Calendar for Christmas

This year I decided to make a calendar for the parents and grandparents for Christmas. Who can resist a year full of pictures of 3 very adorable kids...=) I purchased my digital studio with this gift in mind, even though I know I will use it much more that just for this. I have gotten the calendar half done, and I want to share with you the pages I've completed. Here it goes.

This truly is very simple to do and so much fun! I think that they are just going to love it. Now I have 3 days to complete 6 more pages. Wish me luck...=)

See ya,

Anna

Chili

This is one of my favorite chili recipes because it is simple and delicious. This one was given to me by my good friend Kim. (thanks Kim) Most already have a chili recipe that they are married too. Love their recipe for what it is, but I urge you to give this a chance. It is so simple and as always delicious...=) So lets' get started. Shall we?

This is an open and dump kind of recipe. You really can't get much simpler

You will need 1lb. of ground beef (I use chuck), onion, packet of chili seasoning, chili beans, stewed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, salt & pepper, tiny squirt of mustard and ketchup ( missing from the picture, because I didn't feel like ruining it with messy looking condiment bottles)

Let's plow ahead.

Dice the onion.


Add diced onion, ground beef and packet of chili seasoning to a skillet and brown ( do not drain)

Once your skillet looks like this you're ready for the next step.


Open your cans of tomatoes and the beans. Add them to a pot.

Then add your browned beef mixture.

Add a good amount of chili powder. Use your judgement. Just remember you can always add more, but you can't take away. At this point I also add salt and pepper to taste and go ahead and squirt in your kethcup and mustard while your at it. This can be dangerous. You definitely want to add just a bit of mustard, maybe around an 1/8 tsp. and a dallop of ketchup, about 1 Tbsp. When in doubt add a little at a time and keep tasting.


Then stir it all together and let simmer until heated through. Serve with all the fixins'. Shredded cheese, sour cream, fritos ( or you can use seasoned crackers--recipe to come).

Or as usual you can be ambitious and turn this......

Into this.....


and have some delicous chili on hand for anytime...=)

See ya,

Anna

Chicken & Stuffing in Cheesy Wine Sauce

I love this recipe for many reasons:

1. It's delicious
2. It's super easy
3. It's economical
4. It's company worthy
5. It can be made ahead/frozen
6. Did I mention it's delicious?

Okay let's get started. This recipe calls for 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, but I often make it with four, I don't even adjust the ingredient amounts, but do as you wish...

You will need chicken, stuffing, cream of chicken soup, melted butter, provolone cheese, white wine(you can also use chicken stock), spices(marjoram, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, and basil)




Set chicken breasts in a baking dish, make sure that there is only one layer-- so use the appropriate sized dish.

Next layer your cheese--1 slice per breast. I chose provolone, but any white cheese will do, you can also use shredded if that's what you have on hand.

Then stir your 2 cans of soup, 1/3 cup of white wine, and 1/3 tsp. of each of your spices together. Pour all that yummy goodness over top of the chicken and cheese.

Then stir your 3 Tbsp. melted butter into your one package of stuffing(2 cups). Sprinkle over top. Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes. Til chicken is cooked through and everything is hot, bubbly and hard to resist....=)

For some reason I didn't take a picture of the finished result, but trust me it looks, smells, and tastes fantastic.

Now I was really ambitious and like with most things I find that if I'm going to mess up the kitchen and dirty the dishes, I my as well make several to store away for later. This freezes very well. So I turned all of this........

Into this...........

I made it just the same, except after mixing the stuffing and butter together, I put it in a freezer bag instead of spreading it on top of the soup mixture. I'm not sure why I did this.... I just did. Do it your way if you want.

See ya,

Anna