Friday, November 11, 2011

Wrap it up and a recipe

I've been kind of absent lately because life gets busy and I get lazy and those two combined does not a blog post make.  It also doesn't help that the coldest corner of the house is where the computer is set up. So...because it has been a while - you are in for a long post.

Here are the samples of what I made for my wrap it up swap...

None of these ideas are my original ideas. 
Santa face made with Stampin Up Punches
These are hostess ding dongs with a face.  Reminds me of Mike Wazowski from Montsters INC. 
made them for all the nieces and nephews for Halloween - they never came by.Smiley from millan.net  We delivered them the next weekend.
Peppermint patties with a Christmas Touch
I know...some of you are thinking - why go to the effort for a peppermint patty or candy.  I say...why not?  Wouldn't you rather get these than just a few silver wrapped patties?

In our house Ralph always makes the chili.  Warm, spicy chili made with dried beans, meat and all the spices. I admire the way he can just pull things off the shelf and make them taste good. I like chili...not too spicy and definitely chunky, but have never made it myself.  I have seen lots of recipes touting their claim to be the best.  After seeing this particular recipe on Jaimie cooks it up (see side bar on blogs I follow) I knew I had to give it a try.  I made this for our ward party trunk or treat. (5.5 gallons)  Got LOADS of compliments - best chili they ever had.

When I made it for Ralph and I, I made my favorite cornbread recipe,(posted here) cut a piece and placed it in a bowl.  I then poured chili over the top.  It was so yummy.  You probably already have a favorite chili recipe, but I thought I would share mine.
Here is the recipe in its original format - my changes are noted


Chili picture from Jamie cooks it up
 Three Bean Chili 
1 onion
1 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1 garlic clove
1/2 pound ground beef  (we like stew meat- but this prolongs the cooking process)
1  15 oz can pinto beans
1  15 oz can light red kidney beans
1  15 oz can dark red kidney beans
1  14 oz can Mexican flavored stewed tomatoes (if you buy them diced you can skip step 3)
1  6 oz can tomato paste (we only used 1/2 can)
3/4 t chili powder (we used a lot more)
1 T brown sugar (gives it a slight sweet flavor - ralph prefers less - I like it how it is.  Blame it on my sweet tooth)
2 t beef bullion
We added some ground cumin to taste
salt and pepper

1. Put your ground beef in a hot skillet and sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Let it get nice and browned.
2. While your meat is cooking chop up your veggies.
3. Take your can of Stewed Tomatoes and give them a little chop. Don't try and pour them out onto a cutting board. That kind of mess will urge you to use swear words you never knew you wanted to say. Just stick a handy pair of kitchen scissors into the can and snip away.
4. Grab a large soup pot. Open up your can of beans, but don't drain them. You want those juices. Add the beans and all of the other ingredients to your soup pot. Stir it all around to incorporate all the goods.
5. Let the chili simmer for 30 minutes. Give it a little taste and add more salt and pepper if you would like.

Mom is coming for a visit next week.  We purchased tickets to go to Time Out for Women - sponsored by Deseret Book.  It starts Friday evening and goes through Saturday - late afternoon.  Even though it can be construed as a complete DB advertisement, the time spent with Mom and the messages given make it worth sitting through a push to buy church books.  We will miss our sweet friend Mar.  It won't be the same without her.

We have a home football game tomorrow - supposed to rain and snow all day.  Guess I am out to purchase an inexpensive rain poncho.  It seems like there is always one game we sit through it the rain - One of these days, it might be worth the investment to purchase one of these...Warm, cozy, and it keeps the rain out.  Lets just hope the cold and wet keeps UCLA off their game.  GO UTES!

I am teaching my stamping club class tomorrow as well.  I am having a hard time choosing which cards to demo...and which ones to use as samples.  We might have more than 3 projects.  I will post pictures later.

Ta Ta for now
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1 comment:

marlene said...

I love the ding dong you made your niece and nephew And the mints are way worth ! have fun at TOFW I will miss you so much