The first snow of the season means it's a great day for chili! Start it early, let it simmer in the slow cooker, enjoy the aroma, and everyone can eat when they are hungry. This is a basic recipe but today I threw in some great northern beans I had on had to stretch it a bit for leftovers for tomorrow. Add what you love, what you have on hand, leave out what you don't like, etc. Top with shredded cheese and serve with warm bread. Yum! Chili 1 pound of lean ground beef 1 onion, diced 1 green pepper, diced 1 3 pound can of kidney beans, drained 2 1 pound cans of diced tomatoes, undrained 2 8 ounce cans of tomato sauce 2 cloves of garlic (or more) minced 1 tablespoon sugar chili powder 1-2 tablespoons Brown the ground beef and drain. Put in large slow cooker with the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Cook 4-6 hours on low or 1 1/2 on stove top.
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My daughter and I have been trying to eat a bit better and also trying different recipes. Since she picked up an eggplant the other day we decided to make ratatouille and add the eggplant in with the other ingredients even though it isn't listed on the original recipe. If you haven't made ratatouille before, it is so very easy, smells wonderful while it's cooking and tastes delicious! Along with the eggplant I also tossed in some red pepper I had in the refrigerator. Waste not, want not! While my mother's recipe says to simmer until it thickens, we found that simmering on low covered for 20 minutes and then another 20 minutes uncovered made it perfect.
I couldn't wait any longer to put up some Valentine decorations. Usually I am a winter hold-out until we get snow but this year I don't really care. Not sure why, but I am ready to move on from winter and on to better things. Besides, it hasn't really been all that cold and so I have basically given up on getting any snow.
I have a small house so it is easily overwhelmed with seasonal decor. The coffee station is the best way for me to decorate while keeping it in a small space. I have recently gotten into Rae Dunn a bit so have bought some mugs for Valentine's Day. We also found 2 canisters, one medium sized off white with XOXO in gold and another (baby canister) that says Candy Hearts in red. Both of these were from TJMaxx and under $10. The Candy Hearts jar holds tea bags and the XOXO holds another flavor coffee pods. My regular coffee pod canister remains the same and I added a pink heart sticker (clever, huh?) to make it Valentine-y. I did the same with a Rae Dunn sugar canister. A very cute off white mug with pink heart holds instant apple cider packets. Over my sink I have a Target dollar spot red and pink heart garland. Another counter holds two red baby canisters with hearts. One of those is full of hot cocoa mix. I have a tray in off white an pink that matches the cider mug near those. It doesn't really go well with them so will probably move that soon. The only other Valentine decor out so far is a Rae Dunn Sweet heart sign on the entertainment center in the living room. That's pretty much it. I decided not to get my box of other things out of the storage area. I hope to have a Galentine's evening on the 13th with my daughters and sister. I am having a hysterectomy on February 8th so hopefully will be feeling up to it by then. I'm not sure if my beloved has any plans for us for Valentine's Day or not but being his wife is enough for me! Tonight we are having one of the easiest, moistest, and tastiest chicken dinners ever. It takes minutes to assemble and since both the chicken and veggies cook together in the oven, it is as simple as you can get. Clean up is super easy as well. I start the vegetables first since the carrots take longer to cook. I put them on a foil lined sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil and seasoning, and put them in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. I use Kinder's Butter Steak seasoning but you can use whatever seasonings you like. Salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning are wonderful, too. I often use whatever seasoning mix I have on hand, such as steak seasoning, on vegetables and even chicken. Next I cut the green beans, put them in a bowl and drizzle them with olive oil and season as well. When the 15 minutes at 400 degrees is up, I remove the pan from the oven, add the green beans, return the pan to the oven and reduce the heat to 350. Since the beans only take moments to prep I have time to make the chicken. I used 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in half and placed them on a foil lined sheet pan sprayed with cooking spray. In a bowl I mix: 3/4 cup of light mayo 3/4 shredded cheese You can use parmesan or cheddar. I used parmesan 1/2 teaspoon of salt 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon of garlic or garlic seasoning (tonight I used DeLallo bread dip seasoning) After mixing thoroughly, put a spoonful of mix on each piece of chicken and coat well. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, then broil for 3-5 minutes to brown the top. I don't really make New Year's resolutions. In my experience they set me up for failure, so I just a avoid them. Most years I don't really even have a vague plan. I usually write what each person is the family is up to and what they hope to accomplish during the year, then at the end of the year I write what actually happened. I also write out a month by month of main events and then jot in the surprises in life and cross out what we failed to do. It truly does make for interesting reading at the end of the year.
This year I did jot down what my current interests and hobbies at the beginning of my January planner section. I'll be able to see the change of interests as the year goes along. I am still very much into journaling. I also enjoy watching vlogs of cooking and cleaning on YouTube. They give me inspiration and motivate me. They also help me purge, which, once you reach a certain phase or age in life, is actually a lot more fun than acquiring things. My blogging has been a source of enjoyment and I can see me continuing but who knows? Life is full of surprises so I may stop with this post. There is a saying - God laughs when we make plans. Glam planning has been fun and I've added Sprocket photos to my calendar pages to make it a kind of scrapbook. It's a bit messy. I'm not very artsy or crafty, but I'm having a lot of fun with it and am feeling confident I'll improve with time. I'm collecting a bit of Rae Dunn. Not sure how much I'll collect, as I have a very small house and kitchen, but I am enjoying hunting for some holiday items. It's the hunt that really appeals to me! I'm focusing a bit more on what I'm eating. I have to have surgery in early February and would like to at least try to be a bit healthier between now and then and continue with good habits afterwards. So no big resolutions for me. It may be New Year, Same Ol' Me, but that's ok. I kind of like who I am. I need to get myself in the mood for one of the more difficult tasks of the year: taking down the Christmas tree. This is the latest we have taken it down and yet we still aren't sick of it, so I don't mind so much. I just feel it's time to move on to the next thing. It is no where near as exciting and fun as setting it up and decorating it. No one wants to help and for some reason every box of decorations is basically in a shambles. As a result, I am left never putting anything except the actual tree ornaments back where they belong. It doesn't help that we have way too many decorations and that I can seldom bring myself to throw anything away. I love them all and there are so many memories attached to everything. I have gotten better in one respect. I used to put every single thing out every year. It was just too much and I finally reigned myself in and just display what I actually really like. I still 'visit' my decorations but they don't all make it beyond me unwrapping their protective paper for a loving glance and brief stroll down memory lane. Still, it is a chore I dread and the fact that we use tinsel doesn't help in the slightest. It's messy and there is always some left on the tree. We also put an awful lot of ornaments on the tree. It takes a while to put them all away properly. And one of my kids is a 'twister'. She twists the little wire ornament hooks around the tree branch so instead of just lifting the hook and ornament off the tree you have to undo it like a twist tie. UGH! But as much as I dread it and hate it, it must be done and I believe tomorrow is the day. Maybe if I play Christmas carols it will help and I can focus on the next time I'll handle the ornaments ten months from now, in November. It seems so far away right now, but it will be here before we know it. Yesterday was wedding dress shopping day with my daughter Bethany. Her best friend Allison is her maid of honor came along, as well as her sisters Abigail and Jennifer, who are bridesmaids. We went to a beautiful shop named Serendipity, at the suggestion of her maid of honor and I am so glad we did! Our appointment was for 3:00 and we arrived on time. They let us in and the first thing they did was take our temperatures. Then we went to a hand sanitizing station to clean our hands. I appreciated the fact that they were following precautions. Our sales associate gave us a quick tour then took us to the seating area with a small couch, two chairs, and a little table with bottled water and little beautifully decorated cupcakes! Bethany was then taken to select dresses from the showroom. The rest of us chatted while we waited and before long the sales associate and the bride-to-be were back with arm loads of dresses. It was getting exciting! Bethany soon came out of the dressing room in the first dress. Of course it was beautiful and she looked amazing in it. I really thought it might be 'the one' and kept searching her eyes for clues as to how she felt about it. She did say it was very pretty and she felt pretty in it but I didn't think it was 'the dress'. She went to change into dress #2. The associate came out to tell us that this was the dress Bethany really liked. We all hoped we liked it, too. When you go dress shopping with your daughter you expect to feel certain things but it was different than I expected and I was a bit in awe of how certain Bethany was about what she wanted. I was impressed. The second dress was perfect for her! It suited her figure beautifully and the dress had all the elements she had always dreamed of in a dress. While we were pretty sure that was going to be 'the dress' we encouraged her to try on the remaining dresses because it had taken no time at all, it is fun to try on dresses, and of course there was always a chance there would be another dress she liked better. She did like the remaining dresses but found something with each that crossed them off her list. All that was left was for her to try on 'her dress' one more time and say 'Yes!' to the dress! After the decision was made, the business of measuring and paying for it came into play. Then it was time to celebrate with champagne and photos! It was all a lot of fun and made it feel like the very special day it was.
I always feel like January is the longest month. After the rush and activity of December we are faced with a cold, bare month with nothing to do. For those with seasonal depression it is the worst. After years of hating January I learned a few tricks to get through it.
Number one is of course cleaning after the tree comes down. Nothing says 'fresh start' like a nice, clean home. I know the house can feel empty when all the decorations come down, but it is easier to clean and you're working with a blank slate. That's where number 2 comes in. 2- cozy it up a bit. Candles (real or battery operated), a few books sitting near your favorite spot on the couch, throw pillows, warm lighting, and cuddly throw blankets help give a sense of calm and comfort. A third suggestions is scent. Any air freshener, scented candle or however you scent your home will do. I love the Bath & Body Works concentrated room sprays. Seasonal to fit what you think January should smell like -snow for instance- or something tropical. Whatever scent you choose is up to you, just spritz something that makes you happy. Number four on my list is comfort clothing. Fuzzy socks, a favorite robe or lounging clothes will make you feel better. It's like a little hug to put on your favorite things. A nice drink will warm you up and make you feel better. Coffee, tea, cocoa, or even your favorite cocktail. I'm thinking comfort equals happiness! Reading is my 6th suggestion for dealing with the January blahs. Getting into a good book always helps me. I love cozy mysteries and autobiographies. If you received a book as a Christmas gift, now is the time to read it. New-to-you movies to watch is another suggestion but of course an old favorite will do as well. My personal pick me up movie is Midnight in Paris. It's got humor, romance, & fantasy all in one. If you haven't seen it, give it a try! Number 8 is decorating for January. I have a small snowman, snowflake, and winter decor collection I like to have on display. Just here and there, to help with the bareness of everything in the house. Plus I love snow, so it gives me a bit of pretty winter to look at even if all I actually get is rain. 9 is cooking or baking. If you didn't have time to bake during the Christmas season you can still bake cookies! Snowmen, snow flakes, or whatever your favorites are. You can bake bread. Or cook for friends. The oven will warm the house, the aromas will scent your home, and you can share whatever you make with friends or co-workers if you like. My last suggestion is to have a winter get together. Even with the current situation you can still have a few friends or family members over. Be with people you love. Play games, listen to music, dance, eat. Make it casual or fancy. Have a winter theme or luau. Whatever makes you happy. I blogged a few years ago but it was pretty sporadic and I didn't seem to have a lot to say. It sounds funny to say that because now my head is full of ideas. But back then it was just really hard to write. Maybe I was too busy with my kids. Now that I am a bit older I have a clearer head and my thoughts just flow onto paper or keyboard so much more easily than they used to. When I was a teenager I wrote poetry and wanted to be an author. I was always writing and my pad of paper was never far from me. It feels like that now. Creative juices flowing or whatever you want to call it. I tried vlogging once, at the encouragement of my vlogger daughter, Bethany. It was not a good fit for me. I don't do enough interesting things and I felt awkward and self conscience. Blogging is a much better choice for me. It's like journaling in a way, which I do all the time. I enjoy it and I feel comfortable doing it. My love of words goes back to when I was a little girl. I was always writing song lyrics since music was another great love. I enjoyed the challenge of making words 'fit'. Discovering new words was a joy. I am also interested in the origins of words. I'm a true logophile. I find words fascinating and fun. Blogging lets me enjoy my hobbies of words and writing and I get to talk about whatever I want. Maybe someone will read my words. They might even enjoy what I have to say, which would be wonderful. I love peanut butter and peanut butter pie is one of my favorite desserts! If I'm at a restaurant there aren't too many desserts I'll order but pb pie is number one. That's why I was so happy to find this super easy recipe! The recipe calls for a graham cracker crust but an Oreo crust is yummy, too! My daughter Abigail and granddaughter Carleigh were the chefs! |
AuthorHi! I'm Brenda and I live in southern Maryland with my husband Jeff. I have 7 children, 9 grandchildren, three dogs and a guinea pig. Archives
March 2021
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