It is nice to look at.

In nature, nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, and they're still beautiful.

~Alice Walker



I think snow is God's way of telling us to stay put. So today I listened. The roads ended up not being that bad, I am told, but I didn't really care. I was happy to stay home. I got so much done, cleaning- including steam cleaning the bedroom carpet, income taxes filed, some tasty bbq chops in the crock pot and most importantly, a nice long nap. No need to get dressed up for any of this, so I've hung out all day in my pjs. I did manage to take a shower, but pjs seemed like the best attire for a day spent at home with a fire going.

I promised to share note worthy items as I stumble upon them, and today I have two things I want to mention. One is Turbo Tax. I know, I know, it's been around forever, but I was a skeptic. After paying our accountant what I considered to be an inflated price for filling out our taxes last year, only to get audited and have to pay interest on his mistake did I seriously consider Turbo Tax. So I paid $49 for the Deluxe edition at Costco and I was set. It is super user friendly and unless I really screwed it up (time will tell) I was happy with the refund we are getting. The second thing is the flat rate priority mailing boxes at the post office. These boxes are meant to be stuffed as full as you can possibly manage and the price doesn't change except for the size of the box. And while I'm on the topic of post offices...I have some advice. Find a small, little post office that only has a couple people working and get to know them. The one in Trenton and the one in West Chester on Cin-Day Road are great examples. They will take care of you and always make sure you get the best deal.

The pork chops were awesome. They have a slightly smokey, bbq flavor and fell apart when I stuck a fork into them. By the way, if you haven't read Mary's blog Casa en la cocina lately check it out. She has had some really yummy stuff on there, and I LOVE the new format. (fancy, schmancy)

Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, but tonight we're home with a movie, if I can get NASCAR turned off :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Here's the recipe for the pork chops.

Slow Cooked BBQ Pork Chops

1 tablespoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
4 boneless pork loin chops
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree (I add a little extra)
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder*

Mix paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper together. Rub pork with olive oil then with spice mixture. Spray a skillet with nonstick cooking spray and sear chops on both sides.

Transfer chops to a plate and add onion to the skillet, cooking until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, ketchup, honey and chili powder. Spread half the sauce in the bottom of the crock pot. Top with the pork chops and the remaining sauce. Cover and cook until pork is fork tender, about 4 hours on low.

* If you do not have chipotle chili powder you can substitute 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon paprika and 1/2 teaspoon your favorite hot sauce.