Fall Food Inspiration - Chili Beans and Sourdough Bread

The nights have cooled, the leaves are changing and the toy sections in the stores have doubled in size.   It seems we have officially entered the last quarter of the year and the last three months in this decade!

While there is so much to love about autumn, being in the kitchen whipping up all the comfort foods is right there at the top of my list.  Soups, stews and slow cooked meals in the oven are among my favorites to make.  I put together a quick batch of chili over the weekend and the sizzle as the onion and bell pepper hit the pan nearly made me giddy.  It's amazing how many emotions are tied into cooking.  Certain aromas can take us down memory lane like nobodies business.

The wonderful thing about this kind of cooking is that it doesn't take much to throw it together.  All it takes are a few fresh ingredients, a little bit of prep work and an hour or two of cook time and you have something warm and satisfying on the table for your family to enjoy.  Add to it a fresh loaf of sourdough or french bread and you'll have them lingering at the table.

Here's my quick and easy take on Family Style Chili Beans.

Ingredients

One pound of ground meat (beef, turkey or sausage work fine)
Two 15 oz cans of beans, drained and rinsed (I use pinto and kidney but black beans work great, too.)
Two 15 oz cans of diced tomatoes
1 cup of instant rice
1/2 onion chopped coarsely
1 bell pepper chopped coarsely (any color will work)
2 or 3 cloves of garlic minced
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
1 TBSP chili powder (to taste)
2 TBSP olive oil
Shredded Cheese for topping

Start by adding the oil to a dutch oven or sturdy soup pot along with the onions and bell pepper.  Cook until tender and add meat to brown (salt and pepper to taste) along with garlic.  Once the meat is browned drain any fat and return to the pot.  Add rinsed and drained beans and tomatoes including juice, along with two cans of water.  Add seasonings and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat and let simmer for 30 minutes minimum but up to an hour.  Add uncooked minute rice during last five minutes and cover with lid.  Serve in deep bowls and top with cheddar cheese.  Let cool a bit and enjoy!

XO, Patty

FALL HOME TOUR

I finally finished the last of the Fall decorating around the cottage over the weekend and now I can't wait to share it with you.  I love the colors of fall because they blend so beautifully with the existing color scheme of our home.

The biggest change this year is the hint of robin's egg blue I tried to incorporate into my mostly

A LITTLE FALL GIFT IDEA

One of my favorite things about fall is getting back to bible study at church.  We have just started Beth Moore's Entrusted study and I can already tell it's going to be a good one...convicting in all the right ways.

I wanted to give the ladies at my table a little something to encourage them to hunker down with the

THE FLAVORS OF FALL

It's finally beginning to feel a little bit like fall and I've started to put out a few things to celebrate the change of seasons.  I saw so many things I loved at Hobby Lobby, Target and the Dollar Tree that I had a hard time waiting for the weather to cool down before decorating for Autumn.

I bought a bag of pumpkin flavored coffee at Cost Plus World Market and lit my pumpkin spice

A BIT OF FALL IN THE AIR

Am I the only wishing fall weather would make an appearance or are there some of you feeling the cool crisp air outside and sad to see summer end?

I have been sneaking the fall decor ever so discretely in around the house hoping no one walking in

around here lately...

Good morning, I've missed being here.  I wish I had some exciting reason for being away but actually it's been rather quiet around here lately.

With all the mad sewing to open my Etsy shop finished, even my sewing machine has been rather still.   I started some new fall place mats over the weekend that I'm hoping to finish up today and then I have quite a bit of Christmas (yes, I said Christmas) sewing on my list so that constant whirrr of my machine will be filling the air soon enough.

We have been spending our Saturday mornings out at the soccer field watching my seven year old grandson play.  This is the age where the game starts making sense and they start developing the skills and mind set to set up plays and pass the ball so the games are actually quite exciting.  His team is doing well with no losses yet this season.

My garden is so sad looking right now.  The heat has been non stop for weeks now and with our drought restrictions here in California only the grass is getting regular watering.  We are expecting a break in the heat next week (cross your fingers) so I hope to get out there and dead head, weed and do a good general clean up in anticipation of a winter planting of cool season veggies.

My husband and I have been trying to be more intentional in building our marriage so we have been making a point of talking and spending moments together.  That's all I'm going to say on this subject for now as it deserves it's own post later.

As you can see, I finally put out my fall decorations.  This always spurs on a deep cleaning and it feels so good to have it all done.  I tried to go a bit more minimal in here but as I pulled out each little pumpkin it lead to the next one and so on.  I know the thing right now is to just add a few branches and a white pumpkin or two but I love the colors of fall and it makes me happy to see it displayed in all it's silky glory all over the house.

That's it for me...how's it going with you?

xo, Patty

hello saturday

Hello Saturday.  I sure am glad to see you.  It has been one whirlwind of a week but the best kind of whirlwind, that's for sure.  I hope your thanksgiving day festivities were as wonderful as ours were.

We were supposed to have rain on Thursday but it held off until Friday and instead we had blue skies with temps in the low 70's.  I know, we are certainly spoiled here on the West coast, like that. 

I am knee deep in Christmas decorating and the mess that goes with it but I wanted to show you few pictures of the centerpiece I put together before the Christmas pictures start rolling in.

I tweaked it just a bit from what I showed you earlier in the week, exchanging the orange owl vase for this white enamel one.  The orange was just a little bold once I started placing the tea lights and ceramic pumpkins.  I was actually quite pleased with the way it turned out.

I ended up using the orange on the dessert table instead and it added just the right pop of color.

The hubby and I are off to Knott's Berry Farm with the grands today along with my sister and brother in law and their grands. Four old timers and five young whipper snappers...O, Lordy better wish us luck!

I hope you enjoy the rest of your thanksgiving weekend.  As always, thank you for your sweet comments and for stopping by.  If I survive today, I will be back soon to show you my Christmas decorating progress and a peek at a few home made gifts I'm working on.

xo, Patty

centerpiece, check

Just a quick post today, it's baking day.  I wanted to show you the centerpiece I put together from the things I gathered together yesterday. 

 

 

 I started off with a scrap of brown burlap that I topped with an off white piece that I frayed the ends of just slightly.

 

Then I placed the two largest elements, the rooster and the white candle hurricane on the tray on opposite ends.  (To make the candle hurricane I just put the white candle in the center of the vase and started layering the lentil beans, split pea beans and popcorn.)

 

I added the framed thankful phrase to balance out the arrangement.

 



 

Then I just started adding things all the way around so that no matter where you sit the centerpiece looks pretty.

I picked a few of the last roses of the season for the owl vase for demonstration purposes but will replace them with fresh sunflowers or daisies on Wednesday.

That's it.  Easy, peasy centerpiece.

Pretty from any side.

I added a couple of glass vessels with tea lights to either side just to add a little extra sparkle to the table.  I think when I move this over to the dining room table and place it on top of a pretty autumn tablecloth and burlap runner it will be the perfect touch to our thanksgiving meal.

Centerpiece, check.  Now back to my to do list...

xo, Patty

Style on Monday - Thanksgiving Centerpiece

I love Thanksgiving week with all the preparation that goes in to it.  All the chopping and dicing and measuring and planning just feeds right into my list maker personality.

First up on my to do list today is the table centerpiece.  I originally had a vision of a formal piece in mind with pretty artichokes hollowed out to use as candle holders and some white pumpkins and tea lights running down the table.

But I decided instead to just gather a few things from around the house and do a more casual centerpiece, one that would leave more room on the table for food.

I went through my Autumn Splendor pinterest board to gather a few ideas.

 

I love the white tray and natural elements along with the white pillar candles so I think I will focus the arrangement around those.  I also love the metal basket in the last photo but am not sure I can work one in with the size of the tray I am using.

 

I have seen colorful beans used in clear glass hurricanes so I grabbed what I had from the pantry.  And I love the white rooster for height.

It's always fun seeing what all of this turns into.  I'll show what I come up with tomorrow.  How are your plans coming along?

xo, Patty

a little rain...

It rained a little here yesterday.  Not as much as I'd hoped it would, but just enough to give everything a good soaking and keep the skies cloudy, dark and fallish looking all day.  After a long dry summer it was wonderful...

I spent the morning doing a bit of cleaning that I'd been neglecting and tweaking the pumpkin festival that my grandson had going on in my houseplants.  He will be coming over after school today so I'll let you know how successful my sneaky switcheroo was.

It feels so good to be nesting again.  I have been in a bit of a decorating funk which for me translates into not a whole lot of real cleaning going on as well.  I took a quick trip with a couple of girlfriends last weekend that provided just the inspiration and rejuvenation I needed.

These pictures are from my getaway.  They were taken at the Apple Farm in San Louis Obispo, CA.  It was our first stop on the way up the coast to the beautiful beach town of Cambria. 

I have more pictures and stories to share with you but for now I just wanted to thank my travelling buddies, Elaine and Shelly for listening and talking and eating and talking some more.  It was just what the doctor ordered.  Can't wait to climb into the car again with you ladies.

Have a wonderful Thursday.

xo, Patty

finally fall...

I've been a little slow getting in the fall groove.  I actually unpacked my fall tote today and watched as my five year old grandson got busy putting everything where he remembered it being last year.

There is something extra special about a little one who thrills in the memory of holidays gone by. (Even though his frame of reference is relatively brief, lol). 

Now I just have to figure out how to move things around without his hawk eyes and elephant memory noticing that all those pumpkins he lovingly placed in the oddest places have been tweaked just a bit.

Happy Wednesday.  I hope it's beginning to look a bit like fall where you are, too.

xo, Patty

burlap and fall

I think burlap and fall are a match made in heaven.  The nubby texture and neutral color of burlap in ribbon or fabric just kind of lends itself to fall décor.

Whether you lean toward traditional colors or are a fan of whites and neutrals, burlap fits the bill.

I even like it mixed with formal décor.  I think the contrast of burlap and lace look great together.

This cute burlap Harvest banner is the other project we worked on at my fall pinterest party.  It was a no sew project that just required a set of stencils, black acrylic paint and some no sew iron on fabric glue.

I love the way it turned out and can see myself making more of these for other occasions in the future.

Even if you're not a fan of burlap, do you use it in your fall decorating?

xo, Patty

a little halloween sign

I've been having fun researching tips and products for organizing a wardrobe closet and jewelry display.  It seems to have ignited my desire to streamline and revamp others areas of my home as well.

I have a to do list that keeps growing by the day which always excites me.  For the first time in a while I am ready to feather my nest.

Before I share the guest room progress with you I wanted to show you the two projects we did at my Fall Pinterest party earlier in the month starting with this little Halloween sign.

These cute little block letters were so simple to create thanks to my dear hubby who cut 130 blocks of wood in the week prior to my party.

If I thought he wouldn't run the other way, I would have him cut me another batch for Christmas but right now I think the memory it just a little to fresh.

Have a wonderful Tuesday.

xo, Patty