Book club and yummy recipes

Every month or so a group of my favorite people get together and hang out have intelligent conversation about literature. Our book groups consists of my mom and mother in law, both of my sisters in law, and one of my best friends and her mom. I would like to pretend that we are all very intellectual and read very challenging classic novels, but not quite. We actually have read some of the classics, but we mostly do "light, fun" reading. This last meeting I was able to host and we all got together after reading The Longest Ride by Nicholas Sparks.


I am going to be real honest, I didn't not read the entire book, I am currently about 3/4 of the way through it. This is a typical Nicholas Sparks, romance, tragedy and life in a small southern town.
To honor the book I made a big ol' crock pot of blue ribbon chili (one of my favorite chili recipes from Callie's grandmother) and big ol' plate of strawberry cookies.




So here is the recipe:




You will need 2 lbs of lean hamburger
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of black beans
2 cans of ranch beans
1 can of rotel
11/2 tsp of the following spices: garlic salt, Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, bay leaves and chili powder
2 cubes of beef bullion

1. Brown the ground beef in a skillet on the stove top, drain and add to the crock pot'
2. Combine additional ingredients
3. Top off the crock pot with water
4. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for about 8 hours

I made my main dish into a chili bar with cheese, sour cream, fritos, oyster crackers and corn bread,

For dessert Callie and I made strawberry cookies. They were amazing, here is the recipe:

1 strawberry cake mix
2 eggs
2 cups whipped topping
Powdered Sugar

In a large bowl, use a mixer to combine the cake mix, eggs, and whipped topping. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Roll 1 inch dough balls in powdered sugar, then drop onto a lined cookie sheet. Bake 9 to 11 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges.


Overall, book club was a success!