Weekend Update: Last Hurrah at Underwood Ranch

Last Hurrah at Underwood Ranch

Jarrod’s days living in Houston are quickly winding down, so this past weekend we took up trip up to his family’s land outside of Austin.

J went up early, as he usually does and I rode up with his Hess roommate Greg. We got in around 11 p.m. Friday night and found all of the guys sitting around the fire, drinking beer and having a good time.

There something about a fire and cold night. It gets people talking. We stayed out til 2 a.m. just catching up on life and shooting the shit.

We all slept in a bit Saturday, but when we finally did get up one of the guys had prepared French toast. J and I then went for a nice drive around the land in the buggie. We went and saw the cows and baby cows, the llamas and the donkeys. We were stopping for a moment so I could drink my coffee when all of the sudden we heard running behind us.

We’d left the little dog with Greg, but apparently when he went outside she ran away. And ran and ran, until she located us in the middle of a field of cows.

We fished for a while, but that didn’t produce any fruit because we weren’t using bate. Then it was time for the ATM game. So all activities shut down for the next several hours as the guys sat in front of the TV.

Later that evening, one of our buddies allowed J and I to try our hand at the dating app Tinder. I found a nice, cute girl for our friend and started a conversation with her, but it wasn’t long before J said that I wasn’t doing it right and took the phone away from me.

Afterword, we all got into the ranch truck and drove around the ranch with spotlights. J has always taken gun safety seriously and tonight was no different. We each took a few shots at some targets near the back pond.

Sunday we woke up early and began packing up. It was a beautiful day, so before it got too late, we took to the field and did some clay pigeon shooting.

Recipe: Underwood Ranch Chili

I adore this recipe and I’ve made it several times.

I enjoy cooking for guests when we go up to the farm, and I’ve found that meals that are simple to throw together are the best.

The first time I made it, I decided to augment it by adding some chipotle pepper. So, I added a whole can of peppers in adobo sauce. That chili could have set your face on fire. Since then, I’ve reduced the pepper number to 3-4, based on spice preference.

Anyway, I just made this for Bible study yesterday. This recipe tastes like Fall to me. It fed enough to fill five or six adults.

Also, I had an extra 1/2 zucchini and red bell pepper and carrots in my fridge, so I diced those and threw them in. Get creative. This is  a great recipe to clear out the fridge with.

Make it and love it. I promise it’s make-a-million-times good.

Underwood Ranch Chili 

3 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 pounds lean grass-fed ground beef

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoons sweet smoked Spanish paprika

1/2 teaspoon to 1 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3-4 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce

About 1 tsp. salt

1 can (14.5 oz.) crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce

1 can or bottle flavorful, medium-bodied beer, such as Anchor Steam

1 teaspoon Worcestershire

1 can (14.5 oz.) pinto beans, drained

Optional additions: Bell Pepper, Zucchini, Garbanzo Beans, Carrots

To serve: Sour cream, sliced green onions, and/or coarsely shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Preparation

1. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, cook bacon, stirring until it just begins to brown, about 4 minutes. Add onion, lower heat to medium, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 4 to 7 minutes. Uncover pan, stir in garlic, and cook 1 minute.
2. Increase heat to medium-high and add ground beef; break it up with a wooden spoon and stir gently until it loses its raw color, 7 minutes. Stir in spices and 1 tsp. salt and cook 1 minute. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, beer, and Worcestershire and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover partially, and cook 30 minutes.
3. Add beans and cook 10 minutes, uncovered. Season to taste with salt. Serve warm, with toppings on the side.

See original recipe: myrecipes.com/recipe/smoky-beef-and-bacon-chili

Travel and BIG Life Moments Update

Let’s start with the most exciting news. Mr. Sanders graduated from LSU this weekend with a degree in Construction Management and is employed!

Nick's graduation, LSU class of '14

Todd and Nick welcomed several of Nick’s family members into their home this weekend to celebrate the occasion. Nick’s father even flew in from Alaska.

After the ceremony, Nick, Todd and family drove up to New Orleans for dinner at WINO (second time mentioned on the blog..remember Christmas?) and then some gambling. There was a fancy dinner thrown in there somewhere in which Todd ate ox tail and some sort of liver.

Oooh, Awww, fancy restaurant

The next day, they were off to Pensacola where I believe they are right now. They’re likely sitting on a beach and drinking something delightful.

Nick says, "Only in Mississippi"

Dad is overseas this week in The Hague. I have no idea what he’s doing over there but I do know that it’s pretty because he sent us this nice picture:

Dad said to Mom, "I took this nice picture, though you could take a better one." Mom said, "Yes, I could."

I also know that Dad forgot how to tell time because he called mom at 1:30 a.m. one morning thinking that it was 10:30 p.m. and that Mom was in Alaska. Both Dad and I got an earful about that one. Remember, family, Mom does not like to be woken up by phone calls in the middle of the night.

Dad returns at the end of this week, so we wish him a safe and worry free flight. This coming weekend, according to the Mom report, she and Dad are going to a dinner at an important political figure’s house. The gallery is impressed.

Meanwhile, Mom and I drove up to the Underwood ranch this weekend for Kaitlyn’s birthday celebration. It was a BIG moment because Mom has never met the Underwoods, well any of them other than Jarrod. Though odd sidenote, she met one set of his grandparents on a random trip to Houston a while back.

Longhorns outside the road to the Underwood ranch say, "Moooooo"

Anyway, we arrived Saturday midafternoon. Mom swears that I “almost rolled the car” when driving into the ranch. I admit that I was driving a bit on the fast side and I was coming up a gravel road. I totally forgot that the road splits (I admit that I forget every time) and, with gusto, yanked my wheel to turn the car to take the other road. Well, now I know, when on gravel, don’t yank the wheel. We skidded a bit, though I believe that we were never in terrible danger. I directed the car into some rougher terrain and it quickly came to a halt. Just wanted to put that all out there on the Internet before Mom goes spreading rumors that I almost killed her in the Matrix.

Mom followed this roadrunner around for a bit until she heard rattles and decided to turn back...turns out the sound was either crickets or frogs.

Per Kaitlyn’s birthday request, we had an evening crawfish boil. Mom, to my surprise, went along with my plan to rescue one of the crawfish and walked with me down to the pond to let it free. Though she has told me several times since then that the crawfish is likely dead, drowned in the mud. I’d like to think that he’s happily scuttling along somewhere doing his lil’ crawfish thing, thanking his lucky stars for the big, white rescuer.

Aggie, Mom and I setting the crawfish free

I saw Mom off in her rental car, Sunday afternoon and quite honestly have been chilling like a villain since then. I had grand designs to wash my car and laundry yesterday afternoon, but ended up taking a long nap on the couch with the little dog and the going to the grocery. But hey, it can always wait until today, right?