Today we gathered to celebrate the fall birthdays in our family. With a little planning, we were able to go to church and get back in time for everyone to have chili and of course, cake and ice cream for dessert. It was our first family celebration together in our new house. We all headed out to the backyard to eat. I had saved a rug so we could lay it down for the children (and grandma). The weather was beautiful and Maisie explored geckos and flowers with Aunt Rhiannon, Uncle Evan taught Caden how to use the bubble gun, and laughter and gentle conversation were lovely background noise – all moments I cherish. Let me talk about the fun an inexpensive bubble gun can create with small children and keep the adults hands bubble liquid free. Here is one similar to what we have. The food was simple – the people were precious and the time together was priceless.
Here is how it all came about. The weekend before I combined the the ingredients for Pumpkin Turkey Chili. I made 2 batches and froze each batch in a ziplock bag which was placed in a bowl and frozen. I did this so it can be placed in my Instant Pot. However, it could be cooked on top of the stove after it was thawed. This saved me a lot of time. On Saturday, I set out on the counter for a few hours to thaw and then placed in refrigerator. In the morning I placed both ziplock bags in the Instant Pot and placed on Saute for 5 minutes. This will heat up any of the contents that may be still be frozen. I then locked the lid down and placed on Manual for 11 minutes. Then I headed off to church. When I got home I opened the lid and it was perfect. I put the lid back on and kept on warm until we were ready to eat at 11:30 a.m. On our kitchen island were all kind of toppings: cheddar cheese, diced green onions, diced cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, salsa and chips.
While I was putting the chili together for the freezer the week before, I also made up a Banana Cake. It was cooled on the counter, covered with foil and placed in the freezer. Last night I took it out and placed on the counter to thaw. This morning before church I made up the vanilla buttercream frosting, made up the birthday banner from Lemonade Moments
By the time I got home from church, I diced the onions and cilantro and got all the fixings ready to go. The plastic bowls and spoons were put out and we were ready to enjoy each other’s company rather than being in the kitchen.
