It's A Sweet Life!

Two More Sleeps

2009-12-22T21:19:00.000-08:00

The shopping is done. The presents are wrapped. The baking is baked, and the goodies are packaged, waiting to be delivered to friends and neighbors. The meal is going to be simple to prepare, and the table is set. Christmas music fills the air, and I find myself humming along. I have one errand to run tomorrow, and some last minute groceries to pick up, and I am done. I plan to enjoy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with my family.
Here are some pictures I took today. The table is set for Christmas Eve dinner. My Mom and Nana will be coming to share a feast of home made tamales, chicken and beef tacos, beans, rice, chips and guacamole. Pie and assorted Christmas goodies for dessert.

I was waiting at home today for a Christmas delivery, and I kept checking out the living room window to see if it was here. This is what I saw......A closer look....

"You lookin' at me?"

The delivery came, and I was able to dash out to meet my Mom and Gennifer and my niece Deanna for lunch at Rodrigo's. Gennifer did Deanna's hair today, and she looked adorable. I wish I had brought my camera.

Went back home and made these oh so tasty treats.....

They are cinnamon french toast pretzels. Super easy to make, and oh my goodness are they addicting! I got this recipe off of one of my friend's blogs. Linda, from Behind my Red Door. She got it from one of her friends, and I am afraid I cannot remember who. Trust me, these are well worth making. Only a few ingredients, and they make up very quickly. You will need, a large bag of the small pretzel twists. 1/2 cup of oil (it called for a wee more, but I wanted to cut it back and this was perfectly adequate), 1/3 cup sugar, 2 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, plus cinnamon sugar for sprinkling. White chocolate for drizzling.

Mix your oil and sugar and cinnamon together well. Put your pretzels in a large bowl, and pour sugar mixture over pretzels, mixing well to coat. I had to use my 30 year old large Tupperware bowl for this. You can transfer them to a microwave safe dish after mixing well. Micro on high power for one minute. Stir well, and micro for another minute. Stir again, and then pour out onto cookie sheets lined with waxed paper(for easier clean up) in a single layer. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture. Melt your white chocolate. I used Nestle morsels, and microwaved half at a time, at 70% power, for 2-3 minutes, stirring it every 30 seconds or so, watching to not over cook. Using a small whisk, I just dipped the whisk into chocolate and drizzled onto pretzels. You could use a squeeze bottle for a much neater appearance, but I didn't feel the need. Let cool on cookie sheets. I actually placed sheets into fridge for 15 minutes, then bagged them up. And ate all the broken pieces just to make sure they were fittin' for give away!! They were!!! I made all of my neighbors gifts, and wrapped and packaged everything for delivery tomorrow.

Then realized it was nearly dark and I hadn't made dinner!! I still had a lot of asparagus and enough of everything to make the potato quiche again. I whipped one up and popped it in the oven, and it was even better this time for some reason.
On a sad note, today I got a phone call from our dear friends Ron and Sue. Ron's mother passed away last night, after suffering a stroke in the early hours of Sunday morning. Just minutes before Ron's sister was to pick her up and take her to the train station to come out here to spend Christmas with Ron and Sue. I have had a heavy heart all day, thinking about them. We spoke to Ron this evening after they had returned back home, and it was good to talk to him. I know that their Christmas will hold special meaning this year..
So as we celebrate the birth of Jesus on Friday,, remember to also celebrate those special people in your life. Tell them you love them. We are just visiting this place, and time flies. Don't take a single day for granted.
Ron and Sue...we love you.

Brownie Alpine Biscotti

2009-12-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

My friend Lauri requested that I post the recipe for the biscotti I posted last night. This comes from Taste of Home Holiday collection magazine 08. This is easy, as it starts with a box of brownie mix. However, I thought the dough was a wee bit thin, and am anxious to make a couple of other biscotti recipes this week to compare. But they are quite tasty, and overall, I was pleased. Also, I think I would add a tiny bit more almond extract to this recipe.

Brownie Alpine Biscotti

1 package fudge brownie mix

3/4 cup ground almonds ( I used my coffee grinder for this)

1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder

1 egg, plus 3 egg whites

1 tsp. almond extract

1/4 cup sliced almonds (optional)

3 squares, 1 oz. ea., white baking chocolate, optional ( I used Nestle white morsel chips and melted 1/2 cup to drizzle over biscotti cookies, then sprinkled sliced almonds on top)

In large bowl combine brownie mix, flour, ground almonds and baking powder. In a small bowl whisk eggs and almond extract. Add to dry ingredients. Stir until combined.

Divide dough into thirds. On a greased baking sheet, using greased hands, shape dough into rectangles measuring 7" by 31/2". Bake at 350 for 24 min. Remove from oven and cool on sheets for 5 minutes. While still warm, using strong spatula, remove rectangles to cutting board, and using a serrated knife, slice into 3/4" slices. Place cut side onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for additional 12-14 minutes, until firm. I baked mine for 12 and it seemed perfect. Cool on wire racks and drizzle with white chocolate and sprinkle with sliced almonds if desired. When chocolate is completely set, place in ziplock bags, or airtight container. Says it makes 2 1/2 dozen, but nah....only about 11/2 dozen, for me. A wee more, perhaps. Yummy, and fun to make. I am making several others for my neighbors, so I will post the good recipes.

Biscotti means twice baked in Italian.

Buon Appetito!

This, That, And Everything In Between.....

2009-12-19T00:14:00.000-08:00

First we have Noah helping Gamma make some Pumpkin-Apple Muffins. He is a good helper!And next is a Potato Crust Asparagus & Ham Quiche, from my friend Pam at For The Love Of Cooking Blog. This was SO delicious! I can't wait to make it again. It holds together so nicely with the potato crust, and is much more figure friendly without the pastry. I also used reduced fat swiss cheese in this recipe with great results.The soft glow of the tree.An attempt to get a picture of Ducey by the sled. And actually, I was hoping to get Noah to put the Santa hat on (thanks Amy for the idea) but he said NO THANK YOU! Some change in table decor.. I cut out holiday shapes out of card stock using cookie cutters, and then glued old sheet music to the shapes for my place cards for Christmas Eve dinner.The placemats are too pretty to be covered up, and I forgot to take a picture without the plates on them. White embossed chargers, with holiday berry plates. Christmas wine glasses, and frosted tea lights scattered around the table. Center piece is a sled given to me by my friend Maryrose, many years ago. I have two pointsettias in it with some greenery. The tea lights are battery candles that flicker. Made biscotti for the first time ever tonight. Chocolate Almond with white chocolate drizzled on top. The boot is a ceramic piece I painted when Drew was a baby. I love this piece and use it every year. .

Seven more days to finish my shopping, and baking. We are having my Mom and Nana come to Christmas Eve dinner.. We will be having a Mexican Feast. And then we are going to the 11:00 service at church. Phew....it's almost here!

Holiday Field Trip

2009-12-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today we took our girls and their families to Bass Pro Shop to see Santa and have lunch and do a little shopping . Drew is moving this weekend, ~~and he could not have cared less about this outing, even though we invited him~~, so he couldn't come with us. They have a terrific seafood restaurant there, so we ate lunch first. And I accidentally put a page break in my post and could not delete it, so you have to click "read more" to finish reading this post.

They saw us coming with three little ones, and quickly decided to seat us in a private dining room far, far away from the other diners!!! It was perfect for us. Our meal was wonderful, from the cinnamon bimini bread to the gator we sampled beforehand. The kids were perfect! Hannah started to feel a little crummy towards the end, and they decided to head home instead of wait in line to see Santa.

Here is Hannah and Geeps, looking at the trout in the stream. I love this picture of Gennifer and her Dad!

And Clairey Beary....so cute and full of energy! She was sharing her cookie with Mommy. Here is Hannah digging in to her grilled cheese. And Noah enjoying his milk.

The line to see Santa went very quickly. At first Noah gave Santa a little bit of a sideways glance. But he warmed up right away.

Santa gave him a candy cane after Noah showed him his teeth, and told him what he wanted for Christmas. And before he said goodbye to Santa, he gave him a fist pound!!!Then he went with Dad to take some target practice while sucking on his candy cane. We left and bought some kettle corn, because who can resist that when it is being made right there in front of you? And took one last picture of Jeremy and Erika and Noah, and headed for home. We had a great time, despite the holiday crowds. I wish Hannah had felt better so we could have seen the girls with Santa too. Next time maybe.

If any of you have a Bass Pro Shop near you, try to go visit. They have done a fantastic job with their holiday decorating, and they have tons of things for kids to see and do.

Closer To Christmas....

2009-12-09T21:04:00.000-08:00

If it is true that having a bird nest in your Christmas tree, will bring you luck in the coming year, then we should be having quite a good 2010!! This year, I left all of my ornaments and baubles in the box, and decorated with birds, bird nests, and coppery brown poinsettias. I do have a few strands of lights on the tree as well. And it is so pretty in the evening, with just a soft glow of light. I am enjoying getting prepared for Christmas this year, more so than in a very long time. After losing my dad 6 years ago, right before Christmas, the holiday magic was lost. But now, we have three bouncing little grandchildren, that have brought the magic back. Everything is brand new again this season. And seeing Christmas through the eyes of a child is truly something to enjoy!

My Son The Music Man

2009-12-06T21:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.myspace.com/drewgrovermusic

My son is a gifted musician. He taught himself to play guitar, when he was 14, and he plays both accoustic and electric, as well as harmonica and some piano. He has a beautiful voice, and he writes all of his own music. He has had a gig playing in a coffee house, and has played at our church during worship, and he has been asked by someone who heard his music on Myspace to play at a music club in Upland in February. Go to the above link and check out his newest songs and leave him your comments. Thanks.
Proud Mama

Red Lobster Cheesy Biscuits-OH MY!!

2009-11-15T19:04:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I went out to look at some houses with Erika and Jeremy and Noah. When we got home, it was cold, breezy and dinner time. Greg pulled up just after we did, and I had enough of the Beef Barley Soup for one more go round. I put it on to heat and made the Red Lobster Cheese and Garlic Biscuits to go with.
The soup was even better second go round, and the biscuits were heavenly. If you like Red Lobster biscuits, you will love these.
2 Cups Bisquik
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese
1/4 cup melted butter
2 tsp garlic powder
Mix first three ingredients until dough forms. Scoop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake in 450 degree oven for 8-10 min. Don't let them become over brown. For my oven, 8 minutes is perfect. While in oven, melt butter, and stir in garlic. When biscuits come out of oven, brush melted butter and garlic onto biscuit tops. Enjoy!

For the LIFE of me, I cannot figure out why I keep getting these shadows on my pictures. Mainly when taking them in the kitchen under direct lighting. I have tried changing the angle I shoot, and every which way, but still, I get shadows!!! I have tried everything, and I can't seem to escape it! Greg thought it might be my camera strap hanging down, but it isn't that. Any ideas anyone?
Regarding recipes...I am afraid they will be changing up a bit now. I am biting the bullet and heading myself back to Weight Watchers tomorrow. I remember when I lost all that weight a few years back, I thought I would lose the joy in cooking. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that I rather enjoyed the challenge of making our favorite foods more healthy and figure friendly. I got out of my good habits, and realize that I will forever have to watch my weight, so this seems to be the best way to keep it off. I love the program, and it works. I have also been back to the park early in the morning, 3 days a week for brisk walking, and it sure feels good. So start looking for some of my favorite lo fat, healthy recipes from now on. And, maybe an occasional blast from the past too. You gotta live, right?

Happy 1st Birthday Claire!!!

2009-11-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

Today, our little Claire turned 1! I just can't believe how fast a year has gone. In fact, how fast all of the years have gone! Seems like yesterday that our girls were babies. And then when they got to school age, along came little brother Drew. And "our" baby will be 21 in a few weeks. But...back to Claire. Genny and Jake decided to skip on a big party for Claire. She will never have missed it, and it made it much less stressful for them. Plus, seems that someone has been sick constantly lately in their family. And in ours too. So tonight we went over to wish our little Claire Bear a Happy 1st Birthday. She was so cute. Taking a few steps here and there, but not yet toddling all over. She liked her new toys, and so did big sis Hannah. Geeps and Gamma love you Claire! Happy Birthday!

Winner-Winner, Chicken Dinner

2009-11-18T10:24:00.000-08:00

Last night I made a Weight Watcher chicken dish. It was so tender and flavorful, one would never have known it was so low in calories and points. I made it here at home, and we brought the dinner over to Gennifer's house so we could celebrate Claire's 1st Birthday, so none of this is plated.

Oven roasted brussel sprouts with crisp bacon added. See my OV GLOVE? If you don't have one...GET one!!! I cut up half a pound of bacon into small lengthwise pieces. Fry it up on medium/high heat, but here's the twist. This little hint makes frying bacon SO much easier, and almost no splattering this way. Put your bacon in the pan, and add about a cup or so of water to the pan. The bacon will bounce around in that hot water and bacon grease, frying up so much more evenly, more crisp, and without spitting and spattering all over the place. I still use a splatter screen, but it isn't necessary. Drain bacon on paper towels. I only used a small amount of this to top the brussel sprouts, and froze the rest for salads and other things.

Love the new blogger options with larger pics, but hate the new system for moving pics and text around! So, til I get that all figured out, my posts will not be in sequential order. Above...the gadget of the week picture, is my hand held lemon juicer. This baby gets more juice out of a lemon that any other method out there. Well worth the 15.00 bucks or so it costs at Sur la Table. Below lemons is photo of ingredients for this yummy Tuscan Chicken.
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
zest of one lemon
1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 tsp olive oil
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 T minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp. course sea salt
1-2 T balsamic vinegar
Put chicken in ziplock bag. Add oil, and with bag closed, distribute to all pieces. Then add rest of ingredients to coat, EXCEPT balsamic vinegar.
Close bag and make sure spices coat chicken well.
Put chicken in 400 degree oven on a short sided baking sheet. Bake 30 min. Then pull out sheet, and drizzle balsamic vinegar on chicken and turn oven up to 450 and bake additional 10 minutes. Remove chicken, cover and let rest.
I put my veggies in oven for last 15 min. of bake time. I like the leaves on the sprouts to get brown and crispy. For them, I lightly drizzled olive oil, then sprinkled sea salt and cracked pepper, toss and bake. I served this with white jasmine rice. A definite triple star for the chicken!

1 Card Table, Plus 3 Blankets = A Very Happy Toddler For 1 Whole Day!!

2009-11-19T15:13:00.000-08:00

WHAT? Thanksgiving is in 3 days?

2009-11-23T17:09:00.000-08:00

I don't know where time goes? I have been so busy lately that I don't know whether I am coming or going. Usually, I am extremely organized. Just ask anyone who knows me. Disgustingly so......as in having my spice drawer alphabetized, and my pantry neat and orderly, with soup stacked with soup, and tomatoes with tomatoes, and so on. I wake early, and as soon as my feet hit the floor, I have the bed made and am starting the first load of laundry within a few minutes of waking up. The big joke in my family is that everyone only needed one pair of underwear because at night when the laundry was put in the hamper, I often times had the days dirty clothes washed, dryed, folded and put back away before the next morning. So the underwear wound up back on the top of the stack, and I had to rotate so the rest would be worn too!   However....nowadays...not so much. I am biz-Z!!!!   And the holidays have snuck up on me all of a sudden like!!!!
We are going to our oldest daughter, Genny's for Thanksgiving.   She was going to be cooking her first turkey, and I was going to teach her how. But, she has been sick, her family has been sick, we have been sick, and no one feels like spending a day in the kitchen. Sooooo, yesterday morning, Greg and I went to Polly's for breakfast and ordered the whole feast! We did it last year too, but at Marie Callender's. So we will do a shoot out and see who's is best. We are all making some of our own favorite dishes as well. But looking forward to a more relaxing day, without having to tend to a large meal in the kitchen.
The following pictures are quite random, and have no correlation to this post whatsoever. But I have been wanting to try a couple things I have seen in bloggy land.   Making my own laundry soap.

The top picture is of two cookbooks I got this past week. Hungry Girl is a lady who loves to eat, loves to cook, but needs to eat healthy to keep her weight off. The books are FABULOUS!!! I just had my first week of Weight Watchers, and lost 3.5 pounds. I am a life time member and have done this before. But most of the weight "found" me again. Imagine that. I renewed my WW vows, and am back in the saddle again. I highly recommend these two books. I bought mine at Target. The WW points can be found on her website for each recipe as well, to help you stay on track.
That's it from here today. Gotta jammy up early for Dancing With The Stars!
See ya in a few days.

Thanksgiving At Gennifer and Jake's House

2009-11-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

Me and my girls getting the food ready. Polly did all the cooking, and it was great!!! Better than Marie's last year. We may never cook a holiday meal again. In fact, in this morning's paper we saw the ad for Wood Ranch's holiday meal. I think we may get that for Christmas!!!!!

Photo below is Greg and Drew and Erika, Hannah and Claire waiting for dinner. Noah had to go to "the others" for Thanksgiving, and we sure did miss him. It was not a good day for Erika. I hate blogger! I can't put space between my photos with this new upgrade, so I have to do commentary all in this one space. So..beginning with photo number 3, Gennifer set a beautiful table......#4-Our hostess with the mostess...#5-Hannah loved clinking the glasses to say "cheers" and everyone got a "cheers" as she went around the table to each one of us....#6-Erika felt the need to tie one on!!!....#7-The sisters.....#8-Mmmmm, Hannah says this is the best whip cream ever, and the pumpkin pie isn't half bad either!....#9- Claire Bear just looking cute!!!....#10- Hannah invited Daddy down to the floor where she had spread her blankie out in front of the fire, and asked him to play her a game of Dora Dominoes before bedtime. How cute is that!!! And we all participated in a rousing game of Toy Story Memory before she went up to bed. Claire missed out, she was already in dreamland. It was a perfect and relaxing Thanksgiving Day. Thank you Gennifer and Jake!!!!

Chicken Pot Pie....Hungry Girl Style

2009-12-04T21:54:00.000-08:00

This recipe for a reduced fat and Weight Watcher friendly Chicken Pot Pie is not good.....It is GREAT!! It comes from one of the cookbooks I mentioned a couple weeks ago called Hungry Girl. WONDERFUL stuff in these cookbooks! This was fast and oh so tasty. I doubled it, but am giving it to you from the book.
8 oz. chicken breast or chicken tenders
3 cups frozen veggies
1 10.75 oz. can of 98% fat free cream of celery soup
3 servings of reduced fat crescent rolls
Salt and pepper to taste

Cut chicken into bite sized pieces and cook in pan sprayed with Pam. Add veggies and soup. Season with fresh cracked pepper and salt. If your pan can go from stove top to oven, just use same pan, and put into 350 degree oven for 30 min. Meanwhile, take 3 crescent rolls and smoosh (is that a word?) together the dough, and roll out thin into circle to top pot pie. I used a 9" pan and cooked my meat, then added veggies, and soup, and put whole pan into oven for 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and top with rolled out dough. Just set on top of pan, no crimping is even necessary. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until brown on top.
1/4 of pie 5 points. You will NOT even notice that this is low calorie and so much healthier for you than the typical version of pot pie. You WILL love this!!!

Ready Or Not.......Santa Is Coming!!!!

2009-11-27T20:29:00.000-08:00

Oh, if any of you tried the ornament wreaths, be SURE to use a hot glue gun to glue the top piece onto the ornaments. Otherwise, you will have them popping off right and left, and it will make a huge difference. The first one I did was awful. After I had done another one, I could see the huge difference. I wound up taking that first one apart because the ornaments kept falling off. So take the extra time to glue then together if you try this.

I have begun to take a few Christmas things out, but only the new things I have purchased, as our boxes are still up in the rafters. We will take those down tomorrow and get started on decorating. Here is a picture of some of my kitchen chairs that I wove a table runner through the backs of, and tied into bows. I love how this dresses up the chairs.
I notice this year that a lot of people are putting their Christmas decorations out earlier than usual. I wonder why that is? We were at Genny and Jake's for leftovers tonight, and I love to see how my kids decorate their homes for the holidays. I will go check out Erika and Jeremy's place this weekend too. I usually have some cast off items to give them as well.
So, ready or not, Santa is on his way................

Decking The Halls

2009-12-01T18:25:00.000-08:00

I got this Merry Christmas sign at the after Christmas sale at Tai Pan last year. It was fun to unwrap some of the goodies I had forgotten all about!

This is my kitchen table and dining table. No formal dining room in my house. I bought these dishes about 20 years ago at Kmart. I have them sitting on a white embossed edge charger. I love taking them out every year to use for the holidays. These are what we use every day. I do plan to begin looking for some formal Christmas dishes too. Maybe I will buy a couple place settings this year after Christmas and add to it every year. The Santa napkin rings were also a post Christmas Tai Pan purchase. The little votive candles are sitting in antique jello molds with a little rice in the dish to hold them.

My little Christmas tree in the kitchen has tin cookie cutters on it and a swag of colored bulbs on jute.
This is a little corner of my kitchen. I change out the lamp for the different seasons. I had a pumpkin folk art lamp for the fall. The cookbooks on the holder are Christmas books. The one in front is Paula Deen, and we do several of her dishes for Christmas breakfast. Gorilla Bread being a big favorite at our house.This was, I think, my all time favorite Christmas photo card that we ever did. The antique truck was my Dad's and we had such fun creating this scene. The truck looks more blue in this photo of a photo...but it was really more green.

Are these not the cutest measuring cups you ever did see?
Tomorrow I will move outside the kitchen and show you more of how we do Christmas at our house.

Human Interest Story

2009-12-03T09:00:00.000-08:00

You may have already heard this on the news, but if not, it is a heart warming story about a shop owner in New York, who last May was surprised by a would be robber, wielding a baseball bat as he ordered the man to give him money from the register. Instead of the shop owner handing the money over as he had been told to do, he pulled out a weapon of his own. A pistol! The robber dropped to his knees, begging for his life, and tearfully told the shop keeper that he was desperate, out of work, his family was hungry and that he only wanted food to feed his family. The shop owner then did an extraordinary thing. He took 40.00 dollars out of the register, and gave it to the man, along with a loaf of bread, and after saying a blessing on him, sent the man on his way. No one was hurt, and time went along as normal. Then, 7 months later, the shop owner received a letter in the mail. It was from this would be robber, and it told of how this incident several months earlier changed, and quite possibly, saved his life. He said he now had a good paying job, had another child on the way, and he was forever grateful for the act of kindness the shop keeper bestowed upon him. Inside the envelope was 50.00 dollars cash. 40.00 to repay the original debt, and 10.00 for the interest.
This Christmas, see if you can make a small difference in someone's life who is less fortunate than you. It doesn't have to be a big thing. Pay for the order of the car in line behind you, just because. Bring a hot cup of coffee to someone cold. Take out your neighbors trash cans who can no longer get around with ease.
I loved this story in a day where all around us, in the news, we hear sad things. The world IS a good place. And there ARE good people. Look around...you will see.

More Decking The Halls

2009-12-02T11:38:00.000-08:00

Mostly what I like to do now for Christmas is garlands and lights. The family room and living room are lit up everywhere, and it looks so pretty at night. During the day, it is hard to tell.

I got these gift boxes that light up at Tai Pan a few weeks ago when I took my Mom to see the store.

My tree this year is a live potted tree, and we will put it in the yard after Christmas. I am only doing lights and birds and bird nests in it. The cloche with blue and silver ornaments is in a dark corner of my family room, and above that is a little snowman light that my friend Maryrose gave me several years ago. Sometimes he is in the bathroom, and sometimes in other places. But wherever he is, I love him. The two mice by the cloche are AnnaLee dolls from my parents. Some day I will do a post about my nickname that my Dad had for me...which was "mouse" and I will show the newspaper article that our local paper did. I have every kind of mouse you can imagine.

This pine garland in my foyer on the mirror was purchased last year one day when I was up in Big Bear wiith my Mom. I love it, and keep it out all winter. It looks so real!!This is my hutch lit up. I have lots of special treasures in there. I made the tree skirt many years ago, and it has flocking on it that I cannot get off!!! See that stack of gits under the tree? They are sitting on a antique sled that a friend got for me a few years ago. Lauri B......I have been looking for an old pair of ice skates to display by it since I saw how darling yours were with the simple Christmas flowers placed inside and set out as Christmas decor!THIS..is a VERY SPECIAL treasure indeed!!! It is my Nana holding my granddaughter Hannah for the very first time. She LOVES babies!! And Nana is very dear to all of us! I adored this photo, and a good friend of mine, Ally in New Jersey, took this photo, and had an artist paint this special ornament that is an exact replica of the photograph. I display it on a martini glass in my hutch, away from little hands that could break it! The garland with the antique red clothespins is hung in the entryway to the living room. This is where I hang my Christmas cards by the clothespins.This has nothing whatsoever to do with Christmas, but above is my new living room picture I bought last weekend when I was out shopping with Gennifer. She and I both saw another picture and both fell in love with it. They had two left. We set them up in front where the cashier told us to, and then when we went to pay, they had BOTH been purchased by someone else!!!!!! But, it was for the best, as I found this one that I wound up liking even better! And here are my outside mice, Dolly and Louie. They wear the appropriate attire for every occasion. And have even been seen in a Laker's jersey and Dodgers and Angels jerseys during playoffs. They always love to be part of the party!!! We added two animated and lit reindeer to our outdoor decor this year. The kiddos love these!!!!

Table Runners

2009-11-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

Several have asked me about the table runners on the chairs. They are thin damask table runners that I bought for a dollar at the Dollar Tree Store. They had red, green, cream and gold.

Counting My Blessings

2009-11-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Tomorrow we will go to our daughter Gennifer's house to celebrate with our family. I am looking forward to a relaxing day, and boy am I glad we decided to let "Polly" of Polly's Pies do all the cooking. It has been a hectic, and flu filled month around here. I have never been busier, and sure don't feel like spending a day cooking. For me, tomorrow is a little bittersweet. We have always celebrated this holiday with my entire family, usually at my Mom's house. But with my own growing family, it is hard for the kids to schedule the babies naps and all, and then try to take everyone to another city. So, it seems we have been keeping our holiday celebrations closer to home. My heart will be in Yorba Linda with Mom and Nana and the rest of my family too.
Topping the list of what I am thankful for is my family! I am so blessed to have our kids all live right here in the same city as us, and we get to be an every day part of our grand kids lives. This is what I have always dreamed of. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for this. I hope all of you enjoys a Thanksgiving with all the trimmings, and the people you love to share it with.

Lisa Lillien, Author of Hungry Girl Cookbooks....I LOVE YOU!!!!!

2009-11-24T19:43:00.000-08:00

OMG......to those who know me, it is no secret that I have a major sweet tooth!!! Losing weight, while still getting to have some yummilicious sweets is why I have been successful with Weight Watchers in the past. Nothing is off limits. So long as you "count" it. Sure, you could eat all of your 23 points before noon if you want to. And I have. But learning how to maximize points, so that you don't get hungry, and still get to have some sweets is my idea of a weight loss program. And for my friend and partner in crime, Maryrose, leaving enough points for her beer or wine is of utmost importance!! Unfortunately for me, to veer off of this program results in weight gain, as I have learned in this past two years. Today I made the Chocolate and Peanut Butter Bread Pudding from one of the new Hungry Girl cookbooks I bought the other day. I have been reading these like novels, as I do many of the cookbooks I have. This pudding, while not exactly a knock off of the bread puddings I savored while in New Orleans, would qualify as a good cousin to those rich and decadent bread puddings that I so enjoyed while working my way through The French Quarter.

You don't have to be trying to lose weight to enjoy this lovely dessert. It is so tasty that you won't even notice that it is quite low calorie and healthy. The recipe is as follows:
3 pieces of lo calorie, high fiber bread (45 cal/slice)
2 T mini semi sweet chocolate chips
2 T reduced fat peanut butter
1 cup light vanilla soy milk
1/3 cup fat free egg substitute, or whites of 3 large eggs
2 T brown sugar, not packed
Lightly toast bread, and then slice into 1/2 inch cubes.
Place in bottom of 1 quart dish.
Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of bread cubes.
In blender mix soy milk, eggs, peanut butter and brown sugar on medium until smooth. Pour over bread cubes and let soak in for 5 min. Meanwhile preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake pudding in middle of oven for 45-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. For me, it took only 40 minutes. I know when something is done by smelling it. I tested it at this point, and it was set. Remove from oven and let set up a few minutes before serving. Best served warm. I had mine with a dollop of fat free cool whip! This makes 4 servings and I calculated it into points. It is 3 pts. per serving! Be still my sweets craving heart!!!!
Bon Appetit!

Beef Barley Soup

2009-11-13T21:06:00.000-08:00

Today was finally a cool and breezy, Autumn feeling day. The perfect kind of day for a pot of soup. This is a recipe I got from a quilt shop years ago. I have changed it up a wee bit, and I make this hearty, comforting soup often. The ingredients are all shown above, with the exception of the stew beef that I had already browned and had simmering on the stove in my Dutch Oven. I began by browning 1.5 pounds of stew meat in a bit of olive oil, and then once brown, toss in a couple bay leaves, and about 2 tsp of Vegit seasoning and let simmer for about an hour with lid on. In another pan, saute one brown onion, several cloves of minced garlic, and 3-4 carrots til soft, about 3-5 min. Add this to meat and then add 4 cans of beef broth, 1 large can of diced stewed tomatoes, and salt and pepper to taste, and let this simmer on low for a couple of hours. About 2 hours before serving, add 1 cup pearl barley and replace lid and continue to simmer until barley is done. Also, add the zest of one whole orange to soup pot. Just before serving, saute a pound of mushrooms in 3/4 stick of butter. When soft, add about 1/2 cup full bodied red wine, reduce slightly and add to soup pot. Garnish with fresh parsley and enjoy! I meant to get more pics of cooking, but wound up taking this to Gennifer and Jake's and finished cooking it there and then had dinner with them.
In my hectic week I forgot to post a favorite cooking tool. For this week, I am featuring a favorite tool called a microplane. I love to zest oranges and other citrus into dishes with this tool. It is also useful for grating whole nutmeg, and ginger and many other things. GREAT tool. I have a small hand held one too that I love for nutmeg! I ALWAYS use whole nutmeg, and grate it myself. The flavor is amazing!
PS Usually I like to use low sodium beef broth, but Stater's only had their store brand. But the low sodium is way better, I think.
Bon Appetit!

Coughs, Stuffy Heads, Fevers and Brussel Sprouts

2009-11-12T21:19:00.000-08:00

I have had a very busy week. Between trying to get over the nasty cold and cough I had, and helping out here and there with my girls who also have sick kiddos, as well as been sick themselves, it has come and gone swiftly. No creative photos to show, no fun outings, not even cooking too much this week. Oh wait...I did go on a fun outing. It was over at my friend Maryrose's daughter's house, Kristi, for a Dancing With The Stars night. We had a great time, and it was blogged on both Kristi's and her Mom, Maryrose's blog.    I did go to Trader Joe's and get some great goodies. One thing I have always wanted to find was brussel sprouts on the stalk. Anyway, I love the way this looks. And I love brussel sprouts! They had huge boxes of them like this. I have always wanted to use them this way to set up a fall buffet table. They said they will sell out of them, and probably won't get them back on the stalk again.
I have removed them from the stalk and plan to cook them with red cabbage and bacon and onion. Yum!!!
So that's it from Boringville. Maybe I will have more to say tomorrow. But for now, I have a clog in my blog.

Happy 3rd Birthday Hannah!!!

2009-11-07T22:43:00.000-08:00

"It was the most perfect Birthday EVER"

PS This last photo of our sweet Hannah with her arms around her Geeps neck, MELTS my heart!!!!!!!!! We got her this easel and we were all trying out our drawing skills. Turns out, the only one who had any was Geeps! This sweet moment caught on camera was sheer joy for me. Hannah doesn't hand out her hugs and kisses to just anyone, and even those people who are most special in her life, the hugs and kisses have to be on her terms. She was SO happy on her special day, and she showed all of us, with her hugs and kisses. It was a "perfect" day Hannah.. Happy Birthday!! We love you!!!!

Happy Birthday Big Brother!!

2009-11-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Today is my brother David's birthday. He is the oldest of the siblings. We are all close in age, and growing up, had lots of fun. As teenagers, our friends began to blend, and my two older brothers dated a lot of my friends, and I dated some of theirs. Even marrying one!!! AS adults we have remained very close. I love you big brother. Happy Birthday!!!!! Cheers!!

Testing...Testing.....1, 2, 3

2009-11-05T14:56:00.000-08:00

Okay..so Gennifer has been tweaking her blog posts to include humungousauraus pictures, and I listened to how she did it, but, it was too much for my brain to handle. Apparently, Kristi has found an easier way. And upon investigating this....I can now also use the ~~blatant oops I made a mistake and didn't really mean to say that~~ feature too!!
So....I am going to post one picture, just to see if I can make it extra large.

Testing.....1, 2, 3....