Join My Celebration

{Image not mine, but I'd be willing to sample :) }

Today is my birthday!

Yep, I'm one year older
and a little wiser.

I've decided to celebrate all week and I'm inviting you along for the fun!

It's going to be a week of giving

as in

Random Acts Of Kindness!

Join in, the more the merrier!

Kindness is contagious. 
{feel free to share with others. 
Let's how many smiles we can share}


Please come back and share.
I'd love to hear what you did 
to brighten someone's day.

Let the party begin! :)

  ~~~

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Artichoke and Mushroom Chicken Chili

I just had to share my new my new favorite chili for the chilly season ahead of us. This was a big hit when I served it in my home.

 It began as a recipe to combine some of my favorite items and a need to clean out my frig. It's hearty and filling but the flavors are light and blend very nicely. 

Ingredients 

2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 large onion, chopped 
4-6 garlic cloves, minced  {based on your taste}
2-3 large chicken breasts cooked and shredded 
2 tablespoons rosemary 
1 tablespoon fennel seeds 
1 tablespoon thyme 
1 tablespoon dried oregano 
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
salt and pepper as desired
1 can artichokes, drained and chopped 
10 oz package baby bella mushrooms cleaned and sliced 
3 15oz cans white beans, rinsed and drained 
6 cups low-sodium chicken stock 



Directions 

In a large heavy-bottomed saucepan heat the oil and add the onions and mushrooms and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. To this add the spices and chicken stock. Cook, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a simmer. Simmer on low for at least 45-60 min to allow flavors to meld.

Serve with a nice crusty loaf of bread.

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Land of Light and Power

It is SO good to be back! 
Who knew how lovely the sound of a flushing toilet and garbage disposal would be to the ears! In celebration of our liberation, I treated myself to Starbucks before heading out to accomplish a few errands. The sight of Christmas red and white threw me. Due to Hurricane Sandy's timing, I have been out of school for an entire week and Halloween has been postponed until next week. When I saw the season change via Starbucks I felt a little out of sorts... I'm behind a holiday! I'll try to catch up next week with a quick turn around for Thanksgiving. Whew!



Once we were up and running with power I was able to check my school emails and catch up with my other life outside these four walls. One of the messages was requesting support for those still without power and the reminder that the temps were dropping this week so there was a great need for blankets and warm clothing. Please remember that many families on the coast lost not only their homes but everything inside them. We were affected by the storm, we have been without power, several very large trees have fallen, and our yard looks like a world war was fought on it BUT we were lucky, the only thing we LOST was power and food items. SO, one of my errands was to BJ's Warehouse to purchase items for those who are still in need. There were a few more bags of food and clothing in the back seat. I need to go through our coat closet and donate a few jackets that we don't wear and can be used by others.



Back at home the clean up has begun ... sort of! As luck would have it, my husband's chainsaw thought this would be a good time to stop working! Ugh. He has a great friend that is coming over not only to loan him his but also help with the cutting and removing of the trees! There are plenty of small limbs, twigs and leaves to keep everyone busy in the meantime. 

The yard should be cleaned up and back to normal in no time with these two power house helpers!

Bentley is in charge of watching the leaves so they don't go anywhere. He takes his job very seriously!

Bozley is the official stick chewer. These are taxing jobs and not for the light of heart. Ha!

In keeping with my celebration of electricity, I made up a new recipe for dinner. This may sound off but I was rather excited to be able to cook and serve a meal. It represented being normal ... what a great feeling! My creation basically consisted of what I had on hand and a combination of flavors that sounded appealing. This evening White bean, artichoke,mushroom and chicken chili came to dinner.  It really needs a catchier name ~ I'll work on that later. I have to say that it was delicious! Both my husband and I agreed that is was keeper. In fact, he requested that I make another batch so we could take it for lunches next week. He's a sweet talker I tell ya ;) 

 I'm having issues with blogger {shocking, I know!} this evening so I'll post the recipe tomorrow.




Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers, they made all the difference! It's so nice to have such wonderful friends :)

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