We counted our blessings...

I hope all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend.  We watched our parades, ate too much, watched football, listened to some Christmas music...but my favorite time of the day was when we read about our blessings.  Our "Thankful Jar" was overflowing!  We passed it around during dinner and had a lot of smiles and laughter.  How rewarding!  I am truly blessed.

I actually did some Black Friday shopping...that was an experience...

I found myself "switching gears" early this morning...menu, shopping, more decorating....SLOW DOWN!!  The Lord and I had a talk about that this morning.  Well, He did the talking and I did the listening....So today will be my down day.  I am so thankful that I am able to do this!  With my slow day I think I will take the time to plan out my month and monthly menu..it always looks so good on paper.  I will also leave you some SLOW cooker recipes.

Might try this one this month....

Carolina BBQ
6 pounds pork shoulder
1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

4 cups water

1 cup vinegar

1/3 cup white sugar

3 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 clove garlic, pressed

Directions

Place pork shoulder, bay leaf, red pepper and water in large pot with lid. Bring to boil. Simmer covered 4 to 5 hours until meat is tender. Let meat cool in broth. Remove excess fat from broth and shred meat. Take 3 cups of liquid and bring to boil. Combine liquid with vinegar, sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce and garlic. Add shredded pork and salt. Heat through uncovered.               

OR....maybe this one!

Shredded beef...with veggies...wrapped in a tortilla....yum!

Beef Barbacoa

3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast

1 onion, chopped

3 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1 (14 ounce) can tomato sauce

1/4 cup chili powder

salt to taste

Directions

1. Place the roast, onion, bay leaves, black pepper, garlic powder, and vinegar in slow cooker; cover ingredients completely with water. Cover and cook on High setting until meat is very tender and falling apart, about 4 hours.
2. Remove meat from slow cooker and discard liquids. Return meat to slow cooker; shred with fork and knife. Stir tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt into the shredded meat. Cover the cooker, and cook meat and sauce on High for an additional 2 hours.               

I might try this one....

Sweet and Sour Kielbasa
2 pounds kielbasa sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 (12 ounce) bottle tomato-based chili sauce (such as Heinz®)

1 (12 ounce) jar red currant jelly

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 cup water

Directions

               Stir the sausage slices, chili sauce, red currant jelly, red pepper flakes, and water together in a slow cooker, cover, and set the cooker to Low. Cook at least 4 hours, stirring once every hour.

All theses recipes were found over at www.allrecipes.com.  LOVE that site!
I hope you all have a wonderful day~Thanks for stopping by!

               

Cheesy Bacon Fries in a Flash...

Ever found yourself feeling like you are going in circles?  Lately I feel like I am in one of those revolving doors....and I am not sure of how to get out of it...Things here are HECTIC!  Not complaining though (well, maybe a little).  I am thankful for my busy-ness....

The other day my husband suggested that we have our Cheesy Bacon Fries for...???  I can't even remember what he wanted them for...but they sure sound good.  Guess I need to find out what he was thinking!  These are very easy and don't take long to do.  Maybe after a long day of Black Friday shopping...pop in the fries and watch a Christmas movie!?  Here you go...

Easy Cheesy Bacon Fries

32 oz. bag of french fries

1 cup shredded cheese

1/4 cup cooked crumbled bacon

(or you could cheat with good bacon bits)

1/2 cup chopped green onions, optional

ranch salad dressing

Cook your fries according to the package directions.  Place fries on a safe broiler dish or platter.  Sprinkle with cheese, onion, and bacon.  Broil until cheese is melted.  The ranch makes an awesome dip for the cheesy fries.

Stuck in that revolving door with me?  I also know that the Lord is in the door with us...except he is not frazzled like I tend to get lately.  He shows me how to slow down the door...or get out for a while.  Enjoy some quiet time with Him.  For me...frazzled means that I need some quiet time with the Lord.  Holidays are coming up!  Pace yourself and watch your priorities. What is really important? 

Thanks for stopping by!



On the menu...Happy Thanksgiving!

These noodles are a favorite of mine...and I can hear my family say, "Why don't we have them more often??"  I think I will make these the day before Thanksgiving.  Is it easier to by these kind of noodles at the store?  Sure.  I love being in the kitchen with my girls....and as long as I have the time to do this....that is where you will find us...getting the noodles ready and making our desserts.  So far, we are making a couple of "Impossible Pumpkin Pies" (recipe is on my Facebook page).  We will probably be making some iced butter cookies in leaf and pumpkin shapes. 

 These are so easy to make!

Old-Fashioned Egg Noodles

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 pinch salt

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup milk

1 tablespoon butter

          

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Add the beaten eggs, milk, and butter. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Let rest in a covered bowl for 10 minutes.
2. On a floured surface, roll out to 1/8 or 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired lengths and shapes.
3. Allow to air dry before cooking.               
4.  I like to boil them in chicken broth...salt and pepper....YUM!

I hope you all have a wonderful day....

Broccoli and Cheese Soup...On the Menu!

We love this soup!  Perfect for a cool autumn day.  It is on this month's menu....I am thinking of making this the weekend after Thanksgiving.  You know, the leftovers are gone and something lighter sounds nice.

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 pkgs. broccoli, frozen and chopped (16oz. size)
• 16 oz. chicken broth
• 1 lb. Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 2 cups milk
• 1 Tbsp. garlic powder
• 2/3 cup cornstarch 
• flavored croutons

 Over medium heat, saute  butter and onion until soft. Stir in the broccoli and the chicken broth. Simmer until the broccoli is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Reduce the heat, and stir in the cubed cheese until it melts. Mix in the milk and garlic powder.
In a small bowl, stir your cornstarch into a small amount of water until dissolved.  Stir the cornstarch mixture into the soup and cook  (stirring frequently) until the soup becomes thick. Garnish with  flavored croutons.
 
I found this recipe over at www.thriftyfun.com .  Lots good ideas over there!

Keep checking in...more November recipes are coming soon.  If you have not seen my earlier post today, keep scrolling down...I found a really cool wintry idea!

Reindeer treats!

http://www.howdoesshe.com/frugal-family-fun-tradition-6-reindeer-ice-wreath

I think this idea is so cute.  Of course, you definitely must have the cold temps to pull it off.  So I will need to time this one just right....guess I could freeze it, then pull it out when I am ready to display it.

Our "Thankful Jar" is filling up.....Each day we write on a slip of paper saying what we are thankful for and put it in the jar.  We will read them on Thanksgiving Day.  Is your Thanksgiving menu planned?  Mine is ready to go...will reveal that in a few days.  I am looking for a new sweet potato casserole recipe.  If you know of one let me know! 

I hope you have a wonderful day...lots going on here.  I have some more recipes to share with you over the next few days.  We will pick up our "Fifty-Nifty Recipes" after Christmas.

Thanks for visiting with us!

Sunday Dinner & Counting My Blessings!

I want to share what we had for Sunday dinner together....I love experimenting on my family!

 Today's dinner...

Chicken Fajitas

2 boxes mexican rice (Go ahead and make these according to the directions)

4 large chicken breasts....Cut in bite size pieces and cook.  Season with garlic and chili powder.

Add sliced green peppers and onion (We used purple onion).

While this is cooking heat oil in frying pan and brown flour tortillas.

To serve, put mexican rice down the center of tortilla.  Top with sour cream and salsa (The salsa was my hubby's idea).

Have you thought to count your blessings lately?...especially those blessings that are "routine"?

I left the table and headed to my recliner for my nap (blessing!)  My children all chip in and clean up the kitchen, then head their different ways for some quiet time of their own.  We have a good church be a part of.  All of this is routine...every Sunday....I am so thankful for all of this.  I am also very thankful for my husband.  He works so hard for us each week!  At brunch yesterday he could feel my excitement about the holidays...we talked of plans, traditions, shopping...he could feel that excitement building, and building, and BUILDING!  He offered to take us in to town to look at Christmas things...trees, ornaments, decorations...potential Christmas gifts.  Off we went!  It was wonderful to spend time together.  My husband is a blessing.  So thankful for a husband who enjoys being with his family.  Family time is a blessing!

Count your many blessings name them one by one...

See you next time....

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