Slow Cooking Thursday - Slow Cooker 8 Can Taco Soup

16 degrees this morning and I do believe it's time for some soup.  I love stews and soups on cold days like these and if the crockpot can help me make dinner, even better.

This one comes from Six Sisters Stuff and is currently in my crockpot cooking away for tonight's meal.  Smells yummy already.  I'm going to make some homemade bread for sandwiches too and that should make a nice filling dinner :)

Slow Cooker 8-Can Taco Soup

Ingredients:
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (15 oz) can sweet corn, drained
1 (12.5 oz) can chicken breast, drained
1 (10.75 oz) can cream of chicken soup
1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 (1 oz) packet taco seasoning

Directions:
Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Dump all the ingredients into slow cooker and stir together. Cook on low heat for 2-3 hours. Serve with shredded cheese and tortilla chips.

Paperless Kitchen Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

You all know that I love being in my kitchen and so, am always on the look out for new gadgets and items that can make my time in there even more pleasant.

A few weeks ago, I was sent a few samples from Paperless Kitchen and asked to review them AND set up a giveaway for my readers as well.

So what exactly is Paperless Kitchen?

PaperlessKitchen helps individuals, households, businesses, and organizations adopt greener lifestyles by offering alternatives to kitchen paper products, such as paper towels, plates and napkins. As a business with a social focus, we aim to raise awareness about how an individual's purchasing habits affects the environment, ultimately helping consumers reduce waste and curb the growth of landfills. By choosing our reusable and sustainable kitchen products, our customers protect acres of forests, reduce the waste that ends up in landfills and reduce their overall environmental footprint. PaperlessKitchen.com is a sensible, fashionable, and convenient step towards sustaining our environmental future.

When I first received the paperless kitchen skoy cloth, I wasn't quite sure what to think.  I mean, it looks just like a paper cloth.

PaperlessKitchen Skoy Cloth, the perfect alternative to paper towels. As a eco-friendly biodegradable cleaning cloth, the PaperlessKitchen Skoy cloth can replace up to 15 rolls of paper towels.

I really, really like these and so does my sister in law. They work brilliantly and I love that they dry up fast and don't leave any smell which was always a huge thing for me when using sponges.

They actually almost remind me of the chamois when wet. 

Knowing that the plant based fibers are biodegradable makes it even better and matter of fact, lab tests have shown that they decompose completely within 5 weeks of being thrown out, so we don't have to worry about contributing to the huge amounts of waste overcrowding the landfills.

If you're wanting to go green I think these would make a great addition to any kitchen, I know they've certainly made a big difference in mine, and I even gave some to my sister in law for when she gets her own house here soon.

You can find more information about the company from our website http://www.paperlesskitchen.com/pages/about-us. We are also very active on Facebook, Twitter - @PaperlessKitch, and Pinterest.

Now, the wonderful folks at Paperless Kitchen have offered a giveaway for my readers.  They will be sending the winner an 8 pack of the Skoy Cloths.

To enter, all you need to do is leave me a comment including an email address where I can contact you if your name is picked.  Please remember that you have 48 hours to claim your prize, or a different winner will be picked.

Contest is open to all US residents and will run until Friday 6th December.  

Good Luck!

Oh Christmas Tree!

Well folks, here we are, December 2013.  I'm not quite sure how we got here, it almost feels like we skipped, hopped and jumped over half a year and landed smack dab in the first week of December.

Christmas is just around the corner, like right around the corner and I'm looking forward to it in a sense, but then also wishing we weren't so close to the end of the year.

So much has happened, so many changes, so many adventures, so many stresses, but hey, it wouldn't be life if it was all happy and peachy right?

I tried so hard to hold off on getting our tree, but with 4 very excited kids around me, it was even harder, so we caved.....and we got the tree.

A beautiful scented tree that now sits in all it's glory, in the corner of my living room.  You can't help but smile when you see it, or at least, I can't help it.

Sunday night, I put on some Christmas music and we moved some things around to find just the perfect spot for our tree. The kids set right to work on decorating it and as much as I love doing that task, I left it up to them.

One thing I don't leave up to anyone, is the picture taking. I just have too much fun with my camera and trying to capture these moments for my blog.

Now that the tree is up and the decorations are in place, inside and out, it means I need to get cracking on the gifts.  Thankfully I can say that my nephew, brother and sister in law are all done for Christmas.  I just have my niece, my daughter and son and hubby to finish, but so far so good.

Also have my mother in law and father in law coming in for Christmas which we always look forward to.  I can't wait to sit and chat with them.

And these two are super excited with the tree and the decorations too.  They crack me up, especially Miss Lola with that tongue hanging out.  Hahahah

How are you doing on Christmas decorating, did you start or do you usually leave it until a little closer to the day?

I wanted to come in and say hi and let you all know that I'm still here, still busy, still trying to find enough hours in the day for everything and still missing my little blog like crazy.

It's going to be a very happy day when I can figure this schedule thing out and get back to normal, it's almost nauseating repeating myself on this subject, goodness.

Anyway, I best get on with my day which is going to be very slow as I got little to no sleep last night.  My sciatica is bugging me, a lot lately with this cold weather.  It made it where I couldn't lay on my right leg without it feeling numb and tingly and today it's making walking a tad difficult.

I'm praying for some strength to get through everything I need done, I'm sure I'll accomplish it, if only much slower than usual.

Oh and I almost forgot, I mentioned The Tudor Monastery Farm for those who are fans of Edwardian Farm, Victorian Farm etc....it's a new series on BBC and you can watch it online here.  I'm loving it, there's only been 3 episodes so far so you won't have much to catch up on.

Leaving you all much love and wishes for a good day :)

Happy Homemaker Monday - 12/02/2013

Good morning my friends :)  Can you believe it's December already?

Sure do hope you've had a good Thanksgiving holiday with the family, guess now it's all back to business until Christmas right?  Anyway, on to this morning's Happy Homemaker Monday :)

As I look outside my window:::
Chilly morning, fog and the remnants of an overnight rain shower remain.  We have some very cold weather coming this week, including some snow here and there.  The kids are excited for it and I am too, though I do truly hope that we get a lot of snow on Christmas :)

 
Right now I am:::
In bed, again, just like last week.  Honestly though it's the best place to bed on a chilly morning.  As always, I have a hot cup of coffee too, this morning it's Peppermint Mocha.  Yum!

Thinking and pondering:::
On our current situation.  My husband is once again looking for a job.  It's all in the Lord's hands, that's it.

 
On my bedside table:::
Finishing up The Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Pamela Mingle for a review at the end of the week. 

On my tv tonight:::
Catching up on:
Tudor Monastery Farm
Last night's The Witches of East End
All my Portuguese Soaps which I've fallen way behind on
 
Playing on the radio:::
The Civil Wars, love their music.  


On the menu for this week:::

Monday - Chicken a la King with Homemade Noodles
Tuesday - Stuffed Peppers 
Wednesday - Homemade Cheese Ravioli with Marinara Sauce, Salad
Thursday - Slow Cooker 8 Can Taco Soup
Friday - Baked Garlic Chicken with Spaghetti
Saturday - Easy Garlic Cheese Pizza
Sunday -  Chicago Style Hotdogs, Tater Tots

On my to do list:::
3 loads of laundry to iron, which I will do while catching up on my shows
Sweep, Mop, Vacuum and give this house a good cleaning
Homeschooling

What I am sewing, crocheting, knitting or creating:::
Started a new blanket.  I know, what am I thinking, but I really want to make this one and just couldn't put it off anymore.

My simple pleasure:::
Sitting out on the porch with my camera, while it's raining. 

Lesson learned the past week:::
So many, but the biggest one was to dig deep and realize that no matter how hard things may seem at the moment, there are others there doing much worse.  It's so easy to get caught up in the negative parts of our lives that we allow them to shadow all the blessings and that is when things completely fall apart.  God is constantly reminding me to put it in His hands.

Looking around the house:::
The house is needing some serious attention after a weekend of Christmas decorating.  There are empty boxes here and there, random items strewn through the house, a garbage can overflowing, some dishes in the sink and it's all driving me insane.  There will be some major cleaning going on today and my husband has offered to help me, which will be wonderful :)

From the camera:::

Prayer List:::
My husband and brother as they continue their search for jobs. 

Bible verse, Devotional:::
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,
– 2 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV)

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Well my sweet friends, here we are about to celebrate another Thanksgiving day.  There's always such excitement the day before, at least for me, knowing that I get to be up early and start cooking a big meal.

It may be overwhelming for some, but for a gal like me who loves being in the kitchen, I can say that it's definitely one of the days I most enjoy.  Busy?  Of course, but doing something that you truly enjoy can make anything pleasurable right?

I do have to manage my time well so I don't end up having too many things going at once, and this is also where organization comes into play.  If I get those two happily synchronized, then it all comes together without a synch.

Today I worked all afternoon baking the pies for tomorrow's meal.

Two Honey Pecan Pies, two Pumpkin Pies and one chocolate pie.  And I am thinking that I may just make another Pecan tomorrow and maybe an Apple one too.  I'm almost certain that the pies will not last very long between 8 people who really love food :)

This is such a yummy pie, you gotta give it a try.  Straight from Miss Kay's kitchen, who if you watch Duck Dynasty you will know exactly who she is.  I have the recipe for you on my blog if you want to make it tomorrow :)

A super easy Chocolate Pie.   I'm using this recipe.  Haven't tried this one before so I can't tell you yet how good it is.

And of course the traditional Pumpkin Pies which I'm sure you all have recipes for.

Aside from getting the pies made today, I also got my turkey brining, and it will be deep fried tomorrow.  Here's what's on the menu:

Deep Fried Turkey

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Homemade Dinner Rolls

Homemade Gravy

Homemade Cornbread Stuffing

Cranberry Sauce (I don't like it, but my husband and daughter love it)

Green Bean Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Deviled Eggs

As always, I'll be up bright and early, and will have my coffee pot going while I get to work.  So exciting!!!

It's going to be an early night for me, I'm thinking some crocheting by the fire is just the right way to end this day.

So, my dear friends, I leave you with wishes of a very Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy yourselves, eat lots of yummy foods, and don't sweat the small stuff.

Please remember to enjoy this day for what it is and count your blessings, we all have so much to be thankful for even when we don't think we do.

Much love to you all, blessings from my house to yours,
Sandra
xoxoxo