Giving Thanks

Once again, this November month rolls around and I pause for a moment to take silent stock of all my blessings.

I am so thankful that I was able to travel to Chicago 3 times this year and see my family and friends.  Circumstances notwithstanding, I am so grateful for the memories I was able to make, and the memories I was able to relive.

 

I am grateful that my Aunt Deanna and my cute, little Gramma Grace have been promoted to angels.  No longer needing to suffer or worry, now they are able to watch over us and be with their loved ones that went before them.  God Bless.  And thank you for being a part of my life.

I am thankful for a boy who gets himself dressed every morning, but still asks me to tuck in his shirt.  A boy who loves his sister beyond compare and always wants to look at “beautiful babies”.  A boy who is so polite, strangers can’t help but to comment; and so wonderful that other kids can’t help but want to be around him.

 

I am thankful for this little 3-year old.  I am thankful that she is no longer 2.  I am thankful that is she is our little comedian.  She is the light of my eye and the laughter of my heart.

I’m thankful for this guy.  He has made all my dreams come true.  I’m thankful that he works so hard for the good of his family, even when I worry he’s working too hard for his own good.  I’m thankful that he gets to be home in the winter since we hardly see him in the summer.  I’m thankful to have someone to share my life with.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

Birthday Girl!!

My baby-girl just turned 3!  We celebrated at Boondocks, which was her idea (ever so subtly planted by her brother). 

This little girl makes me laugh every day.

Some things about Burgundy:

She thinks her name is Baby Burgundy.

She is losing her cute little words for some things: Christmas is no longer Grimace, snowman no longer noseman, she no longer puts the “s” at the end of the word instead of the begining (stuck=tucks, swimming=wimmins, sleep=leeps) I am pretty bummed out about that one…

Her favorite food is sausage.

She loves Beauty & the Beast and says, “Daddy, you’re the Beast.”

She also loves the Princess & the Frog, and calls it Princess & the Frog Kissin’ Together.

She sleeps in Finn’s room every night and neither of them would have it any other way.

She loves to pick out her clothes and undergoes multiple costume changes throughout the day.

She sleeps with books instead of stuffed animals.

She loves her big brother to pieces.

                        

Poor Boy Chili

So I've issued myself a challenge. I am not going to buy groceries for 2 weeks. I have a lot of food in my house. My pantry is overstuffed and both freezers are basically overflowing with food. The lazy susan, well I don't even know half the stuff that's in there. The problem is, we've lost our inventiveness for food...

In our house, we tend to buy what we're going to eat for a couple days, or one day and once that's gone complain that there's nothing to eat. (picture cartoon woman staring into overloaded closet saying, "I've absolutely nothing to wear!")

So this is the end of the first week. We've done spaghetti with meatballs, which we didn't have to buy anything for. Other than that, Cody has bought ingredients for meals 2 or 3 times, I've eaten Wendy's for lunch, the challenge doesn't seem to be going very well. But tonight, a breakthrough! And a delicious one at that. Chili. And oh how yummy it was.

Had the steak and the ground beef, frozen for who knows how long in the deep freezer (2 years, now? 3?). I am happy to report that it's still good. Went out and plucked the last bit of goodness from the garden. That is what bummed me out the most. Our garden is done for the year. I absolutely love our garden. I am not that great at eating vegetables, but I do love salsa and I love having the ingredients to make it. Interestingly, chili requires basically the same ingredients. So tomatoes, anaheims jalapeno and green pepper. Got it.

I've had this award-winning chili recipe for about a year now and had never made it before. But I did have the chili mix, the spices, the beans, etc.

So, the end result? Probably the best chili ever. I didn't have ingredients to make corn bread or anything, but we had cheese to grate on top, and oh my was it delish! I set it out for the kids and was about to get out the crackers when they started devouring it. If you've ever been in my house, you know how unusual that is! So I decided to forgo the crackers.

The moral, or the point... I am proud I made a delicious meal with what I had. I am really trying to get better at that. So chalk one up for me!

And here is my modified version of Don Staib's award-winning chili recipe, if you're interested:

1/2 lb round steak, diced small, simmer for 1 hour until tender, add water if needed to avoid dryness (I may skip this next time or add less)
1 lb ground beef
brown each, combine
1 anaheim pepper
1/2 onion
1 jalapeno - remove seeds
1 lg green/red pepper
-chop small in cuisinart, add to separate (chili) pot
Add generous toss of each:
paprika
chipotle chili powder
cilantro
clove garlic
cumin
mexican oregano

simmer low

cuisinart and add to chili pot:
1 can diced tomatoes (w/chili peppers)
4 or so Lg Tomatoes

add 1 can chili beans, drained

from Shelby chili mix, add chili spices & salt (no cayenne or masa flour)

if you like it spicier, add cayenne & more jalapenos

add meat to chili pot

simmer 30 minutes to an hour

Serve with grated cheese, cornbread… enjoy!!