Holiday Dress

That  Dress Tho....

 

I found this awesome purple lace holiday dress at Dress Barn. It is sassy, fun, and flirty while still being modest. It is definitely a go to dress for every special occasion. Here are a few pictures from when I wore it the first pic was girls night out, the other two were from a Christmas Banquet. It can be worn when it is warm as well as if it is cold. I added a fun cheetah print jacket to it since it was cold.

 

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Pasta E Fagioli Soup

Pasta E Fagioli Soup

 

I am a big fan of Olive Garden and an even bigger fan of soup, salad, and breadsticks. I found a standard recipe for Pasta E Fagioli and then tweaked it and I think it is a pretty good copy- cat of Olive Garden's.

1 pound ground hamburger
1 pound Italian sausage
2 cups frozen vegetable blend
2 cans Hunt's garlic and herb pasta sauce
4 cups water
2 cans red kidney beans
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon basil
1 cup elbow macaroni (uncooked) (or other small pasta)
3 tablespoons parmesan cheese

brown the meat in a skillet and drain
in a large soup pot combine all the other ingredients (except pasta) and bring to a boil
reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour
add pasta the last 10 minutes of cooking
cook until the pasta is tender

Super Super Yummy :)

Christmas Season

Since it is December and Christmas is almost among us I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on my favorite things about the season.


1. My absolute favorite thing about the season is that we get a chance to celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ.
2. Spending time with family.
3. Christmas Baking- everything from fudge to cookies to chocolates
4. Christmas Sweaters- I prefer to call these tacky because they are not ugly but sometimes they are just a little bit tacky.
5. Christmas Parades- They are just a blast!
6. Gingerbread Houses- Now I don't know about you but I don't really like gingerbread but I love to build and decorate the houses. I love that you can buy so many different kinds these days. I would like to try and do a homemade one sometime but the boxes are just so convenient.

 

 

White Chili

White Chili

 

3 cans of white chicken
1 can chopped green chilies
1 cup salsa (I prefer medium)
2 cans of white beans drained
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans of white corn
1 cup of onions
Enough garlic salt to taste

1 cup monterrey jack cheese
1 cup sour cream

1. Simmer first 9 ingredients  for 1 hour
2. 10 minutes before serving the chili add the last two ingredients (cheese, sour cream)
3. Serve with chips or crackers (optional)

Taco Soup

Taco Soup

 



 Nothing says fall like a big ol bowl of soup. This is my favorite recipe for Taco Soup. I modified the version that my mom always made. :) Hope you enjoy!

 

1 ¼ lbs ground beef                                              1 chopped onion
1 ¼ package taco seasoning                                 1 package ranch dressing mix
salt to taste                                                            pepper to taste
1 can corn undrained                                            2 cans stewed tomatoes blended
1 can rotel tomatoes                                             1 can green chilies
1 can pinto beans, drained                                   1 can kidney beans, drained
1 ½ cup tomato juice

1. Brown the ground beef and onion
2. Add other ingredients
3. Bring to boil
4. Simmer 30 minutes
5. OPTIONAL: serve with cheese

Brown Beans and Ham

6 Quart Crockpot Brown Beans and Ham

 

3-4 pound ham (bone in, not sliced)
2 pounds of dry pinto beans
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon minced onion
salt and pepper to taste

1. in a large bowl place dry beans and fill bowl full of water. Allow the beans to soak for 3-4 hours.
2. drain the beans and rinse
3. spray the inside of the crockpot with pan spray
4. place ham in center and pour in beans around
5. fill the rest of the crockpot with water
6. add in the seasonings (Don't add too much salt or pepper until it is almost finished)
7. cook on low for 20-24 hours
8. taste and decide if it needs more salt or pepper
9. take out the ham and remove the bone, then cut or tear the ham in chunks.

A great side item for this dish is sweet corn bread!



*Serves 8

Chili

Mom's Chili Recipe
Serves 6

2 lbs. lean ground beef
1 32 oz. can tomato sauce
1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes
2 15 oz. can chili beans
1 package mild chili seasoning
1 package hot chili seasoning

1. in a skillet brown the ground beef and drain
2. in a large pot combine all other ingredients and bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer 1 hour.

or if you use a crockpot

1. brown the beef in a skillet and drain
2. combine all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 5-6 hours

My favorite way to eat chili is with a little bit of shredded Colby-Jack cheese mixed in and instead of a spoon I use Fritos to dip in my bowl and eat. Super Yummy!