I’ve really been getting into football this season in a big way. It really helps that my fave team, the Colts, are doing fantastically well, but I must admit, I’ve been watching football even when the Colts don’t play. I even watched a lot of college ball this year. So, now that I have made that admission, I must say that I have been thinking about some football related crafts as we get closer to the Super Bowl. One of my favorite things about watching football is getting together with friends and eating great food, and cooking is a craft for sure! One of my favorite things to eat in winter and for football games is chili. I’m also a big fan of the cheesy salsa dip with tortilla chips, but that isn’t much of a craft as it is dumping a cheese log in a crock pot and turning it on. Today, I’d like to share my chili recipe with you as well as share some other football related crafts that I found out on the internet.
FIVE BEAN CHILI
My chili is a vegetarian chili, but it is very hearty and really can fill you up after one bowl. It’s a fairly simple recipe which I have been working on for several years. One thing about it that is great is that it requires very little measuring (well, I barely every measure it, so you’ll have to take these measurements more as guestimates) and you can cook it on the stove if you want it ready fast, or you can put it in the crock pot (preferred method) and let it go for three or four hours until it is perfectly cooked and all the flavors really have a good time to simmer together. Ok, here’s a list of what you need
3 medium onions, peeled and diced
5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 tbs. vegetable oil
1 32oz can crushed tomatoes
1 32oz can petite diced tomatoes in own juice
5 cans of beans- you may use ANY kind of bean, but I prefer using garbazo beans (chick peas), black beans, red kidney beans, white canellini beans, and great northern beans. You’ll need to drain and rinse all the beans.
5 dried california chili peppers, top stem and seeds removed (available at Mexican grocery stores and many regular groceries, too)
3 tbs. chili powder
1 tbs. ground cumin
1 tbs. ground coriander
salt and pepper to taste
2 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
optional: 1 bag of Morning Star Farm meatless veggie crumbles
Ok, the first thing you want to do is cut the top off the dried chili peppers and shake out as many of the seeds as you can. Fill a bowl with really hot water and put the chili peppers in and set aside to re-hydrate until they are soft ant pliable.
Now, dice your onions, mince your garlic, and put in in a saute pan with the vegetable oil and cook, stirring as needed, on medium-high heat until the onions are translucent and start to brown on the edges.
Meanwhile (if you can multi-task, then while onions are cooking), open all the cans of beans and tomatoes. Pour the crushed and diced tomatoes into the crock pot (don’t drain the juice off the diced tomatoes, put in in the crock pot, too). After draining and rinsing the beans, pour them into the crock pot with the tomatoes and mix them all together well. You can turn your crock pot on high at this point.
Now, back to the onions: Once they are translucent, pour the chili powder, cumin, and coriander into the saute pan and cook for a couple of minutes until the spices are very fragrant, about 2 minutes. Use about 1 tbs. off soy sauce to “deglaze” the saute pan (basically just make it easier to get all the spices out). Pour the onions into the crock pot along with the spices, the rest of the soy sauce, and the red wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste. If you are adding the meatless crumbles, pour them in now, too. Mix it all again.
Get your food processor or blender out and strain the re-hydrated chili peppers out and into the food processor. Add about 1/4 cup of pepper soaking water to the food processor with the peppers and process until the water turns bright red and the peppers are very well minced. Pour the whole pepper mixture into the crock pot and give it one more good stir.
Put the lid on the crock pot, stir occasionally, and now you just have to be patient and wait a couple of hours for the chili to become piping hot, and then you know it is ready to serve.
Some of my favorite toppings for this chili are sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced pickled jalapeno peppers from my garden. Of course it goes great with corn bread, but it isn’t a necessity because this chili is really going to feel you up!
Alright, now if your chili is on and you need something to work on before the game starts, or while the game is on here are a few more fun football crafts to occupy your time.
Knit Football Washcloth
I found this great pattern on Ravelry. It looks like a pretty fun pattern and I think that if you knit a lot, you may well be able to finish this in one, if not two games.
The free pattern for this washcloth can be found on Ravelry, but if you aren’t a member you can also get it from BunnyStamping Blog.
If you are a crocheter instead of a knitter, you could buy the super cute Football Star Amigurumi Crochet Pattern from Owlishy on Etsy. I’ve done a couple of her patterns and find the fantastically written and easy to read.
I am sure you could go all out and customize this guy by switching colors so he is in your teams favorite colors, and you could even put your favorite players number on him, too (mine would probably be #85 Pierre Garcon)!
If you feel like crocheting something a little more functional than cute, you could also buy the pattern for a mere $3 to make this Football Beverage Cozy by Laura’s Left Hook.
If you are still in need of inspiration for more football related crafts, Craftster hosted a “Are you ready for some football?” swap back in November, and there are ideas (no tutorials, just lots of pictures) for quilted banners, hair ties, crochet baby pants, and even these super cute football shoes, which I’m sure you could make for your favorite team with the proper paint and glue and logos printed off.
I hope this gives you a little inspiration to make a craft that supports your favorite team. I sure got a lot of inspiration while looking around for these crafts, and next Sunday you should check back and see MORE football crafts and a new football recipe.
Sunday Afternoon Housewife 