at the Water's Edge


Living life and learning all I can along the way!

Happy Halloween!


We had a Halloween party last night, so today didn’t feel so much like Halloween.  Especially because nobody wanted to trick-or-treat at our house.  Seriously.  We  live in a popular trick or treating neighborhood, but kids just kept walking right past our house!  Perhaps because our house is at the far end of the street?  Or perhaps because our house was unoccupied for several years before we moved in?  At any rate, I was vastly disappointed.  If you’d like some candy, let me know – I’ve got lots left over!

However, our party was quite fun!  It’s been an annual tradition for Tom and I to host a party since 2004 – our first year in West Michigan.  We had lots of good costumes, good food, fun and games!  I dressed up as a dead bride, looking slightly more pale than usual.  Tom was Dr. Horrible.  If you don’t know who that is, look it up.  You’ll be glad you did :)



Typically, Tom will grill up some burgers and brats during the party, but this year I decided to make a giant pot of chili instead.  I think it worked out well!  I forgot to take picture of it in the roaster oven that we were using as a giant crock pot, but here’s what went into it:
8lbs of ground beef
2 40oz cans of white beans
10 cans of diced tomatoes (some w/ chiles, onions, etc.)
2 large white onions, diced
Several cups of water
Chili powder
Garlic powder
Ground Cumin
Ground black pepper






I cooked the meat first (that was actually the only challenging part…well, that and trying not to cry while dicing the onions).  Then, I just dumped everything in to a big roaster oven and set it at 250-300 degrees.  I ended up partitioning some of the chili off at the beginning for use at another event this week.  The rest turned out to be a pretty perfect amount for the party!  The last of the chili was eaten around 1am (and nobody should be eating chili later at night than that…).  I think next time I have a large group over, I will be doing something like this again!

Oh, and I can’t forget to post our jack o’ lanterns, either.  Tom and I decided to go very different routes when carving this year.  I’ll let you guess who did what!

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ABOUTME

Hi there! My name is Dana and I live in West Michigan with my husband, Tom and our dog Copernicus. I created this space as a place to share the things I learn along this journey I call life. I work in marketing and I'm a sort of Jane of All Trades, interested in all things nature, gardening, cooking, exploring and learning new things. This blog is a conglomeration of my interests, hobbies, life and life lessons. Thanks for stopping by!

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