Thanksgiving Pics

William on Thanksgiving Day

With Dad

With Mom

The family

William hanging (sort of ) his Christmas ornament

William checking out the tree

William at play

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving. Hope you all have a great day with family and friends. Stay warm and safe and I will be back after the holiday with a lot of pictures and Christmas ideas.

Pictures of Life

William comes to visit for lunch all bundled up. It was very cold outside but he still came to see Grandma and Grandpa

This picture was taken at dusk as the sun was coming over the top of our house. It looked like the tree was on fire. The mountains on the right side were also lit up like fire.

Pictures of our first real snow. They predicted a lot more than we got, but still pretty enough to enjoy.

Magnet Flowers

I found this craft on "Sweet Little Smoothies" . They are so sweet I thought you might enjoy.

Seems really simple to make. Below are the supplies she used. She layered 3 flower petals of different sizes and added a button to the middle and a magnet on the back.

Cute,huh? Thought they might make sweet little gifts for the holidays.

Pebble Filled Tray

Make a boot tray by the door even better:Fill it with stones found at your garden center. Ice and snow will melt and drain through the rocks to the bottom of the tray so your boots won't stand in a puddle. Most of the moisture will evaporate, but you should clean out the tray regularly.

Sunday at the Bowling Alley

Sunday we all went to lunch and went to the bowling alley.

William with Dad

William with Mom

I had to include these pictures, it was amazing. These leaves all fell off this tree in a matter of minutes

The next day we had hail and snow

I guess it could be worse. It just amazes me how fast the weather can change here.

William and Carrots

This is William's first attempt at carrots!!

He really liked them.

He will have carrots for dinner and cereal for breakfast for 2 weeks and then he can try other vegetables.

Slow Cooker Picante Braised Short Ribs

These fall off the bone ribs slow cook all say in a spicy sauce with just a touch of sweetness.

You need

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

4 pounds bone in beef short ribs cut into serving sized pieces

1 large onion sliced

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 jar Picante Sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Heat oil in skillet add beef in 2 batches and cook until well browned on all sides

Place onion and garlic into slow cooker. Top with the beef. Stir the Picante Sauce and brown sugar in a bowl. Pour Picante sauce mixture over the beef

Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours or until beef is fork tender Remove the beef from the cooker and keep warm

Stir the flour in the cooker Increase the heat to high. cover and cook for 10 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens Serve the sauce over the beef

Garlic Parmesan Pull-Apart Loaves

No loaf pan needed ! The biscuits make the pull-aparts easy enough for every day, but the fresh garlic Parmesan butter makes them extra tasty.

1/4 cup butter , well softened
1 clove garlic chopped
3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1 can Golden Layers refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

Heat oven to 375 In bowl stir together butter, garlic; cheese

Remove biscuits from package. On baking pan with sides, make 2 loaves of 5 biscuits each.Set the biscuits on their edges, just touching each other end to end, like the biscuits were in the can, only in 2 groups of 5

Split each biscuit in half horizontally, divide butter evenly between biscuits and spread in between layers

Bake 11-14 minutes or until loaves are deep golden brown and thoroughly baked

Easy to Make Place Cards for a Thanksgiving Table

Super Simple- Richly colored velvet ribbon elevates a basic place card to elegance. Fold a square of card stock in half and write a name on the front. Punch two holes, about 1/2 inch in from edges of card,along the fold. Thread ribbon through the holes, tie in a simple knot,and let the ribbon rails dangle.

Dressed in Layers- Make room at the table for everyone layering each place setting . Start with the dinner plate,place a salad plate on top,add a soup bowl, then nestle a napkin in the bowl.Using a paint pen, write a guest's name on a mini pumpkin and lay it atop the napkin. Tuck in a few leaves for an extra touch of fall.

Autumn in Miniature- Small sprigs of artificial bittersweet hot glued to white card stock create delicate place cards for guests. Accompany the pretty place cards with fall decorated chocolates for guests to enjoy

The Many Faces of William

Here is William watching a movie

Here is William chilling out and watching a movie

Here are the many faces of William

Are these not adorable??

Office Wire Organizer

Eliminate tangles under your work area by feeding all cords, through a hole drilled in the desktop. Then plug the wires into a power surge protector strip,which is mounted on the underside of the desk.

Keep cords in a coated wire basket suspended under the desk with wire hooks. Tags identify where each machine wire comes from

Shelf Shade

The things we store on shelves are not always worthy of prominent display. when you want to put items under cover,a roller shade will do the trick nicely.Pick a reverse roll shade in a color or pattern that will compliment your decor,and have the merchant cut the shade to fit inside your bookcase. Use ceiling mount brackets to install the shade on the underside of the shelf above. You can pull the shade down over one or several shelves at a time, depending on how many you want to hide.

Twice Baked New Potatoes

These rich potatoes could be used as both an appetizer and side dish.

You need

1-1/2 pound small red potatoes

2 to 3 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

1/2 cup sour cream

1 package cream cheese softened

1/3 cup finely chopped green onions

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 garlic clove minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 pound sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled

How to Pierce potatoes;run skins with oil. Place in a baking pan. Bake uncovered at 400 fir 50 minutes or until tender Let stand until cook to the touch

In a bowl, combine the Monterey cheese,sour cream,cream cheese, onions ,basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Cut potatoes in half;carefully scoop out pulp,leaving thin shells. Add pulp to the cheese mixture and mash;stir in bacon. Spoon or pipe into potato shells

Place on a baking sheet. Broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 7-8 minutes or until heated through

Parmesan Cheese Chex Mix

15 minute recipe. Create a special snack mix with microwave popcorn,bite size squares cereal and cheese flavored crackers

You need

1 bag microwave popcorn
3 cups Corn Chex
3 cups Rice Chex
3 cups Wheat Chex
4 cups cheese flavored crackers
3 tablespoons melted butter
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Microwave popcorn

In a food storage bag,mix cereals, crackers and popcorn. Drizzle with butter:seal bag and shake until evenly coated

Add cheese;seal and shake until evenly coated

Popcorn

I don't know about your family but we love popcorn. I found these recipes for flavored popcorn I thought you might like. They all start with Parmesan cheese. Yum !!

Parmesan Dill

1 cup Parmesan cheese(grated)
1 1/2 Tablespoons dill weed
1 tsp garlic salt

Parmesan Nacho

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese(grated)
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp pepper

Cheesy BBQ

1/4 Cup Parmesan cheese (grated)
2 tablespoon butter melted
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt

* Refrigerate excess

Hope you enjoy !

Peanut Butter Brownie Cookies

You will need

1 package Fudge Brownie mix
1/4 cup melted butter
4 ounces cream cheese softened
1 large egg
1 cup powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 can chocolate fudge frosting

Heat oven to 350. Beat brownie mix,melted butter, cream cheese and egg in bowl with spoon until blended

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet to make 24 cookies,smooth edge of each to form round cookie

Mix powdered sugar and peanut butter in bowl until forms ball. With hands roll rounded teaspoons peanut butter mixture into 24 balls. Lightly press 1 ball into center of each ball of dough.

Bake 10-14 minutes Cool at least 30 minutes

Spread layer of frosting over peanut butter portion of each cooled cookie

Pumpkin Centerpiece

Here's an elegant and simple way to dress up your table for any fall gathering.

You need

Leaves/pumpkin/pumpkin saw/ribbon and raffia

How to

Simply trace a leaf(you can use a real one or a leaf shaped cookie cutter) onto the shell of a hollowed out pumpkin to create a few leaf silhouettes.

Then use you pumpkin knife to saw out the shapes.

Adorn the pumpkin with a ribbon or raffia bow and a scattering of colorful autumn leaves

No Sew Liner

Dress up storage baskets-and make them easier to clean with lining cut from oilcloth, a durable and moisture resistant fabric that requires no hemming. Simply overlap two pieces crosswise in the basket,leaving several inches of overhang on each end before cutting. Hole punch the corners, and tie in place with ribbon