Goodbye Fall, Hello Winter

I was quite surprised to see so much color and many leaves on the tree's when I arrived home on Thursday.  Mom said it was because they hadn't gotten a hard frost yet.  I'm pretty sure it was just Heavenly Father giving me a beautiful view of fall before winter came, because today the tree's are almost barren and the frost has arrived. 

In fact snow is on it's way.  We are hoping and praying that it holds off until the kids traveling from SLC arrive tomorrow with our fresh turkey that we get every Thanksgiving from my parent's accountant.

For Tristen and the girls in Spokane they got snow this morning and were already playing in it before school started.  They sent pictures and face-timed.  Bridget had to show me that her chin was still cold and red from the cold.  We will miss these girls this Thanksgiving, but can't wait for them to join us for Christmas.

Winter weather calls for a big pot of Chili, which I made yesterday.  When I was at Aubrey's moms,  she made this and it was delicious.  Of course I added a few of my touches.  I really like the vegetables in this chili.

Cook 1 onion, 1 green pepper, 3 carrots, 2 celery stalks and 1 tsp minced garlic in a pan.  Add to large pot.

Brown hamburger or turkeyburger and add to large pot.

In a large pot add
2 T Chili Powder
1 T Paprika
3/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
salt and pepper
1 tsp Ground Cumin
1 Cup Tomato Sauce
2 Cans Tomato's
1 Can Chicken Broth
2 Beef Bouillon Cubes
1 1/2 T Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Cans Kidney Beans
1 Can Garbanzo Beans

For the next few days I plan to recover from my gallbladder surgery which I'm having this afternoon, read a good book, watch Christmas shows and college football and eat lots of yummy Thanksgiving treats.  Wishing you a very happy holiday, warm fires, comfort in yoga pants and hoodies and only a few pounds of weight gain.