Monday, November 30, 2015

A Thanksgiving Gift


Well!  It is hard to believe Thanksgiving has come and gone.

On this Thanksgiving day when our family members gathered in the dining room we formed a circle and held hands for our Thanksgiving blessing.  Just as the blessing was finished, one of our daughters handed me a rolled up cloth tied with a ribbon and asked me to open it.  As I unwrapped the cloth I was so surprised to see the gift they presented to my husband and me.

Everyone together had worked to make a "table runner" as a gift for our Thanksgiving table.  My daughter Stephanie made the runner from burlap and edged the fabric with Thanksgiving orange colored trim.

The children and grandchildren gathered together the day before to work on this project.  They placed different color craft paint on a paper plate for each person, then placed their paint filled hand on the cloth.  You can see the results of this thoughtful gift in the below photo.


Once the hand prints were on the cloth and given time to dry nicely, our daughter Sharon used black marker to place the names on the corresponding colored hand prints.  We will be using this thoughtful gift on our Thanksgiving table from now on.


Grandson Will was working on the day before Thanksgiving when the family worked on this gift.  As you can see they left a place where Will's hand print can be added later.


It was fun this year again to have help in the kitchen with some of the grandsons.  I asked each grandchild what kind of pie they would like to have for dinner.  We had the usual traditional requests plus additional ideas.  Granddaughter Elly requested a Nutella Pie of all things.  So I went looking online and found a Hazelnut Nutella pie recipe which turned out to be very good.

As you can see in the below photo we see "the pie table."  There is pumpkin, pecan, apple, chocolate, Nutella, and key lime pie.  In the center of the table there is  a "7-up Pound Cake"  thoughtfully made by a friend and brought over the day before Thanksgiving,


Grandson Lawson had a good time in the kitchen making these cute 
little pie crust cutouts for the top of some of the pies.


When all the cooking was finished,  we all took some time to "sit a spell" on the back porch.  

As you can see the Christmas Cactus were blooming so nicely.  I stepped back inside for my camera to try to capture this seasonal blooming beauty.  


How pretty!

It was a very nice Thanksgiving and we still have leftovers to enjoy.  I am swept back in time each year after Thanksgiving when we make delicious turkey sandwiches with sweet pickle slices, just like we did at home with Mom and Daddy so many years ago.  Fun memories!

We hope that you too had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your loved ones.

Wishing you a special first week of December and many blessing wherever you may be.



Monday, November 23, 2015

Chili Recipe

Our local weather forecast calls for a couple of cold days and nights here in the deep South.  On these chilly evenings it is easy to remember how warm and delicious a big bowl of Chili can be.

Years ago I made up a Chili recipe by adding to the ingredients on the back of the Chili Mix which was available at our local grocery store.   There are different mixes available. The one in the below photo was somewhat different than the original one used.  I prefer Chili mixes because they are perfectly seasoned.


I will include the recipe here in case you too would like to make a big 
pot of Chili as we advance into more cooler weather.

CHILI RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:
1 package Chili Mix
1 package ground turkey (amount to your liking)
2 large cans chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato paste
2 cans red chili beans (drained and rinsed)
1 large onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced

For Topping if you choose:
diced onions
grated Cheddar cheese
Sour Cream 
  • Saute onion and green pepper until tender.
  • Add ground turkey and cook until done, draining any juices.
  • Add tomatoes
  • Add tomato paste
  • Add Chili Mix and mix well.  Add seasoning packet a little at a time until it tastes the way you like.  It is easy to use too much seasoning!!
  • Add the chili beans.
  • Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes.
  • If you wish you can sprinkle diced onions and Cheddar cheese over Chili.
  • Some folks like Sour Cream spread on top as well.

As you can see the recipe is super simple and ready in no time at all.

If you make this recipe I hope you enjoy it as much as we did this evening.

I do hope you had a nice Monday.  Wishing you many blessings as we all 
enjoy this special Thanksgiving week.