Tradition

Today Ryan, my family, and I had our annual apple-picking adventure. We look so forward to this every year. We've been going every fall since I was in high school, maybe even before that. We were lucky today; it was hailing as we drove to the orchard, and the sun came out just as we got out of the car. :) We always take tons of pictures and today was no different...


I thought I'd start with some pics from years prior...

2004, just days after we got married... awwwww























2005, I thought this one was funny
















2006, def my favorite pic from last year



















2007... (my bro took a bunch of these... kudos to him)

















We also celebrated my daddy's birthday today (it was yesterday)! I made white chicken chili and apple crisp.... major yum. Since I didn't participate in the blog recipe exchange when it was first suggested, I thought I'd post the recipes for BOTH to make up for my slacker-dom... the chili was especially good, it was more brothy and like soup than chili, but it was so freakin delicious.... seriously, I might go heat some more up now....


White Chicken Chili
serves 6 (I doubled it for my family of 7, and had to use my big crockpot)

Ingredients:
-1 48 oz can great northern beans, rinsed & drained
-2-3 C cooked chicken (I used 1 whole rotissere chicken, it made exactly 3 cups)
-1 C chopped onion
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-2 tsp ground cumin
-1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed
-1/2 tsp salt
-3 raw carrots, sliced
-3 1/2 C chicken broth
optional
-shredded monterey jack cheese
-broken tortilla chips
-sour cream

1. In a 3 1/2 or 4 quart slow cooker, stir drained beans, chicken, onion, carrots, spices, and broth all together
2. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours
3. Top with cheese, chips, and sour cream if desired.

IT WAS AMAZING! Seriously. So easy, too.


Check out the apple crisp recipe here... it was delish and all of the credit goes to Martha, hehe (too lazy to type the whole thing out when I can just link it)!


Such a fun day! Now how about re-heating that chili while we watch game 4...