My menu for Texas Independence Day

While it may still be chilly and cold, I love this time of year, as the promise of spring is so close. Dreaming of wildflowers and warmer weather helps me get through the iciest and coldest of days. And just think, in a few weeks we’ll be seeing bluebonnets!

Some of you have asked where I’ve been lately. Well, the past month I have been away from my kitchen working on a project, and haven’t been able to make any new recipes to share with you. (This project is very exciting, though, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it!)

That said, Texas Independence Day is coming up on March 2. While you never need an excuse to celebrate Texas, here are some favorite dishes from my archives that are perfect for honoring such a momentous day.

Happy birthday, Texas! And I'm looking forward to spending more time with y'all soon!

Appetizers:
Bacon jalapeño cheese ball
Bob Armstrong Dip
Guacamole
Nachos
Texas trash

Main dishes:
Beef enchiladas
Chicken-fried steak
Dr Pepper pulled brisket
Frito pie
King Ranch casserole
Peppery pinto beans with sausage
Seven-chile chili
Steak fingers with jalapeño cream gravy

Breads:
Biscuits
Cornbread
Flour tortillas
Jalapeño cheese bread


Desserts:
Chocolate pie
Kolaches
Pecan pie
Ruby Red grapefruit and pecan sheet cake
Ruby Red grapefruit cookies

Chile verde con carne (beef green chili)

Like most people, I grew up eating food cooked in a slow cooker. Whether it was an easy way to have dinner on the table after a long day of work, or a place to park your queso during a party, slow cookers were a large part of my life in Texas. Yet for some reason I never bought my own. I’m not quite sure why though I think it’s probably a space issue more than anything. My kitchen is small and as it is now, my stand mixer lives on my desk. Whenever I thought about getting a slow cooker I wondered where it would go.

Then a bunch of friends started reading a popular book about tidying up and only keeping objects that bring you joy, and I opened my hall closet and realized it was filled with empty shoe boxes and other silly things that would make room for a slow cooker if I threw them away. So I did.

The next morning, I went to the cookware store and bought my slow cooker. As I was checking out in line the cashier asked me what was the first thing I was going to make and I told her I had no idea. She suggested chili. “It’s perfect this time of year.”



Indeed, a few weeks ago I’d made a chile verde con carne (beef green chili) on the stove, which I’d loved and had been eager to make again. And fortunately at home I had all the ingredients to make this green chili, and so began the process of adapting my stovetop recipe for the slow cooker instead.
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