It's Cold Outside. Make Some Chili.

It's official.  Winter has set in.  At least, in Calgary it has.  On Friday we had wind chills of around -40!

So this time of year, who doesn't like a nice hot bowl of chili?  Seriously, if I could make and eat chili every day all winter, I would probably do it.  There's really nothing better than being able to throw a bunch of stuff into a slow cooker and leave it all day while you go about your life, and come home to something warm and delicious!

And so, I've decided to share my chili recipe with all of you.

I don't have pictures, since I haven't made chili in a little while, but I'm sure you can use your imaginations.  After all, it's basically just mush - warm, hot delicious mush.


INGREDIENTS

The best thing about chili is you can basically throw a whole mess of stuff in there, and it's probably going to turn out pretty good.  But there are a few basics that you need, more or less.

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (it doesn't matter if they're spiced or flavoured or whatever - it's a matter of your opinion here)
• 2 small cans of tomato paste (1 can would be okay too, but 2 will help thicken up the chili)
• 1 can of brown beans (try not to get baked beans or ones in maple - they won't make it taste bad, but the simpler the better)
• 1 can of kidney beans
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic (powder or diced, whichever you prefer)
• Chili powder - as much as you like
• Hot sauce to taste
• Sugar - yes, sugar

Beyond that, you can pretty much include whatever you like.  Some examples are:

• Onions - I'm not a big onion fan, so I won't buy one just for chili, but if I have one already I might chop some up to add to it.
• Peppers - I like to use non-pickled ones from a jar.
• Other kinds of beans - I personally like a lot of beans in my chili, but I typically just add more than one can of brown beans and kidney beans
• Other vegetables, like corn or diced up carrots, add a bit of a Mexican flair to it
• I like to use a bunch of different hot sauces - Frank's, sriracha, etc. Anything goes well in chili, especially if you like it hot
• Cheese!
• And the list goes on - be creative!

STEPS

1. Brown the beef.  If you're in a rush in the morning, you can easily do this step the night before and leave it in the fridge until you're ready to throw everything in the slow cooker in the morning.  If you're adding onions, cook them with the beef.  You can also add spices to your beef.  Drain it as well as you can.
2. Add the beef to the slow cooker.  Throw everything else in at the same time.  Try to train the juices from the beans as much as you can.  More juices will make the chili a bit more runny.  Add as much or a little spices/hot sauces as you like.  You can always add more before you eat it too.  If you're home while your chili is cooking, taste it throughout the day and add things too, if you like!
3. I leave my chili to cook in the slow cooker all day (about 9 hours) on low.  I'd leave it for at least 4 hours, but the longer it cooks, the more flavorful every bite will be!

And ta-da!  That's it!  Easy, right?

I like to serve mine with a bit (or um... a lot) of shredded cheese on top, and it's fantastic with either corn bread or dinner buns to scoop up the last little bits from the bottom of your bowl.

In my opinion, chili is basically the easiest thing you can make - and it's even pretty basic for those who aren't so kitchen-savvy!  And there really is nothing better than getting home from a long, cold day and having a hot dinner already waiting for you when you get home!

Enjoy!

Oh, I should add that you can also use a big pot to make your chili.  I've never done it this way (I'm a huge fan of my slow cooker), but if you leave it on a fairly low heat all day you will get the same result.

On Knitting

You guys, I'm so sorry that I haven't posted much about actually knitting lately!  The majority of what I'm working on right now is for Christmas, so I can't exactly go posting pictures anywhere just in case the recipients see what I'm doing!  All I've been able to post for the last little while is extreme close-ups, but sadly, that's pretty much it.  I promise I'll have some more to show you after the holidays!  (Including, hopefully, pictures of my loved ones with their new goodies!)

I can, however, share a picture of my most recent shop project!

Hopefully I'll get these sweet lacy pink socks listed soon!  I'm pretty excited about being able to make socks now, and I know my son really loves his thick slipper socks that I made for him (which I posted about awhile back).  Thick socks like these are fantastic for the cold days we're having in Alberta right now!

Pumpkin Pasta Sauce

Yes, it's sounds weird.  But this is what I made for dinner last night, and it was seriously delicious.  Definitely something worth trying!

Here is the original recipe, which I got in a regular email from Allrecipes.  I was immediately intrigued, and I was so pleased with the results that I figured I'd share with you guys!

I did make a few changes though.

My ingredients list would look more like this:

• 1 tbsp margarine (lactose-free household!)
• About a quarter of a small white onion, chopped (I tend to eyeball things like that)
• A sprinkle of garlic powder
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (A typical can of this stuff is more than a cup, but definitely measure it. I eyeballed it and it was a little too pumpkin-y!)
• About a cup of chopped canned peppers (Turns out I have no idea what chipotle peppers in adobo sauce even is - I could not find it anywhere! We eventually found peppers in a jar - just make sure they're not pickled!)
• 1/3 cup of milk
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch ground nutmeg
• I also added about a tbsp of Frank's (to accomodate for the fact that I didn't get hot peppers) and a pinch of chili powder, along with a bit of pepper.  I omitted the sage and coriander.

I added in the substitute spices and the Frank's with the rest of the spices - and of course I tasted it as much as I could!  I did use too much pumpkin in mine - that's what I get for eyeballing it and not measuring - and my cinnamon poured out too fast, but otherwise this turned out pretty good!

Onions, garlic, and butter. Yum!

These are the peppers we finally found. They were with the pickles at Sobey's - but don't buy pickled ones!

Onion blend in chicken broth

Pumpkin goodness

The final result!

I found it was good with a bigger amount of pasta than I would normally have as compared to the sauce - I usually like a lot of sauce, but with this a small amount goes a long way.

Tyler wasn't a huge fan of this meal - I think it was because I did have too much pumpkin and cinnamon. It would've also been better with a tad more spice, I think, but everyone's taste is a little different there.

We just had it on top of regular white rotini, but I bet it'd be killer with rice or spaghetti squash too!

New Projects!

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I love that I can knit at work! I have the opportunity to have one project on the go at home, and another on the go at work, and I get twice as much done! I have the best job ever.

A couple days ago I started an awesome project for my Etsy shop (or maybe for me - we'll see). I won't say what it is yet, because it's just too awesome! Plus, I might have to start over, because I think I'll have to change a few things...but I'm not sure yet. I will tell you that a book on lettering I got recently was the inspiration for it!

I also started a project the night before last night and because I've gotten so much done at work, it's almost finished! It's something for a friend, and it's perfect!

And while we're talking about that one, I'm thinking of doing something new - posting a pattern online! I've written my own patterns forever but I don't think they'll make much sense to other people so I don't post them. But this is something easy enough, I think, that I should be able to do it.

If I were to post this pattern here on my blog, would anyone be interested?

Make All The Socks!

Aden's sock may not have turned out perfectly but he likes it, just as I knew he would! I showed him it and he pulled it on over the socks he was already wearing. It fit better than I thought it would (even if it was over another sock) and he said they'll make great slippers in the winter - which is great because his Spider-Man slippers aren't going to fit much longer!

I'm now almost done the second one too, so he'll actually get to wear them soon!

We went to Chapters last night and, of course, went straight to the kids' section, losing Tyler along the way. When Tyler reappeared, he had a book in hand - Socks a la Carte: Colorwork by Jonelle Raffino & Katherine Cade. $9.99, from the bargain books section! SCORE! I opened it up and it has this beautiful section of pages separated into threes to show you mix-and-match sock patterns!

Oh my heavens, I needed this book! So Tyler even bought it for me. I sure am a lucky wife-to-be! I cannot wait to finish what I'm working on so I can make, oh, everything in here!

(And yes, that right there is a toe sock - I'm so freaking excited!)

Former Foodie?

Something a lot of people don't know about me is that I really love to cook. I used to do a lot of it, and I'm usually super proud of my dinners!

But sadly, since I started my 9-5 three months ago, I haven't done much cooking (or, shamefully, anything around the house, really)!  I don't usually get home until after 6, and by then I just want to eat and go to bed!  I don't want to stand around cooking, and end up not eating until 7 - I'm usually starving the second I walk in the door - especially since I'm usually in bed before 9...... yes, like an old lady.

But today I'm hunting down some new recipes, and I'm hoping it'll reignite my desire to cook. Fingers crossed!  I figure if I can find things that only take like...20-30 minutes to make, I can deal with that. It won't be gourmet, of course (I can save the fancier stuff for the weekends), but anything will be better than takeout/going out for bar food or fast food! We are guilty of all of those things...and way too often!!

If anyone has any quick recipes they'd like to share, please do! I'll share my successes of course too!

Now if I could just find the motivation to do the dishes too....

Progress All Around

Knitting at work is probably the greatest decision I've ever made. Also, having a job where I have some time for it is even better! Since starting my first pair of socks ever on Saturday (or was it Sunday?) I'm about half way through the first sock. I would probably be a lot further if I had been bringing my actual copy of Getting Started Knitting Socks to work with me, but since I already haul too much stuff back and forth I've been snapping pictures of the pattern on my phone and going from that. So I can only get so much done in a day, doing it that way. Luckily I'm reading Wicked for the third or fourth time, so don't worry...it's not like I have nothing to do when I'm not knitting!

Anyway, I've just passed the heel on my first sock, which I've heard from some other knitters is the most frustrating part of socks...and well, so far, so good! I'm actually pretty pleased with them so far!

The best thing about knitting at work is that I'm getting two projects done at once. I don't normally like to bounce between projects, because one always ends up being forgotten, but if I keep one at work and one at home I think I'll do okay.

At home I'm working on a Jake the Dog hat, which (like most of what I make) is from my own pattern. It's probably the most complicated thing I've come up with on my own, but it's not too bad (at least I don't think so).

I had been planning on selling it in my shop, but my 5 year old is really excited about it and asked me if he could have it. I know it's an item that would sell (I have yet to sell anything online yet!) but I may just give in to his adorable charms and let him have it...and then I can make another to sell. Or vice versa! We'll see!

The other day I managed to sew Jakes nose onto his jowls. All that's left is to sew that onto the hat, as well as the eyes and ears, and we're golden!

I'm super excited about a book I got last night too. My favorite section of Indigo is the knitting one...although I rarely pick out a book I have to buy. I like to make my own patterns most of the time. But I saw this and I had to have it.

Right? It has the patterns for the cute things on the front, but mostly I wanted it for the charts! It has charts for both upper and lower case letters for a handful of fonts, and all I could think of was all the possibilities for personalized projects!! As usual, I think I'll test drive it with something for my son, and if all goes well maybe I'll offer up personalization in my Etsy shop (and of course via Facebook, etc).

Now, not only can I knit all the things, but I can also knit all the names!!!!

We Go Way Back

On top of my hobby of knitting, I've been super sucked into Ancestry lately.  It started as an innocent curiosity about a month ago, and I've since expanded my tree to a total of 586 people so far (yes, I have an insanely huge family), started a paid membership, and have spent quite a bit of time (both and work and at home) trying to find new things.

Today I made one hell of a discovery.  My mom had added her many, many, many cousins on her dad's side, as well as her aunts and uncles, for me.  I noticed that one of her aunts was a Clifton before she got married - and it just so happens that my dad's mom comes from the Clifton family as well.  Not only that, but they all originate, at some point or another, in southern Alberta.  So I pointed that out to my mom, and she said she'd always wondered whether there was a relation... and I instantly became determined and knew I would have to find out!  I quickly messaged my mom's cousin Sharon (the one who's mom was a Clifton) and asked for her mom's parents' names.  Luckily she knew them, and I added their names to my tree.  Immediately Robert's name (her grandfather) came up with a hint!  YES!  I clicked it and one of the hints was someone else's tree complete with a picture!!!  I sent the picture on to Sharon, who confirmed that it was definitely her grandfather!  Awesome!!!  So, I searched my tree for anyone with the same name.  There was another Robert Clifton, but the years didn't line up right, so I assumed it was the younger Robert's namesake.  Thanks to Ancestry hints, though, I quickly found the connection between my dad's Clifton's, and my mom's cousin's.

I am indeed related to those cousins in more than one way!  Sharon's great-great-grandfather, John Clifton, is also my dad's great-great-grandfather.  Small world... especially if you come from a long line of LDS people who, at some point, lived in/were born in/grew up in southern Alberta!

And now, off to make some more discoveries!

Work Life

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm a receptionist at a printing company. I'll be the first to admit, it gets a little quiet down here (especially since the majority of my co-workers are on an entirely different floor than me) so I have a lot of down time. In the past three months, I've spent most of that down time reading - in fact I've gotten through about 6 books in the past three months!

But since Christmas is right around the corner and I'll inevitably have a lot to make in the next two months (yikes!) I've finally brought some knitting in with me!

I've wanted to learn socks for as long as I've been knitting, but it always ends up on the back burner. I finally picked up a sock book recommended to me on Instagram (I believe it's called Getting Started Knitting Socks) and I'm gonna do it!!

I'm starting out by knitting a pair of rather plain socks for my son. Making things for him is great practice!

All in all, here's what my day looks like today (or at least my morning, so far):

And We're Off!

Having recently opened my Etsy shop, KnitsyBitsySpiders, after what seems like ages of planning, I've decided to go into it full force and add a blog to my list of KBS-themed Internet goodies.  I've had a Facebook page as well as a Twitter account focused on KBS for months (ever since I started putting my shop together) and I figure the next step I should take is blogging.

So I guess an introduction would be a good place to start, right?  I'm terrible at talking about myself, but I'll give it a go!

First off, my name is Kayla.  I work as a receptionist at a printing company, which leaves me a fair amount of time to screw around on the Internet (while still doing my job, of course).  I worked in retail for years, and finally managed to get out of that and into this three months ago - and let me just say, thank god.  Quite frankly, I was a mess when I was in retail.  Schedules that are never the same, dealing with jerks all the time (customers and coworkers alike)... that puts a lot of stress on a person, even if the job itself was never stressful!  Now I have a regular, normal schedule... I like the people I work with... and I'm pretty damn good at my job!

Aside from that, obviously I love to knit.  That started when I was pregnant with my son, and just kind of took off from there.  I didn't get really into it until he was a little bit older, but I just kind of took to it like I had been doing it my whole life, and selling what I make just eventually became the next step.  Honestly, if I could not work (even though I love my job) and just spend all of my time knitting, I would be a very happy girl!

I'm a bit of a TV addict too, I'll be the first to admit... but hey, there is really nothing better than sitting in front of a good show and getting some knitting done!  (On a related note... I can't wait for the fall shows to start tonight!)

I'm also a little bit of a comic book geek.  I'm fairly new to it, but I'm getting pulled in more and more as time goes on!

As you may have guessed, I am also a mom.  I have a five year old son, Aden, who just started kindergarten this month!  He's a smart kid, with a super creative imagination, and like most five year old boys, a love for superheroes.  He absolutely loves knitted things from me (we'll see how long that lasts), including the Batman hat and Spider-man mittens I made for him last year.  I'm currently working on a Jake the Dog hat, which I had planned on selling but he seems to have claimed for himself - I might just have to make another one for the shop!

I'm not with Aden's dad, and Aden's time is split between both of our houses - but I am with a wonderful man, Tyler, and we're getting married in just less than a year!  We're planning an awesome comic-book-themed geek fest, complete with deep-fried pickles (basically the entire reason I wanted the venue we chose) and hopefully as little stress as possible!  We live in a tiny apartment with a black cat named Hailstorm (Aden named her when he was three) and walls covered in geek art.

And, I think that's pretty much it!

Here is where you can find KnitsyBitsySpiders on Etsy!  In the future I'll be posting pictures of my creations as they come together, as well as (maybe) some knitting tutorials and things like that.  I know a few people have asked how I make my bear ears, so I may share that here fairly soon.  And, so I don't bore you all to tears, I'll talk about other stuff here too - life, wedding, etc, etc, etc.

For more pictures and other related stuff, you can also check out my KBS Facebook page and my Twitter account!

Knitting requests are something I've always done as well, so please feel free to get in touch with me if there is something you'd like to see!  I always have an ongoing list of projects, so I can't guarantee you'll get anything right away, but keep me in mind! :)