Jackie's Easy Slow Cooker Red Chili

Chili seems like such a simple recipe, and it truly is. However I have learned, by way of enjoying many Chili Cook-offs, that nearly no two are alike! Everyone has adopted their own methods and ingredients, whether working entirely from scratch, or taking advantage of commercial products to keep things easy.

As a busy mom, I generally gravitate to my White Chicken Chili, but every now and then I crave a big pot of old fashioned red chili.

After tasting a lot of different chili recipes, I've definitely learned what I really don't care for in chili. I don't want corn or onion for starters, which seem to be common in chili recipes. And it has to have some cheese and preferably sour cream for topping.  You can eat it with crackers or cornbread, sure - but I'll take a good flour tortilla to scoop up every last bite.

Chili was something we had often in my childhood. I think it was a simple 'end of pay period' type of meal.  I learned a few tricks of the trade from my mom who raised four of us while working full time, that I feel sets it a bit apart.

This isn't 'from scratch ' - this is the sort of dump and cook recipe that has minimal prep time, and will provide a hearty meal for several people using mostly items you likely have in your pantry already.  I mean, it's basically a bunch of canned goods with the addition of a pound of ground beef.

To be honest, it probably wouldn't hurt to exclude the meat entirely if need be, making this entirely a pantry meal.

Jackie's Easy Slow Cooker Red Chili

Ingredients
1 can Pinto Beans
1 can dark red Kidney Beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can seasoned Chili Beans
1 can diced tomatoes (Rotel gives it some nice heat)
1 can Hormel chili (No Beans)
1 package chili seasoning
1 lb ground beef

I am aware that you CAN put raw meat in the crock pot, but the idea always makes me a bit squeemish, so I prefer to precook. So on that note--

1, Brown ground beef in a pan and add to crock pot.

2, Open all cans and add to crock pot. DO NOT DRAIN ANY,

3. Mix together, then add seasoning packet. No need to add liquid as the cans have provided plenty.
4. Put on low and let simmer for 3+ hours.  Everything is already cooked - you're just letting the flavors have plenty of time to meld.

That's literally it. It is ready to eat. However, here are a few tips:

As you can tell my picture and ingredients don't match up entirely. I didn't have any light kidney so instead of making less, I chose to add a can on Cannelini (white kidney beans) instead. It really made no noticeable difference aside from visually. Use whatever beans you have on hand - black beans work well here, too.  Using a variety of beans keeps it interesting.

I usually use a HOT chili seasoning packet but again was out, so it wasn't as hot as I normally make it. This is where personal bowling comes into play.

If it isn't hot enough, add Chipotle powder, hot sauce, cayenne or red pepper flakes to spice it to your liking.  Hot sauce and pepper flakes can be added to individual bowls, so that everyone can enjoy their chili to their own taste.

To me, it just isn't right without shredded cheddar cheese and a dollop of sour cream!

As I mentioned, I prefer to dip a tortilla into mine, but my husband likes to crunch up a million crackers into it until it is sludge.. I suppose there is no wrong way....except his. ;)

Enjoy!

Total side note review – this was my very first time trying crock pot liners. I can never go back. Talk about the simple life!

Review/Giveaway: CurlyCoilyTresses

I was recently given the opportunity to try CurlyCoilyTresses, a line of fragrance-free, natural hair care products especially made for curly or natural hair.

First, let me start this review off with a little background story (short version) of my own natural hair journey. I wanted to become natural because I wanted to see more growth and healthier hair for me. Now please don't take this as my saying you cannot achieve those things with having relaxed hair, this is just my path that I am taking.

For years I have been trying to grow my hair longer but it was never something I could get a handle on between the split ends and the heat damage. I was putting braids of some kind in every other month, and my hair was out of control.

So off to the BIG CHOP (which was horrible but amazing at the same time, I did not like my hair being the same as my four year old).

By then, no styles seemed to work for me, no shampoo seemed to help nor conditioners. I was sure my hair was just meant to be a Brillo pad like sponge.

Then I started searching the web and learning to listen to my hair and for now, I can say I do know different techniques to get my curls tamed. Even so, it seems at times that my hair either stops responding to some products altogether or I have to keep going from product to product every so often to keep the results that I love.

So when I was given the chance to review a hair product I was interested, not only for myself but my son who has eczema and almost everything I put in his hair will cause him to break out.
                                                   
At the time I received my CurlyCoilyTresses review items, I was doing a co-wash only phrase because the weather was truly making my hair break off and as much as I tried I could not keep the moisture in.

I was very happy to receive the Babassu Coconut Oat Moisturizing Combination Pack (available on their website for $30), with two separate products designed to deal with my hair situation.

First, out came the Babassu Coconut Oat Moisturizing Treatment.

On the bottle it states, "Revolutionary approach to hair care. Unscented. Fragrance free. No masking agents. pH balanced. Moisturizing. Hydrating. Rejuvenating. Formulated for fine to coarse natural and relaxed textures. Can also be used on braided and locked hair and as a pre-shampoo treatment and conditioning wash (co-wash). Encourages defined, frizz free curls and hydrates and softens hair."

Reading this, I was quite optimistic because I fall under the coarse natural and DRYYYYY hair and I wanted to see if this could help my journey.

In the course of reviewing this product, I tried it over SEVERAL washes and as a pre-shampoo, co-wash, wash-n-go and as a conditioner.

1st time: I used this product as a co-wash, and per the direction you are to saturate hair with water and generously apply to the full length of  wet hair. Gently massage scalp and hair, then rinse well.

FAIL

When I came out of the shower to finish my hair off I thought I would try a twist out but there was not enough moisture nor was my hair soften which made it very near to impossible to twist. I ended up adding another moisturizer to my hair to even get it to work with me.

2nd time: I used this product on my son instead, and was VERY PLEASED!!! with the results, though it does not say anything about itch relief. I noticed that he was not scratching his head all day nor did I see his eczema, so WIN there!

Now I wanted to try it again but to pair it with the Babassu Coconut Oat Moisturizing Leave In. So I co-washed again, and after I washed it out I was meet with the same results. This time, I immediately applied the Leave In. My results were very much improved from the 1st try, but still not where I wanted them to be and I was not able to twist my thick hair.

So because I wanted to keep trying, I added more of the leave in then before, and was able to twist my hair somewhat that night.

The morning results were not at all amazing and I ended up wearing a cap all day.

New night new trial.

This time I used the treatment as a pre-shampoo. I used my cheap sulfate-free shampoo to cleanse my hair. Then I applied the leave in, but this time I added it while still in a hot steamy shower and was able to do a twist out with no fighting.

The results in the morning was AMAZING!

The curls were actually curly, coily and stress free! My only regret that day was simply not having anywhere to go.

Leaving the Treatment in for 45 minutes seems to do the trick for me because it allows my hair time to soak it all in and actually be beneficial.

Which made the Leave In be the icing on the cake for keeping my hair soft after I left the shower.

I continue to use this for my son, and at the moment this is the only product I can put in his hair without him complaining of it itching.

Which, in my opinion is one of the benefits of having a product that doesn't add unnecessary ingredients to keep a scent to it, and just focuses on quality hair care.

So HUGE reason for me to buy more!

My overall thoughts on these products are that it seemed like a miss in the beginning, but turned out to be something that I can actually use and reuse, once I learned how to best approach it.

For now, I have had to switch to a different product for awhile, not due to the product not performing, but because my hair does this with all products I have to change it up to keep it happy.

But I have to point out that I was able to use this for much longer before my hair did its rejecting phrase! Which in the end worked out great, because I literally used up all the Treatment and Leave In within the 3 months you are to use it before throwing it away.

But not before I gave my hair a 2 week break and placed in some kinky twist, and as we all know that first wash is the wash that you have to try your hardest not to scratch out all your new growth. I was very pleased that I was able to use the CurlyCoilyTresses Treatment to help stop the itching.

I thought it was interesting that my son and I had different experiences using the same products. The
method that worked for me was using the Treatment as a pre-shampoo which you leave in for 45 minutes, then using the Leave In to make the moisture last.  For my son, the method that worked best was using the Treatment as his co-wash, and when needed adding a little bit of the Leave In.

The Babassu Coconut Oat Moisturizing Treatment is available on their website for $18.00 and the Babassu Coconut Oat Moisturizing Leave In is available for $16, making these products a very affordable way to repair and manage your hair without any worries about allergies.

CurlyCoilyTresses is letting us do a Giveaway, so that two of our US readers can try these out for themselves!

One winner will get a coupon code to receive the Moisturizing Treatment, and the other will get a code to receive the Leave In moisturizer. Read on to see how you can enter!

To enter the giveaway, you must leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Giveaway Tools Entry Form below. This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open to US RESIDENTS ONLY and will end just before midnight ET on 4-18. 

The winners will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway. In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

The first winner to respond to the notification email will receive their choice of product. The second winner will receive the one not chosen by the first winner.

Once the winners have responded and confirmed, their first names will be posted on our Giveaways  page.

Good luck!

Entry-Form

Review/Giveaway: Sincerely Ginger Jewelry Paw Print Collection

Among my very favorite things is discovering companies that include charitable causes as a part of their focus - it's been my pleasure to be able to review of few of these, and now I get to do another!

Sincerely Ginger is a line of quality jewelry, currently available in two collections: the Pinwheel Birthstone Collection that supports the American Red Cross, and the Paw Print Collection, which provides a generous portion of the sales to the Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society (PAWS).

PAWS is the sort of charity near and dear to my heart.  Our own dog, Sadie has been with us for many years now. She was a rescue dog and is now in her mid-teens.

No-kill shelters that help find forever homes for dogs like her are doing incredibly important work.

Sincerely Ginger's Jewelry Paw Print Collection includes a variety of pieces that portray a dog's paw print. All of Ginger's jewelry is made with fine quality silver or gold, and some include precious gems as well. This isn't costume jewelry and prices reflect the materials that are used.

I received for review a pair of the Paw Earrings with Swarovski CZ, which sells for $75.00 on her website.  I was charmed before I even opened the package by the cloth and ribbon wrapped box, and was very happy when I opened it to reveal the earrings.

These earrings, along with Sincerely Ginger's other silver jewelry, are made with a type of silver called Argentium Silver, which not only provides a lovely highly reflective white shine that is very tarnish resistant, but is also made with recycled silver so that it reduces impact on the environment.  Crystal chips provide an added bit of glitter.  This same design is also available with diamonds for $360.

When it comes to earrings, there are two things that will lead me to wear them often:

1. Do they look good?  That seems like a no brainer, because who would buy jewelry they don't think looks good?  But sometimes earrings look better on their card than in my ears - especially dangles, which sometime hang at an odd angle so that I'm constantly adjusting them.  Sometimes the color simply doesn't suit me, or the earrings get lost or tangled in my hair.

2. Is it comfortable? The answer to this can be no for several reasons - earrings that are heavy enough to pull, or if they are made with reactive metals that lead to itching.  Sometimes, they seem to just not be well balanced, leading to their either trying to fall out, or to jamming themselves into my earlobe in an uncomfortable way.  If I am breathing a sigh of relief when it's time to take them out, I'm probably going to hesitate before wearing them again.

The Sincerely Ginger Silver Paws Earrings pass both of these issues with flying colors.  They lay like a dream, and catch the light very easily.  The curved hook is attractively shaped and stays in place (small plastic tubes come with them to ensure that they don't get lost).  They cause absolutely no irritation, either where they are inserted into my ear or on the skin where the dangle touches.

And in fact, they're so comfortable that a couple weeks ago, after I'd put them on, I forgot all about them and slept in them - and still didn't realize I had them in.  I don't know if I've ever slept in dangle earrings before without quickly realizing the mistake, because that is uncomfortable!

But I didn't realize it at all until the next morning - and in fact, I've kept them in since, with no problems and no discomfort at all!

In addition to Sincerely Ginger's Jewelry Collections, she is also now offering soy candles in a range of colors and scents.  Like the jewelry, a portion of the sales price goes to the buyer's choice of charity (PAWS or the American Red Cross), and on the lid of the candles it says, "With this Candle I helped save a life."

All in all, I am very happy with these earrings, and with Sincerely Ginger's focus on giving back, and would heartily recommend her jewelry to anyone seeking high quality, fun and unique jewelry.  I think any of these pieces would make a welcome gift and could easily become a signature piece for a dog loving woman.

I am really excited that RCHReview is able to host a Giveaway of Sincerely Ginger's Textured Paw Necklace!  This gorgeous piece, valued at $100, is made of Argentium Silver, and the paw has a textured surface sure to catch the light as the wearer moves.  The pendant comes with a 20" silver chain.

Read on to see how you can enter to win!



Sincerely Ginger Jewelry
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To enter the giveaway, you must leave a comment in this entry as instructed by the Giveaway Tools Entry Form below. This will open up additional optional entries to increase your odds of winning.

This giveaway is open WORLD WIDE and will end just before midnight ET on 4-16. 

The winner will be notified by email within 24 hours after the end of the giveaway. In order to claim the giveaway prize, the winner will need to respond within 24 hours of notification, or an alternate winner will be selected.

Once the winner has responded and confirmed, their first name will be posted on our Giveaways  page.

Good luck!

Entry-Form