Sausage and Bean Casserole

Baby, it's cold outside!  But I'm sure I don't have to tell you that.  When I come home from work all I want to do is put on my heavy sweats and curl up with a bowl of something hot.  Make a batch of this bean casserole and pop it in the fridge or freezer.  It's great re-heated and will warm you up in no time.  It's not the healthiest of meals, but oh so good comfort food!  It's a treat for us :)  It's also great to feed a crowd at parties.  

Sausage and Bean Casserole

2 lb Bob Evans Original Sausage

1 cups chopped onion

1 can green beans, drained

1 can yellow beans, drained

1 can lima beans, drained

1 can kidney beans, drained

22 oz canned Campbell's pork and beans

1 can tomato soup

1 cup brown sugar

2T dried yellow mustard

1. Fry and drain sausage until cooked through.  
2. In large bowl, combine sausage, onion and beans
3. In separate bowl, combine tomato soup, brown sugar and dried mustard.  Mix well and add to sausage and beans.
4. Pour into baking dish and cover.  Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

*It's an easy recipe to substitue whatever type of beans you like.  Some of my aunts have even added sliced up hot dogs.  So good!

Blue Sky!

Today there are spots of bright blue sky and sun popping out from the clouds!  More snow and gray skies are predicted for this weekend.  It's still bitter cold, but that bit of sun can really be uplifting.

Blue is one of my favorite colors to work with.  Blue gemstones such as turquoise, chalcedony and lapis look so pretty against sterling silver.  Here are a few of my favorites in my ETSY shop.

Easy Beef Brisket Recipe

Let me start by reminding you that this is not a food blog, so please forgive my pictures :)

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and tweaked it a bit.  Yum!  I had to share!  This was our meal on a recent cold snowy Sunday.  The house smelled so good as it baked.  It was so easy, and I think it may be even better the next day!

3 lb beef brisket, trimmed of fat
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 lb carrots cut in big chunks
12 oz tomato-based chili sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
12 oz beer
salt & pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Season brisket with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Place brisket in glass baking dish and cover with sliced onions.  Arrange carrots around brisket.
4. In bowl, mix together chili sauce, brown sugar and beer.  Pour over brisket.
5. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 3 hours.  Remove foil and bake for an additional 30 minutes.
6. Remove brisket and let cool slightly.  Slice (against the grain) and return to the baking dish.

Enjoy!

ETSY Finds: Valentine Cards

I still love coming home to find a card in the mail!  There's something special about someone taking the time to pick out a card and send it in the mail.   And it's even more special when the card is handmade.  Here are some ideas for Valentine's Day cards I found on ETSY.  They all made me smile :)  Make sure you check out the shops of these talented artists:

Kumquat Paperworks

Goomie's World

Metsy Made

Le Trango

Ladybug On A Leaf Designs

Shelley's Craft Corner

Valentine's gift ideas

It's hard to believe that Valentine's Day is just a few weeks away.  Here are a few gift ideas for your Valentine, available in my ETSY shop  ♥

Welcome Marnie!

We've talked about getting a dog for so long and here she is!  Meet Marnie, our boston terrier rescue!  She is just over a year old and is a petite girl!  She's just under 10 lbs and is just the sweetest thing.  She loves cuddling and is definitely a lap dog.  

This is her first house - she's used to living in a pen, so it's been a big adjustment for her.  We're still working on potty training.  Of course that can be not so fun when it's 20 degrees outside!  She's getting used to having toys to play with and a warm bed.  She loves her new little fleece coat:

So sweet!