Getting ready

I just finished putting groceries away after making my big shopping trip to get ready for Thanksgiving. Whew. Not too crowded...and they had everything I needed which I am thankful for! Brent's parents and grandparents arrive on Wednesday evening, so I have lots of cleaning and cooking to do in the next two days!

Here's the menu I have planned...I'd be happy to share recipes if anything interests you...and on Wednesday, I will share one of the dessert recipes...yummy!

Mom's Brown Bag Turkey with Stuffing
Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Green Beans with cranberries, blue cheese, and walnuts
Cranberry Orange Sauce
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Sour Cream Apple Pie
Pumpkin Roll

Off to get some rest...

Last night

We got to see Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood in concert!

So much fun...we had a great time! I think my favorite thing about it (besides the great music, of course) was seeing Brad's paisley guitars...very cool! I don't play guitar but I might learn if I had such colorful guitars!!! And the funniest thing to see was little lights all over the place...all the cell phones people were using to snap pictures!

Off to go with a friend to a Christmas craft show and then to Piece of Picasso...a paint your own ceramics place!

Have a great weekend!

Chocolate Chip Pecan Scones

This is one of my favorite recipes...perfect for breakfast, great for afternoon "tea"...delicious anytime! It's the easiest scone recipe I've made and by far my favorite scones...if I do say so myself! (The picture above has the scones on the plates!) The source of the recipe is The Joy of Cooking, a cookbook that I refer to over and over again...although I've changed the process a little bit. (They call this recipe Cream Scones, if you want to reference it in your own cookbook.)

Chocolate Chip Pecan Scones

2 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cup heavy cream (regular whipping cream can do in a pinch, but heavy is best.)
1/3 cup each of miniature chocolate chips and chopped pecans (or substitute your favorite item, such as raisins, dried cranberries, walnuts, etc.)
cinnamon sugar to taste

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together. Add optional items, adjusting amount to suit your taste. Mix. Add cream. Mix until dry ingredients are moistened.
3. Gather dough into a ball and knead it gently against the bowl 5-10 time until all dough is together. Transfer to a lightly floured surface *** and pat dough into an 8-inch round about 3/4 inch thick. Cut into 8 or 12 wedges. Place scones 1/2 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. (I line mine with parchment paper.)
4. Brush tops of scones with additional heavy cream and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
5. Bake until golden, 12-15 minutes. Let cool on wire rack.

*** To create more scones, at this point in the recipe, sometimes I cut the ball of dough in half, patting each into a round and cutting each round into 12 wedges, yielding 24 slightly smaller scones from each recipe. You can also use a cookie cutter to create shaped scones after pressing out the dough.

I hope you enjoy these...let me know what you think!!!

Cooking Time

I love to cook. I especially love to bake. But I really enjoy cooking...and I am notorious for trying out new recipes on dinner guests. Thankfully, the results are usually happy tummies!

I love collecting recipes...and I thought you might too, so I decided that Wednesdays will be recipe-share days! For today:

Chichen Enchilada Soup

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup chicken base
3 cups diced yellow onions
1 can mild green chiles, diced
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp. garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 1/2 cups Masa Harina (corn flour)
4 quarts water
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese (cubed)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 10 oz. can mild enchilada sauce
5 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or pulled apart

1. In a large pot (I use my large stockpot), place oil, chicken base, onion, chiles, and spices. Saute until onions are soft and clear, about 5 minutes.
2. In a medium bowl, combine Masa Harina with 1 quart water. Stir until all lumps dissolve. Add this to sauteed onions; bring to a boil. Once mixture starts to bubble, continue cooking 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add remaining 3 quarts water to pot.
3. Add tomatoes and enchilada sauce; let mixture return to boiling, stirring constantly.
4. Add cheeses to soup, stirring occasionally until cheese melts. Add chicken and heat through.

Serve hot and garnish with any or all of:
sour cream
cilantro
corn tortillas, sliced thinly and baked until crisp at 400 degrees
green onions, chopped
diced roma tomatoes

This recipe makes A LOT of soup! Have containers for freezing available...we got three dinners and a couple lunches out of one pot!

These are a few

of my favorite things! (prompted by Kelli)
hydrangeas, especially from Mom's garden.
glowing candles
warm, crackling fires
curling up with a good book
reminiscing
the sprinkle of freckles across Hadleigh's nose and cheeks
autumn color
the Appalachian Mountains
unique coffee shops
the way Nathanael drops his chin to his chest whenever you tickle him
Hayley Westenra music
comfort food
new scrapbooking supplies
the way a child's hand holds mine
cool bookstores and old books
going "home" for Christmas
movie nights
shopping with my mom
hugs
a row of half-filled journals
date nights when we get to just catch up and talk
fabric stores
Riquewihr, France
comfy mattresses (we're in the market for a new one!)
talking to my sister
a dinner of bread, French cheeses, fruit, and white wine
the color blue
time spent with dear friends, like these

Pumpkin Patch

We had so much fun this weekend picking out pumpkins. Mimi and Grampa (my parents) and my sister Katy were in town for our little guy's birthday party...and it was so much fun to share this outing with them!

A friend told us of a pumpkin patch nearby and I am so glad that we went. It was a gorgeous, sunny, fall day...thousands of pumpkins...and two very happy little kiddos. It was such an adventure searching for the "perfect pumpkin" so we got two big ones and three miniature ones. (We are carving tonight!!!)

I have decided that one day, I want to have a pumpkin patch...maybe not a whole field-full of them (I am not THAT into gardening) but a row of plump pumpkins...I think that would make me happy!

My little guy

 

is ONE!!!

So very thankful for him...we had fun celebrating his actual birthday this past weekend while at Baylor for homecoming. Aunt Katy made a super yummy cake for him! This weekend is his birthday party...will show pictures later! 

Three years old.

 

Today our Hadleigh is three years old. It's hard to believe that she has grown so quickly.

It's hard to believe that she used to be this precious baby...what a blessing she is to our lives!

  

Little Sullivan

Sullivan is one month old today. My best friend Shannon's first little baby. He is just so precious...I can hardly wait until I (Aunt Kimber) get to hold him. I only have to wait two more weeks...(I've been dying to just drive up for the day, but alas, bouts of colds and tummy bugs have prevented me!)

Fortunately, I have quite a few pictures of him to look at in the meantime. Sullivan is a lucky little boy to have such a talented photographer for a mommy.

Keep those pictures coming!

So much

to blog about...and yet...I haven't seemed to get around to anything!

Between gorgeous fall weather and enjoying the outdoors lately and a sick almost-three year old Hadleigh things have been full around here...not really busy but full.

So here is a list of things I want to blog about...and will in the coming days and weeks (hopefully this list will make me a better blogger!)
1. My wonderful, relaxing weekend with my sister (two weeks ago!)
2. BSF
3. Brent's latest "obsession" (and one that I really don't mind!)
4. the arrival of our new pastor
5. my favorite season and month
6. My upcoming "reunion" with my college roommates
7. little things that make me happy
8. projects that are in process
9. yummy recipes
10. my best friend's new baby! (hmmm...a perfect post for tomorrow, I think!)

Okay, so now I am really guilty of just not blogging, because it is obvious that I have plenty to write about!
So stay tuned...lots of thoughts and pictures to come!