le weekend.

this has been a great weekend. just great. yesterday i got the chance to hang out with some friends - we had dinner and yummy desserts, watched wicker park and about a boy. today was church, navs and praise and power. killer combination :)

so - yesterday i thought it might be nice to make some chilli. i took the beef out of the freezer and let it thaw. today, the beef was thawed and i was ready. ready for a chili extravanganza. i found this FANTASTIC recipe for chili on the internet. it is so easy, and provides stellar results. i adapted it a bit, seeing as i didn't have two pounds of beef, but it is easy enough to adjust accordingly. i also added some celery, carrots, and cayenne powder to the mix and it was wonderfully spicy, just the way i like it. so, here is the recipe (taken from allrecipes.com):

2 pounds ground beef
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 (14.5 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid

- Combine ground beef, onion, and garlic in large stockpot. Cook and stir over medium heat until beef is brown. Drain.
- Stir in chili powder, salt, oregano, tomatoes, and tomato sauce; break up tomatoes while stirring. Heat to boiling, reduce heat to simmer, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
- Stir in beans. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes; stir occasionally.

as you can see from the recipe, it takes a long time to cook, so i suggest making it at a time when you are not really hungry, because when it is finished cooking you will be ready to consume it :) i promise. i am so impressed with this recipe. oh - the only thing i didn't put in was the can of tomato sauce. i'm not sure if it would have tasted much different if i did put it in. mmm fabulous.

well, the navs winter retreat is coming up this weekend and i am SO excited. jess said the sign up sheet was filled by the end of tonight, and this was the first day to sign up! that is just awesome. this year our winter retreat is going to be comprised of campuses from all over the province. usually it is just us and carleton/ottawa who meet up at camp iawah for the winter retreat, but this year i guess we're mixing it up a bit. i don't mind, it should be good fun. maybe we'll even see some people from roots and wings last may! who knows.

anyways, i think i'm gonna jet - i can hear my bed calling me :) time to sleep! soon anyways...night!