Slow Cooker Beer Turkey Chili

My favorite kitchen appliance is arguably my crock pot. I use it at least once a week. I love having chili when it gets cold. I usually find some random recipe online & try it out. Last weekend I decided to make up my own recipe :-) I had some leftover turkey from Thanksgiving so I made turkey chili. It turned out really good but I would still change a few things.

Ingredients:
1 can dark kidney beans
1 can light kidney beans
1 can black beans
3 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
3 cups turkey, chopped
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
pinch of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
pinch of celery salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 beer (I used light beer but you could use a heavier one for a stronger flavor)

cook on low for about 6 hours, serve with grilled cheese. SO YUM!

I would probably decrease the chili powder & cumin slightly, maybe 2 1/2 tablespoons of chili instead of 3 & 1/2 teaspoon of cumin. I would also add about 1/2 cup-1 cup of chopped onions. I think it was pretty good at my first attempt!

Good News/Weekend Update

I've been interviewing for a job at a food company in Baltimore. It is for a research & development position. Today I got an offer! Of course I accepted...I start next week. I'm so excited that I've found a job that actually pertains to my major! I can't wait to start but I'm looking forward to have this week to get lots of things done...my to-do list isn't getting any shorter as Christmas gets closer!

This weekend Josh & I went down to VA for his family's Christmas party. This was the first time we've seen a lot of them since or wedding. Some of them we haven't seen since last year's Christmas party. We always have so much fun catching up & watching football. We watched the ACC Championship game. His mom's whole side of the family are all UVA fans so they were obviously not happy with the outcome. I had mixed feelings...I'm still a little bitter about us not making it to the game. I think I would have been fine with either outcome. While we were there VA got a bit of snow. Raleigh was getting snow too! I'm the type of person who usually dreads snow, but on the inside I'm a little excited when it comes. This year I'm just excited for it! I'm a little disappointed NC & VA got snow before we did up here. There's a chance of scattered flurries today but we haven't had any yet.

Josh and I had a great ride home yesterday afternoon. We didn't hit any traffic & it was such a beautiful day. Yesterday also marked the 6 month mark since we've been married. I can't believe how fast the time has gone by! The past 6 months have been absolutely amazing! I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of our lives together!

College Park

Last weekend Josh, my brother in-law & a high school friend of ours went to the UMD v. NCSU game in College Park. We all know how it ended but we still had a great time. We parked in the parking deck where we were told we could tailgate. We went to the very top since we didn't see anybody tailgating in the lower areas. We were the ONLY State fans up there! It was a pretty cold day...in the low 40s. It wouldn't have been so bad, but it was also really windy. I think there were bursts up to 30 mph or something like that. Being on the top of the parking deck on a cold, windy day...not so awesome. I honestly thought it was going to be a pretty boring tailgate since there were only 4 of us & there were no other state fans in sight. We were playing ladder toss & somehow I managed to kick a set of balls off the top of the parking deck. Josh and I went down to get it & to find a bathroom.

It was hard to spot them since we have the same colors, but we found some State fans! On the way back from the bathroom we saw a guy with a MD hoodie & a wolf hat on. We talked to him for a bit & found out he was from MD but his daughter was on NC State's swim team & will be graduating in May. We ended up talking to his daughter & the rest of the family on the way back up to the deck. They invited us to come down to their tailgate. I'm SOOOO glad we did. They were all so nice & of course at a tailgate in MD there will be crab dip! DELICIOUS! We added our KFC to the table.

We had such a great time, aside from a very painful loss & possibly the worse call I've ever seen...everybody knows that was NOT a first down. Thanks for nothing Ron Cherry. Anyway, I went into Byrd Stadium expecting the absolute worse of the fans because of some things I've heard. They really weren't bad at all. We sat right behind our players bench about 5 rows up. We had a good mix of State & MD fans around us. Of course they heckled the players but I've definitely heard worse in Carter Finley. We weren't in the student section & I'm sure they were worse but based on our experience, they're not any worse than any other away crowd we've been around.

Here are a few pictures from the day

This is part of our tailgating group.

This lady was Russell's teacher, I forgot from when. She was sitting right behind us. We were sitting beside his uncle too but we didn't get a picture of him.

2 rows of Mustafa's family...they left right after halftime because it was cold. Ridiculous...did you not know it was going to be 40 degrees? I didn't even break out my hand warmers!


We were surprised to see that we're not part of this little graveyard. We were excited about this tombstone though...who cares if it happened before we were thought of. I would also like to note that Dan, on the right, is a UNC convert, we brought him over from the dark side :-)

Thanksgiving!!!

I LOVE Thanksgiving! It's one of my favorite holidays. We left MD Tuesday afternoon to drive to our hometown. I thought traffic would be really bad since we were leaving around 3. We didn't hit a bit of traffic. We got to Josh's mom's house late Tuesday night & spent a little time with his mom, step dad & grandparents. I love his grandparents to death! Most of my grandparents died when I was really young & I wasn't close to the rest of them so I'm really glad Josh is so close to his. We went to bed early since we had been up since 5 & we were so tired from the long ride.

Wednesday morning we got up to take my niece to her first gymnastics class. She was really shy at first. She's only 3 & she hasn't had much interaction with kids her age. Once she warmed up she had a ton of fun. This is her on the balance beam. She had to learn to wait in line behind the other little girls :-)

Her pants kept getting in the way because they're too long for her. She calls them her Wolfpack pants because they're red :-) Love it!

After gymnastics we went to my mom's to get some cooking done. I made a sweet potato pie, sweet potato casserole & a pumpkin cheesecake. I LOVE sweet potato pie. This is only the second one I've ever made from scratch. I forgot to take a picture after it was done.
While the pie was cooling on the table Josh & went outside to visit with my cousin. My mom came out from the porch to ask if I still had the recipe. Her min pin got on the table & ate around the edges of my pie! I was so mad at the time but I guess it's kind of funny. My mom made another one so it wasn't a huge deal I guess. I kind of wish I would have taken a picture now.

Thanksgiving day is always a really busy time for us. First we eat with Josh's mom's side of the family. We eat lots of food then just hang out & spend time together. This is one of the only times of the year we get to visit with his aunt & uncle so we both really enjoy it. Next, we go to my mom's & have Thanksgiving dinner #2 around 2:00 with my parents. My parents are divorced but luckily they still get along well & we can still have the holidays together. Last, we go to Josh's aunt's & hang out with his Dad's side of the family. Most of the family is usually gone by the time we get there but we usually get to see a few of them. This year we got to see a couple of his aunts, his uncle & his dad. We ate some dessert & the best stuffing I've ever had while we were there. I'll have to get that recipe :-)


This is Josh after dinner #2 at my mom's...watching Detroit let us down :-/ That's my Dad in the background.

It's our tradition to get up at the crack of dawn & go shopping on Black Friday. It may be crazy but we have fun & we usually get some really good deals. We got the majority of our Christmas shopping done & we got new coats for ourselves. There were so many great deals, I could have spent a ton if we weren't trying to save money!

After a long day of shopping, leftovers & a nap we left to come back home. We left around 4 & were back by a little after 9. Again...no traffic! I was so surprised :-)

2 Weeks

I haven't written much in my blog about my job...mostly because I pretty much hate it & I want to leave all those feelings there. I don't want to bring them home with me. I hate it for a ton of reasons. There is SO much drama. Like the kind of drama you only see in high school. It's absolutely ridiculous. Needless to say, it's not a very positive work environment. The hours are horrible. I like consistency & rotating from opening at 6:30 am to closing at 8:30 pm this month has really not thrilled me. The money is OK & but I know I could do a lot better in a better economy. I guess the biggest thing is that I don't even like the actual job. It's so...boring. I schedule appointments, answer phones & get blamed for things I have no control over. It never changes...I don't learn anything new. I have never worked for a more ungrateful person either. I don't want to bore anyone with details but this is hands down the worse management I've ever dealt with.

Anyway...I've been thinking about leaving for a while. I've been so torn. I hate the job & it was getting to the point where I was bringing my frustrations home with me. At the same time I was so happy to be contributing financially. We have been doing really well with paying off our debt. We have way more than I would like, especially since I forgot about the loan I took out to study abroad :-/ That added a few months to our plan. Last week was probably my breaking point. I didn't care if I got blamed for something that was my fault, I didn't care when someone walked out & said they weren't coming back, I didn't care about anything but getting home. Thursday there was a horrible mix up with the schedule. I think if my manager had been there I would have just quit on the spot, that is NOT like me at all. Luckily, I guess, she was conveniently off on a chaotic day & I took Friday off since we were leaving early to go to Raleigh. That gave me a little time to think things through & make a more rational decision. I thought & prayed about the whole situation a lot. Josh has been super supportive through this whole thing. He's listened to me complain about work more times than I would like to admit. I think he may be almost as excited as me about me having the chance to be a housewife for a little bit again. haha.

I decided that I was definitely leaving. I told my manager this past Monday. I told her I would finish out my posted schedule. My last scheduled day of work is Dec. 2. I have to work tomorrow...that should be a crime in itself & I'm kicking myself for that right now. I can't believe I won't be able to watch the State game with Josh. I only work 2 days next week since we're going to NC for Thanksgiving. The following week is a 4 day week since I took Friday off for Josh's oral surgery. So, technically I only have 7 days of work left. WOOHOO!

I've thought a lot about what I'm going to do. I've been looking for jobs since I got this one...I guess I never really stopped because I've never been happy where I am. I'm going to give it a month to try to find something in my field. At the beginning of the year, if that hasn't worked out for me, I'll start looking for other jobs. I do have an interview Monday morning so hopefully that will open some doors :-)

Homecoming!

This post, as usual, is about a week late. Josh and I traveled down to Raleigh last weekend for homecoming. It was SO good to be home, even if it was just for a few days. I got to see so many friends that I haven't seen in a long time. We had an amazing tailgate with some really amazing food! I've been craving some real BBQ for a while & I finally got some! After lots of catching up & cornhole the food was finally ready.

This is Adam, I worked with him in MAD lab. He's a home brewer & he brought some of his Oktoberfest to the tailgate...it was SO yummy! He's going to be moving to Ireland with his wife soon...Josh and I hope to visit sometime.

Brittany & I FINALLY reunited at a tailgate :-)

Liz! One of my favorite Food Science ladies...with Kelsy, the other fave, in the left corner :-)

YUM!

Aaron chopping the BBQ, we even got a little to bring home :-)

After the past few weeks at work, I definitely needed to get away. This was the perfect opportunity to get away from everything, have a great time with old friends & clear my mind :-) I just wish Anna & John could have been there...hopefully we'll get to make up for it in December :-D

Weekend Update

This past weekend was a lot of things. It was definitely a much needed break. It was productive, relaxing, amazing & disappointing all at the same time! Last week I worked the early shift so I ran at the gym Monday & Wednesday after work. Friday was a pretty tough day & I came straight home. It was nice outside so I decided to go for a run here. It was perfect weather for an outdoor run. Not so hot I was sweating before I got started & not so cold my chest was burning. I felt much better after. I got some things done around the apartment so I could relax Saturday.

Saturday was a let down for the most part. We lost our game to Clemson :-/ It was a horrible game! Because of us losing I had to count on my 2 least favorite teams in the ACC winning in order for us to have a chance at the ACC Championship game. That doesn't mean I pulled for them though! haha. After the game we went grocery shopping & to finish picking out my birthday gifts. It was super double coupon time at Harris Teeter so we got some awesome deals! I get way too excited over that but after we swiped our coupons & VIC card our grocery bill was half as much! We also found a picture to hang in our dining room. I've been searching everywhere since we moved in & I haven't been able to find anything I really liked that wasn't crazy expensive. I decided to go check out Goodwill to see what we could find there & I found it!!! We still have to hang it. As soon as I get it up & find my camera charger I'll post a picture.

Sunday was way better as far as sports. The Ravens won & Chargers won & the Panthers & Pats lost...what more could you ask for ;-) We went to church Sunday morning. We know it will probably be a time consuming process finding a church we both like. While Josh and I have the same beliefs, he prefers a more traditional church & I prefer contemporary. The church we went to Sunday was even too laid back for me. They had snacks & refreshments & everyone seemed nice. Neither of us really cared for the music so that's a definite negative. The people around us were pretty distracting. The people behind us were doing something, I never figured out what they were doing but it sounded like they were looking at a magazine or something. The preacher seemed nice enough, he just wasn't a good speaker...that was kind of the deal breaker.

This week I'm working the late shift (UGH!)...but on the bright side, I took Friday off so we could leave at a decent time to go to Raleigh. I'm SOOO excited to go home for homecoming :-D