Trying To Be Good Makes Me Feel Bad

On Wednesday night I cleaned up after dinner and started to think about what I should pull out for Thursday's dinner. I'm trying to work on using what we have. I'm a sucker for the "Buy One, Get One" deals and hit up Costco monthly, so I always have stuff that sits around for a while. (I'm working on that.) After taking a looksie through the cabinet and fridge, I realized I could throw together chili in the crock pot.

The next morning (at 5:30 am) I threw together tons of diced tomatoes, ground turkey, garlic powder, onions, onion powder, zucchini, chili powder, corn, kidney beans, and jalapenos. I had to use the big girl crock pop, because it turned out to be a crap load of chili.

When it came time for me to take a shower and get ready for work I was feeling pretty good about myself, but as I stepped under the steamy water my mind went to Haiti. Here I was TRYING not to waste food. TRYING to use what I have on hand. And I was making an obscene amount of food. Ridiculous for two people. That's when I faced my reality. Yes, we're stretched financially, who isn't? And, hell yeah, I spend a lot of timing worrying and complaining about the things I don't have and can't afford, like plane tickets and a personal trainer. But, there is nothing more sobering than what is going on in Haiti right now.

As I watch my bank account hobble along, I'm taking some time today to figure out what organization is doing the best work and making a donation. I hope you will too. If we can't go help with our hands, we can at least use our dollars. However few we can spare. Right?

And for those of you wondering how the chili came out: It was alright. Yesterday was an incredibly stressful day (more on that later) and I was hoping to walk into an inviting house smelling of really nice chili. Instead, it smelled like chili-flavored dog food (or dog food-flavored chili for that matter) and it was really bland. So, I doctored it up with some grill seasoning, bbq sauce, beer, cayenne pepper, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and an obscene amount of chili powder. Upon tasting, I realized I went too far with the spice, so had to add celery to take down the heat. Ultimately, I somehow managed to make a very spicy, yet not-so-flavorful chili. But Matt liked it, so he'll eat it for a couple of days.