Chicken Tortilla Soup...hello fall!

yummy...

Phew! These past three weeks have been a whirl-wind! There has been costume making, birthday celebrating, trick-or-treating, Halloween parties and parades, baseball, soccer, open houses, school carnivals and more....makes me tired just thinking about it! I had been wanting to share pictures of Kate's Halloween costume. I made hers and my niece's from the same pattern and they turned out totally different and totally adorable! Kate was a pink poodle....we thought this was a good choice since one of her favorite phrases is "hi dog!". Julia was a sweet lil sheep...I will get pictures to share from her momma soon.

The witch, pink poodle, spiderman (minus the mask), and zombie baseball player
 

 And since it's a cold rainy day here in Missouri, I thought I would share one of my favorite fall soup recipes....

I made this soup for Bryce's Birthday party two weeks ago and it ended up being a great selection, because I threw it in the crock pot in the morning and it cooked all day, ready when the guests arrived!  Noooo prep...my kind of cookin!

You will need:
- 4 chicken breast halves (I use chicken tenders - they cook faster and I think are easier to cut!)
- 2 15 oz. cans of black beans, undrained
- 2 15 oz. cans of Rotel
-1 cup of salsa (mild, med. or hot)
4 oz can green chilies chopped and undrained
- 14 1/2 oz. can tomato sauce
- tortilla chips
- grated cheese
- sour cream (opt.)

First, combine all the ingredients (except the chips, cheese, and sour cream) in a large crock pot.
Next, cover and cook on Low 8 hours (or I have done 4 hours on high and it tastes great!).
Just before serving shread the chicken - because I really am just that lazy, I don't even remove it, I just kind of fish around and shread it in the pot, but I am sure a thorough person would remove it to do this :)
Ladle into individual bowls and top with crunched up chips, grated cheddar cheese, and I put a dollop of sour cream on top of mine....total comfort food!  Enjoy!

Jenny

Guest Post by Gwen Hefner: The Baby Witch Hat

Well do I have a treat for you today...I am so excited to be hosting our first guest poster!   Gwen Hefner, extremely talented and always creative, brings us a darling tutorial for a lil' Witch's Hat.  And wait until you see her little cutie! 

Halloween is a week from today!!  Do you have your costume ready??

And without further ado....I bring you, The Baby Witch Hat...



I want to thank Jenny for giving me the chance to do a guest post.  Sharing my DIY’s with others is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, and I appreciate her giving me the chance to get my feet wet.

 

When my son turned 3 in September, he requested party hats and I knew I wanted to make something for my daughter, Milly, as well.  After sizing down the pattern I made for the bigger hats, I came up with this.

 

With Halloween fast approaching, and no luck finding a great costume for a baby under six months, I began contemplating what I could whip together.  Halloween has always been my favorite, and growing up I was fascinated with witches, playing the part of one myself several times.  I figured modifying the party hat pattern would be a simple solution!

 

Here is what you will need:

the essentials:

felt

witch's hat PDF 

a writing utensil (chalk works will for black felt)

1/16” elastic cord

hot glue or fabric glue

 

the possible pretties:

buttons

ribbon

rick rack

feathers

beads

tulle

bows

a little spider moss would be fun

whatever your heart desires!

 

Print and cut out the pattern templates.  Using a cardstock  or thicker paper will make them easier to work with.
 

 

Trace them onto the felt and cut out the shapes.

 



 

Shape the top of the hat like it’s a waffle cone.  You should have an overlap of about ½” at the base. 

Glue the hat together, leaving the end unglued so you have some room to tuck your trim under.

 

Glue the top of the hat to the brim, making sure the hat is centered.  Don’t worry about any visible glue, as you’ll be covering that seam up with ribbon.

 

Cut and glue ribbon around the seam, tucking the ends in at vertical seam, and gluing that area down.

 

Now you’ll want to embellish your hat.  I added some old buttons, a feather, and some tulle that I colored with a sharpie.  With two little ones, a quick trip to the craft store isn’t an option, so I made what I had work.

 

I did the same thing with the elastic.  I know you can buy elastic in many colors, but I’ve found that coloring it with a sharpie for various headbands has worked well.  If you’re worried about the strong odor, I just rinsed it in some soapy water afterward and after a few days the smell had dissipated.   I simply placed it around Milly’s head to see what length I needed. 

 

Place a drop of glue on in the center of the bottom of the hat and attach both ends of the elastic. 

 

Cut a circle out, smaller than the brim of the hat, and glue it over the elastic ends.

 

 

There you have it!  A cute little hat for your little one, or your big one, or maybe yourself as you hand out treats on All Hallows’ Eve.

 

 

 

 

Isn't that just the cutest lil smile you've ever seen!  She definitely looks like a good witch to me :)

Thanks so much Gwen for sharing your creative talent with us!

Happy Wednesday everyone,

Jenny