Even though Halloween is my very favorite holiday (of all time), I've been super lame about celebrating this year. I have watched both new episodes of The Walking Dead, and I tried to imbue those moments with every last spark of Halloween fervor I could muster.  But that's pretty much the extent of it.

Both of my kids seem close to opting out of trick-or-treating this year (despite the fact I dropped some decent change on a black morph suit for Parker). His current plan is to  "scare kids around the neighborhood and trick-or-treat just when he gets hungry." 

That's a plan.

Becca is still undecided. 

Just as a side note: When Sterling and I were MARRIED and students at BYU we dressed up one Halloween, and my Aunt Mary drove us around Provo trick-or-treating. I dressed up as a missionary -- suit, slicked-back hair (yes, I dressed as a boy), and my HUSBAND'S missionary name tag. I put 'married' and 'husband' in all caps to let you know that I KNOW how ridiculous this sounds. I can't even begin to offer an explanation. It was a different time and a different place. Or something.

And that's all I can say about that. 

Now that I'm older and more mature, ahem, I've done away with trick-or-treating, and, instead, developed a traditional Halloween meal. We invite over friends and family and we eat chili, drink hot chocolate (unless it's 80 degrees), and ooh and ahh over the tiny ballerinas and vampires that ring our bell. The best thing about this chili is making it in the crockpot early in the day -- that way your Halloween evening is free for last minute costume drama. And this chili, my dearies, is the recipe I leave with you today. Serve it with Fritos and cheese if you are feeling very daring.

Chris's Chili

Half an onion
Half a green pepper (except I usually throw the whole thing in because I don't know what to do with the other half)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1.5 lbs ground beef
2 cans diced tomatoes (I like the petite diced)
2 cans chili beans
1 can red beans (or whatever random beans I happen to have in my pantry)
1 tsp chili powder
1 packet chili seasoning
salt and pepper to taste

Dice onion and green pepper. Throw onion, green pepper, garlic, and beef into a skillet and brown. Drain.  

In a crockpot, combine beef mixture with ALL the rest of the ingredients. Give it a good stir and cook on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4 hours. (If you have five hours I'm not sure what to tell you).  

You can double this. A double recipe just fits in my crock pot. Happy Haunting!