FSU vs. Maryland

I've decided that I really am not fond of away games. Yes, I enjoy hanging out with friends watching football all day on a Saturday, but it's not the same as enjoying the day from our parking spot tailgating. Perhaps when we are older the Roches and the McGuires will buy an RV and road-trip it to every home and away game. Dare to dream :) I like to think that away game weekends are good for me because I have time to actually get things accomplished at home; however, that never happens, so either way life is set aside for only college football in the fall.

On Saturday, Jared was gone all day taking the 2nd session of his Certified Financial Planner licensing exam. With him out of the house all day, one would think that I would seize this opportunity to get all my school work and cleaning done without interruption, wrong. We had plans to go over to Boden's house to watch the FSU vs. Maryland game (8pm kickoff). Since I am a professional at coming up with absolutely every excuse possible to not have to clean my house or grade papers, I decided that I was going to make chili for our game-watching party. I do not like to cook. Cooking involves way too much effort and clean up. Plus, if it turns out bad then you have just wasted all this time, effort and dirty dishes only to have to order take-out anyways. Although I claim to be a terrible cook, there are a few things that I make really well. All of the things that I can cook are unhealthy, fattening, and involve red meat, but then again I'm from the South so what do you expect.

Perfecting my venison chili became my goal for the day. However, I did not have any venison available to me because no one in my family has been deer hunting thus far this season. So I enlisted my daddy to hunt down some venison for me from his buddies. He succeeded, as he always does for his little girl :) With 5 pounds of venison in hand, I was ready to perfect my recipe (listed at the bottom of this post). I read somewhere online that adding Kentucky bourbon to chili really enhances the flavor, and being that there is no shortage of bourbon in my household, I decided to add it to my recipe, hence the new name of my dish "Drunk Deer Chili".

I love cooking with venison because it tastes a lot like beef, but it is much leaner and better for you. If you can get over the fact that you are eating Bambi, it is a great substitute for beef. Don't get me wrong, I love beef, but venison is a nice addition to great seasonal (fall/winter) dishes. Needless to say, I spent almost the entire day preparing my chili and getting myself ready for the game. Of course, Jared was going to Boden's straight from his test so he put me in charge of getting all the beer and cigars ready for him as well. Therefore, I accomplished nothing else on my to-do list.

When it was time to go, I was still a little hesitant about my new chili recipe. It tasted good to me, but I was going to be serving it to 8 other people and there was no one at home to verify the good taste. My payment to my dad for going to get the venison for me was that I would save him a bowl of it. Therefore, I decided to take him his bowl before going to Boden's so he could be my taste-tester. After being reassured of the deliciousness of my chili, I made my way to Boden's house.

Once I arrived at Boden's, the boys went outside for a pre-game cigar. Apparently, Jared and the boys have smoked a cigar before every game that we have won this season; any game that we have lost they have not smoked a cigar prior to. The boys are a little superstitious with their FSU football, in case that wasn't completely obvious. The game began and the Noles were stressing me out as usual, but I had beer and chili to comfort me. The chili got rave reviews and I was excited. Everyone loved it except for Boden, he couldn't eat it due to him being so picky. I knew that Boden didn't like mushrooms, but everyone else does and they really make the chili taste good, so I consciously cut them very big so that he could pick them out. However, my efforts were not enough. Picking out the mushrooms was not an option and he wouldn't eat it at all. I don't like mushrooms either, but I just pick them out because I'm a big girl :)

During the game, we had the sliding glass door open because it was so nice out. Of course I started getting cold but no one wanted to close the door so I borrowed Judy's snuggie. This was my first experience with a snuggie and I must have one. It was so amazing that I immediately texted Erika and told her that I want one for Christmas. I was lying on the floor all warm in the snuggie, drinking my beer and texting on my phone wondering to myself, why didn't I invent this! Then I of course fell asleep on the floor because the game didn't end till midnight and my bedtime is 11. Luckily, the Noles got the W and the boys had their confidence restored for next week's big game against Florida.

I am already starting to get excited for this upcoming week! Jared and I are in charge of the turkeys for Thursday, so we are venturing to Costco today to pick them out. I only have to work two days this week (Monday and Tuesday). On Wednesday, all of my siblings and my grandparents will be in town to help get ready for the festivities. Jared's mommy and my aunt and uncle will get into town on Thursday and we will be celebrating Thanksgiving at my parents' house! The girls will be conquering Black Friday starting at 4am and Friday night we will be making the drive to Tallahassee for the FSU vs. UF game on Saturday. There will probably be a lot of blogging this week because I will be so excited for all the fabulous Thanksgiving festivities! Let the preparations begin :)

Listed below are the ingredients for my chili. I do not cook my chili according to a "recipe" per say, just a list of ingredients that I throw together in a stew pot and let it all simmer on low for a few hours.

"Drunk Deer Chili"
ground venison (season with wildlife seasoning)
tomato sauce
tomato paste
light red kidney beans
green pepper
sweet onion
white mushrooms
garlic cloves (minced)
chili powder
black pepper
sea salt
cumin
Kentucky bourbon (I used Maker's Mark)
Louisiana hot sauce
shredded cheddar cheese (for topping)