Christmas in our house

I got around to making some stockings. I really wanted linen, but at $16.99 a yard, I had to look for something else. I found some felt and at $4.99 a yard I found my winner. I Oh the joys of sewing with felt. I left them completely plain. Sometimes I get fickled and I thought, the less I do to them the harder it will be to get sick of them in years to come. Speaking of years to come I bought enough to make 8. You know, just in case th kids keep coming, or some need replacement and what-not. They are a dark charcoal grey, and even thought that not what I had in mind, I pretty happy with the turn out.



We had house guests last night and this is what I served. So easy, it felt like cheating.

slow-cooked tex-mex chicken and beans
(from everyday food november 2007)

serves 4 15 min prep 8 1/4 hours total time

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 11 oz jar mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotles in adobe sauce
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
course salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
1/4 reduced fat sour cream, for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

In a 5-6 quart slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.

Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (do not open lid or stir)

Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces, and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

I used canned beans instead of dried, so I used 1/3 cup of flour instead of 2 tablespoons. I also went heavy on the salsa which was medium and used about 2 cups because I couldn't find the chipotles at all. I also used a white onion instead of the red. I have and over abundance of white onion right now.

I will be making this again.