By March. The mud month. Nebraska thaws in March, which means the snow turns to water and the water turns the dirt to mud and the mud gets everywhere — on the boots, on the porch, on the floor, on the dog (we do not have a dog but if we did it would be covered in mud, which is why we do not have a dog). The kids track it in and I mop it up and the cycle repeats daily like a very boring very dirty version of Groundhog Day.
I hauled a load to Des Moines Monday through Wednesday. Long drive, flat road, familiar. The Iowa countryside in March looks like Nebraska's twin — same fields, same sky, same mud, same stoic small towns with grain elevators and water towers and people who wave at trucks because waving at trucks is what you do here. I waved back. I always wave back.
The blog hit a milestone this week — ten thousand followers. I do not know what to do with this information. Ten thousand people reading about how I make chili in a truck cab and feed four kids on a budget. Ten thousand people who apparently want to hear a forty-one-year-old Nebraska truck driver talk about pot roast and grief and tater tot casserole. I am not sure what this says about the world but I think it says something good, something about hunger — not for food but for realness, for the voice of someone who is not performing, who is just living and cooking and telling the truth about both.
I posted about breakfast burritos this week. The truck cab version: eggs scrambled at home, cheese, salsa, wrapped in tortillas, foil-wrapped and warmed on the engine block (I am not joking — the engine block is a perfectly good warming surface and I will die on this hill). The post got shared eleven hundred times. Eleven hundred people looking at a picture of a foil-wrapped burrito on a Peterbilt engine block. The internet is a strange and wonderful place.
Eleven hundred shares on a foil-wrapped burrito photo told me everything I needed to know — people do not just want a recipe, they want the feeling of something warm and real and wrapped up tight against the cold. These Chili Cheddar Pinwheels are my home-kitchen answer to that same impulse: Southwestern flavors, melty cheese, the whole thing rolled and sliced and ready to go, whether you’re feeding four kids at a kitchen table in Nebraska or warming something on the road. They travel well, they reheat well, and they have never once complained about the mud on the floor.
Chili Cheddar Pinwheels
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 12 min | Total Time: 27 min | Servings: 24 pinwheels
Ingredients
- 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles, drained
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 4 large flour tortillas (10-inch)
- Salsa or sour cream, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven. Heat oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make the filling. In a medium bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Stir in the shredded cheddar, diced green chiles, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika, and cayenne if using. Mix until fully combined.
- Spread and roll. Lay a tortilla flat on a clean surface. Spread about 1/4 of the cream cheese mixture evenly across the entire surface, going close to the edges. Roll the tortilla up firmly into a tight log. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling.
- Slice. Using a sharp knife, cut each roll into 6 even slices, about 1 inch thick. Arrange cut-side up on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake. Bake for 10–12 minutes, until the edges are lightly golden and the cheese is bubbling. Watch the bottoms — they brown fast.
- Serve. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving. Offer salsa or sour cream alongside for dipping.
Nutrition (per serving, 2 pinwheels)
Calories: 180 | Protein: 6g | Fat: 11g | Carbs: 14g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 310mg