My Crowd Pleasing Chili Recipe, Halloween, & Low Down On Traditions

Ok guys, I owe you all an apology for being the worst blogger ever. The main reason it took me so long to start a blog in the first place was because I was afraid I was too busy to write, but I swear I’m trying to get better. I had such great intentions of doing a blog on pumpkin carving, costume ideas, & sharing my pumpkin seed recipes, but per usual, life got in the way & Lost in the Lowcountry fell to the wayside. But, I just want to tell you all how much your support & kind words have meant to me over the last few weeks since launching this little creative space of mine. I definitely feel the love, & am going to get better about making time for you in the chaos of life. That being said, I hope y’all had a Halloween full tricks, treats, laughter, & hopefully free of bellyaches. I know us, O’Shags, had the best one yet with new & old friends coming together over a cauldron of chili & infinite treats. 

 Traditions have always made me giddy, but becoming a mom has really made them a priority for me. Did I feel like carving pumpkins this year, honestly...no. Did I want to make the edible haunted house, not really. And did I feel like mustering up the energy for Halloween crafting & cleanup on a school night when I had a cold? You guessed it, heck to the NOOOO. But guess what else, I did it anyway & I’m so glad I did. 

 I’m just like you momma, it’s not that we don’t want to do “the things”. We always want to do them, & have all the best intentions of making time. Problem is, we think we have all month so we push it a day. Next thing we know, it’s Christmas & we’re left scratching our heads trying to figure out where in the world the time went. So, if you’re wondering where I get the energy or think I’m super mom loving every minute of the “things,” don’t let me fool you. I was tired, or it was getting late, or I just wanted to push it to the next night for whatever reason almost every night we did one of those things. I didn’t let that stop me, because I chose to be intentional about building traditions, sometimes even putting it above basic hygiene, allowing my kids to forgo baths one of the nights in order to bake & decorate Halloween cookies. We can’t do it all, & there isn’t enough time even if we could, but we can all make more of an effort to spend time as a family doing something, even just one thing, every holiday, because I promise your kids will remember it forever. As a mom, making memories that last a lifetime are a top priority, behind raising Godly & kind children. We are never promised tomorrow, so I want to spend as many special times with my kids as I can & give them things that will make them think of me & smile long after I’m gone. 

This is pretty much how Colton looked all night, except for an occasional “roar” when he felt like it

 One of those traditions is Chili on Halloween. Why? Well duh, it goes together like turkey & Thanksgiving, feeds a crowd, & is a fairly healthy, hearty meal perfect for fueling all the running around from door to door & carrying kids who are too tired to walk but too hyped to go home & miss out on more free candy. Oh, & best part...you can make it ahead of time, because Lord knows you’ll be running around to pick up the antlers you forgot for your kids costume, or searching for the glue gun to pin that tail back on at the last minute & won’t have time to think about kitchen duties. I’m well aware that the closest I’ll come to superwoman is an overpriced costume, so I know to check off as many to do’s as possible in advance. So, like many moms in kitchens across America, you can find me whipping up a big vat of warm, hearty goodness a day or two before the 31st. Scroll to the bottom for my chili recipe. Personally, I like mine pretty spicy, but keep it toned way down for my husband & all the kiddos who come over. I always put some fresh jalapeños out for those that want to kick it up a bit like me, along with the obvious toppings like sour cream, green onion, & of course cheddar cheese. 

 This was the perfect meal for the fifty some people we have over for the pre trick or treat meet up we host at our house. I wish I had more pictures to share, but it was a little hectic trying to get things & kids ready so I’m feeling pretty lucky to have even pulled off a family photo. We live in a great neighborhood & have friends that go all out for Halloween so it’s a pretty big deal for us. Most of the parents dress up too, & it’s become tradition since Kylie was born that we do a family theme. Although, I’m sure that’s a tradition that will die out when our kids become “too cool” for us. In the meantime though,  I’m relishing in it & the fact that she loves it too. She wanted to be Dorothy this year, mainly just because she wanted the sparkly, red heels (she’s my girl) so we all went with the Wizard of Oz theme. I missed posting my scarecrow makeup tutorial last week, but I used all my Limelife goodies for it, so even though I did it at 10am it held up all day & night. Find it all here. 

 I did a chili bar with uncrustables for kids that don’t like chili, snack bar, set up some games, & a photo backdrop with two $3 plastic table covers, balloons, & a Halloween banner. I had my old bulletin board numbers from teaching & meant to hang a “2019”, but of course forgot it, along with my freshly made guacamole in the fridge I never put out 🤦‍♀️. Snapping photos of my cute displays & party food also slipped my mind, so you’ll have to settle for these terrible post party pics instead haha.

 After everyone filled their bellies we headed out for the real fun on, well, basically a float through the neighborhood followed by a caravan of parents in golf carts. We normally drive to a street, let the kids hit up all the houses & meet back at the trailer before driving to a different part of the neighborhood to do it again. We pretty much have all the best streets figured out, ya know the ones with full size candy bars & homemade goodie bags. We don’t mess with you people who hand out toothbrushes or raisins. Although, I’ll admit that my guest bathroom is actually stocked with the 9 toothbrushes I collected last year from what I’m guessing was some dentists driveway & yard. So thanks for that, guy. We did hit a couple duds with pretzels this year, which my daughter handed me immediately upon opening & realizing it was something she is regularly permitted & went back to all the forbidden goodness she’s denied any other day. This created a domino affect for the kids around her, as four more handed me their discarded “treat” saying, “I don’t want these.” Haha. On the bright side, I now have a purse full of snacks for another day. 

 The down side to trick or treating, is that I’m not at the house to greet all the other neighborhood kids. So each year, despite my husband making fun of me & my belief in kids decency, I put a big bucket out with a sign to only take a few pieces. Each year the bucket is empty when we return within an hour or two & my husband laughs at me while I convince myself that we must have had a lot trick or treaters ha. This year I put a wine pairing chart & Scout & Cellar card out for the mommas too. If you aren’t local you can shop the organic wine here so you can enjoy a clean crafted glass, or two, or five without worrying about those pesky hangovers. I recommend pairing the Fiddleneck Syrah with a big bowl of chili. Add me, Heather O’Shaughnessy, as your consultant & email me if you have any questions.

 After a long night of fun, we headed back to a very messy house (mostly from all the hay that fell off my own costume), dug into some leftovers, & watched Charlie Brown’s The Great Pumpkin, which is another tradition for us. This year we got to do it with my best friend who doubles as the mommy to Kylie’s best friend ❤️. I hope you all had a night as “sweet” as ours, & if you’re weird & don’t eat chili on Halloween, go ahead & make it this week! Freeze the leftovers in zip lock bags & pull out again on a night your too busy to cook. 

 Oh, & just a random public service announcement..now is the time to hit up all the discounted Halloween costumes & save them for Christmas presents! Those dress up costumes are wicked expensive in the kids department all year, especially at Christmas, but they’ll be dirt cheap in the Halloween sections for the next week! You can bet I’ll be picking up a princess dress or two tomorrow, because playing Santa ain’t cheap, know what I’m sayin? Alright, back to chili , here’s my sure to hit the spot recipe.

Chili Recipe:

Ingredients

·  1tbs olive oil

·   2 lbs lean ground beef

·   1 ½ onion diced

·    4 cloves garlic minced

·    1 ½ green bell pepper chopped

·    15.5 oz can light red kidney beans drained & rinsed

·    7.5 oz can black beans drained & rinsed  

·    7.5 oz can cannellini beans drained & rinsed  

·    2 15.5 oz can crushed tomatoes

·    3 8oz cans tomato puree

·    2 chipotle peppers (from can) chopped

·    1 ½ cups beef broth

·    1 tablespoon tomato paste

·    1 tablespoon brown sugar

·    2 tsp worcestershire sauce

·    1tsp garlic powder

·    2 tsp paprika

·    ½ tsp coriander

·    ½ tsp basil

·    ¼ cup green enchilada sauce

·    ¼ cup red enchilada sauce

·    1 tsp salt

·    1 tsp black pepper

·    2 ½ tbs chili powder

·    2 ½ tsp cumin

·    Additional salt and pepper to taste

 Directions:

·        Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 

·        Add onion & green pepper & sauté about 3 minutes, then add garlic & sauté 30 seconds longer. Dump veggie mixture in crockpot

·        Return skillet to medium-high heat, add beef & worcestershire sauce & cook, stirring occasionally until beef has browned

·        Drain most of the fat from beef, leaving a little for added favor. Add browned beef to crockpot

·        Stir in remaining ingredients & salt & pepper to taste.

·        Cover crockpot & cook on low heat for 5 - 6 hours.

·        Stir in all your beans & allow to cook for another 30 mins to an hr. Serve warm with all your favorite toppings! Cheese, sour cream, avocado, green onion, jalapenos or whatever else you like. Enjoy friends!