Cooking Quick Chilli (Independent Living Skills Series 26)

I had to be picked up by my computer instructor due to my bus pass being expired. I got to the center with some of my classmates early enough to have a chat before class. Today, before we started our lessons, we had a class meeting. The class has decided to have a pot luck/gift exchange party before Christmas break. Over the next week we will decide who is going to bring what to the party. I’m excited to have some fun after all the hard work we put into our lessons. 😊

After our meeting, my teacher, classmate, and I went into the kitchen to decide what to cook. Since it was a cold day, I suggested we have soup. Quick chilli was on the menu. We quickly got a school car and went to Publix. When we got to the store, I found out that my favorite chocolate chip muffins were on special. Buy one get one for free at the price of $4.99 was something I could not pass up. After I had gotten my guilty pleasure we went to the deli and picked up two loafs of Italian bread; my classmate and I got to choose two types of meat for sandwiches. I chose Black Forest Ham and my classmate chose sliced Boars head chicken.

We then moved on to the seasons section. We decided to get the McCormick Mild chilli spice, then we reviewed the ingredients that we would need for our dish. We would need meat for the chilli so we headed over the meat department and we picked up one pound of 90% lean hamburger meat. Then, because we were getting lunch for the rest of the students and staff we went and picked out two kinds of chips. I chose a Mexican style chip that could be enjoyed with both the chilli and the sandwiches, and my classmate chose a regular flavored potato chip.

The last two ingredients that we needed for our chilli was a can of tomatoes and a can of Pinto beans. Since they were in the same aisle, we were able to find them quickly. Once we had all the things on our list, we checked out quickly and headed back to the center.

While my teacher got ready for our lesson my classmate and I sorted our groceries, and we washed our hands. Once our instructor was able to join us, we were able to get cooking. First, we made things easier for ourselves and gathered all our cooking equipment. The first step in cooking was to open our meat. I learned how to open a package of meat without getting the juice or raw meat touching my hands. Open it on the side and then peel the packing back. We browned our hamburger meat on medium heat for about 20 to 30 minutes. Then we drained the grease by putting the meat into a colander and draining the grease into a small bowl. We then put the meat into another pot and we added McCormick Mild Chilli spice to the meat. Then we stirred the meat and spice together. We then added the tomatoes and beans to the meat. We let the ingredients simmer for ten minutes. Once the chilli was done cooking the staff and students made sandwiches, and we enjoyed the chips and chilli.