Smiles

Right on target at 5 1/2 weeks, this little guy started smiling. Mike caught it on his phone. He now has 5 people in his face at all times trying to make him do it again. He is such a good, happy baby. We can't get enough! To see his darling grin, click here.

The BEST stuffing

Before you decide what you are making for Thanksgiving, put this on your menu. It's the one thing I cannot live without. Everyone I've made it for, even the skeptics, love it. I promise, make your original and this one too...you can never have enough stuffing!!

Cornbread Stuffing

9 x 13 pan of baked cornbread (I've done homemade and Jiffy, both work just fine can make the day before and let it get dry)
1/2 lb. of pork sausage--mild with sage
1 medium onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 8 oz. can water chestnuts, rinsed, drained, chopped
1/2 c. pine nuts
1 T. finely chopped fresh sage or 1 1/2 tsp. dried
1 1/2 C. turkey or chicken stock

(I have also added craisins, the full pound of sausage and more pine nuts and I love it that way)
Fry sausage in a large skillet until brown. Remove from pan to a large mixing bowl, leaving oil and drippings in pan. Saute the onion over medium heat in sausage pan, add celery after about 2 minutes. Cook until onions are translucent. Add to sausage mixture in bowl. Add baked corn bread, crumbling in pieces, sage, water chestnuts and pine nuts. Add stock. Mix all ingredients. Pour into a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with foil and bake on top rack for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove foil and bake for another 30 minutes until the top is crunchy and brown.

I always make this salad too!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Birthday Boy (James, age 5)

A Conversation with James on his 5th Birthday

My favorite food is: Chicken Bowtie Pasta

My favorite sport is: Tennis

The best show on TV is: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Phineas and Ferb

The coolest person in the world is: Mom

My best subject in school is: Art

 

(To see all the questions, click here)

Halloween and Award Winng Chili Recipe

My goal for Halloween this year was to be able to get through it without missing anything important, survive not thrive was my mantra...and we did it. I provided the games in 2 classroom parties and helped at both in addition to helping at our neighborhood party, attending the ward party where I won first prize in the chili cook off! (see recipe below), and organized our neighborhood parade/trick or treating and remembered to buy candy to hand out at the door.

We made it! Everyone (except me) had recycled costumes that required no effort and would not win a costume contest, we forgot about carving pumpkins (next year!), didn't deliver "boo" treats to our neighbors (next year), did not put up Halloween decorations, didn't even think about a Halloween meal or craft, forgot to get something to gather candy (thanks, mom), didn't record or rent a Halloween movie...hmmm, shall I keep listing my failings?

Amazingly, it was still a fantastic Halloween where everyone had lots of fun and lots of sugar. And, who doesn't love a one month old in just about any costume. He totally cracked us up in each of his little outfits. To see the pics, click here!



Now for the White Bean Chicken Chili...an award winner in 2 chili cook offs, so cheap, easy and one of our family favorites!

3 T. oil
1 large onion, chopped
the meat from 1 rotisserie chicken or equivalent
3 C. chicken broth
3 small cans of chopped green chilis
3 cans of white beans, undrained
3-4 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 tsp. garlic salt
3-4 Tbsp. cumin
1 bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (if you like spice, I don't usually use them)

Heat oil and cook onions until translucent. Stir in broth, chilies, chicken and spices and let simmer 15 minutes. Stir in beans, simmer 5 minutes. Taste it...because of differences in chicken, green chilis and broth sometimes it needs more spices. If not flavorful enough, add more garlic, garlic salt and cumin until it tastes just right. Let simmer for a few minutes. Top with cheese, avocados, sour cream and  crumbled chips. Makes about 12 cups. For a large crowd I 3x this recipe (still only use 2 chickens). Great to make in the morning then put in crockpot until time to serve, fantastic leftover.

Hallelujah! Mimi is Here.

After 10 days on our own and doing fairly well, the whole family was ecstatic to see Mimi arrive. She swooped in just in the nick of time as Mike was gone almost the entire week with interviews all over the country. Without her we would have had lots of tearful nights, hectic mornings, and sleepy days. Instead, thanks to her we had mild mornings where I could sleep in as she made breakfast and took the kids to school, delightful days with fun company and lots of things getting done around the house like laundry, freezer meals, all the winter clothes washed and put away, and so much organization you would not recognize my closets and loving nights with happy kids, music moments. baby snuggles and bedtime stories.

It was so much fun to have her here and I'm so grateful she could come out to slave away for us and she did it with a great, big smile. It made all the difference in what could have been a very tough week...plus, she got to see soccer games, celebrate James' birthday, see fall leaves, go to a cider mill and spend some quality time with Mike. When he was gone, we got to have so many good chats and great times, plus a few naps and lots of Target trips with too much loot in tow :). I wish everyone were lucky enough to have a mother-in-law like this. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mimi! We love you so much. The only problem? I did not take enough pictures... to see the pictures I did take, click here!

Michigan Fall

Our favorite time of year for lots of reasons...weather, leaves, cider mills, homemade doughnuts, crisp evenings, college football. Fall in Ann Arbor is just the best.
to see the fun, click here!