Happy Halloween

It has been a busy October for us lots of events as you can see from all the blogs. We got to end it with our very own Clark Kent trick or treaing!

Grandmas Beef Stew

2 pounds of stew meat, cubed to 1 inch, fat removed

2 T marg/fat

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic

1 onion, chopped or frozen pearl onions

1-2 bay leaves

1 T. salt

1 t. sugar

1/2 t. paprika

1/4 t. black pepper

Dash of allspice or cloves

6 carrots, peeled and chopped

4 potatoes, peeled and cubed- any kind I use red

2 Stalks Celery (optional)

In Dutch oven (I do mine stove top not in a Dutch oven), heat shortening.  Cut off any visible fat from meat and cut large pieces down to 1 inch cubes or so.  Brown beef cubes in hot shortening.

In 2 cup glass measuring cup(or small bowl), add all spice ingredients except onions and bay leaves...then stir in the 2 cups of hot water to spice mix and MIX WELL.

Add hot water mix, along with chopped onion and bay leaves to meat.  Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, checking and stirring to avoid meat sticking or burning.  Keep simmer on LOW and add a bit of water at times if necessary...really keep an eye on it.

Add carrots, potatoes, and celery (I use many more than the recipe calls for).  Stir them into meat and simmer for 30 minutes or more, until veggies are cooked thru.

Stir some cornstarch into COLD water (about ½ cup and 3T corn starch) in a small bowl or coffee cup until smooth, using a fork to break up any chunks of cornstarch.  Add this to hot beef stew and stir into the broth very, very good, until broth thickens, over LOW heat. Cornstarch needs to be cooked a little, after adding.   Make sure there is enough liquid and the heat is low enough when adding the cornstarch liquid.

Remove Bay leaves, and enjoy your meal!

Pumpkin Carving

We had a fun filled Sunday full of painting and carving pumpkins

 Ewww

I'll Love you Forever

I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living. My baby you’ll be.

This weekend I got to hear the words I have been longing to hear from you. You love to be in my craft room with me getting your hands into everything and anything! And I always let you play with all my fabrics and old scrapbook paper. The room is a mess after 10 minutes but it is always an hour well spent and filled with smiles and laughter. Today we were singing songs together and you were babbling back and forth with me. I said “Nolan I love you” and you looked right at me and said “I Wouve you!” (in a Scooby Doo kind of voice) I had to say it again to make sure I heard you right “I love you” and as quick as can be “I Wouve you” I have been waiting for this day and to top it off you kept saying it over and over followed giving big hugs! Then as we were cleaning up and getting ready to leave the room you ran up to me and I picked you up. You wrapped your arms around my neck and said “Love you Mommy” You have made my entire week and I love you so much!! You are filled with so much love and are really starting to show your affection!

Baby in a Pumpkin..... More like Toddler

So I'm addicted to Pinterest and I saw this idea last year of a baby in a pumpkin... So being the crafty lady I try to be I thought I would stick Nolan in a pumpkin this year. It didn't exactly turn out as I hoped, who am I kidding it didn't turn out at all! My child is a little to long to be in a pumpkin but he was a team player while his crazy mommy snapped pictures! Maybe if I kept his shirt on he wouldn't look so huge??? But it is 80 degrees in October!

Cheesburger in Paradise

Every since my brother-in-law Jason made us Burgers we have had his burgers almost once a week. So I thought I would share the simple deliciousness

Ingredients:
Ground beef, Basil, Red Onion, Garlic Cloves, A little Salt and paper, 1 egg- Mix it all together, Grill and top with your favorite cheese! We like pepperjack. This burger is amazingly delicious! Enjoy.

We add some sweet potato fries as a side and it is Scrumptious

Pumpkin Time... A little taste of the Midwest

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. I start talking about Starbucks Pumpkin Spiced Lattes the last week of August while it is still 100 degrees outside! But they are worth the wait. And then follows pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin farms, carving pumpkins, Halloween, and Turkey  I love it all.

It is finally starting to feel like Fall in Dallas nothing will every be like back home in Chicago but I'll take the 70 degree weather and pretend it is 50. Nolan and I took our first adventure to the Dallas Arboretum and we loved it. I am hoping to go back and get a yearly membership. it is downtown Dallas right off of White Rock Lake. This year for the Fall they decorated a section with a Cinderella theme. There is face painting, a petting zoo, hay maze, and over 20,000 pumpkins!

I have always said I would never put my child on a "leash" but after experiencing him at the Arboretum I completely understand why parents do that with their children. Nolan was on the go pumpkin here, pumpkin there he had to see everyone. These days he finds it hilarious to run away from us and have us catch him but if you could hear the laughter that comes out of him I will chase him any day. He caught on very quickly that mommy wanted picture of him in the pumpkins so every pumpkin he would see he would sit on an smile, imagine 20,000 pumpkins! It was precious.

Nolan went to his 1st OU volleyball game- it was at TCU in Fort Worth. OU Won!!

I googled and googled and finally found a really pumpkin farm in Texas. Big Orange Pumpkin Farm, Celina, TX here we come. We drove 45 minutes to the middle of no where to find a beautiful farm with a hayride, livestock, a hay maze (the real deal), a pumpkin patch, and tractor rides. I could not have asked for a better Sunday to spend with my boys. Nolan got to feed the goats, sheep, longhorns or cows, and chickens. He couldn't get enough of the goats there was only 30+ to choose from on which one to feed he was smiling from ear to ear. Showing us how to feed them and clapping for himself afterward. At first he was unsure of the longhorns but once daddy showed him how to feed them he was mister independent. After 2 hours at the farm, mud on our shoes and grass stains on our knees it was what I call a perfect Sunday!