Earlier this week, Scott and I were sitting around, talking about what the week looked like for us and when we'd both be home for dinner. Once we realized we'd both be around on Wednesday, I started brainstorming out loud, ruminating on the pound of grass-finished ground beef I had in the fridge. I mentioned that I was thinking it would be good to scramble it with some veggies, maybe some beans and a can or two of tomatoes. Scott looked at me and said, "You do realize that you're talking about making chili, right?" I was momentarily crushed, as I realized that what I was considering wasn't at all original (silly in so many ways, I know). Once I got over my disappointment, I perked up, realizing that I could still take this pot of chili in any direction I wanted.

When I got home from work, I started chopping, sauting and stirring, cooking by feel without any sort of guide besides what I had in my kitchen. It turned out fantastically well and there was enough in the pot to feed us for two nights (I do love cooking once and eating twice)! I was particularly proud that I got the chard in there, because it meant that I got my nightly green vegetable in without using another pot or bowl.

• We had a Boston/NY food showdown, and so does The Boston Globe.
• Make some chocolate goodies for your Valentine's Day honey.
• The Sneaky Chef vs. Deceptively Delicious.
• This chili is made with brisket and has no beans.
• Whoopie pies!
• Restaurant reviews: Kingston Station and Jack-Tar.
• This week's recipes: Lemon-Sugar Crepes, Magic Meatballs, Shrimp Remoulade, Turkey Chili, and Macaroni and Cheese.

Chili is a Super Bowl staple.

Not only does chili have a high taste return on the fairly low preparation investment, especially if you prepare the day before in a slow cooker, but chili is something that can be perfectly adjusted to your and your guests' particular tastes. I like offering two kinds of chili to accommodate both carnivorous guests (though there always seems to be an argument about whether beef chili should be made with ground beef or steak) as well as vegetarians. Chili can be served as a dish by itself, or as an accompaniment to hot dogs, hamburgers, on French fries, or nachos.

In the last few days, we've talked about chicken wings and chili, queso and pizzas. However, our food choices have mostly been directed by our own personal likes and dislikes. Over at Ask.com, they've taken a more scientific approach towards Super Bowl food, tallying their search results in order to create a list of the Ten Most Popular Super Bowl Snacks. According to their study, here are most popular foods.

1. Chili
2. Pizza
3. Meatballs
4. Salsa
5. Ribs
6. Spinach dip
7. Wings
8. Guacamole
9. Quesadillas
10. Artichoke dip

Of these foods, what are you planning on serving at your Super Bowl party? (Personally, I'll take any excuse to eat guacamole, which is why I picked Slashfood Flickr pool member You Can Count on Me's picture of it to illustrate this post).

Mmmmm....cornbread. It's one of those foods that I absolutely love but I just don't make for some reason. I think I get into these ruts where I don't want to haul out all the mixing bowls and ingredients and bake.

Since we're doing healthy Super Bowl recipes today, I thought this would be worth posting about, because it's not only healthier than regular cornbread, it's also a comfort food (at least it is for me), especially when you team it with that Super Bowl staple, chili.

Though there are a a lot of different things for Super Bowl parties, there are a few that will, without a doubt, make an appearance at every Super Bowl party this weekend -- beer to drink, tortilla chips and salsa for snacking, and as a "main" dish, some sort of chili. If you're hosting a Super Bowl party and chili isn't on your menu, why are you depriving your guests?!?!

There are a lot of recipes out there for chili - heck, we have at least a dozen here on Slashfood - and a lot of opinions about what makes the "best" chili. Ground beef or steak? Beans or no beans? Tomato-base or beef stock? The reality is that chili is more of a technique combined with any permutation of meat and vegetables, rather than a specific recipe. Last weekend, I made a Steak Chili in my brand new slow cooker, and though I had several recipes nearby as reference, I ended up doing everything based on my personal tastes. Here's the step-by-step of what I did, along with suggestions and explanations so you can make your own.

After your chili has cooked for a good 1½ to 2 hours, it's ready to eat, but if you've waited that long, what's another day?!?! Letting chili cool down overnight, or at least for several hours and then re-heating it just before serving somehow makes the chili taste about five thousand times better, if that's possible. For a party, that's incredibly convenient, since you can make the chili at least one day in advance.

For the Super Bowl, serve the chili straight from the slow cooker. The slow cooker may not be the most stylish thing to leave out on the buffet table, but it will ensure that the chili stays warm as it sits out all afternoon (or evening) long. Throw a ladle into the chili and let your guests help themselves. If you have large handled mugs (that you might use for cappuccino or soup), use those for serving. Having a handle will decrease the chance that mingling guests will spill the chili on your immaculate floor.

Chili alone is good, but with "toppings," it's even better. Shredded cheese, sour cream, chopped red onions and scallions, and diced avocado or guacamole are good things to set out as a "bar" to put on top of chili.

You may also want to serve chili with some sort of bread. The natural choice here is cornbread, but any thick, chewy bread is good, as are tortilla chips.

The only vegetables you really need for chili are onions and garlic for flavor, jalapenos for heat, and of course canned tomatoes to create the "gravy." However, I know that people like to add other vegetables either because they like particular vegetables, or they're trying to sneak some nutrition into their friends' and family's diets. Naturally, if you're making a vegetarian chili, additional vegetables like celery, carrots, and bell pepper make sense, but in a beef chili, why would you add carrots? Why?! You aren't fooling anyone.

Adding Vegetables to the Chili
To the oil that's left in the pan you used to brown the meat, add 2 chopped medium onions, ½ to 1 whole head of smashed garlic cloves (depending on how much garlic you like), and 5-7 chopped fresh jalapenos. If you are adding other chopped vegetables, add them here, too. Cook for about 10 minutes to soften, then add to the beef in the crock.

Add 1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes with the juice, crushing the tomatoes with your hands as you add them to the pot. Also add 3 cups of beef stock.

When it comes to the meat for your chili, you have a lot of options, and even options within options. Chili can be made with beef, poultry, or it can eschew meat altogether and go vegetarian. Turkey, chicken and vegetarian chilis are all fine, but I am a beef girl when it comes to chili.

A lot of people use ground beef for chili, which produces a very uniform, somewhat "fine" chili, but since ground beef cooks rather quickly, there is less of a reason to use a slow cooker. I prefer my chili a bit chunkier, so I buy a large piece of any of the less expensive, slightly tougher cuts of beef. Does that make me a cheapskate?!?! Maybe a little, but the reality is that the tougher cuts of beef are flavorful and hold up well during the slow cooking process that allows flavors to develop.

Preparing the Meat for Chili:
I bought a 2 lb rump roast, partly because I love the word "rump," but mostly because that's a good cut to use for chili. Rinse the meat, pat dry, and cut into ½" cubes. Dredge the cubes in about ½ c flour that has been seasoned with salt and pepper and shake off as much of the excess flour as you can.

Heat 2-3 Tbsp canola oil over medium high heat and brown the coated beef on all sides. Set aside.

Chili is the consummate Super Bowl food. Hearty, meaty and spicy, it can be served in the same slow cooker you cooked it in (or you can cook it in another pot and keep it warm in a slow cooker for easy serving). Today's Food Porn Daily is a fantastic picture of chili in a shiny-handled pot by Sophiemostly. Lucky for us, Sophie includes a link to the recipe which she posted on her blog.

If you'd like to see your picture featured here, head over to the Slashfood group on Flickr and join us. Thanks to all of you have joined lately and have added your gorgeous images!

Last year I picked the 8 best school lunch items I remember from my school days (admittedly, a long time ago). But what about the lunches that a lot of kids hate? Here are my choices:

1. Mystery meat: What exactly was this? I'm trying to go through my mental Rolodex and I can't remember. Was it meatloaf? Salisbury steak? I'm not sure, but it just seemed to be this mass-produced glob of grayness topped with lame gravy. The days I saw that this was the lunch were the days I just had something to drink and maybe a bag of chips.

Seafood is usually a fairly photogenic genre of meat as far as food porn goes. Sushi can be absolutely beautiful and cooked fish, with the possible exception of the bland-looking poached fish, can look tempting, as well. Shrimp, on the other hand, are not usually the most appetizing of sea creatures, which is what makes this photo of Ginger Chili Shrimp from Hooked on Heat all the more amazing. These tasty fried shrimp are first marinated in a mixture of turmeric, chili powder and lime juice before hitting the oil for a quick fry. The remaining oil is then used as a base for a spicy sauce made with ginger, onions, chili flakes, tomato paste and soy sauce, which is tossed with the shrimps to give them the nicely browned look that you see above. This dish could easily be served as an appetizer with margaritas at a cocktail party or enjoyed as part of a light dinner when you're in the mood for some spice and seafood.

A team of archaeologists has recently made a discovery that, while it probably won't make it into may children's picture books - unlike many of the discoveries about past civilizations - could very well make it into a cookbook someday. They discovered the remains of the world's first home-grown chili peppers in what is now western Ecuador. The discovery derailed the long-standing belief that residents of higher and more arid areas, like what are now Peru and Mexico, were the first to grow chilies by more than 1,000 years. There is no question about the time frame for the existence of the chili plants that were identified by "microfossils from grinding stones and charred ceramic cookware" because there has been so much study done of the pottery that "the dates [are] all very tight."

This discovery shows that chili peppers were one of the oldest domesticated foods in the world. More research is planned to try and discover exactly how the people living in villages in Ecuador at that time used the chilies.

A Mexican man, Manuel Quiroz, loves chilies with a passion. Perhaps disturbingly so. Not only can he "down dozens of Mexico's spiciest chilies," but he can "rub them on his skin and even squeeze their juice into his eyes without so much as blinking." Why on earth anyone would want to do that on a regular basis - or how they came up with such a bizarre idea in the first place - remains to be seen, but Manuel to showcase his unusual... talents. He believes that he can eat more chilies than any person on the planet and wants to prove his claim with a title. Unfortunately, there are no contests to crown the "World Chili-eating Champion" just yet, so Manuel will have to wait. With the popularity of eating contests, however, he many not have to wait long. The International Federation of Competitive Eating (IFCoE) seems like they are always keen to add new events and if they can get any of their current champs to agree to participate, you can bet that they'd be willing to sponsor such a contest.

Kobayashi vs. Quiroz, anyone?