CHRISTMAS IS UPON US

This weekend was a good one. Friday night Kenny and I entertained ourselves by splitting a pitcher of margaritas and a couple of cheese dips. It was delish. From what we remember. Just kidding.

Saturday morning I woke up early to run a lot of Christmas related errands. I went to Hobby Lobby to get some ribbon and tissue paper. I bought some Christmas presents. I am doing pretty well as far as my Christmas shopping goes but I still need to buy quite a few things. I also went to Yankee Candle to get my Christmas candle that I get every year. Kenny and I are allergic to real trees so I always get the Sparkling Pine candle and it smells like a real tree. Plus this candle lasts forever. Love it!

After I managed to get all of my errands and shopping completed before noon Kenny and I met up for lunch at Central BBQ. Their barbecue nachos are to die for. After we ate we just went back to the house and I napped a little and we watched football. Saturday night we met up with Joe and Tracy and our friends Kristen and Drew who were in town. They had all been at a wedding and then we watched Mississippi State's depressing game against Alabama.

Sunday my mom came through town to spend the night on her way to St. Louis for the week. It was so cold outside that I decided to make this chili recipe one of my friends from work gave me. It turned out really good. Instead of cooking the chicken myself I actually ordered a couple pounds of pulled roasted chicken from Central Barbecue when we were there for lunch. I doubled the recipe and it made a lot so I had plenty to freeze for an easy dinner on a cold night. Here is the recipe!

White Bean and Chicken Chili
Ingredients:
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 tbsp chopped pickled jalapeno from a jar
4 garlic cloves minced
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 15-oz cans Great Northern Beans, drained
1 pound cooked and chopped chicken breast
1/2 cup half and half


Directions:
Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat. Add celery, onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno; saute until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, and cumin; saute about 1 minute. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until veggies are crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Add beans, chicken and half and half. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm!

I also wrapped what Christmas presents I had already bought last night. It definitely got me excited for Christmas! And finally we watched Al Pacino's movie 88 minutes. It was silly. Can yall believe we are so close to Thanksgiving. I have to start working on the menu!