Tonight's homestyle chili. 2 lb ground beef, 1 onion, couple of squirts of tomato paste, ancho chile powder, regular chili powder, garlic salt, pepper, Mexican oregano, smoked paprika, cumin, touch of cinnamon, can of crushed tomatoes, can of black beans, can of borracho beans

I made the America's Test Kitchen Light and Fluffy Pancakes for brunch both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday's turned out a little wonky because I doubled the recipe and forgot to double the egg. Sunday's (pictures 1 and 2) turned out beautifully and indeed, light and fluffy.

We made the buttermilk brined roast chicken from Salt Fat Acid Heat on Saturday night, and it was both beautiful and super juicy and delicious.

I made a cute little 4-inch layer (across) layer cake. Probably closer to 4.5-5 inches once I got the frosting on. The occasion? We wanted cake.

Chana masala from America's Test Kitchen, along with naan from Joy of Cooking. The naan was a little crispy on the bottom but still super tasty.

Made chili colorado today based on a Chili Pepper Madness recipe. I used pork stew meat instead of beef, blended the onion and jalapeno into the sauce with all of the reconstituted dried peppers, and strained the sauce after blending so it was extra smooth. Turned out really well!

Our annual dinner at Restaurant Mixtli in San Antonio was delicious and memorable. My favorite courses were the scallop ceviche, bread course with seeded brioche, barley butter and olive oil/anchovy reduction, and the beef loin that was so tender I probably could have eaten it with a spoon.

Alamo-shaped sugar cookies are my favorite.

I made rosettes (Norwegian crispy fried cookies) today. It takes a lot of work to get a few that look good, but if you eat your mistakes people will think you're perfect.

You can tell the exact moment where I had to reheat the mixture for my great-grandmother's cream pralines, and also the exact moment where I gave up and turned the rest of the batch into candied pecans.

I wish I'd taken more pictures of what may be the best carne guisada I've ever had. I was in charge of chopping vegetables and making tortillas; my lovely boyfriend did literally everything else. ❤️

At least Zach Collins is getting his money's worth with those techs
#GoSpursGo #PorVida

This dryer is 21 years old. It stopped spinning this week due to a busted belt. I fixed it and replaced a couple of other worn parts in less than an hour and am keeping this dryer off the streets. Yes, I am very proud of myself.

Is tiramisu a cake? We may never know.

Tiramisu is *totally* a #Thanksgiving dessert.

Carne guisada: the finished product.

Carne guisada in progress.

My son and I put up our Christmas tree last night, in an effort to inject a little color and light into our lives. I'm usually a day-after-Thanksgiving decorator, but I kinda needed it early this year.

I enjoyed a peaceful weekend camping at Choke Canyon State Park (shout-out to @texasparkswildlife.bsky.social) and saw a zillion birds. Loved hanging out at the bird sanctuary for a while!