Chili

As in many other households, there usually isn't time for a nice, home cooked meal on a weeknight.  That's why in my house, the slow cooker is the greatest thing ever invented.  You can throw a roast or stew in the slow cooker in the morning and by the time everyone returns home, there's a delicious meal ready to be eaten.  This is how chili is made in my house.  While most people cook chili on the stove, my family prefers the slow cooker because it's convenient and delicious after a long, crazy day. 
For this blog, I made chili for my classmates to eat instead of the nasty pretzels the school serves for lunch.  I came across a few major issues this time cooking.  The first came when I was cooking the hamburger and didn't know how much chili powder to add, I realized my dad, the chili master, had left for Rhinelander.  My mom gave her two cents, but it wasn't the same.  The next problem was transporting the extremely full slow cooker down our pothole ridden back roads to the school.  Luckily, my sister was able to keep the lid on tight enough and no chili was lost.  When I brought the chili in the first thing that came out of Teagen's mouth was, "Allison, I love you!"  She's the number one fan of my cooking.  Everyone ate at least one bowl of chili, except for Eric who preferred the nasty school pretzels.  I also brought sour cream, cheese, and saltines as toppings to add even more deliciousness to the chili.  After simmering in the science classroom all morning, spreading its aroma, the teacher decided he needed a bowl too.  The neighboring history teacher decided the same thing. 
My science teacher was my biggest critic saying the chili needed more cumin to add some spice.  I told him we don't do spicy in our house, just flavorful.

Banana Cream Pie

Today I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to make a banana cream pie using my great aunt Shirley's family recipe. This pie is traditionally served on Christmas Day in my family.  When waking up early to bake, you know you are going to come across a few issues, and that's exactly what I did today.  The first issue occurred when I went to pick up an egg from the carton.  I touched the egg and it shattered.  The shattering wasn't too big of a problem, but it shattered all over the counter and the floor, creating a mess I had to clean up before my mom woke up and saw it.  My second issue struck much later as I was putting the cream filling into the pie crust.  The graham cracker crust started cracking!  For non-bakers, a broken crust is a big deal in the baking world.  Luckily, the crust didn't completely break and I was still able to use it.
Over the years there have been a few tweaks made to this older recipe to take into consideration modern conveniences.  For example, the recipe tells you to cook the milk, sugar, salt, and cornstarch in a saucepan on the stove.  With that method, a baker has to be extremely careful and watchful, continuously stirring, so the milk doesn't scorch and ruin your pie filling.  My grandma discovered an easier way, use the microwave to cook the milk mixture.  You cook the milk mixture in one minute increments, stirring between, and the mixture doesn't scorch.  The recipe also calls for a baked pie crust, but I prefer the modern convenience of already made graham cracker crusts.
My classmates were very excited when I brought the pie in for them to taste test.  It quickly gained their approval.  The pie received many good comments such as "very yummy", "best banana cream pie I've ever had", and "loved the texture".  My opinion of the pie can be summed up with the comment, "fantastic!"

Before the Cooking

I'll be writing as if I were a member of the magazine staff for Taste of Home.  Taste of Home is a magazine with the main purpose of sharing and improving everyone's favorite recipes for home cooked meals.  I'll be cooking using recipes from Taste of Home, and then feeding my fellow English 101 classmates what results.  No fears for the guinea pigs, I'm a decent cook.  My following posts will be my adventures from the kitchen and the opinions and reactions of my classmates.  Taste of Home shares recipes with its readers and that will be the main focus of my blog as well.  Bon appetit!
http://www.tasteofhome.com