The Great Christmas Tree Hunt and Chili Supper 2019

Jan here, sharing one of our favorite Black Hills traditions - our church's annual Tree Hunt and Chili Supper.

Would you believe I forgot to take my camera this year? But I did have my phone and remembered to take a picture of the intrepid hunters taking their captured trees back to the truck for the ride home!

It was a successful afternoon all around, complete with snowball fights, sledding, snow fort building (I wish I had taken a picture of the snow fort!) and a lot of visiting with friends and family. The temperatures were in the upper 30's, so we lingered in the forest while the children played. But as the sun made it's way toward the western hills, we knew it was time to make the journey back down the mountains. After all, the chili supper was waiting for us!

I've made a lot of different chili recipes for this special event over the years, but I don't think I've ever shared this one.

Chili, the healthy way

with vegetarian options!

Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef (optional - this chili has enough protein without the beef)
1/2 onion
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
4 cups (cooked) small red beans or kidney beans
4 cups beef stock or vegetable broth
1 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon salt

I cook the beans in my instant pot the day before I make the chili, or you can soak and cook them the more conventional way - whichever works for you. Start with 2 cups dried beans to yield 4 cups cooked beans. (Or you can use 3 cans of beans...)

For my beef broth, I used some of the beef bone stock I made last winter. (See my post on making beef stock here!)

For the ground beef, I usually use a pound of the grass-fed beef we get from our friends, the ranchers. But I don't have any on hand right now, so I just used ground beef from the store.

Are these special ingredients? Not really - but you need to plan ahead to use them. Of course, you can always buy these ingredients at the grocery store!

Brown the meat and onion together. Put all ingredients together in a crock pot. Cook on low for about 9-10 hours.

Serve with any toppings you like. A dollop of sour cream is particularly tasty.

This chili isn't hot and spicy - there are just enough of the spices to give it a warm, savory flavor. If you like your chili with a bit of a kick, add some hot chili peppers or more cayenne pepper!


Enjoy!

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com

Chili for the Win! and The Great Christmas Tree Hunt 2018

Jan here, continuing a series of posts that I started last week, all about healthy eating BEFORE the Christmas feasting begins! (Click here to read last week's post.)

Last week's recipe, oven baked egg cups, were low-carb and delicious. Full of the healthy fats our bodies love.

But man (and woman) does not live on healthy fats alone! Our bodies also crave carbs - healthy carbs.

FYI - That cookie you're eyeing right now? That is not an example of healthy carbs.

Healthy carbs are fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Add a source of low-fat protein like chicken, turkey, or beans, and you have a great low-fat meal.

By the way, if you follow the Trim Healthy Mama way of eating, you are already familiar with keeping the low-carb and the low-fat meals separate. It becomes a way of life.

This recipe is one I've shared before, but this is the perfect week for it. Yesterday was our Great Christmas Tree Hunt and Chili Supper, one of our favorite Black Hills traditions!

Chili Verde

(aka "Green Chili")

ingredients:

2 quarts chicken broth

2 cups cooked, diced chicken or turkey

3 cans Great Northern Beans, or one pound beans cooked

2 small cans diced green chilies

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt to taste

Combine the ingredients in your slow cooker, large pot, or pressure cooker.

In the slow cooker, cook on high for 4 - 6 hours.

In a large pot (stove-top), simmer on medium heat for about an hour.

In a counter-top pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot), cook for 10 minutes on high pressure and use the natural pressure release (about 30 minutes total time.)

The Chili Supper was a success, as always. We had nine different pots of chili-type soups, including borscht! One of my favorites was sweet potato chili with bison for the meat. Yum!

And the Great Christmas Tree Hunt was one of the best because we had a beautiful, fluffy layer of snow covering everything.

You know I love spending time up in the Hills, and Sunday afternoon was no exception.

But I noticed something this time... When we're in the Hills, we're walking among giants.

Sure, we're looking for that special tree. The one that will look perfect in our house this year. But while we're looking for that six foot or eight foot tree...

We're surrounded by massive pines that have stood here for a century or more.

And this is only a small part of the forest.... The Black Hills National Forest covers only 1.25 million acres out of the almost 190 million acres of national forest land in the United States.

Is there a national forest near you? Probably. There is a national forest or national grassland in all but ten states. Look up your state and plan a trip to the great outdoors! List of National Forests by State and List of Canadian Forests by Province

But here's the big question: Was this year's tree hunt successful? Of course it was!

Did you find a national forest near you? Do you think you might plan a trip there next year?

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt and Chili Supper 2017

This weekend was the long-awaited Christmas Tree Hunt!

Jan here, sharing one of our favorite Black Hills traditions - our church's annual Tree Hunt and Chili Supper.

We rarely need an excuse to head up into the Hills on a beautiful Sunday afternoon, especially when we get to do it with a few of our closest friends!

I think I've mentioned how our church is growing...sixty-one folks from our church gathered for this year's hunt.

photo by Janet Sartorius :-)

The weather was a lovely 55°, even though it was a bit overcast due to an approaching storm front. This lovely spot in the middle of the Hills is expecting 4"-6" of snow overnight Sunday and into Monday, our first real snow of the season.

But we found our tree, and then we all headed back to the church for the chili supper.

I made one of our favorite chili recipes this year - Chili Verde - which is really more white than green. :-) But it's tasty, not too spicy, and super easy to throw together.

Chili Verde

ingredients:

2 quarts chicken broth

2 cups cooked, diced chicken (I often use canned chicken)

3 cans Great Northern Beans, or another large white bean

2 small cans diced green chilies

1/2 medium onion, chopped

2 Tablespoons cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon chili powder (I used chipotle chili powder)

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt to taste

Combine the ingredients in your slow cooker, large pot, or pressure cooker.

In the slow cooker, cook on high for 4 - 6 hours.

In a large pot (stove-top), simmer on medium heat for about an hour.

In a counter-top pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot), cook for 10 minutes on high pressure and use the natural pressure release (about 30 minutes total time.)

That's it! Super simple, and delicious on a snowy, stormy day.

And this is a perfect dish to make when you want or need to use your pantry. I always keep a stock of these ingredients on hand, so this is a dish I can make even if we haven't made a trip to the store in a few weeks...or months. 

So, where is your favorite spot to find your Christmas tree?

Jan Drexler lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband and growing family. When she isn't writing, she loves hiking in the Hills or satisfying her cross stitch addiction.

You can find Jan on Facebook, Jan Drexler, author, or her website, Jan Drexler.com

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt of 2016, and Orange-Molasses Snickerdoodles

It's that time again!

Our midday view to the south in December.

Long nights, short days, and Christmas trees!!!

Every year, on the first Sunday afternoon in December, folks from our church make a mad dash up into the Hills. We spend a couple hours tromping through the woods, looking for the perfect Christmas tree, then head back to the church for a chili supper.

After many years (this is the sixth year for our family!), we've developed a method that has proven successful every time.

The first ones to arrive at base camp build a fire.

Then we gather, spending many minutes chatting and visiting. Thatcher made a new friend this year. :)

He wasn't too sure about Titus until a snack was shared between boy and dog. Now they're best buds.

But finally, all have arrived and it's time to head into the forest with our saws and high hopes of finding the perfect tree.

Thatcher has an unusual hunting technique. He runs as fast as he can until he thinks we're too far behind. Then he races back, tags one of us, and he's off again. By the end of the hunt, he was one tired Corgi!

And then - look! - can it be? The perfect tree?

It takes experience to pick the perfect tree from 1.2 million acres of forest! The one to the left looks good, until you notice the big hole on the lower right. The one in back? WAY too big! That one in the front center?

Yes, I see the hole on the right side of this one, too. Shhh! It will look beautiful once it's decorated!

The next step is to cut our perfect tree and carry it back to the car.

Before you wonder if our adventure is beneficial and legal...yes, and yes. Cutting the trees this way helps thin out the smaller trees, which can grow in thick groves, stunting the growth of all of them. The trees are much healthier if there is space between them and plenty of room to grow. Thinning the trees helps cut down on Pine Beetle damage and forest fires.

Legal? Yes, we bought our permit!

Then, finally, once everyone has chosen successfully bagged their trees, we all pose for a group picture.

With all those hungry, cold people who have spent the afternoon hiking and hauling trees, you'd think the chili supper would be a hit. And you would be right!

I took a crock pot full of my favorite chili (you can find that recipe here), and we also had venison chili, Cincinnati-style chili, two kinds of white chili, a half-dozen pots of chili of various degrees of heat, some beef stew, and Dan's chili. Dan's chili is more than spicy. It's in a class by itself!

But this year, I thought I'd share the dessert that my daughter, Carrie, brought.

Orange-Molasses Snickerdoodles

The original recipe for these cookies came from the Food Network magazine (a great magazine for people who love to cook!), but Carrie substituted candied orange peel for the orange zest. Delicious!

ingredients:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup plus 3 Tablespoons sugar

1 large egg

2 Tablespoons molasses

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 400°.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Beat the butter and 3/4 cup sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in the egg, then the molasses and orange zest.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Then beat in the flour mixture until just combined.

Combine the cinnamon and the remaining 3 Tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Roll heaping Tablespoonfuls of dough into balls, then roll in the cinnamon sugar to coat.

Arrange 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. 

Bake until the cookies are just set around the edges but the centers are still soft, 11-13 minutes. Let cool 3 minutes on the baking sheets, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Carrie added a squiggle of Royal Icing and some sprinkles to dress the cookies up for Christmas.

And how are the newlyweds doing? Getting ready to spend their first married Christmas together!

In other exciting news, "Hannah's Choice" is available in e-book for only 99 cents!!!

Go Here to get a copy for your Nook from Barnes and Noble,

or go Here to get a copy from Amazon for your Kindle.

Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.

Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com