Presidential Chili Con Carne

1 1/2 tablespoon(s) oil
1 1/2 pound(s) ground beef, lean, (chili grind)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/8 cup(s) flour
1 16 oz. can(s) tomatoes
1 1/2 tablespoon(s) tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon(s) black pepper
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 cup(s) beef broth, (made from bouillon)
3 tablespoon(s) chili powder
1 teaspoon(s) cumin
1/2 teaspoon(s) oregano, dried
1 teaspoon(s) salt
1 1/2 tablespoon(s) cider vinegar
1 small green bell pepper, chopped
1 15 oz. can(s) red kidney beans

1 15 oz. can Black Beans
Directions:
Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven and brown beef in 2 batches. When all meat is browned,remove with slotted spoon, leaving at least 1 tbsp of fat in skillet. Add onions, cover pan, andcook over low heat, about 5 minutes. Remove lid, raise heat to medium, and stir onions untiluniformly light brown, not charred. Sprinkle flour over onions and continue to stir and cook for acouple of minutes.Chop tomatoes, reserving juice. Then add beef, tomatoes with juice, and all remaining ingredients,except bell pepper and beans, to the pot containing onions and flour. Place over medium heat. Bringto a boil and simmer, covered, for 1-1/2 hours, adding water, if needed, to thin.At end of simmering time, add bell pepper. Simmer another 15 minutes. Add beans and simmerapproximately 5 minutes longer. Let cool, store in containers and then freeze.

Reheating instructions:Thaw in refrigerator the night before day of consumption. Heat in microwave or on stovetop,stirring often to distribute heat evenly, until hot throughout

Wedding Expo, Boston South Shore

Come meet Fusion Personal Chef and Catering Services at a Wedding Expo on:
February 22, 2008
11 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Indian Pond Country Club
60 Country Club Way
Kingston, MA

Receive $100 off your wedding if you mention this Blog.

When is my kitchen going to be finished?

The title above is what I hear all the time from clients who decided to remodel their kitchens. They are sick and tired of eating out at restaurants or ordering the same ole thing night after night. Well it might be time to kick the take out place off your speed dial and add back your grandma, the person you probably replace with the take out person and call Fusion. We have meals that will suit everyone in your family. Our Ready, Cook, Serve... Menus are easy and function well in the toaster oven or microwave. We deliver them to you so you don't have to think about what's for dinner. email us for more information.

Hit and Miss Restaurants Part II

Below is my Hit and Miss opinions on restaurants or hotels I have been too in the last four months. These are opinions of Chef Christine and not statements.

Hit- Great Burgers at the Charlie Horse in West Bridgewater, MA. The Champion Burger was the best burger I have ever had. It was cooked they way I wanted it, Medium Rare and boy was it juicy. The fries were excellent too. I could tell that the fryer oil is cleaned daily.

Miss- Super Mondo Platter at Cantina #1 in the Mall of America; Bloomington,MN. It was the worst Mexican food I ever had. No flavor at all. The spinach dip was terrible until I added some salt and pepper with Tabasco sauce. My husband and I agreed that it might be a place to just drink and eat the chips and salsa. Also, you could tell from the Chips that the fryer oil was burnt. I did like the ambiance of the restaurant. The chairs will comfy.

Major Hit and a must eat at Place!
Olivadi- Central Street in Norwood
This restaurant has to have the best Italian food I have ever tasted. I had the Chicken Parmigiano. I was very surprised to find out it didn't come out of a box and then fried. My taste buds were truly tantalized by just the right amount of sauce and the crispy baked crust. Its a definite must place to eat.

Hit- Bon Fire in Savage, MN
Over the Holiday break, I spent it in cold Minnesota. My brother Nathan recommended Bon Fire to us as a great place to eat and he was right. Bon Fire is know for their Brick oven and rotisserie. Since it was lunch my husband and I order both the tomato- basil soup and White Bean Chili. I could tell the soups were made in house. On a side note, I don't understand why restuarants buy their soups, its easy to make your own and less expensive, plus customers can tell the difference. Anyway, we then ordered the Hictory Burger, which had BBQ sauce on it with a side of fries. The burger was tantalizing and the fries were crispy. My brother yelled at us because I guess you don't go there for a Burger, the Steaks are the top prize and so is the Beer Can chicken which we saw being cooked on the open flame.

Another Hit place to go is your Mom's house. Food is alway's delicious and always free. What a bargin place to eat on a tight budget? Also, she loves the company.

Thats all for Hit and Miss Restaurants Part II. Come back and see what Part III has to offer.

Losing and Maintaining Weight is a Second Job Part II

Well its over, the family did excellent. We ended up losing a total of 104 lbs. My sister Jennifer lost over 30 lbs. But then again we say that we are not finished. See my brother Nathan and his finance are getting married in June, I know I could lose some more weight before that happens. Here's a little hint on losing weight without sacrificing your mainstay foods, just cut the portion sizes in half and try to cut the butter.
Restaurant portions are way too big in the US. My really good friend and his wife every time I go out to eat with them, share their meals at restaurants. I can see why they have maintained a healthy life style. Also, if your low on cash its a great way to eat out without spending a lot of money.
If making Chocolate Chip Cookies, change the all purpose flour for whole wheat. Join in on the fun, make losing weight a game, but still hold yourself accountable for losing the jelly belly.
If you are like me, you probably like to socially drink beer, well on a weight loss run, switch to light beer, less calories and carbs.
Ok, there is a miss conception on carbs out there. People you need carbs in your diet, they will get you through the day. Eat your carbs for Breakfast and try to stay away from them at night. The reason is that carbs contain sugar that your blood needs to get you through the day. Carbs are not needed at night because your body is in shut down mood getting ready to sleep. In the morning you can have a delicious whole wheat, multi grain or bran anything in the morning. Coffee is ok too, but leave out the added stuff like cream or sugar. In fact switch to herbal teas. I am a chef and I don't drink coffee, so if I can get through my day without it, so can you.
Don't forget to snack during the day!!! An apple or piece of fruit three hours after you eat is volatile in helping the body burn more calories. I am no expert at this but, I have heard that when the body is digesting good foods, it burns calories while processing it down.

Don't forget to drink water!!! Eight glasses a day really helps. Well everyone, I will be updating you on the Kaderlik Biggest Loser II. There is only three players but we still have another 100 lbs to lose.

Since the New Year is around the corner, I will pledge only 1 hour of my life to exercise everyday. What is your goal?

Losing and Maintaining Weight is a Second Job

For the last 35 weeks, my family has been going through a Biggest Loser Challenge. So far we have lost 127 lbs. We all have goals and we all have jobs that make us money. Losing or maintaining the weight can be a second job that has a huge pay off, not only medical, but physical. Losing excess weight can put years back on your life. We are doing it, can you. So...

How are we losing all that weight. Its accountibility and when people notice our weight loss, it makes us feel good. Some in the family have changed what they are eating. I have designed a Home Healthy Cooking Clinic;this clinic is designed to teach people who are losing or maintaining weight to cook healthy for under $10.00 a meal per person.

I will keep you posted on what happens on week 47. Thats the final weigh in. For more information on the Home Healthy Cooking Clinic, log onto http://www.fusionpcs.net/

Washington D.C. and Baltimore Trip

Well I just got back from my trip to Washington D.C. Baltimore and would like to make a couple of comments on the food and hotel there. I have to say its hit or miss.

Miss- Capitol City Brewing Company- I am a beer women and have tried over 100 different kinds beers from major breweries to micro. This was a Micro-Brewery which serves food and brews there own beer on premise. I tried four of the Beers which I thought were sub par. I especially didn't like the one that had a black licorice taste to it. I order the Beer Marinated Chicken sandwich. It was moist and not over cooked, but it wasn't something to write home to my mom about.

Hit-National's Ball Park
Since we ate at the Capitol City Brewing Company, we only had ice cream at this park. I have to say this park has the best ice cream. Its Edy's, I got to pick my flavor favor Butter Pecan and it was put in a little helmet that I took home. I started a collection and now have six helmets from different parks. I would recommend the ice cream at this park.

Hit- Kambalaya, this is a Thai Restaurant located in China Town off of 6th St and H St. The Premeow was fabulous, great flavor and would order again and again.

Hit- The Liaison Hotel on New Jersey Avenue.
This was a 3 1/2 Star hotel who lived up to its star rating. Sleeping on the bed was like sleeping on a cloud and the pillows were softer than a baby's bottom. The bathrooms are small but elegant, but fit the purpose. The hotel offer free comp. breakfast and a pool on the roof. The hotel did have restaurant but was in remodel phase and will be opening in a short couple of weeks. The only miss on this hotel was, the staff needs to know more about the city. We were directed the wrong way to the Nationals Park.

Hit- The Metro- this is Washington D.C.'s train system. It is the best way to get around the city. We did get the Sightseeing bus tour but then found out the day pass on the metro was less expensive.

Miss- The Daily Grill near St. Marks Cathedral
I ordered the Grilled Lime Marinated Chicken Salad. The presentation was awful and I had to go find the chicken. They cut up the chicken in bit size pieces.The lettuce leaves looked like they were on there way out and whats up with shedding the lettuce for a salad, it doesn't serve when to the guests. Also the Citrus dressing didn't taste like citrus dressing. It had enough olive oil to fill the Potomic River. I would not go there again.

We moved ourselves to Baltimore to check out the Charm City while going to Camden Yards to see the Redsox play the Orioles. Here is my hit and Miss in Baltimore.

Major Miss- Mount Vernon Hotel on Franklin St.
After prepaying for a room we booked we were walked to another hotel to be told the next day we would have to come back to this hotel. We lost slot of time and money at the next hotel and were late for the game. I hate being late for a baseball game;quite frankly I thinks its rude to the other fans who arrived on time. The amenities were awful, the staff didn't know anything and the computer systems were down most of the time. We were told it was going to be a comp. breakfast but ended up paying for breakfast. Inside the room, the right window was cracked, the beds were not comfy and the bathrooms looked elegant until I saw the plastic bathtub and shower surround. The location was awful, one wrong turn and your in the Ghetto. My advice would be to just stay on Charles St. going toward the Inner Harbor. Overall, I wouldn't recommend my Dogs to stay there. If you are going to Baltimore, pay extra to stay in the Inner Harbor Area, its worth your life.

Hit- The intercontinental Hotel- Inner Harbor
This is the hotel we got walked too. It was just a nice hotel, the amenities were great and the staff was extra friendly. The rooms were elegant and the bathrooms were a delight that included a deep bathtub for easy relaxation while watching TV. The Internet cost 11.95 a day but if you're a business owner like me, its worth checking your email. The fitness center with Spa Whirlpool and pool were a delight to soak in after long walks. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

Hit- Phillips Seafood Restaurant- Inner Harbor Area
I had the King Crab Mac-n-Cheese. It was filling and delicious. The only complaint I have is, when we went it was Redsox fans galore. The restaurant didn't prepare itself for a heavy lunch crowd but the service was excellent at the bar.

Hit-Camden Yards Ballpark
This has to be the best sporting event venue for eating I have ever been in. The ribs at the Jack Daniels stand were finger licking good. They were accompanied by coleslaw and beans. I am picky with coleslaw, some people make it great and some make it non-editable. The was definitely editable. The hot dogs had the perfect crunch when biting into them. Overall, I would eat in this park.

Major Hit- The Baltimore Aquarium
So much to see and do, i can't tell you in words, you have to check it out for yourself.

Well that is all for my trip to D.C. and Baltimore. Check back here often, I like to travel and eat new foods. Next stop, Ship Bottom, New Jersey.