Chili 'n' Weenies

<p>I'm a 58-year-old househusband who loves to cook. I have a son whose friends love to stop by when I'm cooking. I'm an avid cook and although my friends claim a gourmet one, I am much too humble to admit that. <br /> <br />I am a home brewer and am passionate about the hobby. If you get me started talking about making beer I could, and do, go on for hours, completely ignoring the glazed eyes and bored countenance of my companions. I drink beer two or three times a week and usually have several styles on hand. I like to be able to not have to buy it. <br /> <br />I like to BBQ, in the true sense of the word. I have two Webers?, a gas grill and a smoker in my back yard. I?m working on a plan to build another smoker. Most weekends in the summer I cook outdoors, sometimes enough for the week. <br /> <br />My wife and I are empty nesters, living on ten acres in the foothills. We?re animal lovers and have dogs, cats, goats and chickens. I love those fresh eggs. We compost, reuse, re-cycle, do whatever we can to lower our environmental footprint. <br /> <br />I plant a big garden every year with tomatoes, squash, lots and all kinds of peppers, basil, cabbage, brussel sprouts, varieties of lettuce, berries, hops!, sometimes beans, sometimes potatoes, and whatever strikes my fancy at the time. On a good year I?m made a years supply of tomato products; tomato paste, sauce and even homemade catsup.</p>