Need a warm-you-up kind of meal?

Is it still a bit chilly in your part of the country? Although it's still typically sunny & 70 here, they're calling for rain this weekend. On one of our rare colder evenings, I came across this homey, comforting Ground Beef Stew recipe over at Southernplate.com and boy was it just what we needed! Easy, delicious and hearty, it'll have you warmed up in no time! It was suprisingly similar to a soup recipe my Gramma used to make for me as a child when I was home sick from school... ah memories. Here's what you need...

Ground Beef Stew                                                                                  Christy Jordan

11/2 lb ground beef
1lb carrots (roughly chopped)
1 large onion (finely chopped)
2 or 3 large russet potatoes (diced)
21/2 cups frozen green beans
28oz can diced tomatoes
28oz Spicy Hot V-8 juice
2 cups water
4 beef boullion cubes
1 tsp salt

This is seriously the easiest form of cooking, other than using the ol' Crock Pot... and frankly you could just as easily throw all the ingredients in there and let it cook on low all day if you wanted!

First you'll grab you're big soup pot and put everything MINUS the ground beef, and the salt. Bring it to a boil over high heat and then turn it down to medium-low and let it simmer for an hour or so, until the veggies are nice and tender. Meanwhile, brown your beef in a seperate skillet, drain the fat, and set it aside. Add the ground beef to the stew and let it simmer for a few minutes to heat it up if needed. Serve yourself up a big bowl, grab a comfy quilt and head for a seat by the fireplace!

Enjoy!

Time is flying by!

I can't BELIEVE that 21 weeks have gone by! Bri & I are getting VERY excited, and also a little nervous too! We have so much to do before little Love Bug (my sister's name for her) arrives! The fabric is finally bought for the Crib Bedding... and I've got a lot to do! The pattern I'm using for the Crib Sheet, Bumpers, and Skirt is in Amy Butler's Little Stitches for Little Ones. I want a basic block quilt, so I'm making up the pattern myself... I'll show you more as I make progress. I also want to whip up Heather Bailey's Happy Stacker Ring Toy with the same fabric. 

So far, Baby Edwards is pretty proportional to Bri & I's small size! I'm gaining slowly, and not minding too much :) It's funny how uncomfortable a person can be with such a tiny baby inside, but I find it really hard to sit for long periods of time, and without my BELOVED Boppy Pregnancy Pillow, I don't think I'd sleep at all! ALSO... I'm starting to think her sweet little disposition is coming out in the way she moves... it's always at night when I'm laying in bed, or cuddling with Bri on the couch. She just "taps" on the sides of my stomach, like she's stretching or just making sure I know she's there... it's so sweet!

So without further ado... here's the latest bump pics!

Definitely pregnant now, huh?!

Happy Monday!

A Sweet Treat for Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you're enjoying some time with the one's you love! Bri's taking me out for a suprise dinner... he's so good at romancing! Here's a little something sweet that we'll be enjoying today! It's one of Bri & I's very favorite desserts! This is what you'll need...

Red Velvet Cupcakes
with Creamcheese  Frosting!                                       Hummingbird Bakery & PW
1 stick of butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp red food coloring
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup & 2 tbsp flour
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp white vinegar

For the Frosting:
1 lb powdered sugar
1 stick butter (at room temperature)
1 8oz package of cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 tsp vanilla

First, preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Put your butter and sugar in your mixer and beat until fluffy. Add the egg and beat on high until it's well incorporated.

In a small bowl, mix the cocoa, vanilla and red food coloring to make a paste. Add the paste to the mixer and beat well. Slowly add half the buttermilk while beating. Then add the flour and remaining buttermilk in alternate batches until it's all well mixed. Now add the salt, baking soda and vinegar and beat for a couple minutes until everything is smooth and evenly colored.

Spoon your batter into paper cups in a muffin tin until they're 2/3 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. While they're cooling on a wire rack...

Beat the butter and creamcheese until it's smooth and creamy! Add the vanilla. Then add the sugar slowly until it's nice and smooth! Stick your finger in and give it a lick! Good huh?!

Ice your cupcakes and make sure to share a few with someone you love!

Have a sweet day!

Look what I found!

I was looking through the ol' recipe folder on my desktop and came accross this delicious little dish, found in PW's Cookbook. Notice that these pics were taken back at our old place... laminate counter tops and all! It looked so good, that we're definitely going to be whipping up this for dinner soon! Enjoy y'all!

Perfect Enchiladas                                                      Ree Drummond (Pioneer Woman)

Sauce:
1 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Tbsp Flour
1 can or bottle of Enchilada Sauce
2 cups of Beef Stock

Meat:
1lb Ground Beef
1 Medium Onion (finely chopped)
2 4oz cans Diced Green Chilies
S&P
Small bunch of Cilantro (finely chopped)

Plus:
10 Corn Tortillas (or 8 flour)
3 cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
More Chopped Cilantro

First you'll wanna get your sauce ready. Grab a sauce pan and get the oil hot. Then whisk in the flour to make it nice and thick. Add the Enchilada sauce, stock, S&P. Bring it to a boil and then simmer for 20-30 min.
While that sauce is thickening, grab a skillet and get your onions in a bit of oil over medium heat. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the beef and get it browned. Then toss in the green chilies and season with S&P. When it's done, stir in the Cilantro.

Now, PW fries up her Tortillas in a little Canola Oil before assembling these babies... but for the sake of our waistlines, I just wrap 'em in foil and put 'em in the oven at 350 while I'm cooking the sauce and meat mixture.

When you're ready to assemble, make sure your oven's at 350. Grab your casserole dish and pour about a 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom. Dip each tortilla in sauce and then add some meat, and a whole lot of cheese. Roll it up and put it seam side down in the casserole. When you're finished with all the enchiladas, pour the remaining sauce over them and sprinkle plenty of cheese and cilantro on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Happy Eating!

Whatcha Got Wednesday #14... Nursery Decor from Etsy!

It's been only days since we found out that Baby Edwards is a girl... but I was planning our nursery long before that! : ) Our Theme? Wee Woodland! I'm dreaming of sweet little deer, foxes, squirrels & owls, etc! I want to fill her room with lots of warm colors, and soft bedding...handmade by yours truly! I was inspired by this fabric line from Moda...

I love the whimsical patterns with tiny toadstools, squirrels and acorns! So what to do once we had our theme? Head on over to Etsy of course! This week's WGW is full of the beautiful things we want for our nursery!

Amy @ Scrap Your Story ...Woodland Party Set! Adorable Invites, Thank You's & Cupcake toppers that would be perfect for a baby shower!

Loxly Hollow ... Amazing Whimsy Nursery Prints! We're in love with these sweet friends and can't wait to hang a few on Baby Girl's walls! The artist is truly talented!

Erin @ Ink Tree Press ... Woodland Alphabet Wall Cards! Aren't these just precious? I love the vintage look & think they'll look great in the nursery!

Kit @ Trafalgar's Square ... More Nursery Prints! I'm just so amazed at the talent over on Etsy! I can't wait to have all the beautiful art we've found hanging in the nursery!

I'm so excited to start sewing and crafting and getting things ready! Happy Wednesday!

It's a . . .

Baby Edwards is a precious baby GIRL! We're so very excited! I've been dreaming of all the adorable things I could sew for her... bows & tutu's, dresses & dolls... I'm just giddy! Bri has always wanted little girls... he's ready to spoil her, and protect her! Seeing his eyes light up after we found out makes me so anxious to see him be the wonderful Daddy I know he'll be! She's already got him wrapped around her little tiny finger!

Her pretty little profile

The whole ultrasound experience was so amazing! The technician measured each of her little bones, and we could even see some of her personality emerging! She kept putting her hands over her face while we were trying to get a profile picture...she'll have to get over that soon! Being the first Grandbaby on both sides... photos are going to be a big part of her life! She also sucks her thumb... which was just about the cutest thing I've ever seen! We left the doctor's office with big smiles!

We immediately headed to get some breakfast (our appt was at 8am) and then to do a little shopping!!
We could have bought the entire store... but we were able to hold back and Bri picked out her first tiny dress... so sweet! I also couldn't resist the little pooh onesie! The pink & blue striped set is what we hope to bring her home from the hospital in. It's Splendid (which is one of my favorite brands from Anthropologie)... but with Bri & I's height... she might be a little too small for even 0-3 months... we'll just have to wait and see!

I'm getting so excited to be a Mommy! Bri and I can't wait for our little miracle to be in our arms! We've started registering, and planning the nursery! I'll post our theme & all my ideas soon! We're feeling so very blessed right now!