4 bean slow cooker chili & a potato

Hey there, Ho there!  It's Tuesday and here I am blogging again today!
I haven't blogged in MONTHS and now two posts in three days.  
I'm feeling obliged though, like it's my blogging duty.

I have a couple of recipes that neeeed to be passed on.
They are dahlish, and I want to share the dahlishisness.  Because I'm a giver.  ;)

It's 8 to 10 servings of pure goodness.   Here's what you will need for...

Four Bean Slow Cooker Chili

2 T veg or canola oil
1 large yellow onion
2 small garlic gloves, minced
1 lb lean ground beef (I used extra lean turnkey)
one 15 oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained
one 15 oz can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained
one 15 oz can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
one 15 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained
one 28 oz can of diced tomatoes with juice
two 15 oz cans of tomato juice
2 T chili powder (I used a skootch more - we like spicy)
1 T ground cumin
2 bay leaves
2 t kosher salt

1.  in a large pan over medium heat, heat 1 T of the oil.  Add the onion and sauté for 3 mins, or until softened.  Add the garlic and sauté 1 minute.  Place the onion and garlic in a slow cooker.

2.  Add the remaining 1 T oil to the sauté pan, turn the heat to medium, add the ground meat, and sauté for about 5 minutes, breaking the meat apart with a spoon until its cooked through.

3.  Add the meat and remaining ingredients to the slow cooker and stir to combine.

4.  Cover and cook the chili on low for 8 hours.  (I cooked on high for 4 hours

5.  Serve with desired accompaniments.  We put avocado and greek yogurt on it.

It's good people.  ReaLly good!

and now for the best potato you will ever make.
 at least it's the best "healthy" potato I have ever made.  :)

South-of-the-border sweet potato - a Biggest Loser recipe.  Anyone else obsessed with that show?

you can find the recipe here

that's all for now...it could be months or days until I'm back.  :)

Happy Tuesday to you!

Instagram has smothered my blog, y'all

I haven't been blogging much lately...really, not at all

has anyone noticed?

 

cricket, cricket...

 

anywhoooo...

I have been taking pictures and instagramming
I was kind-of a late joiner to instagram, but I have to say, I'm loving the ever lovin' you know what out of it

here are a few of my IG pics:

 

have you joined IG yet?  you really should, but just a warning, it is addicting...you can find me @Saturdaysmail, or just click on my Instagram icon. 

later gator.

Is anyone still there?

if you are still there...

Happy almost Christmas to you!

Are you ready?  I'm mostly ready.  Still and few odds and ends I need to finish up.

Like wrapping - I haven't even started. 

My sister and I are going to tackle that huge project Saturday night at her house

we will put in a Christmas movie, eat a few goodies, and wrap away

 I have been dropping presents off at her house all month long - she is the official Christmas present keeper.

 it's necessary because I've got a couple of present snoopers living at home with me!

they remind me of me when I was that age - I was a huge present snoop and almost always knew what I was getting before I got it.   Kind of like now. :)

I'm taking a bit of a bloggy break,

and will hopefully be back sometime in 2013!

Happy Friday and Merry Christmas!

the last few weeks of phone pics

Good Morning and Happy Friday to you. :)

Nicholas was home sick last week and feeling a little bit needy, which was A-ok by me. :)

he wanted me to do something I haven't done in such a long time...

read him stories.

We got out one of our old favorites, with all those really great stories like,

The Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood

He loved it, and so did I

 since we are on the topic of books and old favorites

here is another one...

How to draw Animals

Nicholas loved this when we got it a couple of years ago and still loves it today

his most recent creation that he gave to Grandpa for his birthday

and since I am on the topic of topics,

and of Nicholas...

A couple of weeks ago I walked into his bedroom and saw strings going from one side of his room to the other.  and not just one string - it was many strings.

(that's our folding table on his bed with all his "desk stuff")

he even had a pulley system,

and it really worked!

the warning taped to his door cracked me up - carful. :)

my bestie, Kelli, came down for a day of movies, eating, drinking,

and most importantly...talking

We even walked around the lake in a nearby town.

I did take a picture of her, but she told me I couldn't put it on my blog.

say what?  

(such a baby she is!)  

so I had to settle for this picture of our Wildberry Margaritas 

That's all I have.

Not really.

 I do have quite a few more pictures, but since I started typing this yesterday and am just finishing it up this morning, I think I better quit while I'm ahead.

We have a very VERY busy weekend planned.

Let's see if I take the time to snap a few pictures.

Have a great Saturday!

guess who made cookies all by himself?!

with a little help from his younger brother. :)

and it was just the bag cookies where you add butter and egg

but still!  pretty cool. 

and i have to say...

I loved it.

I was in the living room cozied up on the couch reading my book,

while the boys were baking away in the kitchen

they even brought me warm cookies when they were finished. :)

I'm thinking they are well on their way to having dinner on the table every single night by the time I get home from work.

HA!

thanksgiving with 23 of my favorite people

I had Thanksgiving at my house this year

Originally it was supposed to be at my sister's new house

we were thinking most people would be going to their in-laws and just a small portion would show up, that's what usually happens.

but this year...EVERYONE rsvp'd YES!  

that's when we decided we wouldn't be able to squeeze 23 people into her house, and I became the winner of hostessing Thanksgiving 2012.

we could barely squeeze them into my house - we don't have a formal dining room, and recently purchased a new high top table that only seats four.  There is room for a couple more chairs at the table, but since it's a high top, regular ol' chairs won't work. :(  

i wasn't sure how I was going to do it either...card tables spread throughout my little living room I was thinking, but definitely not enough tables for 24 people.  I thought we would have to eat in shifts.

but...something unheard of happened here in Minnesota

it was warm out on Thanksgiving day.  Like 65 degrees.  

So we all ate outside - Thank Goodness!  

This is the reason we only have big family gatherings at my house during warm weather months, 

so we can all eat outside.

I took a picture just to prove it can happen - and that's not everyone because a few people sat inside at the table.  HA!  Thank you nice Minnesota weather, for once!

after lunch...my sister, niece and nephew

while Kelly and I washed dishes, these two filled up on the kid's dessert my sister-in-law Angie brought
the big kids had pumpkin pie, chocolate pecan pie, and lemon meringue. (Thank you Sarah and Grandma)

checking out ad's for Black Friday shopping
I went this year for the first time ever with my brother Brian, his gf, Jeraka, and my sister
I was prepared to hate it.  because...i hate shopping.
but, I had so much fun!  It was the company, I know. We started around 7:00 pm and got home around 1:00 am.  we even stopped by my mom's house and ordered a pizza in between stores

I love these two pictures of my brother Bill's kids - Taylor and Justin

Breana and Kelly...

Angela and Blake (my brother Bob's wife and son)

the only picture of me - I'm not sure who took it, obviously i was unaware and in mid-talk
my favorite part of the picture is the beer bottle and basket of meds...

and the star of the show, always...
my niece, Taylor
the smiliest, sweetest girl I know
she is such a pleasure to be around

while the adults visited and planned our Black Friday shopping,

the boys had a Nerf gun war in the backyard to run off some energy

then came in and watched a movie 

Sadly, that is all the pictures I took.  I didn't even come close to capturing everyone that was there.  :(

and I'm kicking myself for not getting a group shot.  Its so rare that we are all together.

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

P.S. 

Thank you to my family for bringing such wonderful tasting food, I couldn't have done it without you!

i'm trying...

I have always been a really good sleeper.
I get into bed at night and most of the time fall right asleep.
But sometimes I can't sleep, lately it's been more frequent.
I have heard this comes with age.
I'm thinking perhaps it could be the coffee I drink when I get home from work.  ;)
On those nights I can't sleep I lay awake thinking about my day.  Specifically my time spent with the kids.
More often than not, I find myself lacking.  Like I could have done better.  Like I know I can do better.  Because I can.

I ask myself questions like...

how much did I raise my voice?
did I send the kids off to school with a smile and a kiss?
was I still nice at 8:00 pm when it's time for the boys to be in bed and reading?
did I feel them healthy food?
did I listen when they talked to me and look into their eyes?
was I on my computer too much?
did I help with homework without getting frustrated? (I'm not gonna lie, 5th grade homework is hard for me)
did I ask both boys about their day?

At the end of the day I just feel like a better mom if i can say I have done MOST of these things.

I wanna be like my all time favorite TV mom, Caroline Ingalls:  sweet, selfless, loving and kind.

I know it all can't happen every day...
but when I'm laying in bed at night thinking back over my day, I feel like a much better Mom if I can say I have done most of these things.