Slow Cooker Freezer Meal: Fall Chili

Recognize that bowl?  It is the Tommee Tippee Explora bowl and easi--mat bowl that I gave away on the MBL Facebook page last week.  I hope to do some more exclusive giveaways just for my Facebook "likers" so if you are not there yet, get thyself to Facebook!


Tommee Tippee also has a cool new digital storybook feature on their site called The Day Baby Was Born, I can't wait to try out for baby number 2.


I liked these bowls for when Penelope eats soup, or in this case chili, since it keeps the bowl in place via a suction cup type thing. She still makes a mess, because she wants to do everything herself, but this eliminates the possibility of the bowl being flung across the table and chili ending up on my curtains.  

I have been making chili since college.  It was one of the very first things I learned how to make.  I did not grow up cooking, so when I got to college I had no idea how to feed myself anything other than pre-made, packaged foods.  


To remedy that, I hired Jill Welch, a personal chef (aka the Kitchen Goddess and also a home birth midwife) and she gave me a few private cooking lessons.   


I have changed her recipe over the years and it has morphed into what is below.  I usually only make it once a year on Halloween.

1 medium onion
1 green pepper
1 red pepper
3 large garlic cloves
2 lbs ground beef
4 cups of kidney beans
4 cups of pinto beans
2 cans crushed tomatoes
3 bay leaves
salt
chili powder 
cilantro


Soak beans overnight.  Chop all veggies.  Add meat, then veggies on top, into slow cooker.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  


*This makes a ton of chili.  As you can see, it fills my 6 quart slow cooker up, which is great, because that means lots of chili to put in the deep freezer!


Or on Facebook!

Easiest Halloween Decoration Ever

Like I mentioned in this post, I had some left over chalkboard paint from when I did Penelope's playroom makeover.  And now I wander around my house, mentally referring to my chalkboard pin board on Pinterest,  trying to find things I can paint with chalkboard paint. 


One Fall, several years ago, I thought it would be a great idea to buy 5 million clay pots and put mums inside and line them up and down my front steps.  It was beautiful, but not very practical.  Ever since, I have had mountains of these clay pots in my garage, just waiting for the perfect DIY to come along. 

I had been meaning to rearrange and re pot some of my orchids and replenishe their soil with some orchid fertilizer.  I slapped some chalk board paint on the pots first before I replanted.  I painted two coats.

Then I wrote Boo in white chalk.  I love how it came out!  So stinking cute and best of all, EASY.

I have seen all kinds of footprint artwork on Pinterest, but I haven't seen this till my friend did it.  She made hers out of felt and put it on a felt, trick or trick bag she made for her daughter.  I was going to do this painted version, but my other friend beat me to it.  She watched Penelope for me the other day and they did this craft together.  


I think this would look super cute in a black frame with a white background.  It would be cute to do this every year and make it a tradition.

 

And lastly, another super easy, toddler craft that doubles as a Fall decoration.  Again, this is not my idea but one of my friends.  Penelope had so much fun doing this, she says Paint Pumpkin!, several times a day.  It is just plain old acrylic paint and let your little one go to town.


Oh and P.S.  remember this post with my Candy Corn pins?  Yeah, well, I was right,  I ended up eating the entire glass jar of candy corns. I actually pulled it off the counter and sat down with the damn thing on my lap and watched a movie.  No more decorating with candy corn for me.


What is your best and EASY Halloween decoration?

By Best Kids Health Blog

Pinterest Love: Candy Corn

I am having such fun curating boards on Pinterest, that I thought I would start posting them here, on Friday's.

Maybe I could even do a linky carnival and you all could link up your favorite boards too!  Would that be something ya'll want to do?

There are a million cute Halloween costumes and crafts on Pinterest right now, but I have really been inspired by Candy Corn.  Last year, I saw this wreath on a cover of a magazine and wanted to make one so bad!  I found some candy corn ribbon and wrapped it around the wreath instead, not exactly the same effect, but pretty cute.

Here are some of my favorites from the album, you can view the whole album here.

By Best Kids Health Blog