Corgi Christmas

  We participated in Kelly's Corgi Butts Secret Santa Exchange and it was awesome! Since Patrick was flying up to see his family in Chicago yesterday, we decided to do our Christmas a little early on the 23rd. I had to work on the 23rd and had just been hit by a drunk at a stoplight coming home, so please pardon the terrible pictures of me!

  We received our present and Wrigley was ready and waiting to open his gift! He was slightly apprehensive at first, but after he saw the awesome toys inside, he couldn't wait to stick his nose into every bag under the tree. Silly corgi, not all Christmas bags are for you!!

  We opened the card first and found out that our Secret Santa was none other than Kelly and Gibson!! The card is ridiculously awesome!!

 I pull out the first item and it's a mini muttpuppet. I squeak the squeaker and of course, Wrigley lunges for it and runs off with it to his spot. 

 Next, I pull out a kong tennis ball that squeaks and Wrigley comes running back for that. 

  Also inside is a large antler which attracts Wrigster's attention immediately, but he isn't so sure he wants to let go of the tennis ball, so he switches to his game of kickball with the antler in his mouth.

  Kelly also included a cute corgi magnet that is proudly displayed on my fridge. I love it!
Thank you so much, Kelly and Gibson! I hope you decide to do the exchange again next year; we're totally up for it!!

  Merry Christmas, y'all!!

Chili and Chex Mix

During the winter, one of my favorite foods to eat would be either some kind of soup or chili. When I met Patrick's parents for the first time, his mom made a huge batch of this chili and I became obsessed with it! Ever since then, I've made it over and over again! 

Patrick's Mom's Chili

1 lb. sausage

1 lb. ground chuck

1 large onion, chopped

4-6 stalks celery, chopped

1 large can tomato juice (I use spicy V8 juice)

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 14 oz. can tomatoes, don't drain

2 cans kidney beans

2 tablespoons chili powder (I don't measure it-just pour it in, baby!)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Brown the meat together

Chop up the celery and the onion (I forgot the onion, so I used onion powder) and brown with the meats

Add in the kidney beans

Then add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste

Pour in the tomato juice

Add your spices and let the chili simmer for several hours

Once the chili has simmered for several hours, then serve with sour cream and cheese! (I forgot to take a picture of the finished product but it's super yummy!)

Last week, I also decided to make some chex mix. I had no idea that Patrick doesn't like chex mix, so I was glad I could take it over to Kathryn's house to have some help finishing it off at her birthday party!

Chex Mix (recipe from www.chex.com)

3 cups corn chex cereal

3 cups rice chex cereal

3 cups wheat chex cereal

1 cup mixed nuts

1 cup pretzels

6 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Melt butter in oven heated to 250 degrees.

 Add in seasonings and worcestershire sauce to butter

Stir in cereal mixture and bake for 1 hour. Stir every 15 minutes and then allow mix to cool on paper towels.

Enjoy!

Freezer Sandwiches

I first made this recipe about a month ago and Patrick and I devoured the sandwiches after a few meals. So I decided to make a second batch last week and I think we might be down to either one or two and that's it!! Try them!! They are easy to make and are delicious!!

Freezer Sandwiches from Robert St. John's Deep South Staples

1 stick butter, melted

3 tbsp horseradish

3 tbsp dijon mustard

2 tbsp poppy seeds

1 lb ham, thinly sliced

8 slices swiss cheese

8 hamburger buns

Combine butter, horseradish, mustard, and poppy seeds and mix thoroughly. Brush both sides of hamburger buns with the poppy seed mixture. Place 2 ounces of ham (I used 2 slices) and 1 slice of swiss cheese on each bun. Brush the tops and bottoms of each bun with the poppy seed mixture and wrap each sandwich in foil. Freeze! Heat each sandwich (keep in the foil) for 30-45 minutes in a 400 degree oven so the center is warm. 

All of the ingredients

Mom, I'm bored!!!

My cooking sidekick

A bowl of melted butter

Add in the horseradish

And the dijon mustard

I sprinkled in the poppy seeds

Mix thoroughly

Brush (or spoon!) the mixture onto the buns

Add the ham

And the cheese

Brush tops and bottoms with mixture

Wrap in tin foil

And freeze!

Pop in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes and enjoy!!

Bryn's Giveaway

  For only her second giveaway, Bryn from Bryn Alexandra Interiors is offering up a bundle of goodies! I am absolutely loving all of the items especially the flower burlap pillow by Livy Creations and the necklace made by Jess LC. I am loving the punches of red since Christmas is almost here!

Corgi butt love

The Wrigster is worn out from his mama screaming at the top of her
lungs as her AUBURN TIGERS just won the SEC championship!! WDE!!

Shopping in the Basement

When we were at my grandparents' house for Thanksgiving, I made sure to go down into their basement and snoop around for some goodies. My grandparents have lived in the same house for decades and when we were younger, we would always go down to the basement to shoot pool or play super nintendo with my cousins. Mama Mil has everything pretty organized down there and has quite the supply of clothes and trinkets. I ended up picking up four green candleholders that I'm hoping to use for Christmas decorations and an oval corningware dish from 1982! She also gave me two blue candleholders that survived the tornado that completely picked up their first house and moved it down the road in 1974. I bought red and white candles today for the candleholders and hopefully next week, I can show you my table decor for the dining room.

And since I never got around to showing all of my fall decorations, here you go! I'm only a season behind! Whoops! I will definitely try to do better with my Christmas decorations!!

My pumpkins and gourds I picked up from Trader Joe's

Crate and Barrel towels from last year