Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Fall Fun

There is a lot of fun during Fall. Pumpkin carvings, corn mazes and one Alyssa forgot... Flu shots!

I call this one our before pic! Alyssa knew what was coming...

Keira didn't... see how happy?! They were too distraught for the after pics. I was (politely) told not to take a picture. Just know... they were not happy with me after this. But seriously, Keira has some kind of reaction to the flu shot. Her leg get huge , red and swollen. I think this may be her last one. She just kept rubbing her leg for three days saying "my leg hurts, owie" =( I really hate shots.

We made up for the flu shots though. Daddy helped carve a pumpkin with Alyssa.

Keira wanted to help with the picture only. Both the girls didn't like the inside of the pumpkin.

What would fall be without Sugar cookies. Yum!
I love Keira's big smile!
Ohhhhh.... I have been inspired by my neighbor Brooke. She is always posting such yummy dinners. So I was brave and made this yummy 3-meat Chili I found on one of her links. Nothing better than warm chili on a cold Fall night. Yum! I'll post the recipe. I wanted to serve it in a bread bowl... but I made the mistake of grocery shopping on a Saturday afternoon. They were sold out of everything! Anyway, get brave, try it out... it's yummy!
Chili in Bread Bowls
From Taste of Home
SERVINGS 9
CATEGORY: Main Dish
METHOD: Slow Cooker
PREP: 15 min.
COOK: 420 min. (I cooked my meat all the way & then cooked it on high in the crock-pot for 3 hours)
TOTAL: 435 min.
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 pound each lean beef stew meat, boneless skinless chicken breast and boneless pork, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped*
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15-1/2 ounces) navy beans or great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce (I added a bit more, I didn't want it to be dry)
1 tablespoon chili powder (I didn't have everything... so I improvised, a bit.)
1 garlic clove, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
9 large hard rolls
Sour cream, chopped green onions and sweet red pepper, optional

DIRECTIONS
In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the flour, salt and pepper. Add meat in batches; toss to coat. In a large skillet, brown meat in oil in batches. Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker with a slotted spoon. Stir in onion, peppers, tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce and seasonings. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours or until the meat is tender. Cut tops off rolls; carefully hollow out bottom halves. Spoon about 1 cup of chili into each roll. Garnish with sour cream, onions and red pepper if desired. Yield: 9 servings.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Family Pics... finally

Well... after 2 years, we finally got our family pictures done! Hallelujah! Shane's sister, Tiffany, did these for us. I am sooooo happy with them! It was FREEZING and she still got my girls to smile! I have to give her a shameless plug. She is super cheap & does it as a side job for fun. Let me know if you are interested and I'll give you her number. Thanks Tiff!!!!