SXSW Quick-post: Ramen!

Okay, so I'm doing SXSW this weekend, so I don't have a ton of time. Luckily, there are recipes that don't take much time to talk about or do! Okay, well this isn't so much a recipe as a guide: How to make ramen suck less. All of us have been there, poor enough that we have little else but ramen, or perhaps there's not much else in the kitchen aside from ramen. Luckily, there are a number of ways to reduce the tedium of plain noodles in a salty broth.

Throw Away the Seasoning Packet
No seriously, that thing has so much unneeded sodium in it, it's not even that good tasting. Replace it with a bullion cube of either chicken or beef, a bit of salt and pepper and a shake or two of Italian Herbs. Alternatively, you can cook your noodles in a canned broth.
If you simply must keep the seasoning packet, my friend Erin swears by cooking the noodles, draining them, then add 1/4 cup whole milk (or half and half) and the seasoning packet to the noodles, giving the sauce a tasty, creamy flavor.

Veg out
Chopped carrots, celery and onion all go very well in a bowl of ramen. Now, fresh vegetables will need to cook a little longer than the noodles will, so add them to your water/broth before the noodles and let them cook nearly through before adding the noodles. As an alternative to fresh vegetables, you can add frozen vegetables to the ramen after the noodles are cooked. It serves a two-fold purpose, both to add flavor and to cool down your soup!

Protein Matters
Adding a little bit of protein will make this somewhat thin meal a little more filling and satisfying. A very cheap way to do this is to add scrambled egg to the soup as the broth is boiling, stirring vigorously to make the egg break up like in egg drop soup. If you prefer something a little meatier, chicken breast or beef strips can be quickly pan-fried and added to your soup.

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Easy Side Dishes: The Joy of Veggies

Vegetables get a bad rap, and really, that's not fair. Vegetables can be absolutely delicious and a lovely compliment to any meal. Sadly, they can also be some of the most foul, poorly-cooked monstrosities ever served. The number one reason why people don't like a vegetable is that every time they've had it before, it was cooked poorly. Today, I want to enlighten you on the joys of cooking with vegetables in two very easy side dishes. Bring an open mind and an empty stomach.

Let's start off with one of my favorite vegetables of all time: Broccoli. Now, broccoli's got a bad rap - why? Well, a lot of people have only ever eaten it after it's been steamed or boiled to a disgusting, gray-green, stringy mess and that's just no good. A well-cooked broccoli should appear to be a slightly brighter green than it was uncooked, and it should still have a little bit of a crunch to it when you bite into it.

As with many other pieces of produce, the key to a good broccoli dish is in proper selection at the grocery store. When selecting broccoli to take home, make sure it has a nice, firm stalk. You also want to look at the little "buds" on the top of the broccoli - they should all be about the same size. If you notice a large cluster of buds that are larger and darker than the rest, you have in your hands an older bunch of broccoli with more matured buds that won't be as tasty as the rest of the plant.

While steaming is often the cooking method of choice for broccoli - and I certainly suggest it for anyone who has one of those tin satellite dishes with holes in them - most newbie cooks have very few tools at there disposal. This means for a lot of folks out there, blanching - my favorite method of cooking broccoli - will be the best method of cooking veggies available to them. To blanch a food means to plunge it in boiling water for a short period of time, then to evacuate your veggies to a bath or rinse of cold water to halt the cooking process.

The danger in cooking broccoli is certainly overcooking it. Many people don't know that just because a dish has been removed from the oven, microwave or heating element doesn't mean it's stopped cooking. The heat stored within the food will continue the cooking process unless stopped - hence the wisdom of blanching. Well, now that I've bored you with the details, let's get down to the actual recipes.

Blanched Broccoli

Serves: 2-3
Cook Time: ~15 minutes, including prep
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-Pot with lid
-Colander (strainer)
-Fork
-Stovetop
-Sink
-Large bowl or other container filled with ice water (optional)

Foodstuffs
-2 to 3 good sized stalks of broccoli
-Butter (optional)
-Salt and pepper (optional)
-Lemon wedge (optional)
-Mayonnaise (optional)
-Ranch Dressing (optional)

Fill your pot about 2/3rds full of water, put on high heat with lid to boil. While your water is heating up, rinse your broccoli and chop it down into bite-sized pieces. If you are not a big fan of broccoli stalk, trim it off - the stem is not necessary and can be discarded, though I think it's tasty. When your water is boiling, add the broccoli pieces. Do not put the lid back on the pot. Stir the broccoli constantly, allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the broccoli becomes a brighter shade of green and can be pierced by a fork with some ease. Drain in colander in your sink and rinse or dunk in a bath of ice water.

Broccoli can be served with any number of tasty condiments, some popular favorites I listed in the ingredients above. Personally, I like mine with just a touch of salt and pepper, and maybe a small amount of butter.

Another controversial vegetable is the green bean. It shares many of its troubles with broccoli, but thankfully those troubles can be resolved much like broccoli. When shopping for green beans, make sure the beans are still fresh. They should be somewhat stiff, and not at all droopy or soft. Haricots verts, or French green beans, can sometimes be found in your local grocery store or farmer's market. They're a slightly thinner version of the American green bean and are very tasty. For the most part, you can reliably find green beans or "string beans" in any American grocery store.

While you could just blanch the green beans and be done with them, I like to make mine a little fancier.

Green Beans with Olive Oil and Lemon

Serves: 2-3
Cook Time: ~15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-Pot with lid
-Colander (strainer)
-Frying pan
-Fork
-Stovetop
-Sink
-Large bowl or other container filled with ice water (optional)

Foodstuffs
-2 to 3 cups worth of fresh green beans
-Juice from 1 lemon
-1/4 cup olive oil

Fill your pot about 2/3rds full of water, put on high heat with lid to boil. While your water is heating up, rinse your beans and cut off the ends of each bean. When your water is boiling, add the beans. Do not put the lid back on the pot. Stir the beans constantly, allow to cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the beans become a brighter shade of green and can be pierced by a fork with some ease. Drain in colander in your sink and rinse or dunk in a bath of ice water.

Remove beans from water, and let drain. Heat up olive oil and juice from lemon in pan. Add beans to pan, cook together for a minute or two, then serve.

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Shepherd's Pie

You know, people make fun of English, Irish and Scottish food, but in all honesty it can be damn tasty. Take for instance, the Shepherd's Pie. A tasty mix of meats, veggies, and mashed potatoes, this dish is a rib-sticking easy meal that anyone can make and enjoy. Okay, maybe not vegetarians. Sorry, guys. This dish incorporates the Mashed Potatoes we discussed last week, so if you have any questions about your mash, check out that post.

Serves: 6-8 people, so you'll probably have lots of leftovers.
Active Cook time: ~15-20 minutes if you have potatoes already prepared.
Inactive Cook time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-Cookie Sheet
-Large pan
-Spatula
-Can Opener
-Casserole Dish (If you don't have a fancy ceramic or Pyrex casserole dish, you can get disposable casserole dishes at your local grocery store. However, these are not as sturdy and you will want to put is on a cookie sheet and use the cookie sheet to take your casserole in and out of the oven to prevent spills)

Foodstuffs
-1 medium yellow or brown onion
-3 to 4 cloves Garlic
-1 lb ground beef
-2 cans condensed cream of chicken soup
-1 lb mixed frozen vegetables (carrots, peas and corn work best)
-1 tablespoon butter
-One batch of Mashed Potatoes - you may not end up using all of them.
-Worcestershire Sauce
-Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread out your frozen veggies on your cookie sheet, and place in oven. Whey will be warmed through and ready to remove in 5-7 minutes, evacuate them to your casserole dish when you take them out. While your veggies are warming, chop up your onion and mince your garlic. Melt the butter in pan over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, ground beef and a dash of Worcestershire sauce to the pan, brown up the beef making sure it breaks up into smallish pieces. Open up your cream of chicken soup, add to the beef and onions. Fill one of the cans with water and add water to the soup and beef. Stir and warm for about 3 minutes, then add mixture to vegetables in your casserole dish. Stir to combine. Using spatula, spread mashed potatoes over top. How thick you want your potatoes depends on how much you like mashed potatoes. Place casserole dish in oven for about 30 minutes, remove when the top is lightly browned and the beef and veggies beneath are nice and bubbly.

Optional: Some people like to put grated cheddar cheese on top of the mashed potatoes before putting in oven.
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Raid-Friendly Kitchen: Setting Up a Pantry

One of the keys to a successful raid is preparation. From simple things such as repairing your gear and showing up at the instance on time to the slightly more difficult and time-consuming process of gem socketing or enchanting your gear and gathering up consumables such as flasks, preparation is a key to success. It is much the same with getting your kitchen together - with a little preparation, you can make it so even when you forget to do a bit of shopping there's something good to eat in your house.

Today we'll discuss the foodstuffs and spices that you should keep around the house, and we'll save what equipment you should keep in your kitchen for another time. Yes, there's a recipe in this post.

Click here to skip past all the lovely information and get straight to the recipe.

Spices
An easy wasy to add a lot of flavor to even the most basic dishes is to keep a well-stocked spice rack. Even if you're on a bit of a budget, picking up one container of spices or herbs at the store each time you make a trip will see you quickly amass a worthy collection of spices. I've placed them in order from most important to least important below:
-Salt
-Pepper
-Italian Seasoning (A simple combination of marjoram, thyme, rosemary, savory, sage, oregano and basil - this blend if useful in a lot of dishes and is an easy seasoning for a lot of dishes)
-Ground Cumin
-Chili Powder
-Dried Basil
-Dried Parsley Flakes
-Curry Powder
-Bay Leaves
-Garlic powder
-Chicken or Beef Bullion Cubes
-Ground Cinnamon
-Nutmeg
-Vanilla Extract

The Basics
These everyday staples are ones you'll find yourself using on a somewhat regular basis, things you'll want to have on hand so that when you're making most simple recipes you only need to purchase the perishable goods. You can gradually stock up on these as you need them for a recipe you're using, or just gather them up in one go. Make sure that you replace any of these that you use on your next shopping trip so that you can have them on hand! Unlike the spices, I've put these in no particular order:
-All Purpose Flour
-Baking Soda
-Baking Powder
-Granulated White Sugar
-Brown Sugar
-Olive Oil
-Vegetable Oil
-Cornstarch
-Bread Crumbs
-Soy Sauce
-Worcestershire Sauce
-Vinegar
-Peanut Butter
-Vegetable Shortening
-Onions and Garlic (Okay, so these are technically fresh vegetables. However, they can last in your cabinet for a while if they must, and they are crucial in most dishes. Keep this stuff around!)
-Dried Pasta
-Pasta Sauce
-Egg Noodles
-Ramen
-Rice (I personally recommend using a short or medium grain rice as your everyday rice. My personal favorite variety is Calrose.)
-Canned Diced Tomatoes
-Chicken Broth
-Beef Broth
-Cooking Sherry
-Canned Tuna
-Canned vegetables, beans or fruits that you enjoy

Your Freezer
Okay, so it's not technically your pantry, and your freezer should never be considered a stasis chamber where nothing ever goes bad. However, it is true that stuff in the chill box can last months, maybe even years. Do try to clean out your freezer at least once a year, more if you find it getting crowded in there. Here are a few things to consider keeping in your freezer:
-Frozen Chicken Breasts
-Frozen Hamburger Patties (Get them already frozen, as they will preserve better than freezing your own ground beef. You can use the beef from the patties in other dishes in a pinch.)
-Frozen Vegetables (Your call here. I'm never without a bag of frozen corn in the freezer, though some people like peas better.)
-Butter (Yes, butter! Keep a box in your freezer and you'll thank me the day you run out of butter and are too lazy to go to the store. Just thaw it out in your fridge for a few hours and it'll be good as new.)
-Ice Cream or Popsicles (Spoil yourself a little!)

So what are the benefits of keeping a fully-stocked kitchen?
I'm starving. So hungry I could eat my own arm, and we haven't gone shopping in a while. With only my basic pantry stuff on hand, I was able to cook up a nice little dish that served both my boyfriend and myself with very little fuss at all. It's nothing very fancy, but it's fast and very tasty.

Herb Chicken with Buttered Noodles
Serves: 2-3
Cook Time: 20 minutes or so of defrosting, plus 20 minutes actual cooking.
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-Microwave
-Plate
-Small pot with lid
-Colander (strainer)
-Large Pan
-Knife
-Cutting Board
-Stovetop

Foodstuffs
-2 to 3 Frozen Chicken Breasts
-4 tablespoons butter
-1 medium-sized onion
-Italian Seasoning
-Salt and Pepper
-Worcestershire Sauce (about 2 tablespoons)
-One Package Egg Noodles

Place chicken breasts on a plate, microwave to defrost. Follow your microwave's directions on defrosting poultry, as microwave settings vary by manufacturer. This will take somewhere between 15-20 minutes, during which you can be doing something else, like farming primals. Although, it may be handy to dice up your onion now to save you a minute or so of time. So yeah, dice up that onion into small pieces.
Once the microwave tells you it's done, take the chicken out and cut into bite-size pieces. Heat up 2 tablespoons of the butter in your pan over medium heat. Fill your small pot with water up to about 2 inches away from the top, add your lid and set it over high heat to boil. Add the onions to your melted butter in the pan. Sprinkle Italian seasonings, salt and pepper to taste over your chicken, then add to the pan. Sprinkle on some more seasoning to the backside of your chicken, then add the Worcestershire Sauce. Let this cook, stirring every so often to ensure even cooking, for about 10-15 minutes until your chicken is cooked all the way through. You can tell because it's white all the way through and also very tasty.
Long before your chicken is done, though, you'll notice your water boiling in the pot. Remove the lid and add your egg noodles. These noodles will take somewhere between 5-7 minutes to cook through. Don't let them get too soggy - check them for done-ness every minute or so after the 5 minute mark. Once done, drain and rinse these in your colander in the sink, then return the noodles to your pot off the heat of the stove. Once your chicken is cooked through, add the chicken to your noodles along with the remaining two tablespoons of butter. Stir to combine and melt the butter and serve while warm.

Also: hai Saruin~. To the Anvil Raid: Yeah, I didn't do the ramen recipe, I'll save that one for next week. I mainly wrote this up to remind myself that I need more egg noodles when I go to the store today. >.>
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Easy Side Dish: Mashed Potatoes

One of the best ways to make any meal feel more special is to add a side dish, and what side dish conjures up more happy memories than Mashed Potatoes? Even if you're just having a plain baked chicken breast for dinner, a side of nice, fluffy potatoes makes it feel like a real meal. I think it's a shame we don't see them made more often - these delicious spuds are often left for holiday occasions only. They're so simple, quick, and delicious that there's no reason we shouldn't see more of them. Besides, they play a key factor in the recipe I'm posting next Monday, so I figured I'd post the recipe today. If you don't have the time to make them before your raid, mashed potatoes can be made ahead of time and eaten whenever you feel like it, and the recipe can easily be doubled or tripled for special occasions.


Now, before we get to the recipe itself, let's talk variables. Some people like some skin in their mashed potatoes, others find that gross. Some like their potatoes to had a uniform texture, while others like a lumpier potato. A lot of this variation comes from mashing technique. Let's do a quick review of available methods so that you know what hardware you'll need for your potatoes.

Hand Masher
Using a hand held mashing device like the one pictured here allows you direct control over the texture of your potatoes. You can make your potatoes as lumpy or smooth as you like, but it won't get your potatoes as perfectly smooth as some other methods. It takes a little bit more work and time than the other methods, but if you like your potatoes with more "lumps" in them like I do, then this is the way to do it. Hand Mashers are a common kitchen utensil - you may already have one but even if you don't, they can easily be found at your local grocery store on the aisle with "Kitchen Gadgets".


Potato Ricer
This medieval-looking device is called a potato ricer, and I had no clue what they were until I dated a guy who liked his potatoes really, really smooth. What you do is place a peeled, cooked potato in the basket and then use the press on it to force the potato through the tiny holes in the basket. This ensures a uniformly smooth texture to the potato. On the downside, ricing is not very skin-friendly, so if you like skin in your mashed potatoes, this is not the route for you. Ricers are a bit less common, but can be found in any kitchen supply store.

Electric Mixers
Using either a hand held or a stand mixer is the way to go if you like your potatoes whipped, fluffy and airy. They're an easy way to mash your potatoes and are probably the easiest and lest time consuming method of the three. Somehow, my mom can use a hand mixer and not get little bits of potato skin all caught in the little mixing things, but I have no idea how she does it, nor has she been able to tell me her secret voodoo regarding skin. So, if you like skin, you might want to be careful when using a mixer. Mixers are a common kitchen appliance, but if you don't already have one they can be found in most department stores such as Target, Wal*Mart or K-Mart.

But what about Potatoes?
When it comes down to it, there are really only two common choices for mashing potatoes - Yukon Gold and Russet. Both are high in starch to ensure a nice smooth mash. Some people swear by low starch, waxy potatoes like red potatoes because they hold up better when boiled, but they just don't mash up as well. Proper preparation of your spuds will ensure they come out just fine and not too watery.

Yukon Gold potatoes are yellow-skinned, very buttery in flavor, and mash up very smoothly. They have a very tasty skin, and so are the common choice for anyone who keeps skin in their mashed potatoes (like me). They tend to be a wee bit more expensive than Russets, but they're very worth it. Russet potatoes are cheap and tasty, but their skin is not good eats, and should be peeled before mashing. I also find their flavor to be a little more bland, but this is fine if you like to add a lot of extras to your potatoes. By the way, there's nothing wrong with combining types of potatoes when you're mashing them, so if you have some of one and some of the other - or even if you throw in waxy potatoes, that's just fine. By the time you're done mashing them, the different flavor and texture properties of the potatoes will combine very nicely.

Hey, enough of this kitchen talk, I thought you said this was an easy recipe!
Oh, it totally is. Let's get right down to the basic recipe itself!

Serves: 4-6 people
Prep Time: 45 minutes tops, for about 15-20 minutes of that you don't even really need to be in the kitchen.
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-Large Pot with Lid
-Fork
-Colander (strainer)
-Mashing device of your choice (see above)
-Peeler (optional)

Foodstuffs
-2 pounds potatoes of your choice
-1 stick softened butter
-1 cup half&half
-Salt and Pepper

Wash and, if you'd like, peel your potatoes. Cut your potatoes into cubes no more than 2-3 inches large, and try to make them all about the same size. Place potatoes in pot, then add water until it's about an inch over the potatoes. Put pot on stove on high heat, add lid. Let potatoes boil until they can easily be pierced by a fork, which takes about 15-20 minutes. Drain your potatoes in a colander in the sink. Run cold water down the sink so that you don't damage your pipes, but DO NOT rinse the potatoes! Evacuate your spuds to a bowl. If ricing, rice your potatoes as you add them to the bowl. Once potatoes are safely in the bowl, riced or otherwise, add the butter. Mash using masher or electric mixer, or if you riced the potatoes, use a fork or hand masher to combine the dairy with your potatoes. Gradually add the half& half while mixing/mashing until you achieve the consistency you like - you may not end up using the whole cup of half&half. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Ta-da! Potatoes! Wasn't that easy?

A word on Extras

Butter, salt and pepper isn't enough for some people. Hell, it isn't enough for me! So what more do you add to your potatoes to give them a kick? My mom likes to use heavy cream instead of half&half, but that's a little too heavy for my tastes. I like to add a little bit of sour cream and a clove or two of minced garlic - not enough to really qualify as garlic mashed potatoes, but garlicky enough that they have that garlic flavor. Some people swear by adding a few teaspoons of Black Olive Paste to their potatoes. I didn't even know they made Olive Paste. Others use olive oil or duck fat instead of butter, but I find that to be sacrilegious - Mashed Potatoes and Butter are inseparable! A common addition is to cook up some onions or shallots with a little bit of butter until they're nice and soft, then add those to your potatoes. A little unorthodox, but very tasty.

If you have any other suggestions for additions to potatoes, feel free to comment below!

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Raid-Friendly Recipes Mission Statement

I like to talk and write about food. I'm a big fan of food, it's kept me around for this long and I figure I ought to appreciate it. I'm also a huge geek. I've been playing video games for a long time, but I've always intentionally avoided MMORPGs because I just knew that if I got started, I'd never be able to stop, and the game would take over my life. Then World of Warcraft was released, and I could hold back no longer. Before I knew it, I was hooked. I quickly learned how to balance real life with fun, and found a raid that felt like another home.

I may have had the balance of cooking for my boyfriend and I while raiding down, but I noticed others did not. Whether it was due to being an inexperienced cook, having a busy life outside of the game, or just not having enough recipes in their repertoire to cook every night of the week and not get sick of eating the same stuff over and over, people were eating a lot of delivered pizzas. Not that I have anything against pizzas! They're very tasty. But let's be fair - everyone deserves a delicious, home-cooked meal just like mom used to make, even if you're away from home or even if you're a parent yourself. There's websites dedicated to recipes for busy moms, for budgets and for special diets - why not one for gamers?

And so I decided to make this little blog as a collection of recipes designed with the raider in mind. But what makes a good raiding recipe?
-Slow cooking is your friend. Most raids last at least 4 hours - why not have something in the oven or on the stove, slowly cooking to perfection while you kick ass and take names?
-Fast Cooking is also good! Things that cook quickly often tend to not be as rich or flavorful as slow-cooked foods, but nobody can deny how easy and delicious they can be. Recipes that can be completed in 30 minutes or less are perfect for raiding.
-Easy does it. Your stereotypical gamer is a college dude with no cooking experience. While we definitely don't all fit that stereotype, I think it's important to make recipes easy to follow even for n00b cooks. Even for the tougher recipes I post, I plan on breaking down each step to a simple enough process so that everyone can try it.
-Save money! While this isn't a budget recipe site, sometimes gamers want to spend their money on other things, like college, gas...or a diorama of a Blood Elf rogue fighting a Draenei paladin. So we'll try to focus on foods that are within everyone's budget - sorry, you probably won't see any filet mignon.
-Easy Access Now I'm the first person to say that I love exotic ingredients like Yuzu, fresh seafood (and by fresh I mean it was swimming a few hours ago) and ostrich meat, I know that not everybody has access to such culinary delights. Same goes for tools like a pasta roller, food processor or stand mixer (okay, so you may be able to get them, but the price on these means you're not going to be able to grab a stand mixer on an impulse buy). We'll focus on ingredients you can get at your local mega-mart or grocery store and easily afford.
-And most importantly...DELICIOUSNESS! Flavor! Delicious foodstuffs! Something that ISN'T a Hot Pocket! I mainly started this project so that people like me who love to game don't have to sacrifice a delicious, home-cooked meal for the sake of their hobby. So let's make those meals tasty!

If you have a recipe you would like to recommend for Raid-Friendly Recipes, feel free to drop me a line: sadaye @ gmail DOT com

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Simple Chili

What better way to start off this recipe list than with one of my favorites? My mom's easy chili recipe is one of my top raiding foods, because the longer you just ignore it on the stove and play your game, the better it ends up tasting. It's basically fool-proof, and it's a good start if you're new to the whole cooking for yourself thing. Follow the original recipe for a savory chili that's great over rice, baked potatoes, macaroni noodles or cornbread. Add some of my optional spices for a nice spicy chili that's just as good, but with a bit more kick!

Servings: About 6 bowls of chili, more if you serve it over something.
Prep Time: Start this about 30 minutes before your raid.
Difficulty: Easy

Hardware
-A Large Pot with Lid
-Long-Handled Spoon
-Knife
-Colander (strainer)

Software
Foodstuffs
-One pound of ground beef (the leaner the beef, the better quality chili you'll have.)
-One large yellow or brown onion
-7 to 8 cloves of garlic
-2 cans dark red kidney beans
-1 can corn
-1 can diced tomatoes (If you're like me and don't dig big chunks of tomato, go for the petite diced tomatoes)
-1 standard size jar of salsa (choose your salsa based upon your taste and how hot you want your chili)
-Olive Oil
-delicious cheese of your choice to top your chili with, probably cheddar (optional)
Spices
-Cumin
-Chili Powder
-Salt
-Pepper
-Cayenne Pepper (optional)
-Red Pepper Flakes (optional - yes, the pepper flakes that the pizza guy delivers will work here, too.)

On a stovetop, heat a small amount of oil in the bottom of your pot, you won't need any more than about a tablespoon of oil or so. Dice your onion up - the pieces do not need to be too small, nor is it crucial that they be the same size. To prepare your garlic, lightly crush each clove with the flat of your knife. This'll make them easier to peel! Mince them up as fine as you can. Toss these in the now hot oil, and listen to the happy sizzle.

Get your ground beef out of the fridge, and sprinkle some of your cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder on the top of the little pile of meat you have. Cumin's going to be giving your chili a nice savory, full flavor with little spice, and the chili powder is what makes it taste like chili. Add some cayenne here if you're going down the spicy road. Put the meat in the pot with the side you've seasoned facing down, then season the other side and mix it around with your onions and garlic. Brown the meat, continuing to move it around the pot and spice to taste. You're going for small pieces of meat in your chili.

A word on spices, and why I'm not giving exact measurements: How much spice you put in your chili is a matter of preference, and you'll learn with time the balance you like to have. Personally, I use about 2 teaspoons of cumin, 1.5 teaspoons chili powder, 1 teaspoon cayenne per pot of chili, plus 3-4 packets of red pepper flakes. I'm totally estimating that, though, since I never measure.

As your meat is browning, take a moment to open up the cans of beans, corn and tomatoes. In your sink, put the beans and corn in your strainer and rinse well. See all that red grossness coming off the beans? Aren't you glad we're washing them? Yeah, me too.

Add the beans, corn, salsa and tomatoes to your beef once browned. Note that the beef does not need to be perfectly done before you add the rest of the ingredients, just a nice brown color on the outside instead of red all the way around. Stir to combine the ingredients, and if you're doing a spicier chili, add your red pepper flakes now. Bring this to a simmer (nice little bubbles coming out the top of the liquid), then reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer.

Now go raid! Let your chili simmer for at least 30 minutes before serving, and stir it occasionally if your raid wipes, or you get a break. The longer you let it simmer, the better it'll taste - so if you can hold off hunger until your raid's over it'll be totally worthwhile. As a matter of fact, it's even more delicious as a leftover than it is the first serving! Serve it with some grated cheese on top, if that's your thing. This recipe can easily be doubled if you're hosting a LAN party.

Chili-Mac: For a yummy meal that will make your chili last even longer, boil some elbow macaroni and mix it in with your chili. Deliciously simple.
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