Texas Straw Hat – And Really Big Rabbits!

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When I was around seven or so , my grandmother Lucille, got to go to Dallas, Texas. This doesn’t seem like much these days but no one in my family had ever been out of our little corner of the country at that time it felt as if we had a world traveler suddenly among us!

She went with a group of ladies from her work and even though it was only a short trip, she came back loaded down with postcards and souvenirs for all of us.  I had no idea where Texas was at the time but my worn out Pecos Bill storybook record kept my mind reeling with what all Grandmama must have experienced – that and one particular postcard she sent me that I will never forget as long as I live.

Imagine being a seven year old girl hearing tales of Texas and then getting this in the mail:

I just KNEW my Grandmama had ridden that rabbit!

And to be honest ~lowers her voice and looks around to make sure it’s just us here~ when I went to Texas for a weekend five years ago, I kept my eyes peeled for it…just in case.  After all, it IS Texas…

Today I’m bringing you another easy ground beef recipe. Don’t you just love recipes that use the words “easy” and “ground beef”? For me, that spells food for the masses! This one is also easy to tailor to what you have on hand so don’t go out buying special ingredients if you don’t already have them. Feel free to add drained diced tomatoes or tomato sauce in lieu of the tomato paste, leave out the thyme if you like and just add a little extra chili powder. Cook it until it is nice and thick for layering and you’ve essentially just made yourself a Frito Chili Pie. But we’ll call it the same thing Granny Jordan did when she made it and maybe smile a bit as we think about how many tribes a Texas rabbit stew would feed!

To make it by Granny Jordan’s recipe you’ll need: Chili powder, tomato sauce, onion, pepper, thyme, salt, fritos, and some cheese.

And some ground beef, of course.

You know what is cool about this recipe? I made the meat up and then just popped whatever was left in the fridge so throughout the weekend if anyone is hungry they can just heat up some meat and toss it on some corn chips! It’s kinda like my pizza rolls, gives you some time off from cooking later :). I love cooking, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a beautiful sunny day and my Katy and I like spending some time in the back yard swings seeing if we can touch the sky with our feet. I think Katy is almost there…

Brown your beef and onion together.

Usually I have my beef all browned and in the freezer and just take out a bag to use in order to cut out an extra step but we all have off days

Drain your grease off good and add tomato sauce and chilli powder…

add Salt and Pepper…

And thyme…

You know what I’m gonna try next time that I think would be good?

Italian seasoning. Y’all just don’t know how much I love that stuff!

and Worcestershire.

Now just for kicks, close your eyes and see if you can spell that word…

and pour in your water.

My photos are out of sequence here but basically, after you got the beef browned, just add everything else except the cheese and chips ~grins~

Stir all of that up good and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.

 

Serve atop corn chips, topped with cheese.

Sour cream would be good, too!

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“Keep away from the people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.”

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Gratefully,

Christy 🙂