Doesn’t roll easily off the tongue but I have a mental block that won’t let me call this a bowl of chili mac. I made another big pot of chili and we have already had it by the bowlful and on hot dogs. I was reaching for the penne but there wasn’t enough left in the box so I went with the salad spirals.
I tried a little daub of sour cream in the center but the chili just wasn’t spicy enough to carry it. My patio peppers are not yet dead so I still have fresh peppers.
Cold ham and cheese with cold sides.
I wanted to see how skin-on thighs would do in the air fryer, these did very well. Dry them with paper towels, toss them in a bowl with smoked paprika, onion powder, granulated garlic, salt, and pepper. I probably used some of the Aleppo pepper because I put it on everything now. I started these with the skin down and flipped them halfway through. Total cooking time was about 30+ minutes at 375°.
Tender and juicy! That’s the All American bbq sauce on the chicken. Note the red specks of Aleppo pepper on the potato salad. 
Several months ago I put pineapple snack cups on the grocery list just so I could use the juice in the next batch of baked beans without opening a big can. I remembered them in time, this time. I did have to take the skillet out of the oven to stir the pineapple in. I think it added a nice note to the flavor. 
Here’s Homerdammit! passing through. 
Cheeseburger – pickle, onion, mustard – with a side of those baked beans with the pineapple bits, also potato salad and slaw. Very good supper. Dinner? Have a preference? Don’t say tea. 
Random raccoon. Not sure why it’s upside down, maybe just showing off for the other teenaged rascals. 
We had such good luck with the thighs cooked in the toaster oven we went with the same seasonings. I may have increased the granulated garlic. Part of the reason I took this picture was to prove that I didn’t forget to line it with foil this time. 
I called these done after 25 minutes or so. The wings started at room temp and iirc the cooking temp was 380°. Unsure of the times but I think total was less than 30 minutes with a flip halfway through, I was cooking to temp, they say 165° to be safe but I went more 180-ish. There’s so little meat on a wing that the temps were hard to measure. 
We have reached an accommodation, maybe. Allows me to type this out at any rate. Bitsy has been known to nip at fingers.
The rice is my favorite box mix. The other day I decided to fix that gumbo box mix that had been sitting in the pantry for so long I have no memory of buying it. Making it jogged my memory about why it had been in there so long: I had bought 2 boxes and it has taken this long to forget how bad the first one was. 
I give it 1 star. The garlic bread was very good, though.
We had another go at tacos for supper. Mrs J says she loves tacos and says it with similar enthusiasm as when she says she loves French toast. I believe her, and not old Mrs. Butterworth.
When I smoked that last shoulder I had a foil pan under it to catch the drippings. I chilled that liquid so I could more easily separate the fat from the juices. I used all the fat to make a thick gravy. It took a lot of flour to make the roux so the gravy set up tight in the fridge. 
With a spider, I dipped the cooked potato pieces from the cooking water and used that starchy water and a whisk to bring a big spoonful of that cold gravy concentrate back to life. I really should freeze the rest of it.
Birria is a stew made from various meats and dried chili peppers, herbs and broth. This one is made with beef, the traditional meat is goat.
Soak dried chilis in hot broth for 15 minutes, add oregano, cumin, ground coriander, and garlic powder and puree the mixture in a blender. Brown beef chunks in a little oil, then remove to a dish, add chopped onions to the pot to sweat down, then deglaze the pot with a couple of tablespoons of vinegar. Add the beef back, pour the pureed sauce over the top, and add broth to just cover the meat. Cook covered in a 350° for 2-3 hours until the beef is very tender.
Dip corn tortillas in the broth and lay them out in a hot skillet. Add cheese to a tortilla and cover with another for a double thickness with the cheese in between. Add some of the beef and some diced onion and fold the tortillas over. I had mine with some cotija cheese, more onion, sliced fresh peppers, and a drizzle of hot sauce.
These were just OK. I cut the boneless skinless thighs into nugget sizes, tossed them in oil, and then dredged them in seasoned flour. They went into the fryer in a small tray, I cooked them at 350° until they looked done, about 25 minutes give or take. They were turned over at the 15 minute mark. The dip was ketchup, soy sauce, and some of the All American bbq sauce.
I think next time will involve a dip into an egg before the flour, maybe a double dip with panko.
