Make My Day Camp

Friday, February 20, 2026

MFIH: Sloppy Chili

I made 'sloppy chili' for a MFIH meal (My Family Is Hungry) and it was a winner. It's a cross between sloppy joes and chili with beans, it comes together really quick and easy; it also goes by different names like 'no alarm chili' and 'hillbilly chili' but I think 'sloppy chili' is the perfect name!

I looked at a few recipes online and then just sort of winged my version. It's basically doctored Manwich and canned chili and can be changed up to make it however you like (more or less beans, additional seasonings as desired, onions, ground turkey or beef...). I served it over cooked spaghetti noodles (making it more of a 'Cincinnatti' style chili), topped with cheese and sour cream. Yum.

For the fam meal I needed more than one recipe to feed all my people - here's the original I followed as a base recipe but I increased to more of everything. Since I used 3 cans of beans I was able to use different kinds (pinto, white, and cannellini beans - I hate red kidney beans and did not use them!). I also added a can of drained chopped diced tomatoes.

1 lb. ground beef
1 (15 oz) can Manwich Original Sloppy Joe Sauce
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 t. chili powder, or to taste
1/2 t. cumin
1/4 t. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

Brown the ground beef with the onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain excess grease. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the Manwich, tomato sauce, beans, and spices.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 15-20 minutes to allow flavors to blend.

Macey sent me this review:

2.20.25: chicken cordon bleu casserole

2.20.24: tt dusting woodwork

2.20.23: stationery folder #1

2.20.22: 🔥 week 8

2.20.21: grapefruit cocktail

2.20.20: TBT french dressing

2.20.19: rainy day casserole

2.20.18: unfinished project day

2.20.17: make a mason jar salt pourer

2.20.16: lucky cat martini

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Striped Delight

I've been going thru old recipes (I still have an old box that I used to use before I changed to a binder system, it hangs out in the top of my cookbook cupboard and I have to get a tall stool out in order to access that high shelf haha, I decided to go thru some of these old ones and share with you even if I don't have a picture!) and came across 'Striped Delight'. It's very similar to a Robert Redford cake I shared in 2017, other than for this recipe you can mix and match the cookie crumbs and flavors of pudding. You could also add berries or other add-ins to complement the crust and filling flavors.

1 1/2 cups cookie crumbs (put cookies of choice in a food processor to pulse into crumbs; or put in a large sealed ziplock bag and whack them with a rolling pin)
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 T. milk

1 (8 oz) container Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed, divided
2 packages (4-serving) Jell-O brand instant pudding
3 1/2 cup cold milk

1. Combine crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar, and melted butter. Press firmly into bottom of 13x9" pan; chill 5 minutes. Or, for firmer crust, bake at 375' for 8 minutes; cool.

2. Beat cream cheese with sugar and 2 T. milk until smooth. Fold in half the whipped topping. Spread over crust.

3. Prepare pudding as directed on package, using 3 1/2 cups milk; pour over cream cheese layer. Chill several hours or overnight.

4. Spread remaining whipped topping over pudding. Makes 12 servings.

2.19.25: St. Patrick's day jello cups

2.19.24: painted plate

2.19.23: 🔥 week 8

2.19.22: shrimp étouffée

2.19.21: oatmeal banana energy bars by Jen

2.19.20: double chocolate mousse torte

2.19.19: tt: deviled egg cover

2.19.18: macrame wall hanging (and Sarge "helping me")

2.19.17: cornmeal crusted chicken

2.19.16: kid craft - decorate notebooks

Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Gourmet Chicken Pillows

I can't remember who sent this to me but it makes me laugh so I'm sharing on this dull hump-day LOL

(can you tell that these are actually chicken nuggets topped with macaroni and cheese and ketchup?! 😂)

2.18.25: tt removing fridge odors

2.18.24: 🔥 week 7

2.18.23: Macey makes Beef Stroganoff

2.18.22: morning glory muffins

2.18.21: kid mask leash

2.18.20: tip-sy tuesday: sewing machine needle

2.18.19: Cathy updates a fireplace

2.18.18: pastitsio

2.18.17: paint samples

2.18.16: fleece tie pillow

Tuesday, February 17, 2026

Tip-sy Tuesday: Stress Test(s)

Two week's ago I shared my getting an echocardiogram done (which was normal btw); the next day I did an exercise stress test, which was also new for me and quite interesting so thought I'd share. They have you lie on a table and get hooked up to ekg wires, then walk on a treadmill for a few minutes (I didn't have chest pain or any symptoms, I don't know what they do if I would have had problems).

It started quite slow with minimal elevation for a couple minutes, and then they increase speed and incline until you reach whatever target heart rate number you are aiming for - mine was 135 or higher. At around 9 and 1/2 minutes I was walking 4.2 mph on an incline of 16%, good grief that wasn't easy and it showed me that I need to be adding more incline to my everyday walks! I did good, felt good - but even so the ekg showed some abnormal numbers so they scheduled me for a nuclear stress test a few days later. The exercise stress test only took under 45 minutes, just wear comfortable clothes you can exercise in.

The nuclear stress test is basically the same as far as the treadmill portion, but they inject you with a radioactive tracer to measure the blood flow around your heart before you exercise. I was there for a couple hours, a lot of the time there is spent waiting for the tracer to take effect (I didn't feel a thing, no side effects - worst part is they put an IV in my arm and I'm a baby so hated that part!). They take pictures of your heart using a special camera, I had to lie in a machine with my arms overhead for 7 minutes while the camera did its thing. I was hooked up to an EKG and walked the exact same pattern as the exercise stress test, again I reached almost 10 minutes. Back to the camera room for another 5 minutes of the machine taking heart pictures and I was free to go. I'm happy to say that test was negative and I've been cleared of any cardiac problems.

The 'downside' to all of this is that I now have no excuse to not exercise harder and add some speed and incline to my walks LOL!!

Hope this helps if you have to have a stress test in the future, really it wasn't hard and I'm glad to now have a baseline if any issues come up in the future.

2.17.25: catching up

2.17.24: words

2.17.23: random acts of kindness re-run

2.17.22: random acts of kindness day

2.17.21: banana pudding tart

2.17.20: make a paper gift box

2.17.19: 🔥 week 7

2.17.18: nail art

2.17.17: ombre nail art

2.17.16: making paper crowns

Monday, February 16, 2026

Medication Chart

Dave is having hip surgery next week and was worried how he'd remember when to take which meds and things he needs to be doing this week in preparation so I made him a simple medication chart for him to keep track. I also read the big packet of info they sent home with him and reduced it to bullet points and check boxes to try to make things a little easier.

I made this chart using a Word documnet I formatted with 9 columns x 12 rows; added the dates across the top and the meds down the left side. In each box I made a bullet check box and how many times a day he needs to take them, he can just x it out to remember what he's taken each day. Hopefully the chart keeps at least this part straight: