It's freezing cold outside and the Superbowl is only days away...baby it's chili time! Colleen and I have never been big football fans, but we are most definitely fans of the food and craft beer that often comes along with game day.  We'll take any excuse to eat comfort food and drink in the middle of a Sunday afternoon and the Superbowl always seems to amplify our hunger for bar food, artisinal bar food, but bar food nonetheless. This year I'm even more excited, because I've gotten myself hooked on Friday Night Lights and am therefore convinced that I'll understand what's going on in the game without having to ask one of my very patient friends. Somehow, each year after fully understanding the game by the end of the previous season, I completely forget the following year. Perhaps I'm always just distracted by the food?

In honor of all things football, here are our three very favorite chili recipes! 

xoxo,

stephania 

$100 Deer Chili

by Ruth and Michael Pryor

What you need:

• 2 lbs ground sirloin
• 1 lbs ground venison
• 1/2 pound pepper crusted salami chopped in small pieces
• 3 links of columbian or mexican chorizo
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 habaneros, deseeded and minced
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tbsp corn meal
• 1 tbsp garlic salt
• 28oz beef broth
• 28oz whole tomatoes (blend quickly)
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 bay leaves

What to do:

In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add onions and sauté for three minutes.  Add the sirloin, venison, chorizo and samali.  Mix often to ensure meat is cooked thoroughly and sauté for about ten minutes or until meat is cooked through.  Carefully pour fat out of pot (making sure to leave onions, garlic, and turkey in the pot).  Return pot to heat.  Add one beef broth,  tomatoes, habaneros, chili powder, cumin, corn meal, and garlic salt to meat mixture. Then place the  cinnamon stick and bay leaves to mixture.  Stir to mix and let it simmer for about 3 hours. Before serving remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick. Serve in big bowls and garnish with grated Parmesan.

Serves 8-10.

Beer and Honey Chili

by Stephania Stanley 

What you need:

• 1 ½ lbs ground turkey meat
• 1 ½ bottles of beer (ambers are great)
• ¼ cup honey
• 2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
• 2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
• 1 16 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbs chili powder
• 1 ½ tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Grated Parmesan (optional)

Sweet 'n Spicy Veggie Chili

by Colleen Reilly and Derek Ingersoll

What you need:

• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 30 oz can of dark red kidney beans
• 1 8 oz can diced tomatoes (with green chilies)
• 1 8 oz can tomato sauce
• 4 oz tomato paste
• 1 lb veggie meat crumblers
• 24 oz low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• Nickel-size diameter uncooked spaghetti
• 1 pack chili seasoning
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp honey

What to do:

Sauté onion and garlic in a large, deep pot for 8-10 minutes or until onions are clear. Add remaining ingredients (except spaghetti and meat crumbles) and let simmer for at least 1 1/2-2hrs (feel free to let it simmer for up to 5 hours), adding small amounts of water as needed and stirring occasionally. Finally add the spaghetti and the meat crumbles and let cook until the noodles are tender adding water if necessary (about 20 minutes), don’t cook too long as noodles will get mushy. Salt, pepper and add hot sauce to taste. Serve it up in bowls and enjoy!

This will make about 6 servings.

Happy Friday! The weekend is finally upon us and I for one cannot wait to get things rolling.  My sister and I are going to have our own little crafting extravaganza for her best friend's bridal shower.  We will be designing, cutting, pasting, and sewing away (and hopefully on our back deck where we can also catch a tan).  

However before we take off, I am so pleased to introduce today's Friday Feature to you all, Jessica Bricker from People for Urban Progress (PUP).  PUP is an Indianapolis based non-profit whose mission is to bring better public transportation, environmental friendly and smart design to Indy. They bring a whole new meaning to reduce, reuse, and recycle by taking good ideas and putting them to action.  They are a self described "do-tank" and I couldn't agree more. 

Jessica from People for Urban Progress

1. Tell us a bit about People for Urban Progress.  How did you guys get started?

People for Urban Progress was founded by Michael Bricker, my brother, and Maryanne O'Malley in the hopes to salvage the RCA dome roof.  Once they received the dome fabric they decided to create/sell product to help fund larger community projects around the city.  The sale of products also helps support local designers and fabricators.  I started with PUP a year later to help continue developing their product and am currently the product manager/lead designer.  We continue to incorporate repurposed materials in our product. One you'll recognize is the Super Bowl XLVI banner fabric.

2. As native Hoosiers, we are both really excited about PUP bringing more art and design to Indy.  What/who inspires your design? 

I went to school for interior design and have always been drawn to more modern designs/designers.  Two of my favorite designers would be Charles and Ray Eames and Frank Lloyd Wright.  I don't necessarily base my designs off of them but do enjoy the simplicity of their designs.  

We had to find inspiration from the fabric itself.  It is such a unique fabric that we had to learn how to be creative with stitching it together.  We also had to think of ways to add color since the fabric does not hold paint or stains. It's an incredibly unique process.

3. You guys have truly taken on "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" to a whole new level.  What are you guys working on right now?

At the moment we are working on reusing the Super Bowl banners from this year.  The NFL contacted us to take the 5-6 different types of fabric and come up with a reuse for it.  We have been trying to integrate the fabric into our current product line.  It has been a great way to add color to the RCA dome fabric.  

We also created some new product that are solely with the Super Bowl material.  The fence wrap was the perfect height and fabric for shower curtains.  There is also a vinyl mesh that works great for beach bags.

The current prototype we are working on is a tandem pannier bag for bicycles.  One of our local designers thought it would be a great addition to our line, did some research and created some prototypes for us.  

4. We admire your ability to really unite the Indy community.  What's your process when deciding on a new project? How do you succeed in really Doing?

We look for projects that are related to two of the three areas of our mission, which include transit, environment and design.  A great example of this would be our Bush Stadium seat project which fits with all three areas.  We are partnering with IndyGo to have the seats installed at bus stops around the city.  

Our organization succeeds in doing because many of our projects start with a deadline.  For example the RCA dome fabric would have gone in a landfill if we didn't do something about it.  The products we created with this material help us fund, or better, kickstart future projects in transit, environment and/or design.

The same goes for all of the materials we have on hand in addition to the dome fabric, Super Bowl fabric, Bush Stadium Seats and we recently acquired some of Indianapolis' old crank parking meters. This outlook helps us attract other organizations and volunteers that also want to get things done to help improve our city. Our initial projects so far include shading through out the city with the dome fabric, providing seating at IndyGo bus stops, parks and public spaces, creating unique installations with the parking meters. With more funding, we could move these materials more quickly into the community and we have plan in place to start processing faster.

5. We have found that our favorite way to unwind with our friends is through food.  What are some of your favorite go-to spots in Indy that are great for relaxing and catching up over a great dish?

Fountain Square has so many great options for food.  A few of the new spots would be B's Po Boys and Bluebeard.  B's has great outdoor bocce ball courts and seating, which makes for a great hangout spot.  Bluebeard has an amazing menu that they switch up daily with locally harvested items.