I hit a big sale on paperbacks a few weeks ago and picked up a few titles that I never got around to reading when they were in hardback. On the one hand, I'm glad they were such a bargain. On the other hand, if I had picked them up at the library they would have been free so I actually blew $20 for no reason. I am passing three of these to friends and family to justify my purchase. One of these gets passed to the trash bin because I'm embarrassed to admit I read it.

I have been wanting to talk about these books for weeks, but am way behind because for some reason Blogger keeps rejecting my "book talk" html coding format. I personally like my former format because I use the length of the image as a guide as to how much I say. (It keeps me from becoming too wordy.)  Each time I insert the code the images bounce around the page like monkeys on crack and I say bad words.

I think I have established many times that I hate cold weather. I hate cold even if it comes from an air conditioner. Perhaps that is because I have the body temperature of a turtle. (Confession: I'm really a reptilian alien that lives amongst you normal people and tries to blend in.)

Yesterday I found this photograph that I had taken in the Gaslight District of San Diego while on vacation. This is the actual thought progression that went through my head:

Normally I steer away from fixing anything that remotely resembles chili because Moonpie has a very opinionated palate when it comes to how he thinks it should taste. Knowing how much he loves Mexican food, one of the first things I fixed for him was my delicious chili. I could tell that he didn't like it because he hardly finished one bowl. Later he said it was because there were beans in it. Truth was he didn't like anything about it. A while later he fixed his favorite bean-less version for me and it was so hot I lost feeling in my tongue. I love chili with heat, but his was painful.

Chili became something we just didn't fix at home.

Fast forward over a decade later to a cold, wet, and dreary January day. While on the Food Network website I ran across Paula Deen's Taco Soup and it was all I could think about for two days. When I found out that Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix was gluten-free (per their website) and since I already had a packet of McCormick's Gluten-Free Taco Seasoning, I decided to go for it. I made the recipe almost identical to Paula's except for adding an extra pound of ground beef and an extra can of chili-style diced tomatoes. (I like thick meaty soups!)

Bottom line is that Moonpie loved it (beans and all), ate multiple bowls of it for three days straight, and keeps asking me to make it again. (Made me put on my shocked face.)