The following “Chew This!” column has been reprinted from “The Courier-Times”, Saturday November 21st 2020 edition. By: Blaise Doubman. This column also appeared in “The Shelbyville News”.

More with my friend, Amee Gregory…
Blaise Doubman

I first introduced everyone to my friend Amee Gregory in my last column, dated November 7th. If you are joining us again for our second part, thank you. If you missed out, where have you been? Ha! Seriously though, you can find our first conversation and my previous column, on my website TRAILBLAISE at http://trailblaise.com Let me allow Amee to continue with her conversation. We had just ended on her journey into how she found her love for cooking…

Fast forward 10 years from my initial interest in cooking and now I have 4 kids. Now it is not just a “want-to” cook issue it is a “got-too” issue! But I love it. I love serving not only my family, but anyone who comes through our door. Food brings people together and hospitality is just who I am. It is like a God-given gift and I use it to show people that I care about them. I love to feed my parents now and they are always bragging on my cooking and I love that. They did the best they could with what they had raising me, and I love them dearly. Whether we had home cooked meals or not, we always had some kind of food and it took a lot of sacrifice for them to even provide just that. I have learned through time, that some of my favorite recipes are crock-pot recipes. I do though, however, enjoy cooking more than I do baking because we need a meal more than we need dessert. My culinary inspiration is none other than Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman! She has inspired me to try even more recipes with her step by step photos. It is on my bucket list to visit Pawhuska, OK, where she owns a hotel, restaurant, and mercantile. I gravitate to Instagram for my internet outlet in this stage of my life, so that is where you will find me and what I am currently cooking. Instagram is where I connected with Blaise the Baker, but I have been a fan of his for years! I have clipped and saved recipes from his “CHEW THIS”! column, so when I got on Instagram, I looked him up so I could access more of his recipes and a friendship was born! If you are wondering how I find the time to cook, my advice is you have to simply carve out time! Meal planning is on Monday mornings for me. After a busy weekend, I sit down in the morning with my coffee and cookbooks and go through them and see what sounds good and what will work with our family schedule. If we have a lot going on or I am going to be gone all day, then crock-pot recipes save the day every single time! My cooking advice is, keep it simple, and all you really need is a “want-to” and YouTube! Ha!

Amee Gregory’s Chili

Amee would like to credit this particular chili recipe to her longtime friend, Lesley Ellingwood, who first taught her how to make the basics of this recipe when Amee first got married. Leftovers should be kept chilled.

2 lbs. ground beef chuck
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 small onion, chopped
2 small cans Brooks brand mild chili beans
1 can of dark red kidney beans
1 package of Brooks brand chili seasoning
1 large can tomato juice

In a large pot, brown together the meat, prepared green bell pepper and prepared onion.

Add in the mild chili beans, dark red kidney beans, chili seasoning and tomato juice.

Simmer over medium to low heat for 30 minutes. Makes 14 servings.

Ask and Answer: Special photography thanks to Amee’s daughter, Morgan. She does photography for hire and can be found on Instagram at Morganrosephotography. She also does beautiful wedding hair talent and can be found in Instagram at crowns_of_glory. Morgan is an incredibly talented, creative and gifted young woman. Thank you, Morgan, for beautiful photos.