it to TICC every year. They auto qualified at the Shanghai cook off and that made them eligible for this year's TICC. Gary and I also want to thank everyone for coming to our Margarita party Friday afternoon. I love to meet people that I've been either talking to on the phone or emailing for the past year - it helps to put a name with a face. We had a great time Friday visiting with everyone, debuting a few new products and just enjoying great margaritas and our friends. Thank you again to everyone for being a part of our fantastic business and hobby :)

I'm going to get back to work now. I sat down to print labels and thought what the hell - I'll blog really fast!

Keep it real....and keep it spicy!!

The Spice Mistress

Monday, Monday

Well, I survived it at least. Hell....I may have even thrived a little today. Gone are the Mondays of years past....headaches, chest pains, liquid Xanax lunches. Nit any more. Not in my spicy corner of the world ;) Paige is totally over Justin Beiber. She told us this morning that Selena Gomez dumped the 'Beibs because he lip sings. Paige says she doesn't like lip singers and she's using his poster in her room for target practice. Nice!!!! I don't know what she's using for a weapon.....although she does have a bow and arrow (arrows that have suction cups) a la Katniss....so who the hell knows. I just realized I haven't mentioned anything about TICC. I'm blogging from my Nook, so I'll wait till I'm on my laptop. But.....1st Place was a customer.....as was 2nd - 20th. Just sayin.....Mild Bill's has some kick ass shizz :) I made chicken fried steak for dinner and used Jalapeno powder in my gravy. Uh, yeah! That made some some tasty gravy!! It had just the right amount of heat so it didnt overpower the gravy. I was sort of impressed with myself! I am totally digging this cooler weather. It makes me want to nest and cook and hang out in my cozy chair with my babies. I am cooking chili this weekend and then canning again after Thanksgiving. I'm anticipating more holiday business at the store this year, so I want to be prepared. Gammy worked at the store today, so that was a a huge help. I can't believe Thanksgiving is next week. Before we know it, Christmas will be here. Im going to sign off for now.... Spreading my own special brand of joy and kindness.... Kelly

Aaahhh.....I Almost Forgot......

Being a Catholic/Episcopalian, I root for Notre Dame. They were playing Boston College tonight and early in the game, the ND running back fumbled the ball. I got a little loud. Paige was watching it with me and she asks why I yelled..... Me: Because he fumbled the ball and the other team got it. Paige: That wasn't very smart. Me: No it sure wasn't. He has one job and thats to hold on to the damn ball. Paige: (looking serious) I bet he has to say a few Hail Mary's for that scew up. Me: (laughing!!) WHAT????? Paige: Yeah, cause he's Cafwic (thats how she says Catholic sometimes. I love it) He'll have to go to confession and I bet his Father makes him say a Hail Mary for dropping the ball. I bet he will even have to say the whole Rosary if they lose. It must be hard to be a Cafwic football player. Me: I bet it is too. Paige: Yeah, thats why I'm going to be a fashiom designer and weather girl in New York city. Wow - what do you say to that?? Night!!

99 Problems and a Field Trip Ain't One

Paige is convinced that her class will be going on 99 field trips this year. They went on one Friday and on her way to school she told me that after this one they'd have 98 left. Its really hard to get an idea out of her head once its in there, so I've just learned to let it go. Either she'll figure it out or she won't. Paige has bigger issues these days. I don't know how else to explain it, but I think aliens came into her room one night and sucked all of the math knowledge out of her head. It has been a ROUGH month of 3rd grade homework. ROUGH. I dont know what has happened to my little math whiz, but over the past few weeks she's forgotten about borrowing, money and simple addition. Her teacher and I are working with her, but it's hard to help someone who can't even tell you why they think the completely off the wall answer they're giving you is right. It makes me want to down a bottle of wine and we all know how much I hate drinking :) I've also caught Paige sleepwalking again. She's done it twice this week. The kid is wide awake (but not really) and will carry on a conversation with me while she tries to get in bed in our PANTRY! What the ???? Poor baby, but its pretty damn funny at the same time. We've had to get back in the habit of setting the alarm each night just in case she tries to wander out of the house! I'm blogging from my brand new Nook :) I killed my Kindle beating the shit out of Gary with it while he was snoring :( Apparently there are places that will fix your dead Kindle, so I'm hanging on to it in hopes of having it repaired. I'm not advocating beating the shit out of your sleeping partner, but in my case, I'd simply had enough. I couldn't go to sleep and his snoring could be heard over Radiohead and through my earplugs. It was awful. It's still awful. He won't shut up. Now that I have a Nook tablet to blog from, I'll be able to do so more often! Thanksgiving recipes are being devised as I type. I know I'll have some good ones to share. I'm off to bed. Tomorrow is Day Two of my canning extravaganza ;) Keep it real....... K