Mmmmmm........Slow Cooker Sweet-Spicy Chili

Confession time........

I've made the same chili for years.

AND, it partially comes from a box.

We like Two Alarm Chili, which comes with all the seasonings you need.

Of course, you add the meat, tomatoes, beans........

However, we had a CHILLY day this week and wanted chili.

But I had no car to go to the store, so that meant I had to make it from scratch.

Whoa.......grown-up chili! lol

I found a recipe from Betty Crocker and figured, basic chili......it must be pretty good.

AND, it was a slow cooker recipe.......even better.

After reading the reviews, I tweaked it a bit (kinda proud of that;)

Rather than being a hot, spicy chili,

it was more of a spicy~SWEET chili, which was totally okay

with us.  (We love Cincinnati chili which is sweeter)

If you don't mind your chili with a bit of hot and a bit more sweet, give it a try.

My 17 year old ate so many spoonfuls while it was simmering, she hardly wanted dinner.

THAT good.

My 20 year old came home from work at 8:30, wasn't sure how hungry she was, 

devoured a bowl.  I imagine young children would LOVE it.  Husband loved it, I loved it.......all in all a great cold-weather meal.

Slow-Cooker Sweet~Spicy Chili

20 minutes prep in the morning = a bowl of chili when you get home from work!

Adapted from Betty Crocker

Prep Time 20 min  Total Time 6 hr 20 min  Servings 8

Ingredients

2 lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained

1 can (16 oz) chili beans in sauce, undrained

(* 1 can red kidney beans.......if you like more beans)

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

3-3 and 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder

1 and 1/2-2 teaspoons ground cumin

3/4 cup brown sugar (trust me)

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon pepper

* * * I didn't have garlic cloves so I used garlic salt in place of regular salt.

1. In 12-inch skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes,

 stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain.

2. In 4- to 5-quart slow cooker, mix beef, onion and remaining ingredients.

3. Cover and cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.

It was different for us, but apparently a welcome change since we devoured it:)

XOXOXO

Suzanne

Winter Decorating with Ice Skates.......

with Christmas just 25 days away,

you might think the title would be

"Christmas Decorating".

but what i have in mind would be beautiful all winter long.

let me backtrack a minute.

i've just returned home from visiting my Mom in Michigan.

while there, I found a pair of my old ice skates.

memories, memories.......

of fun times with family and friends and of VERY sore tailbones:)

i had seen pretty decorations that started with an ice skate,

so when i found my skates,

i grabbed them up.......one for me and one for my Mom.

i didn't have much time,

 so i simply attached a clip of greenery and a red cardinal to the skates.

then my mom hung it on her back porch.

i'm telling you, i LOVE this sweet little ice skate decoration.

not bad for a dollar decorating job, huh?

and not just for Christmas, so no need to take it down in

25 days.

(yep, it's coming that fast:)

i found some more cute ideas for decorating with skates to inspire you.......

~~hanging on an old sled

(and by the way, that's another cool way to decorate.......

with an old sled!)

old skis too!

~~on a window or front door

~~above a fireplace

~~on the corner of a chair

you can hang them ANYWHERE!

(sorry...i couldn't resist a dr. seuss moment:)

~~add a bit of glitter and a sparkly pink star for a little girls room

~~create a pretty vignette with them

just look at these PRETTY felt skates hung as a garland.

if you go here, you can find out how to make these!

and you can use them to hold little gifts, too:)

~~last but not least, you can hang them on a tree.

how GORGEOUS is that!

so start rummaging through your oldie boxes, hit thrift stores, check online.....

and grab yourself a sweet little pair of ice skates!

cause nothing says winter like ICE, right?  hahaha

xoxoxoxo

Suzanne

My Kinda White Wednesday.......

i don't do a lot of blog hops/parties.

like many others, i prefer to post what i want, when i want.

maybe that's a cop out because i'm so disorganized and

unable to remember which day is what blog party.

probably that:)

but my all time favorite has been White Wednesday by

Faded Charm.

I went to post my white wednesday post today to find

 that Kathleen has decided to stop hosting this.

like me, she has many other things going

 and wants to post when it suits her best.

but i will miss this!

cause i just love all things white!

anyway, here is my white wednesday post.......

as you know, i love decorating with white.

but not just "white" white.

i mean white, ecru, cream, eggshell, champagne, marshmallow......

all shades.

i love throwing in a bit of wood.....

especially dark wood and faded/rustic wood.

and metallics........burnished golds and silvers.

i think the most important thing to do if using whites is to remember this:

TEXTURES!

layer different textures, whether wearing whites

or decorating with them.

contrary to what many think, white is not cold.......

used like this it's incredibly cozy.

we have a white Christmas tree and it couldn't be

warmer, cozier and just plain gorgeous.

and my husband made a very grave error Sunday

when he said he didn't care if we put our tree up........

already.

Phil......consider it done!

heeheehee

here is a little collage of some whites.

sorry for the winter scenes,

but it's so DOGGONE hot down here, i had to do this to feel nice and cool:)

.......notice the metallics, textures and various shades.

the only thing missing is a 

white hot cocoa

and lastly, here's a piece of advice i need to remember.........

hope you liked my whites!

Fresh Starts and Winter Whites...

So I've managed to do it again...

take such a LONG break from my blog that friends are wondering if I'm okay.

That's nice!

To answer that question, I'm totally okay.

Busy, tired...but okay.

And still remembering to find a bit of HAPPY in each day.

I actually thought a lot about my blog.

It isn't that I don't have time or ideas...

too many sometimes.

But I get sidetracked and feel bad about posting something new on my blog

when I have yet to answer comments and emails.

So I don't blog...and then wish I did.

On that note, guess what I am doing?

Turning off comments to my blog.

Just for a week or so...

and during that time I want to post...and go back to visit/answer those sweet comments.

Moving on...

have you heard of "Blogging without Obligation?

Tiffini came up with this because she saw people apologizing all over the place when they hadn't blogged.  (haven't read her site...just this post)

Her philosophy:

• Because you shouldn’t have to look at your blog like it is a treadmill.

• Because its okay to just say what you have to say. If that makes for a long post, fine. Short post, fine. Frequent post, fine. Infrequent post, fine.

• Because its okay to not always be enthralled with the sound of your own typing.

• Because sometimes less is more.

• Because only blogging when you feel truly inspired keeps up the integrity of your blog.

• Because they are probably not going to inscribe your stat, link and comment numbers on your tombstone.

• Because for most of us blogging is just a hobby. A way to express yourself and connect with others. You should not have to apologize for lapses in posts. Just take a step back and enjoy life, not everything you do has to be “bloggable”.

• Because if you blog without obligation you will naturally keep your blog around longer, because it won’t be a chore. Plus, just think you will be doing your part to eradicate post pollution. One post at a time. . .

I would say "what do you think"...

but my comments are off.

Now that's a bummer:)

But I think I like this blogging without obligation!

Here's what else I like...

WHITE!

Notice my new look?

Very white, soft...peaceful.

at least I hope:)

This is one of my favorite cookies...

whether in cookie or bar form...

DELICIOUS!

WHITE Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoons baking soda

10 ounces white chocolate (chips or bars cut in chunks)

1 cup macadamia nuts, chopped into chunks

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 F. In large bowl, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt with electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, beat well. Stir together flour, and the baking soda; gradually add to butter mixture,beating until well blended. Stir in white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. (Edges are golden brown and center is set.) Cool slightly, remove from cookie sheet to wire rack to cool completely.

These would SCORE big at a Superbowl party!

YUM~YUM~YUM!!!!!

And lastly..

this is NOT what it looks like outside my window...

but I wish it did.

Crazy, I know.

But isn't it so pretty?

 Okay, so remember, comments are off for a few days.

Not because I don't want to hear from you

(I do have an email link you know...hahaha)

But because I want to get off to a fresh start with my blog...

new habits,,,old and new friends...

and tons of HAPPY thoughts!