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For this Thoughtful Thursday post, I would like to take you on a virtual Christmas home tour.  I love to put up Christmas decorations so C & I decided to try some new things this year.  Let’s start with the outside décor…

I have used a plain green, lighted wreath and small trees for the front door for a few years, but this year I decided to add some decorations to the wreath/trees combo and also add a lighted garland.  I love the way it turned out!  C & I decided we need to beef up the garland a little next year, but it is a great start.

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We also added LED net lights to the shrubs by the front porch.

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This is on the opposite end of the house and we love this little vignette.  When the tree gets bigger, we plan to put the packages around it but it is just a little too small for it right now.

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When you come through the front door, this is the first view:
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I love using the stacked baskets with fresh greenery to hide extension cords.

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Here is the dining room:
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My dad found these place mats and napkins while he was packing.  I remember cross-stitching those napkins myself about 20 years ago.

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I love the way the tree looks at night.

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My mom’s nativity scene is also in the dining room.

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On to the kitchen, where I finally gave in to the burlap/chevron craze.  I have had the tree for a few years and have used cookie cutters on it the whole time, but this was the perfect place to add the trendy burlap and chevron. 

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The centerpiece on our breakfast table is a simple trifle dish filled with fresh greenery and glass “food” ornaments.

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The “big” tree is in the living room and it is full of our special ornaments.  Some of these we have had since we were children, some are collectible and some we have bought on trips and special occasions.  We can’t forget to hang our stockings too!  We even have one for Ellie.

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I don’t do much in our master bed and bath, but I did decorate our guest bathroom this year with a few little touches. My mom had a few Santa items, including the cross stitched Santa that I made back in 1992, that she loved so I incorporated them all together in this room and they fit perfectly.  I added the little tree and canister this year. 

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I have an announcement to make…the upstairs is finally finished!!!  Can I get a woo-hoo!?!?!?  My refinished yard sale hutch is in the hallway and all of the bedrooms have furniture as well.  There are not a lot of Christmas decorations, but I did put a little in the hallway.  The small tree has collectible miniature ornaments and I filled the basket with fresh cut greenery.  The hutch has some of my mom’s gardening books along with a few of my favorite cookbooks.

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I hope you have enjoyed the virtual Christmas home tour!

What we woke up to Sunday morning…

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Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this week’s Menu Plan Monday post.  Even though it is not officially winter here in Kentucky yet we had a winter weather advisory this weekend that resulted in ICE.  Yuck, I am not a big fan of snow, but I would much rather have snow than ice.  It is pretty to look at, but it can be so dangerous. Hopefully this cold snap will be short lived and we will get back to normal quickly.

I think I finally have my Christmas decorating done.  I keep finding little things that I want to do, but I need to stop.  I love holiday decorations and would have a tree in every room if I had the time to do it.  As it is, I did put some fresh greenery out this past weekend to fill in a few black spots.  Check back on Thursday because I am going to have a virtual home tour of our Christmas décor.

I hope to make one new recipe this week, but the rest are old favorites of ours.  Wednesday night is GIRLS night here at my house.  My co-workers are coming out to see the decorations and eat some tasty food.  Can’t wait!

Bubble up enchiladas

Salsa burgers with oven baked fries

Spicy beef vegetable soup with peppery cheese bread

Famous pork chops with oven fries & salad

One pot ziti (new)

Pizza night

I used to make stuffed peppers years ago, but I was really the only one who liked them so they fell off the cooking list.  I had never thought of making that dish into a soup, but I am sure glad that The Country Cook did.  This is her recipe and it is really tasty.  It is also quick and easy which is always a plus for a weeknight meal around here.  After working all day, I like to fix something that is homemade, good for us and easy too!

I need to tell you about the photos in this post.  When I read her recipe, I read two cups of rice so I cooked two cups of rice which turned into about 4 cups of cooked rice., BUT it was supposed to be two cups of COOKED rice so my photos are really rice-heavy.  Oops!  The soup still tasted great though so no harm, no foul. 

Stuffed Pepper Soup

1/2 lb. ground beef

2/3 cup diced onion

1 cup diced bell pepper

29 oz. no salted added diced tomatoes (I used home grown frozen.)

14 oz. can tomato sauce

14 oz. beef broth

1/2 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 cups cooked long grain rice

salt and pepper to taste

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Cook the rice according to package directions and set aside.  In a large pot, brown the ground beef with the onion and bell pepper until the meat is cooked through.

Add the remaining ingredients except the salt & pepper and stir to combine.  Simmer for 30 minutes and then season with salt and pepper.

This would be great topped with shredded cheese or sour cream.

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Stuffed Pepper Soup

I love to read and I enjoy finding new books to try which is one reason I participate in Book Beginnings.  Head on over to Rose City Reader for this great link up party.

Today’s beginning comes from “The Venetian Betrayal” by Steve Berry which is the 3rd book in the Cotton Malone series.

”The smell roused Cotton Malone to consciousness.  Sharp, acrid, with a hint of sulfur. And Something else.  Sweet and sickening.  Like death.”

 

Wonder what Cotton has gotten himself into now?  As a former government agent turned antique book dealer, his life is full of adventures.

The Cotton Malone books remind me somewhat of the Robert Langdon books written by Dan Brown.  They are full history, intrigue and colorful characters. I have enjoyed all that I have read and plan on reading the whole series.

Around this time of year, there is a natural phenomena called “Frost Flowers” that occurs in the field beside our house.  According to Wikipedia, it is “name commonly given to a condition in which thin layers of ice are extruded from long-stemmed plants in autumn or early winter. The thin layers of ice are often formed into exquisite patterns that curl into "petals" that resemble flowers.”

The frost flowers are so pretty and delicate and I wanted to share a few photos with you.

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I also took a few macro shots using my iPhone and Olloclip lens.

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Good morning and welcome to this week’s edition of Menu Plan Monday!  Can you believe that December is here and Christmas is right around the corner?  Neither can I, but C & I did manage to finish all of the Christmas decorating over the long holiday weekend. I also managed to snag a few gifts online on Friday.  That is my favorite to Black Friday shop…from the comfort of my couch. 

C & I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and ate a lot of great food during three, count ‘em, THREE meals!  Those weren’t all on one day, thank goodness, or we wouldn’t be able to move for weeks.  My dad also got moved to his new place this weekend so it was a good and busy few days.

This week’s menu is a little short just because I really need to go to the grocery so I can actually cook.  The cupboards are looking a little bare, so bear with me this week.  Let’s see how many times I can use a version of bear in a sentence, shall we? 

Spicy beef vegetable soup

Sausage biscuits with oven fries and salad

Baked ziti

Pizza night

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.

Today’s recipe is another great slow cooker recipe from The Southern Slow Cooker cookbook by Kendra Bailey Morris.  This dish doesn’t need much of an introduction because the flavor speaks for itself.  I made it on a cool and rainy Sunday and it was perfect comfort food!  This and a pan of cornbread is all you need for a hearty and healthy meal.

Aunt Barbara's Beef Stew

1 cup coarsely chopped onion

4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch slices

2 large potatoes, peeled & cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

1 1/2 pounds boneless beef stew meat, cut into 1 inch pieces

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tbsp. olive oil

3 1/2 cups beef broth, low sodium

15 oz. can no salt added diced tomatoes

2 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. Worcestshire sauce

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp. sugar

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

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Spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick spray.  Layer the onions, carrots, and potatoes in the cooker.  In a large zip top bag, combine the stew meat, flour, salt and pepper. Shake to coat the meat then discard the excess flour.

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Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the olive oil and stew meat to the pan.  Brown the meat well on all sides, then transfer the meat to the slow cooker. 

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Add the beef broth to the hot skillet and scrape all of the leftover bits from the bottom of the pan.  Pour this over the meat and vegetables in the slow cooker. 

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, bay leaves, sugar and Italian seasoning.  Stir everything together.  Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the meat is tender and the stew is thick. 

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Uncover, remove the bay leaves and season with salt and pepper to your taste.  This is great served with hot cornbread or even garlic bread.

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I decided to try something a little different this year.  I know I like to search blogs for holiday ideas and I think most of my readers do as well.  This post is a grouping of my recipes that would be perfect for a tasty Thanksgiving meal.  The only thing you won’t find here is a turkey recipe since I am severely allergic so it is always ham for me at holidays. 

Speaking of ham, here are three different ham recipes that I have tried and enjoyed:

Brown sugar honey glazed ham:

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Slow cooker maple ham:

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Citrus slow cooker ham:

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Now that we have a main course, we need a few side dishes:

This sweet potato casserole is my absolute favorite:

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Cornbread dressing:

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Scalloped pineapple:

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Butter roasted potatoes:

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And last, but not least, Italian pasta salad:

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Next, we need some quick and easy dinner rolls and you can’t go wrong with these mayonnaise rolls:

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If you have any room left, it’s time for the dessert course. Yum!  There are so many options, but here are a few of my favorites.

Italian cream cake:

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Apple cinnamon swirl Bundt cake:

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Pineapple upside down cake:

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Perfect pecan pie:

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Turtle cake:

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Orange fluff salad:

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Watergate salad:

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And, finally, sunshine salad:

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I hope this post gives you a little foodie inspiration for the holidays.  I know I am getting hungry!

Good Monday morning! Sorry I had to skip out on last week, but I just didn’t know what our schedule would be so I really couldn’t plan too much.  This week’s menu will be a little short since Thanksgiving is Thursday.  What?!?!?  Really???  Oh, well, I will have a special post tomorrow with some of my favorite holiday recipes from this here little blog so please come back and check it out. 

Happy happy Thanksgiving to all of my dear readers!  I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend with family and friends plus lots of tasty food!

Shredded pork bbq with curly fries

Cheesy steak sandwiches with oven baked fries

Pizza night

Chili with grilled cheese sandwiches

Plain Chicken’s Chuckwagon Stew (new)

Please join me at I’m An Organizing Junkie for Menu Plan Monday.