The Original Because of Love

As I mentioned before, it has been pretty cold the last couple of days. Well...cold for the Carolinas. I just checked and right now it is 28 degrees. Josh, the Michigan boy, says that is not that cold, but anyway....

They are calling for "snow" tonight and tomorrow. Which really means that it will just basically flurry and will probably be really wet and melt as soon as it hits the ground, but at least we can say that it snowed.


So in order to keep warm at our house, here is a look at some of the stuff we have been doing:

1. We started a fire in the fireplace.



Let me say that I enjoy the convenience of just flipping a switch to start our gas fire, but I also wish that we had a "real" fireplace, the wood burning kind. There is just something about sitting in front of a crackling fire that makes you feel all warm and cozy.

2. I pulled out my electric blanket. I actually had forgot about this blanket that was on my bed when we lived in Michigan. When we moved here it got put in a closet and I completely forgot about it. Last week I was doing some cleaning out/organizing and found it. Yay! Now I can be all warm and toasty!

3. Comfort food!

First of all, I made some yummy homemade chocolate chip cookies that we ate warm right out of the oven.


I also have some homemade chili cooking away in the crock pot.

I thought that I would share with you my chili recipe. It is really easy and really good.

Stephanie's Chili

• 1 lb of browned ground beef
• 1 can of black beans (15oz)
• 1 can of mixed beans (15 oz) - I use Bush's Mixed Pinto and Great Northern beans
• 2 tbsp Chili powder
• 1 tbsp Cumin
• 1 cup of water
• 24 oz of your favorite salsa
• 1 can of Mexican style corn (15 oz) or you can use 2 cups of fresh/frozen corn
• Cook in a crock pot on low for 4 to 8 hrs.
• When serving, top with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips

There it is. Told you it was easy! Now you can go make yourself some chili and some cookies for dinner tonight and try to keep warm as you watch the snow.