Embroidered Baby Gift

So, my darling husband let me get a new sewing machine, since the one I had was on it's last legs. The one I chose has embroidering capabilities, so I have been trying to learn the fine art of embroidering. It looks so easy .. yet it's so hard!

So, I made a baby gift for a military wife friend that is about to have her first baby any day now.

It's a little t-shirt and a burp cloth. I had a lot of fun making the burp cloth. The t-shirt ... well, I'm hoping it'll be easier next time if I use a bigger shirt.

Crock Pot Scalloped Horseradish Potatos

This recipe comes from Stephanie @ crockpot365.com. Oh so yummy and delicious! We'll be having this as a side dish to some grilled steaks this evening. I also made this to go w/ our Easter dinner earlier this year.

3 pound red potatoes, washed and sliced (no need to peel)
2 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish (not the cream kind, the regular; I went with extra hot)
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

The Directions.

I used a 4 quart crock pot. Scrub your potatoes well and cut into 1/4-inch slices. Layer into a crock pot you've sprayed with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the heavy cream, horseradish, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Pour over the top of the potatoes. Stir.

Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours, high for 4 hours, or until potatoes are fork tender. I cooked ours on high for 2 hours, then low for another 4. Garnish with shredded Parmesan.

Halloween T-Shirt

So, I went out and did some shopping today ... I mostly looked for Halloween items and couldn't find any short sleeved shirts Halloween themed shirts for my 6 year old son. So, I bought a plain white t shirt from Walmart, and spent $0.70 on fabric and made my own.

Iadded some rustic looking stitches around the image to hold it in place and here is my goofball wearing the finished product:

This was so easy to make! I cut the images using my Cricut! I used the "Life is a Beach" cartridge for the skull & crossbones image. All you do is apply fusible webbing to your fabric by lightly pressing the entire thing with a warm iron, cut with your Cricut, peel off the paper backing and iron on the image. I'm pleased with how it turned out, although I think that my sewing machine is about on it's last legs. Oh well .... Christmas is right around the corner! Maybe Santa will be good to me this year .... ;)

All American Chili

Okay Okay ... so, I have seriously neglected my blog. Shame, shame. I haven't had a lot of time lately between working my two part time jobs, taking my two college classes, and taking care of my two kids and hubby. There seems to be a theme of two's here ....

Anyway, just to appease I thought I would share my favorite chili recipe since it's fall somewhere (certainly not in hot Hawaii!) and chili is a perfect fall food ...

Yield

8 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups chili and 1 tablespoon cheese)

Ingredients

• 6 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 8 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 jalapeño pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/4 cups Merlot or other fruity red wine (can sub w/ beef or chicken stock if you aren't a wino like me!)
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, undrained and coarsely chopped (Note: I dont like tomato chunks, so I use tomato sauce instead)
• 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese

Preparation

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage, onion, and the next 4 ingredients (onion through jalapeño) to pan; cook 8 minutes or until sausage and beef are browned, stirring to crumble.

Add chili powder and the next 7 ingredients (chili powder through bay leaves), and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in wine, tomatoes, and kidney beans; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Discard the bay leaves. Sprinkle each serving with cheddar cheese.

Note: Like most chilis, this version tastes even better the next day.