Happy Thanksgiving!!

Family...

The Girls
The Boys
COUSINS!!
Matt & Dalton
My sweet Mommy and Me
My Love
Best Boys

...is EVERYTHING!  I am so thankful for mine.  Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.  Be thankful for the special people in your life, and make sure to tell them once in a while!
Photobucket

Yum yum!!

This is a new Shoffner family favorite.  I thought I would share it now that soup/chili season is upon us.  I hope your family enjoys it as much as mine does :) 

TURKEY BLACK BEAN CHILI





Ingredients

1 package JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE® Extra Lean Ground Turkey Breast
1 cup onion, coarsely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced, if desired
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, if desired
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans of low sodium whole tomatoes, coursely chopped
1 (8 ounce) tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:  In a large stockpot, combine extra lean ground turkey breast, onion, red bell pepper, garlic, jalapeño peppers, if desired, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, marjoram, and red pepper flakes, if desired. Cook turkey mixture as specified on the package. Always cook to well-done, 165°F as measured by a meat thermometer. Add tomatoes and tomato sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and cilantro. Cook 10 more minutes. Top with cheese. Makes about 10 cups.
The original recipe is from the Jennie-O website.  You can find it here.  I tweaked the recipe just a little.  Instead of canned whole tomatoes, I used diced flavored with basil, garlic and oregano, and instead of one bell pepper, I used several small sweet peppers. (See Images)
I made the chili one morning before church.  It took all of 20 minutes to throw together and only used ONE pot!  Once it was cooked, I put it in the crock pot on low/warm and let it settle all day.  The longer the flavors mixed, the tastier the chili became!  It's fast, easy, delicious AND healthy.  That's MY kind of chili!!

Neighborhood Snow Party

The weatherman was RIGHT ON this time.  He said we would wake up to rain and it would change over to snow around lunch time, and that is exactly what happened.  I layed down for a nap at 11:30 and could hear the freezing rain tapping on the window.  I woke up less than an hour later and looked out my window to see the ground covered in SNOW!!  I could hear Macy saying "Brother, look outside!  It's snowing, it's snowing!!"  We spent several minutes with our noses pressed to the window watching it fall.  Then we got our warmest clothes on and headed out to play. 
 SNOWBALL FIGHT!!
Then we met some neighbors at the park and had a snow party!  We built snowmen, sledded, played football and had snowball fights.  It was great fun!
Nick and Dalton making a snowman with their buddies. 
Dalton and Ben sledding
 More sledding...

 Another snowball fight...
 Dalton showing the snowman some love..
 Me and my baby walking in a winter wonderland.


Photobucket

Here's to yet another new beginning...

A new year is upon us yet again!  I don't know about everyone else, but I am seriously ready for a fresh start.  This year is sure to be a year of change for me and my little family. Some exciting change, some scary.  Here are a few things we are anticipating this coming year...

  • Nick's business has done really well over the last couple of years.  He has BIG things on the horizon for 2011.  I am so proud of him and very excited for him.  He has definitely worked hard and deserves everything that is coming his way.
  • I will be finishing my Teacher Certification program and becoming a certified, "highly-qualified" teacher.  I am looking forward to this new journey in my life and the beginning of a rewarding career that I am extremely passionate about.  I am scheduled to finish the program by the end of summer!
  • Speaking of end of summer...this year will be the year that Dalton goes to Kindergarten.  I can hardly believe it!  I have a serious lump in my throat just writing about it.  I know he is ready and will absolutely LOVE it...he is a great little pre-schooler already.  But I'm still sad my baby boy is big enough to be a Kindergartener. 
  • Macy will turn 3 next Fall!  She is growing up so fast and it's hard for me to believe she still has THREE more years before going to Kindergarten.  I feel like she is ready NOW!  We will definitely be enrolling her in a quality, full-time preschool once I start teaching full-time.
My hope is to keep the blog updated regularly this year...I truly want to document these (and many more) milesones in our lives.  I hope you will check back often and that you will come to enjoy sharing in our ups & downs as we navigate through 2011. 

Happy New Year and Many Blessings!! 

Photobucket

Redecorating, Rearranging and Recommitting

This time of year, I always get the bug to de-clutter my house.  It just seems that with the influx of all new things at Christmas, I get the urge to purge out all the old crap.  So I have spent the last couple of days doing just that...cleaning out drawers/closets/cabinets, and rearranging furniture to reflect the changes that will come with the new year.  In the same spirit, I have decided to redecorate the blog and recommit myself to being better about posting updates...as I seem to do every year.  Oh well!  We shall see if it sticks this year or not.

Photobucket

What a Difference a Year Can Make!


Second Annual Watching Party

Macy's head September 2009
Same head, one year later...

Family Vacation 2010

My mom was wonderful enough to treat us to a trip to Florida over the summer!  We spent a day playing at Coco Beach, where we got to visit with my sister and Chris, have lunch on the boardwalk, and splash in the waves.  Then it was on to Orlando for a trip to Disney World!  Both kids were so excited about going to "Mickey's Castle" (as they like to call it).  Dalton rode everything he was tall enough to ride and wasn't scared of a thing.  Macy, on the other hand, was terrified of everything!  I really don't blame her a bit.  That place would have scared me to death when I was little, too.  I was never a fan of large, unruly crowds or life-sized characters walking around and shaking hands ~ always seemed a little creepy to me.  But I digress...

We spent one day altogether at Magic Kingdom, then the second day Macy and Nick had a daddy/daughter day playing mini-golf and swimming while Dalton, Nana and I returned to the park for more fun.  Our last night in Orlando, Nick and I got to have a date at House of Blues..had a wonderful meal followed by some great live music and drinks on the back porch..now that's MY kind of date!  It was a perfect trip filled with so many sweet memories.  Thank you, Nana.  YOU'RE THE BEST!!

The kids carried their own weight through the airport.  They were SOOOO excited!!

Both kids did great on the plane...


Aunt Karen and Macy playing in the sand...
Macy with Chris and Christy...

Daddy and Dalton

Dalton with a little girlfriend he made on the beach...

Macy

Having lunch next to "Mickey's Castle"

TEACUPS!!!!

Dalton loving every minute...

The fun didn't stop at Disney.  Our room was a lot of fun, too!

Nana and Dalton

Finding time just to sit and be a family...

Nana and Dalton at the gates...Day 2

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR RIDE!!!

Dalton's first roller coaster experience.  We rode it twice back to back.

Lunch...Day 2

Okay, so he was a little scared on the Pirates of the Carribean


Meeting Frontier Donald


Finishing off the day with a Mickey shaped ice-cream!!

All tuckered out after day 2...

Meanwhile, Macy was chilling at the pool with Dad

DATE NIGHT @ H.O.B