During the week, my oldest child gets up and fixes his own breakfast, so my breakfast responsibility is simply for two littles.  My middle kiddo would survive on graham crackers and milk (the graham crackers crushed in the milk and eaten as cereal) daily and the not-so-little baby of the family would eat cheese sticks and waffles every morning if I let her.

I’ll admit it — I am not ashamed to be honest and say that I do not go all out with breakfast!  I’m barely awake most mornings and in the mad dash to get it all done before the kindergarten bus arrives, I take whatever I can get as long as it means a full belly.

We recently became fans of the Muffin Tin Lunch phenomenon (google it!  You’ll be amazed at what you find!) and will be having one today for lunch.

I just purchased new silicone muffin tins (makes them not so much of a ‘tin’ anymore doesn’t it?) for each of the little ones, so that they no longer have to share, but we’ve yet to use them.

Muffin Tin Lunches allow me to make sure they are getting *enough* lunch, and for some reason it is super fun for them to eat this way!

I am going to spend a majority of this afternoon getting tubs and boxes torn down from a recent family event that I hosted.  Running a small business from my home is very exciting and rewarding, but it is difficult to balance the responsibilities of a household AND the demands of the business.

The majority of our dinner meals have either utilized the crockpot or have been previously prepared, with the only daily work being to warm the main dish and prepare side dishes.

I’m going to make chili for tonight’s meal - enough for this evening and enough to freeze for another day.

Bear with me as I try to give you a recipe (my chili is never the same from one time to the next!):

• 2 lbs ground beef (as lean as possible)
• 2 large onions - diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic - chopped
• container of fresh mushrooms - diced
• 3-4 green peppers - diced
• 6-8 vine tomatoes or large can of peeled whole tomatoes - diced (juices reserved!!)
• 4 cans of chili beans
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Cumin
• Sugar
• Tabasco sauce

Brown the beef in a large skillet and when it is about halfway done, add in the onions, garlic, green peppers and mushrooms.  Saute until beef is fully browned and onions and peppers are semi-soft.

Transfer contents of skillet to a large stockpot or your crockpot and begin adding in tomatoes, tomato juice, chili beans until you have a very thick consistency.

Here comes the fun part!  Don’t measure, but instead feel your way through the seasoning process.  Add a bit of each chili, garlic and cumin until it “tastes right.”  Heat mixture to a simmer and cook until liquid begins to appear, stirring occasionally.

As your chili begins to reach the appropriate consistency, begin adding in small amounts of sugar (the sugar is a very important part of my chili!) and comparative amounts of Tabasco sauce … using the same “until it tastes right” motto.

If you use a stockpot, be careful not to let the bottom of the chili scorch! My favorite way to cook chili is definitely my crockpot … a “fix it and forget it” method that will allow me to spend a good portion of the afternoon working on purging and straightening up from last weekend’s event.

Serve with shredded cheddar and LOTS of Saltine crackers!  I’ve tried to replace Saltines with oyster crackers, and my attempt was met with many sighs.  Saltines and shredded cheddar it is!

I’m not sure what tomorrow will bring, but as we have a very full rest of the week with various school programs, business related meetings and several fundraisers to get off of the ground, I’m sure we’ll be winging it as far as healthy meal options go.  See you tomorrow!

Find more Tummy Tempting recipes at Blessed With Grace.

Thank you for opening your kitchen to us all this week, Naomi.

If you are interested in participating as a guest blogger for this 3 Moms feature, please leave us a comment or send us an email at 3moms@happytobeathome.net. We are looking for a variety of women willing to open their kitchens for one week to all of our readers. You do not even have to have your own blog in order to participate.

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