Where did the weekend go?

We had so much going on this weekend, I woke up Monday morning feeling like there was no weekend. Let's see, Friday night Mom, Gary, Angie, Dennis and I went to dinner at my cousin Vince's house. We had a great time reminiscing about the old days. Linda made baked chicken, potatoes, and asparagus. It was delicious. She also made a chocolate cake complete with candles for my birthday. I guess I had one more day to my birthday week. Thankfully, I was able to blow out the candles.

Alora, age 1

Early Saturday morning Dennis and I flew out to Sacramento. We rented a car and drove to Grass Valley for Dennis's granddaughter's one-year birthday party. Her name is Alora and she is adorable. Such a sweet baby.

We had a chance to visit historic downtown Grass Valley, too. We liked the town, especially the chocolate shop and the bamboo store. At the chocolate shop we found the same kinds of candies we made in our class. The bamboo shop had sheets, towels, and clothing made of bamboo. I'm visiting that store again online.

After watching Alora open tons of presents and having some food and cake, we drove back to Sacramento, found a hotel, and went to dinner at Fat City in Old Sacramento. Next morning we flew back to San Diego. Dennis's Uncle Johnny picked us up at the airport around 1 p.m. and we went to lunch at the Fish Market near Seaport Village.

Back to Uncle Johnny's house in Lakeside to pick up our car and decide what to do to kill time before a concert at 7:30 p.m.  We decided on a movie (The King's Speech), followed by a slice of pie at Coco's in El Cajon. Then we drove back to San Diego for a concert featuring Tom Paxton, a folk singer from the 60s. That was fun, but I had a hard time staying awake past my normal 8:30 p.m. bedtime. Finally we came home around 11:30 p.m. and got up Monday morning at 5:30 a.m.

See what I mean about a lost weekend?

Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili

I made this in a slow cooker tonight. It's a bit spicy, so if you want to try it, you can adjust the chili powder and cajun seasoning. I like it spicy, though. You don't need a slow cooker, either. Last time I made it, I just used a dutch oven on the stovetop. I suppose you could bake it, too.

Company coming? This is an easy, no fail dish you can serve with a green salad and sour-dough bread.

Three-Bean Vegetarian Chili

1 15-oz. can no-salt-added red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz. can small white beans, rinsed and drained

1 15-oz. can low-sodium black beans, rinsed and drained

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes and green chile peppers, undrained

1 cup beer or chicken broth

3 tablespoons chocolate-flavored syrup

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

Dairy sour cream as topping (optional)

Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

Note: When I made this, I didn't drain the beans, just emptied the cans in the slow cooker. The result was a more liquid chili and I liked it that way. I've made this before doing it the "correct" way and that was good, too. I served this tonight with the sour cream and the cheddar cheese because I like both. You can leave out the cheese and/or the sour cream if you want, but you'll be missing something.