City of Trees - Boise

The colors of fall are so vibrant. Thought I should add a few pictures before I head off to sunny Florida this weekend because all the leaves could be gone by the time I get back. Enjoy!

House Warming at Jennifer's

Suzanne's cousin, Jen Fish, bought her first townhouse in Meridian and she hosted a really nice open house on Sunday. Many of the Bresnahan girls were there to wish Jen happiness and good times in her beautiful home. Zan also got to share her happy happy news with Grandma and the rest of the gang.

Suzanne and Jeff are engaged!

What turned out to be a beautiful fall Friday afternoon and a home football game between Boise State against Hawaii, turned out to be an even better day when Jeff asked Suzanne to marry him! Jeff and Suzanne first started having eyes for each other about 2 years ago, October, football season, and they've been together ever since. Jeff, being the romantic that he is, thought this was the perfect time to surprise Suzanne with his marriage proposal, almost 2 years to the day that their eyes met. He slipped a HUGE princess cut diamond ring surrounded by 2 sparkling sapphires (the diamond for his love to Suzanne, and the two sapphires for Rem and Grif). It was magic! Of course I didn't know what was happening since they were lovin' on each other until the crowd of about 9 men across from us burst out in cheers and applause! I thought, "what are they cheering about" when I asked Suzanne and she said "Mom, Jeff just asked me to marry him!". Seems the 9 guys witnessed the proposal when I was wasn't looking. Congratulations to Zan, Jeff, Rem and Grif. We love you all, and welcome to our family!

Boise Flight Tour

Wow! I only wish I would have taken my camera on the actual tour over Boise. Seeing Boise from the air on a beautiful sunny October day was incredible. Joe the Pilot flies like SuperMan!

Suzanne - Finish Line - City of Trees Half Marathon Boise

Feels good to have the race done and enjoy the sunshine. Final Time for the 13.1 miles half marathon: 1 Hour 43 minutes beating her projected goal by 7 minutes.

Quick Chick

Suzanne ran the City of Trees Half Marathon today. High Five to Zanna!

This was taken just prior to the 9 am start

Idaho Beef and Black Bean Chili

This is my first attempt of cooking for a community event, and hang on, it's a Chili Contest! And best of all, I won the contest! I got lots of raves and high fives so I am feeling pretty dang good about my recipe. The extra point came with the "Toasted Cumin Crema" sour cream topping I made to go with it. It was a VERY rainy October day, but the clouds cleared up long enough for people to enjoy the Harvest Fest from about 10 til 1. Then, the skies opened up and buckets of rain fell. I was out of chili, and chilled to the bone, so I headed home.

Idaho Black Bean and Beef Chili with Toasted Cumin Crema

1/4 cup olive oil
2 lbs ground beef
1 large onion, finely diced
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
4 gloves garlic, finely chopped
3 T. Ancho chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
1 large can chicken stock
1 (16 oz.) canned chopped tomatoes
1 small can chilpotle peppers, pureed
1 6 oz. can tomato paste
1 T. Honey
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 T. fresh lime juice
Toasted Cumin Crema

Brown ground beef in olive oil, season w/salt and pepper.
Transfer to a bowl, and reserve all but 3 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.
Add the onions, celery, garlic, cook until soft.
Add the ancho chili powder, and cumin and cook 2 more minutes.
Add the chicken broth and cook until completely reduced, about 20 minutes.
Return the beef to the pot, and the tomatoes, tomato paste, chipolte puree, and honey, bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium and simmer 45 minutes.
Add the beans and cook 15 minutes. Remove from heat, add the lime juice and adjust seasonings.

Serve with a dollop of Toasted Cumin Crema

Toasted Cumin Crema
1 T. cumin seed
1 cup Mexican crema or creme fraiche (I preferred the refrigerated crema found at Winco)
Salt & Pepper

Place the cumin seed in a small saute pan over medium heat.
Toast until lightly golden brown.
Place in a small bowl.
Stir in crema, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in a small bowl with small spoon, or a squeeze bottle.

Bean Bag Toss fun with the Girl Scouts

Look close - notice my pumpkins lined up nicely on the curb, and the orange cones I put on the street to block cars from parking in front of the gym, and my chili booth. Heck, you can't see the chili table or if the lines are long with cars blocking your view! Fred shook his head and realized yes, I have big kohunnas for using the cones but really, I wanted the kids to be safe from darting into traffic.

Half time at the Fan Van

Enjoying half time together at the Bronco Van with Hank Kilgo, Vicky and Suzanne

High Five to BSU! Broncos 38 - Louisana Tech 3

Boise State seems unbeatable! Game night was hot hot hot. 91' at kick-off. Looking forward to the next home game vs. Hawaii, Oct 17