For the state of Ohio, our 17th Sate, the girls read B is for Buckeye: A Ohio Alphabet and then worked on completing their Notebook Pages, as usual.
Of course, we had to make Buckeyes for this state, and with a spice packet straight from Ohio (Thanks to a dear blog visitor, and author!) the girls also made Cincinnati Chili! We made sure to serve it with all the suggested additions, and everyone seemed to prefer it differently… Hubby, the older boys, and I all loved it “All-the-Way”, Twinkle Toes and Chiquita liked the “4 Way” with beans (no onions), Rose loved the “2 Way”, and Snuggles wanted it “No Way! I’ll just have spaghetti with cheese, thank you very much!”
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
In a large bowl, mix together the peanut butter, butter, vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. The dough will look dry. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet.
6 cups water
4oz. of tomato paste
1 packet of Cincinnati Style Chili Seasoning
- Combine all ingredients in pan.
- Stir mixture with fork and bring to a boil.
- Cover pot and boil for 3 minutes.
- Uncover pot, reduce heat to medium, and continue to boil until desired thickness (approx. 25-35 minutes). Serves 8.
Serving Suggestions:
2 Way
Cincinnati Chili served over spaghetti.
3 Way
4 Way
Add onions or red beans to the 3 Way.
5 Way (Should be called All-the-Way!)
Spaghetti with Cincinnati Chili, red beans, onions, and mild cheddar cheese.
I love this post – my mouth is watering!! My parents were born and raised in Cincinnati, and I and my 4 older siblings were born there as well, but we moved to the south when I was just one year old. We spent several weeks there every summer with my grandparent's, though, and Skyline Chili was one of the first places we went after our arrival. My mom always made those buckeyes at Christmas time, too. Great memories!
First, my husband would probably fly cross country for some buckeyes. They are always a holiday hit around here. My mom makes them for him. I loved them too before I had to say goodbye to peanut butter.
Second, as a native Ohioan, I think the chili craze is more a southern/Cincinnati thing. I love chili but not on spaghetti. I am with Snuggles on this.
Finally, your boys Ohio pages gave me a little chuckle with their very Rocky mountain look. I have to assume anyway since I have never seen young mountains like the Rockies. We only some of the edges of the Appalachians – some largeand soft hills. Where I am it is flat as a pancake. Oh, and the Marietta image brought back memories as I was there for a year and even rowed crew on the Ohio and Muskingum Rivers. Really good job on the pages. I hope my kids like to illustrate as yours do.
My husband is from St. Louis and has always tried to sell me on that chili three ways, or four ways, or however he likes it,,,as a southerner, I found it an offensive waste of good chili, lol…those buckeyes look *good* though! I have never had them, but we will have to try those out.
Glad you all enjoyed the Cincinnati chili mix! Whichever 'way' one eats it I find that the Cincinnati version is usually more of a regional favorite. Years ago my dad was quite offended on a trip to Texas that they did not know HOW to MAKE CHILI! We have a restaurant in some parts of Ohio called Skyline Chili – YUM! (Other parts of the country too but they are rare.) They even have vegetarian offerings that taste just like the meat version for Lent. My niece is in college in Florida and we send her regular care packages of Skyline chili in cans.
Buckeyes- must be almost time for Christmas! They are a favorite for seasonal gift giving. I realized that one of my nephews picked up a real buckeye on a ramble near the Ohio River and had planned to send it to your children. It's yours if you still want it – maybe you could plant it and see what happens.
Looks like you had fun with my favorite state!