Comfort Food

Now that its finally starting to get cold in North Carolina, I love eating chili.  I decided to try to make my own chili from scratch, and I must say it turned out pretty good.  I got this recipe from google, but can't remember which site.  

Recipe:

2 lbs ground beef/chuck

1 cup chopped onion

1 green pepper, chopped

2-3 ribs celery, chopped

1 large (28oz) can crushed tomatoes

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

2 cans kidney or pinto beans, drained (I used kidney beans)

1 tsp pepper

3 tsp chili powder

1 tsp garlic salt ( I used garlic powder)

cayenne pepper to taste

 Brown ground beef in skillet and drain well.  Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.

Cook for 7-8 hrs on low.  I cooked mine for 7 hours and it was perfect.

I added a little bit of shredded cheese on top and served with some saltines. 

Easy as Pie

This is my go to dessert. If you've ever been to O'Charley's then you will recognize this pie. It's the ooey gooey caramel pie (minus the pecans), and its so yummy and extremely easy to make.

What you'll need:

Graham cracker pie crust

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

Cool Whip

Chocolate chips

The most time consuming part is making the caramel. All you have to do is boil the cans of sweetened condensed milk for 4 hours, making sure that the water stays above the top of the cans.

Remove from the water and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.  Carefully remove the caramel from the cans since it will still be pretty hot.  Take a few spoonfuls for yourself Add to the graham cracker crust, and allow to cool for a few hours.  I usually cool mine overnight.

It doesn't have to be perfect since it will be covered by the whipped cream,

 and then the chocolate chips.  I love chocolate chips so I add a lot.

So easy and everyone will love it!

Thanksgiving Recap

We hosted Thanksgiving this year in our new home.  This was my first real Thanksgiving as the hostess, and I was nervous about how it would all come together.  Thank goodness for Honey Baked Ham and Bojangles.  I am not a fan of their ham, but love love love their sweet potato souffle.  It is always a huge hit.  I also got their cranberry walnut chutney this year.  Oh my gosh, where has this been all my life!  It is so good y'all.  


We ate fried turkey last year and wanted to do that again this year.  Unfortunately, our friend who cooked last year has a 9 month pregnant wife, so we were on our own.  I was a bit skeptical when my husband suggested Bojangles' fried turkey, but it was delicious, and was ready in about 2 hours!  I usually don't want turkey again for Christmas, but wouldn't mind this fried turkey again.

This was the line outside of Honey Baked Ham on Wednesday.  So glad I went the day before.  A friend was  in that line and she ended up waiting 1 1/2 hours.

I was a little underwhelmed about the table decor.  It didn't have that wow factor to me.  Oh well, I am definitely excited to try something different next year.  

I obviously need some serving dishes, so forgive my bootleg setup.  I made the cornbread dressing and my MIL helped me out by making the green beans and mac and cheese.  

 I have started putting up my Christmas decorations, and only have a few more items left to get.  The only place I went on Black Friday was Hobby Lobby and I am so glad I did.  I went again this week and there is hardly anything left. Can't wait to show the finished product.  Have a great weekend!

Mint Chocolate Chip

My sister-in-law loves mint chocolate chip ice cream.  When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to make it for her.  I have not made cookies from scratch since I was in 4-H in grade school.  (Less time and clean up with the commercial refrigerated dough).  Thankfully, this was so easy and they turned out delicious.  I ended up adding more food coloring than recommended, so they were very green.  I probably put in about 15 drops.  I also put in 1/2 teaspoon of the mint extract, so they were very mint-y.  She loved them.

I got the tin can from Hobby Lobby for $2.99

I will definitely be making these again.  They will be a fun Christmas and St. Patty's day cookie.

Hodge Podge

My sister in law bought us me a slow cooker 4 months ago and I am just now trying it out.  I have never used a crock pot before, and am now obsessed with finding recipes.  This is one of the best inventions ever.  Cooking is a snap now.  It was hard for me to work a 9 hour day, exercise, and make a home cooked meal before 9pm.  I made this sandwich a few days ago and it was oh so good.  The picture I took on my phone got deleted, so am borrowing this from Jonna.  We had corn on the cob instead of chips.

I made this dip this weekend for the Carolina game since we had an away.  It got rave reviews.  I think it needs some sour cream to make it even better.  I am going to be making this for the Halloween party. My plan is to put it in a cauldron and serve with blue tortilla chips

I made this recipe last night.  I used 2 cans of broccoli instead of one.  Quick and easy, and we will be eating that again tonight.  I am not a huge leftover fan, but so far, I am enjoying the savings in time and money. 




What I wore recently to a surprise party

Teal shirt from Off Saks, Old Navy Black Skinny Jeans, Nine West shoes

My current nail polish- sorry, not the greatest picture. This is OPI's Chopstick-ing to my Story and my royal blue jeans.  Just noticed this looks very Florida Gators-ish.

And last but not least, a few more Halloween decoration shots

I am all over the place today.

Breakfast of Champions

I love traditions. One that my husband and I started while we were dating is to go out for breakfast every Sunday after church.  I know that's nothing new since most people do it, but its the simple things in life, right?  Our new favorite spot is the Original Pancake House.  I grew up in Nashville where The Pancake Pantry reigns supreme. This is the line most of the time its open, and I'm talking rain, shine, hot or cold.

via

I always recommend this place for anyone visiting Nashville because not only will you get ah-maz-ing pancakes, but the omeletes are too die for and you will probably see someone famous. Since moving to Charlotte 2 years ago, I miss being able to hop over for my usual buttermilk pancakes. IHOP is good, but its just not the same. 

Well, when my sister in law told us how good the Original Pancake House was, we just had to give it a try.  And let me tell you, its giving my fave a run for its money!  I'm talking fresh sqeezed orange juice and whipped cream from scratch, and you get a lot for what you pay for. Plus, the wait time is less than 20 minutes.  If you have an Original Pancake House in your area, and haven't tried it, you are missing out.  Here are some pics I took yesterday when we were there. I had the bluberry belgium waffle with blueberry syrup, soo good.