Thanksgiving

We went over to mom's house for Thanksgiving.  We had so much good food this year,  We had turkey, mashed taters and gravy, stuffing, corn, green beans, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce and rolls.  The best part was the desserts, we had a ton to choose from........pumpkin pie, pecan pie bars, cheesecake with strawberry topping and upside down pineapple cake with caramel topping that is delicious!!!!  Just take a peek........

Colton and Noah had their own table this year............

After lunch we went to the living room to visit and play.  Daddy and Colton were playing in the floor.

This cracked me up....................... I couldn't pass up this picture of Ashley really telling Gabe just how it was..................... tee hee................

I was really thankful for another Wonderful Thanksgiving.

 

Silver Dollar City Christmas Lights

We had a great road trip with our friends on Wednesday to Branson.  We decided to go and get the kids pictures taken with Santa at Branson Landing and then head to Silver Dollar City.  We first let the kids ride some rides before it got dark.

We headed off to grab something to drink since Colton was really thirsty.  Angel bought a red velvet funnel cake with cream cheese icing on it that she shared with me and it was wonderful!(I wish I would've got a pitcure of it....but it was gone too fast).  We left to head to let the kids play at the treehouse area and I ran into this scenery and I had to snap a shot.

We finally let the kids run and play here for a little while. 

This picture cracks me up, it looks like Colton got caught with his hand in the cookie jar..........

I started walking around and found this tree that really stood out to me, it is nothing gorgeous, but to me I thought it was beautiful.  It truly grabbed my attention.

We finally started to head out and leave and ran into the Christmas Tree music show.  It was awesome to see the huge Christmas Tree turn different colors while the music played.

I was so excited this year to get to finally be able to stay late enough to see all of it.  It was the first year I had ever seen this and I had a great time!

Cream Cheese Chicken Enchiladas

Enchiladas are one of my favorite dishes, so when I found this next recipe on Pinterest, I knew I had to make them.  They turned out really good.  However, I did make a few changes to the recipe, I used red enchilada sauce instead of green enchilada sauce and I used pinto beans instead of black beans.    Other than those two changes, I followed the recipe exactly.  Mom came over and helped us eat them and we all enjoyed them, they were very good.  I think next time, I may try corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas and see how that works.  Hope you enjoy this recipe!

TO-DIE-FOR CREAM CHEESE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS
from www.pearls-handcuffs-happyhour.blogspot.com on Pinterest

2-3 chicken breasts, shredded {OR rotisserie chicken}
1 {8 oz.} pkg. cream cheese
1 28 oz. can green enchilada sauce {I used Las Palmas}
1 can black beans, drained & rinsed
2 cups cooked rice {I used boil in a bag because I can't cook rice to save my life!!!}
Tortillas {I used Mission flour tortillas, but homemade would be muy delicioso!}
1-2 cups shredded monterrey & colby cheese

Cook chicken and shred; boil rice. Mix the shredded chicken, cream cheese, and 2 cups of the enchilada sauce together. This mix makes A TON!!!!
Pour half a cup of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish. 
Layer the rice & black beans to your taste…and top with the chicken mixture in each tortilla.
Roll up each of the tortillas and place them in the baking dish seam side down.
Top with 1 cup of the enchilada sauce…and 1-2 cups of shredded cheese. The more, the merrier so we piled on the full two cups.  Cover the baking dish with foil and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes.
Uncover the enchiladas, turn on the broiler, and broil for about 3-5 minutes uncovered...just long enough to brown the cheese.

Daddy Time

Since Barry was able to be home with us another night, I was able to grab my camera and snap some shots of Colton and Barry playing around.  Colton had to dress up in his Spiderman costume and do a little boxing with his daddy.  Daddy is so much fun because he gets right down in the floor with little man to wrestle, box and tackle.................boy stuff.  Colton misses this a lot when Barry is not around, so whenever he gets to come home for a few days, this is always on Colton's list of things to do with daddy.

They had a great time until daddy was wore out and needed to rest.  Colton was not happy, apparently he wanted to fight all night long..............so it was then pouting time...............

..........oh well, not always can we get our way and play 24/7.  There is always next time.

Pecan Pie Bars

I was craving something sweet today and decided to get on Pinterest and check out some dessert recipes to try.  I found these pecan pie bars that looked very tempting and knew that was what I was looking for.  These turned out awesome and they were so easy to make.  It's like having a thin sliver of delicious pecan pie.  YUMMY!  Hope you enjoy!

PECAN PIE BARS
from http://www.ibelieveicanfry.com/2011/11/pecan-pie-bars.html

1 can of refrigerated crescent rolls
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup (dark or light, doesn't matter)
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg, beaten

Unroll dough and separate into 2 long rectangles; place in an ungreased 13x9 pan and press along the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides, pressing the perforations firmly to seal.  Bake for 8 minutes in a 350-degree oven.  Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the pecans, sugar, corn syrup, melted butter, vanilla and egg.  Pour over crust and bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool completely before cutting, and store at room temperature.

P.S.  Barry loved these too!!!

Southwestern Taco Soup

Yesterday was spent indoors most of the day.  We went to mom's house for some homemade potato soup for lunch, then I decided to try a new recipe from Pinterest.  I changed it up because I felt like it was lacking something in flavor, so I added a few extra ingredients.  It turned out pretty good, I won't say it was the best soup ever made, but it was OK. 

SOUTHWESTERN TACO SOUP
Adapted from http://www.genaw.com/lowcarb/creamy_sw_taco_soup.html

1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 10-ounce cans Ro-tel tomatoes, undrained (tomatoes with green chilies)
2 cans of beef broth
1 can of pinto beans
1 can of corn, drained
3/4 cup of milk
1 packet of Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

In a large soup pot, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic; drain. Add the spices and cook a couple minutes. Drop the cream cheese in bits into the meat. With the back of a big spoon, smash it into the meat until no bits of white remain. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat through. 

Makes 8 cups or 6-8 servings
Freezing not recommended