Southern Maine is still experiencing some great weather, while moving into those cooler fall nights. Thick chili is delicious, warming ”“ and so good for you, too. Let the kids ”“ or the young at heart ”“ help by making my white heart dessert bars for dessert.

My “Pick 2 Chili” is called that because you pick two different kinds of meat or vegetarian protein to make it, and two different kinds of beans. Take your pick: hamburger, chicken, sausage, marinated tofu chunks, tempeh, sliced into small squares, or whatever else your can find. For beans: kidney, pink, pinto, white navy and Jacob’s cattle are at the top of my list.

Pick 2 Chili

2 pounds of meat or protein

30 ounces beans (low-sodium and pre-cooked)

1 chopped onion and/or 3 minced cloves of garlic:

green or red pepper

celery

carrots

1 tablespoon to 1/4 cup chili powder

2 teaspoons black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

3 sprigs parsley, chopped

Grated cheddar or American cheese

Sauce

30 ounces tomato sauce

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon oil and vinegar with seasoning

2 tablespoons butter

1 to 2 cups of distilled water, more or less as needed

Extras

3 lasagna noodles, cooked and then sliced into small pieces

1 to 2 pieces of whole wheat bread, torn in pieces

1 to 2 cooked potatoes, cut into mouth-sized pieces

Add 1 tablespoon or slightly less butter (hereafter known as a “chunk” of butter) to a large cast-iron pan or pot, and let butter start to melt. Add spices to the pan and cook for a minute or two until you can smell the spices heating. Then, add your meat or protein.

Brown the meat, with a little more butter, or cut up already-cooked meat and heat it up. Save meat juices in the pan. Pull the meat out and set it aside. If it’s very hot out, refrigerate the meat.

Add cut veggies and chopped onion and/or garlic to the drippings in the cast-iron pan and another chunk of butter. Add extra veggies now if you desire ”“ I like zucchini and any other fresh garden produce I’ve got. Cook vegetables until they start to soften. Add all of the sauce ingredients. If you want the chili to be thicker, add less water, but be aware you may have to add more water as the chili cooks. Taste and add seasoning if needed.

Add beans to the pan and cover. Turn heat to low-medium. Let chili cook down for at least 20 minutes, and longer if you desire. Stir every 5 minutes, and more frequently if chili is sticking. Consider adding more water if it’s sticking and lower heat. For thicker chili, remove the lid, but watch out for the chili getting too thick because it may burn to the bottom of the pan.

If using extras, add those now ”“ sliced lasagna noodles, potato chunks and bread, to thicken the chili, and heat for another 10 minutes, until bread is dissolved. Taste and adjust seasonings once more.

Grate cheese heavily on top. Serve when cheese has melted.

White Heart Dessert Bars

Oreo cookies, at least 36

5 tablespoons room-temperature butter

1/3 teaspoon vanilla

18-ounce jar marshmallow creme (like Fluff)

1/2 cup hot fudge sauce (store-bought or homemade)

3 1/2 ounces baking chocolate, milk or semi-sweet, cut in bite-sized chunks

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Sliced strawberries

Butter and lightly sugar an 8- or 9-inch glass pan. Put all but 10 cookies into a large plastic bag or into a bowl, and crush them. When they are crushed, stir the fine cookie crumbs with the butter until all is well combined and trying to make itself into a ball. Press the buttered cookie crumbs into the bottom of the pan to make a crust and set aside.

Cut or partially crush remaining Oreo cookies into mouth-sized pieces.

Beat marshmallow creme with the little bit of vanilla, and then add all but a few of the pecans, baking chocolate chunks and all but two of the remaining Oreo cookies. Spread this stirred mixture all over the Oreo crust. Swirl hot fudge sauce through this mixture by drizzling hot fudge over the top and then running a fork through the drizzle ”“ three times up and down, and three times side to side. Press the remaining nuts, cookies and chocolate all over the top in a decorative pattern.

Bake at 350 for 14-17 minutes, until the filling turns a little brown on the edges only. Cool before cutting with a sharp knife. You may need to wipe the sharp knife with a paper napkin now and then to be able to keep cutting such a gooey and delicious dessert.

Serve each dessert bar with a small stack of fresh-sliced strawberries on the side.

— Mel Baker is an experienced chef, caterer and cafe manager. She resides in York County with her family and has published “The Noisy Oven” since 2006. Contact her at [email protected].