I really love my dad :)
When I was little my dad used to do a lot of the cooking and perfected dishes such as "Spray Bottle Chicken." I remember my dad used to make a marinade that he would spray on the chicken. This marinade basically consisted of anything he could find in the refrigerator... lemon juice, orange juice, pickle juice, worcestershire. When you're a little girl who loves to cook, there's nothing that makes you feel more special than when your dad asks for help digging through the fridge to make a "secret formula" marinade, and he lets you add anything you want!
One Saturday we drove around the city looking for the prefect spray bottle to use to keep the chicken coated while it was on the grill. It seems like we went to about 30 stores looking for the perfect spray bottle before he decided that a washed out windex bottle worked best. We kept the windex bottle under the sink, and it was ONLY to be used for chicken cooking. My dad made sure by writing "Chicken Juice" across it with a marker. Ahhh childhood memories.
Aside from the chicken, my dad taught me how to cook chili. This was an activity that took an entire Saturday. It was basically a little girl's version of tailgating. We would wake up early, hit up Bruno's for the secret ingredients, and start cooking. The below recipe is beased on the way my dad made it, but I've added a few things :)
Honestly, this is the secret ingredient. Of all the chili mixes and recipes I've tried (and I've tried a lot), this is my favorite. I don't know if it is because it reminds me of home, or if it really is the best, but I love it. The package calls for tomato sauce and 2 lbs of ground beef, but dad and I liked to doctor ours up with onions, beans, corn and of course beer. How do you make chili without beer?
Chop the onion.
Cook the ground beef with the onion. (this is Jimmy's job now)
When the meat is brown (in the above picture it is about halfway there), drain the fat and put it back in the pot.
I adore corn, so I use as many ears as possible. This time I used 4.
Cut the corn off the cob.
Add the two cans of tomato sauce to the meat.
The directions on the package say to add 16 oz of water, but I've decided beer is better. I love the flavor of 420 (that's also our wedding date), so I used it this time. Just use whatever you have. 
The package of chili mix comes with individual spice packets, which you add depending on how much heat or salt you want.
I like beans in my chili, and I used one can of chili beans and one can of navy beans.
The longer you cook the chili the better it is, which if why my dad would always start in the morning. Technically you only need about 30 minutes to make chili, but it's up to you.
Top however you like :)
I'm so happy to have all the memories of cooking with my dad. He and Missy are wonderful cooks. They always make the best dinners together with my dad mainly in charge of the grill and Missy in charge of the inside stuff. Cooking has always been such a wonderful part of my family, and I am so excited to start making these memories with little Oliver.
Have a WONDERFUL Fall weekend everybody!