Crockpot Chili

Over the past 2 months our family has been a member of www.e-mealz.com which is a program that provides you with economical meal plans for couples or families. I decided that I wanted to try to blog about some of the good meals that we have and post them for others to enjoy.

The first one will be a Chili recipe. You start by browning 1# of ground round and 1# of sausage (I used a healthy one) in a large skillet.

You need to chop 1.5 cups of onions and add this to the ground meat.
Then add 1.5t of minced garlic.
After this is cooked, then drain the meat.
In the crockpot put 2T chili powder, 1t salt, 1/2t pepper, 1t oregano.
Then add the meat mixture, 2- 15oz cans of petite diced tomatoes, 15oz can of pinto beans, and small can of tomato paste (I substituted this for the 15oz can of tomato sauce) to the crock pot.
Cook on low for about 6 hours and you will have a nice pot of chili for supper!

We put shredded cheddar cheese on top of it and also ate chili Fritos with it. It was enjoyed by all of the family.

Nice Weather

Last weekend I had to work which was not fun at all-- but this week having 3 days off made it all worth it because it has been so nice and sunny outside. Riley and I even got to spend several hours playing at Ben Hawes State Park which was so much fun for her and so exhausting for me. I feel like I have been such a slug all winter long, and thus now a have no energy to play with the kids. Riley loves to be pushed on the swings, climb the playground equipment, and slide down the slides but of course she is so little that mama has to help her every step of the way. My arms feel like they have gotten quite the workout. Last night the boys played baseball and Riley and I played at the park again. It is so great to have nice weather so that we can do this!

While Jason was away

Jason has been out of town since Sunday night and I am so excited that he is going to be back tomorrow evening! I have been very busy taking care of Blaine and Riley (and Annie and Lily too). The week started with Blaine getting the stomach bug, which was not fun. I am not the one to take care of a little one with vomiting. I basicly gave him a bucket and told him that is where any of the vomiting should end up! I was a little perturbed because I was planning on going to a celebration for all the Dietitians at work at my manager's house. Last year was the first year that there was a Dietitian Day and my manager started a tradition of having a surprise celebration. Well, anyway I was going to have my mother-in-law watch Blaine and Riley so that I could go. When Blaine got home from school he was running a fever and complaining of a stomach ache so I didn't think it was a good idea for me to go. Needless to say I was not happy about having to miss it. Then he ended up being fine-- that is until 11 p.m. when he woke me up to tell me he had puked in his bucket. I got up and emptied it and then dry heaved and went back to sleep. Blaine woke me up at 6 a.m. again and said that he had gotten sick in the toliet this time, so at least I didn't miss the celebration for nothing. Well, on Tuesday I had a full day planned so once I found out that Brenden (my 21 year old) didn't have to work until 5 p.m. I asked him to stay home with Blaine. Riley and I went to MOPs at church and then I went to my CASA board meeting. For those who don't know I have been a CASA (court appointed special advocate for children who have been abused or neglected) for the past 13 years. Lately I haven't been able to be a volunteer for any of the children but I have joined the Board that helps supervise the program. So I did not want to miss my second meeting. I was also blessed to have my babysitter's daughter, Dee, to watch Riley for me while I went to this. So after all of that activity I was really looking forward to my additional day off today where I did not have any exact plans. And I was especially excited when I saw that it was going to be 68 degrees outside. It was such a wonderful day and I must mention that it was all due to God's wonderful glory that he poured out the sunshine for us all in Owensboro, Kentucky!!!! Riley and I took a nap together and than we sat outside for a little while-- or should I say I sat outside and she ran around! I also was able to take Lily, our new puppy, to Petsmart to be groomed and she looks wonderful!! It has been so nice to be able to go outside without a coat on and not feel like I am freezing my butt off. I do feel like I have survived quite well this week without Jason but I am looking forward to his return tomorrow.

Revelation

It has been rather crazy lately around our house. At least that is how I feel about it. There has been some of the normal "craziness" like Brenden's mishap with his car, in which we had to help him pay to get it fixed. And then there is Evan's Boy Scout's, and piano lesson's and now guitar lesson's (and thus Blaine's violin lesson's). But the main area of discord is that fact that Evan's mom has gotten a job in Mobile, Alabama and how that is going to affect us all. We really have been blessed to have such a good relationship with Jennifer (Evan's mom) and thus we have Evan quite often. That is why it is going to be so much harder when Evan is not living in Owensboro. So mostly what has been on my mind is the fact that we are probably going to move in the very near future also. Jason and I are trying to determine when we are going to move so that we are not so far away from Evan for too much time. Most people do not understand the situation and thus they have negative things to say or don't know what to say, when we tell them that Evan is going to be moving in the very near future. What most people do not understand is that eventually Jason would be moving for his job anyway. So at least we know where Evan is going to be and thus Jason can try to find a job close to him rather than us moving away from him.

My real revelation though has to do with how Evan is dealing with all of this. This past week we had Evan with us every day, which is unusual for us since we normally just have him on Wednesday nights. Well, by the end of the week he told us that he is upset because he feels that because of Riley he is not able to spend as much time with his daddy. And he feels that Riley is the reason that he doesn't get to do some things like go to the bowling alley, skating rink, etc. as often as before. Well, I can really feel for him because I don't get to do the same things that I was doing before Riley was born either. But of course I am the parent so I am not allowed to have these feelings. Well, tonight I had a revelation that now I really do know how Evan feels. Even though it is great to have a little baby it also comes with some complications that are going to work themselves out in the end. I can look fondly back at the time that Jason and I got to spend as a newlywed couple and know that when the kids are a little older we will get to spend that time again. Tonight I was noticing things in our bedroom that reminded me of the days before our precious little baby girl. There is the portrait of us from the CASA Auction. There is the pictures of us when we went to the Christmas party at the Executive Inn and on our honeymoon in Fiji, and there is the pictures above our bed that are of Charleston that we bought on our 1st anniversary trip. So that is my revelation that I know that Evan, and Blaine, and Riley, and Brenden all have these very special needs right now but that eventually they are going to all grow up and have their own spouse, children, and even grandchildren and none of the things that worry and upset us now are going to make a difference. That we need to live for each and every day because God has given us each day as a gift that needs to be cherished. So I don't really know why but it has really given me a peace about what is going on right now in our lives. I guess because I know that this is just another chapter and that I am hoping that there are many more happy chapters to cherish in the future. No use worrying about what tommorrow brings but instead I need to just be happy about what today is giving us!