Keeping Warm

This is the scene through my condo windows today. The snow continues to steadily fall so there will be even more accumulation into tonight. Our low will be about 17 degrees and the high tomorrow (Sunday) about 25 degrees. It’s not unusual to get some snow in the second half of November, but such cold temperatures are not typical for this time of year. I guess I will be wearing the new winter coat I bought a few weeks ago at a half-off price sale.

It is a perfect day for crockpot turkey corn chili.

At lunch I baked some chocolate chip cookies from refrigerator cookie dough. Later this afternoon I will munch on a cookie and drink a mug of hot chocolate as I peruse the book I bought yesterday at Half Price Books in Fort Wayne.

I really like looking at barns as I drive in Indiana. Someday I am going to drive around and take more photos of barns in the surrounding area. I have a few I took in the past. A lot of the barns are in poor shape. I have a book Indiana Barns and now this new book will join it on the shelf.

Later this afternoon or tomorrow I will probably start playing around with the decorations for the December 2nd Winona Literary Club meeting. I am one of the three hostesses. I bought some more small balls and “glitter beads” at Hobby Lobby as there are 6 rose bowls to fill. All of Hobby Lobby’s Christmas stuff was half off.

 

The bowls belong to the club. The downside to choosing this as the table decorations is that they are the ornaments I use on my own tree. I won’t be able to decorate my Christmas tree until after December 2nd. One of my co-hostesses has some green and red print napkins we will place under the bowls.

 I did make good progress on shopping for Christmas gifts yesterday. Only 5 weeks until Christmas. We have tickets for a Christmas concert by the Fort Wayne Philharmonic Orchestra at the Warsaw High School on December 13th. That orchestra travels around to several locations for the holiday concert.

 Feeling a little sleepy. I had better go have my cookie and cocoa to wake me up.

 

 

 

Gray Chilly Autumn Day

             

Today is gray and chilly with a misty rain some of the time. I can see thru the arch window on the front of my condo beautiful red leaves of a tree behind the across-the-street condo. This morning when I opened the blinds on the sliding glass door, a black squirrel was pawing thru the scattered sunflower seeds on the patio. My husband’s squirrel-proof bird feeder triumphed again. Little blackie did find something to eat though and ran off under the white pine to nibble awhile before leaving my sight. We had a mourning dove today, too, besides the sparrows. We put the feeder up Monday and are now starting to see a few visitors.

We have had the furnace running on non-sunny days and now have the electric blanket on the bed. We have been turning to comfort food. Tonight we will eat leftovers of a chicken casserole I baked Thursday. Have some left-over chili, too, which should be tasty tomorrow evening before going to the Second Sunday Series concert.

Three-Cheese Chicken Florentine Casserole
1/2 lb. penne pasta (I used farfalle instead this time)       
1 T. olive oil    
1 c. chopped onion                                                        
1 orange or red bell pepper, chopped   
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, chopped                                        
1 (10-oz) pkg washed baby spinach
1 T. dried tarragon
1 tsp. paprika
2 c. cooked chicken, skinned, boned, and bite-size
1 (10-oz) can cream of chicken soup
2 c. cottage cheese  
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. grated cheddar cheese                                                     

In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions, about 8 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper and mushrooms to skillet.
Sauté for 4-5 minutes. Add the spinach, tarragon, and paprika. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Stir together the chicken pieces with the soup and the 3 cheeses. Spritz a 9 x 13 glass pan with cooking spray. Layer the drained pasta, then the sautéed vegetables, then chicken/cheese mixture. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven until bubbly and brown, about 45 minutes. Serves 8.

Turkey Corn Chili
Use a 3-quart slow cooker
1 lb. or 20 oz. ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1 16-oz. can Brook’s Chili Beans
2 14-oz. cans diced tomatoes (for me one of these is fire-roasted canned tomatoes and I leave out chili powder)
1 11-oz. can whole kernel corn
3/4 c. salsa or picante sauce
1 tsp. chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt, pepper to taste
Cook ground turkey and onion in skillet. Transfer to slow cooker. Stir in green pepper, beans, tomatoes, corn, salsa/picante, chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours. Can be cooked in large pot on stovetop until heated through.
Serve with shredded cheese, rolls or cornbread. Freezes well.
Serves 4-6