Sloppy Jessica with a Temple Grandin

I seem to be one of the last twenty people who still watches New Girl, but I will continue to watch until the very end. With that, tonight is the season premiere of both New Girl and Brooklyn Nine-Nine and I'm more excited than any normal person should be. Both shows are just like comfort food in entertainment form. And speaking of food, to get read for the premieres (TONIGHT! FOX! 8PM EASTERN/7PM CENTRAL!) I decided to make a dinner inspired by both shows. 

In the season 3 episode of New Girl, Jess runs into coffee shop owner, Artie (played by Taye Diggs) at the local bar, and he guesses her cocktail of choice correctly as "a Shirley Temple with a finger of coconut rum and a lemon squeeze" which Jess calls a Temple Grandin because it makes her friendly and compassionate.

Back in the first season of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Terry, Santiago and Gina decide to go on super strict diets that leaves them all angry and starving. Gina is the first to crack and happily enjoys a Sloppy Jessica, which she describes as a "mac and cheese chili pizza on a bun." I'm not the biggest pasta person but that sounded amazing.

I'll start with the easy one:
The Temple Grandin

Ice
A finger of rum (I prefer two or three, one is just too little but that's Jess's preference)
Fill the rest of the glass with a lemon-lime soda such as 7-up or Sprite or even ginger ale
A splash of grenadine and a squeeze of lemon
Garnish with a maraschino cherry and/or lemon peel

Now onto the Sloppy Jessica
1 bun, hot dog or deli roll works
1/2 cup chili (see recipe below)
1/2 cup mac and cheese
I went the easy route and made Kraft Mac and Cheese but if you want a good recipe, Ina's never fails.
1/4 cup mozzarella cheese
1 Tb Pizza Seasoning

I realized afterwards that mixing the mac and cheese and chili and then putting it on the roll would have been easier but I just put the mac and cheese on one side of the roll and the chili on the other, then topped it with mozzarella cheese and the pizza seasoning and put it in the broiler for about 5 minutes to melt the cheese and toast the bun a little.

I like all types of chili but I wanted to make one that was a bit more tomato-y than most so I went with this recipe:
1 lb ground chicken (or beef if you like)
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup jalapeños (the pickled kind from a jar), roughly chopped
2 Tb cumin
2 Tb chili powder
1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
1 - 15 oz can kidney or pinto beans
1 red pepper, roughly chopped
salt and pepper 

Directions:
Brown the meat in a large sauce pan, until fully cooked, drain any excess fat. 
Add onions and garlic until onions are translucent. 
Add jalapeños, cumin, chili powder and stir until everything is coated
Stir in tomato sauce and ketchup, add kidney beans and red pepper
Add salt and pepper to taste
Simmer for half an hour to an hour, depending on desired consistency

The key here is the Pizza Seasoning which I bought from Sur La Table. This stuff is amazing. I put it on my pizza in general or sprinkle a little on some garlic bread before baking. It's seriously amazing.

Now you have plans for dinner tonight! Enjoy!