New Year's Resolutions 2015

This is my second year of publicly posting my resolutions, and then coming back to visit them monthly.  The hope is that by keeping track of them once a month, I will do better of actually keeping my resolutions!  All in all, I've done well keeping my resolutions.


2015 Resolutions:
1) Exercise More, Walk 500 Miles

Yes to the first part - I did exercise more.  By the end of the year, I was getting consistent exercise every single day.
No to the second part.  I did not walk 500 miles.  I added that goal in mid-year, and then was promptly sidelined by torn ligaments.
I feel stronger now, and I really want to continue to increase the amount of exercise that I am getting on a daily basis next year.  Will I try to walk 500 miles in a year?  Or even 1,000?  I'll have to think that one through very carefully.

2) Lose 10 Pounds
Total weight lost this year: 8
I fell short of this by 2 pounds, but I still consider this a success.  Any weight lost, is good.  Even better, I lost a pant size and a shirt size this year!  Pulling out all of the too big clothes and dropping them off at Goodwill was a great feeling!


3) Remodel the Hall Bathroom
THIS is the goal that is staying on the list and moving up to #1 for next year!

4) Finish Oldest Child's Quilt

This goal was on my 2014 resolutions, and reappeared in 2015.  I DID finish it, though!  He put it on his bed when he moved into his apartment this fall!


5) Clean and Organize the Family Room in the Basement
Done!


6) Cut Back on the Time I Spend on Social Media
I finally realized that I was wasting entirely too much time hanging out on Social Media, playing the part of a voyeur.  This was actually the thought behind resolution #12.


7) Read 75 Books This Year
This was great fun!  I don't know that I'll deliberately set out to read 75 books again next year, but I did enjoy sharing the books I read this past year.  One thing became clear to me while reading - I do have very eclectic tastes where books are concerned!

8) Get out of debt, pay college tuition without going deeper into debt.
Since daughter decided to transfer to the Community College, we will be saving money on tuition over the next year.  Eventually, she plans to transfer back to a four year school, but for now she's looking at finishing out the two year degree on the University Transfer plan.  So, her credits match the requirements for the first two years of classes at the University of Maryland schools.  As long as she has a 2.0 GPA, she is guaranteed admission to the UMD schools.

While we are not yet out of debt, we are closer to being out of debt than we have been since husband's accident wiped out our savings 3 years ago. I'm glad we had a savings account!  I can't begin to imagine where we would be now if we hadn't had it! Fortunately, we've been following Dave Ramsey for years.  Our emergency savings is now built back up and we are using the "snowball plan" to get the debt paid off. My goal was to have everything paid off by the end of 2015, but it didn't happen this year. Next year!


9) Spend More Time with my Family
I have to admit.  Every time I had kids home, I enjoyed every single minute I had with them.  We played games, watched TV, and talked.  I love spending time with these amazingly smart human beings!


10) 365 Grateful
You can see the images I have shared publicly on Flickr.


11) Replace the Car that was Totaled
 Just before Thanksgiving, we replaced the car.  It's another Honda Civic.  What can I say?  Honda engineering is pretty phenomenal.  As long as you maintain the car, the car treats you well!


12) I Will Maintain My Friendships
I have gotten together with everyone I intended to meet up with this year, and a couple of people who had fallen off of my radar.  I remembered in one case why I had let the friendship go.... very long story that I don't want to dwell upon.  What can I say?  It was a destructive friendship years ago.  Time and distance have not improved this person's destructive personality.  Nor their penchant for dragging other people down with them.


13) I Will Have More Adventures
From the flyover of World War 2 Aircraft in Washington DC to the Western Maryland Scenic Railway, I have ventured forth on some pretty exciting excursions through the Mid-Atlantic this year.  Unfortunately, a good portion of my year was marred by doctor's visits, torn ligaments, crutches, and Physical Therapy.  I don't know that I'll ever specifically make a resolution to "have more adventures".  I think I need to find a different way to phrase the desire to go out and explore!

Historic WW2 Flyover

The View from the Western Maryland Scenic Railway

14) I Will Craft More
I've had a blast being more crafty this year!  I've explored new mediums, and found a couple that I would like to try again!  This was a really fun resolution!

Little Stuff It Bags for the House of Ruth.

My very own ceramic plate.  I'll never make money as a painter.

Very cute little succulent garden!  Found the directions here.

The beginnings of the Glitter Dipped Mug project.

Considering the very lofty goals that I set for myself this year, I feel like I've done a lot and learned a lot!  How did you do with your resolutions?

Sure, I'm going to exercise more....

Exercising, making it a priority, and enjoying it has become a priority.  I've been working hard on getting exercise since I was dismissed from Physical Therapy- whether it be walking, going to a yoga class, or stopping by the Y and swimming a few laps.

Sadly, all of that Physical Therapy went to my head.  I feel like I'm capable of doing anything now.
 
Until earlier this week.

Baltimore has had exceptionally warm weather this month.  We've been treated to early summer temperatures that have made this the most enjoyable Christmas weather I've ever experienced.  You know, this weather has led me to make some very questionable decisions.

Case in Point:

I decided I was going to run.  Every once in a while, I get this urge to "run for my health".  I don't know where it comes from, nor why I feel the need to do this.  Maybe it's some weird form of torture I enjoy.  Maybe it's the glorious weather?  Who knows?

I strapped on my shoes, pulled my hair up in a ponytail and attempted to run.  I had mapped out a 1 mile route from my house.  I figured I might be able to do a slow jog through about half of it.

I seriously overestimated how much I could do.

The good news is:  I made it down to the end of my street.

The bad news is:  I live 3 houses from the end of the street.

By the time I got to the stop sign, I was huffing and chuffing for breath as if I had just run a marathon, not the reality of having slowly jogged 0.1 of a mile.  (You read that right, ONE TENTH of a mile.)

When I pulled up at the end of the street and started walking, one of my neighbors drove by, rolled down her window and cheerfully shouted "Great day for a run!  You look wiped!  How far did you run today, 5 miles?"

Sadly, I didn't have the breath to answer her, so I mustered some half hearted attempt at a smile, and gave her a thumbs up.

Yeah, I do this for my health.  Sure.  There's nothing healthier than running a tenth of a mile and wondering if I've managed to run enough to justify a Dairy Queen run.

Sweet Potato Casseroles

Photo: Bettina W.

Sweet Potatoes always make an appearance on our holiday table.  Especially this year, when husband and I each picked up 5 pounds of sweet potatoes separate from each other - and then a friend gave us another five pounds the week before Christmas.  This year, eating all of the sweet potatoes became more of a challenge than we were expecting.  So, what do you do when you are faced with 15 pounds of sweet potatoes?  I cleaned and roasted all of them.  I held back 4 of the largest ones for Sweet Potato Pomegranate Salad.  (From Two Peas and Their Pod blog.)  Hey - this recipe is a keeper!  It is absolutely amazing.

We peeled the rest of the potatoes.  1 Cup went into Sweet Potato Biscuits.  (Recipe from Southern Living.)   The rest of the sweet potatoes went into a sweet potato casserole.  (Recipe from Recipe4Living.)  I had to change this one up a little bit since our family can't handle dairy.  In place of the butter, I used coconut oil in a 1-1 replacement.  I used pineapple juice - no milk.  This recipe is great!  Somehow, the portions worked out perfectly for us.  If I'd had more mashed sweet potatoes, I could have adjusted the remaining ingredients accordingly.

Disclaimer:  I don't have any connection with any of the sites I have linked to in this article.  These were the recipes I found and used for our holiday celebration.  I found many of them through Pinterest.  You can follow me here.

 

Winter Squash Stew with White Beans and Kale

photo: Bettina W.

We had this for dinner last night, and used the Hubbard Squash that was in our half bushel.  This was a recipe that I found on the Whole Foods website.  You can find it here. The soup was very, very tasty.  We had no leftovers, so you know it was a good recipe!  The only complaint that I had about this recipe was that there was too much Kale.  The next time I make this, I am going to use half of the recommended amount of Kale.   There is one note I read in the comments that I wanted to point out.  The recipe calls for Apple Cider.   Make certain that you use Apple Cider.  (not apple cider vinegar)

We are not yet finished with the winter squash.  I have a Cinderella Pumpkin, 3 Acorn Squash, and something else that I don't know.  I have at least 3 more squash based meals to eat, as well as 4 cups of frozen pureed pumpkin that I made earlier in the fall when I pureed the pumpkin for the Black Bean and Pumpkin Enchiladas.

Butternut Squash

You might remember that I bought a half bushel of squash earlier this fall.  I haven't made as much
progress working my way through that pile of orangey goodness as I would like.  But, this week, I made some headway - I took out 2 Butternut Squash.  We roasted them up for dinner one night this week.

Making them was easy-peasey.  The squash caramelize in the heat of the oven, and the taste is sublime.  We've got some serious winter squash love going on this week!

Roasted Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes 
Salt
Pepper
Olive Oil

Set oven to 350*.
*Note - peeling a raw butternut is difficult to do.  Don't expect to use a potato peeler.  I used the butcher knife to chop the ends off, and then cut the squash in half lengthwise.  I then cut each half into inch long strips, used the knife to peel off the rind, and then cut the strips down again into one inch cubes.

Oil a rimmed cookie sheet with a quarter cup of olive oil.  Add the butternut squash, and salt and pepper to taste.  Toss everything together, making sure all of the cubes are equally coated.

Roast in the oven for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the squash pierce easily with a fork. 

Christmas Photos

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!  We had a great weekend, lots of fun with family, lots of together time, and lots of laughs.  I have a few pictures from this weekend to share with you.  I hope that you had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed wonderful times with the people you love.  Thanks for stopping by and sharing a few memories with me!

The boys made a cake.  Don't you love how the icing covers the entire plate?

Luna was really into the Grinch.

Sunset on Christmas Eve.

Time for Christmas Eve services!

Jigsaw Puzzle - a family Christmas tradition!

My Mother in Law decided to bring over a few things for Christmas dinner.

We had a white-ish Christmas!  The gof lifted around noon.

We went to see Star Wars.  This was showing in another theater.

A Pinterest success story!  Graduation Tassel in a clear glass ornament.

Merry, Merry Christmas!

I'm in the lull before I begin making dinner, so I thought I'd sit down and reflect upon the past few days.

I finally hit up the grocery store late Monday night.  There were a lot of people there, but fortunately, everything was well stocked, and the lines moved quickly.  I am cooking tonight for my family, and then tomorrow my husband will go and pick up his mom, and I will cook another Christmas dinner.  I spent yesterday prepping everything that I could.  Veggies have been sliced, lettuce has been washed and torn, dressings have been made and are sitting in jars in the fridge.  I was exhausted last night, but today, all I will have to do is put things in pots and pans to heat and bake.  The kitchen is mostly cleaned - at least the food prep side of the kitchen.  I need to do a little more work on the kitchen table, and set out the candles before dinner tonight.

Daughter is working retail this break.  She's worked 7.5 hours a day every day since Saturday.  I just dropped her off a little while ago, and the parking lot was an absolute madhouse.  After working the last 6 days, she has the next 3 off of work, and is looking forward to sleeping late and not listening to people complain.

The boys have been baking. We are fully stocked with fudge, Tailor's Buttons, Ginger Snaps, Chocolate Chip cookies, and cake.  Right now, they are both working on something on their computers.  I'm not sure what exactly they are working on, but they're not trashing my kitchen with another cooking experiment.

It's an unbelievable 72*  outside right now.  I've lived in the Mid-Atlantic for most of my life - 37 years in February - and I don't remember ever seeing a Christmas this warm.  I don't know what this bodes for the rest of the winter.  Maybe warm?  Maybe cold?  I don't know, but I really want a good hard freeze with temps below 32 for several weeks to kill off the bugs.  It's so warm outside that we are thinking of having a fire in the fire pit tomorrow if it stops raining!

Later tonight we're headed to church.  Since daughter is working until 7, and we will need to eat dinner, it looks like we're headed to the midnight services.  That should be great fun!  I"ll need to take a nap before then to make certain that I don't fall asleep during Communion!

Wherever you are today, I pray for peace in your world.  I pray that you are able to spend your day with family, be it the ones you were born with or the ones you chose.  I pray that we all learn to be a little bit more tolerant of each other - and learn to celebrate our differences by embracing our similiarities.

Joy to the World!  And on Earth, peace, and good will to all people.

-Bettina

Italian Wedding Soup

Have you ever had this soup?  Meatballs in soup... yum.  Making it though, is a problem for me.  We all know that I am a lazy cook.  I like to get things on the table in a timely manner.  If I have time over a weekend, I'll gladly make a huge batch of meatballs and freeze them.  This way, I can make certain they're gluten and dairy free for my family, and then we can use them in meatball subs, spaghetti, and soup.

However, I was not really in a spot where I could make a huge batch of meatballs.  I wanted to get a quick, tasty soup that would feed a crowd on the table.  I took some shortcuts.  I didn't make the meatballs.  Since I didn't make the meatballs, I don't know if I can actually call this Italian Wedding Soup.  There's no pasta in this soup, either.  Like I said, it was a quick and easy dinner for a crowd.
But gosh, it was really good!

Italian Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound Italian Sausage
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp basil
4 carrots - peeled and cut into chunks
4 stalks celery - sliced
1 onion - diced
4-5 cloves of garlic - diced
32 ounces of chicken broth (Or use enough broth or bullion cubes to equal 32 ounces of broth.  8 broth cubes or 4 bullion cubes)
32 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
16 ounce an of cannellini beans
1 1/2 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 large bag of spinach, rinsed



In a dutch oven, brown the sausage, breaking up the large chunks of sausage as you go.  Add the oregano and basil while the sausage is browning.  Remove sausage from heat and drain on a plate covered with a paper towel while the rest is cooking.

In the pan, cook with a drizzle of olive oil the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic until the veggies are soft.

Once the veggies are soft, add the chicken broth, tomatoes, beans and Balsamic Vinegar.

Bring to a boil, and then let simmer for 15 minutes.

While the broth is simmering, roughly chop the bag of spinach.

At the end of 15 minutes, add the spinach and the reserved meat/spice mixture.  Heat until the spinach wilts, about 5 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Remembering Dad

My Dad's birthday was over the weekend.  He would have been 75.  The kids and I went out to the Dairy Queen and had a Peanut Buster Parfait, his most favorite thing in the world, and we told Pa-Paw stories until we laughed so hard tears were running down our faces.  Gosh, he could be fun, and his unintended mistakes were even funnier. 

When I think back on the man that he was, I think what best sums him up was his work ethic.

My Dad's father died when Dad was just 6 years old.  He had been a coal miner, and the very harsh life of a coal miner in the early part of the 1900's took its toll.  He was just 50 years old when he died.

After Grandpa died, money was tight.  Dad did what he could to help make ends meet.

During the fall, he would collect paper bags full of apples, load them onto his little red wagon, and haul them into town to sell in front of the courthouse.

In the winter, he would take his little red wagon down to the railroad tracks, and pick up the coal that had fallen off of the tracks until his wagon was full, and then he'd sell the coal in town to whoever needed it. (He would always fill his Moms' coal hopper first.)

As the garden came in, he had a couple of extra rows that he maintained.  He grew potatoes, strawberries, carrots, green beans, etc.  As things came into season, he would pick the fresh vegetables and head over to the courthouse just before 5:00 so that he could sell fresh veggies as people were leaving work for the day.

As he grew older, Dad took on a paper route.  He found an old bike at the dump and spent $1 on the necessary parts to fix it up.  (Remember, back in the 40's, $1 was more difficult to come by and would have bought a lot more than it does now.)

He used that bike to run a paper route in town for years. Every day after school, he would deliver news to the residents on his side of town.  He was all of 10 years old at the time.

I think back on Dad, and his mother a lot at this time of the year.  They never received nor expected public assistance.  Granny grew much of her food in the back yard.  Chickens provided meat and eggs, and a family friend would sell them beef when the cows were butchered in the fall.  All of the kids chipped in money from their various jobs to make certain that there was food on the table, a roof over their heads, and clothes to wear.  They were very heavy users of the library, garnering all of the free information and knowledge that they could. 

Granny cooked food from scratch.  No restaurant or take out meals for her!  Everything was cooked fresh - much of it pulled from the garden hours before it sat on the table.

You know, Dad grew up to be an Engineer.  He paid his way through college by serving in the United States Air Force.  Never asked anybody to give him anything, and he raised us with a very strong sense of earning your own way and paying as you go.  We didn't always have the newest, latest, or greatest whiz bang things.  BUT, we always had a roof over our head, clothes to wear, and food on the table.  We had nice things - things that our parents could afford to give us.  We were heavy users of the library, where we could read books and learn as much as we wanted.  We were transported to different worlds, and our horizons were widened.  We also had the unconditional love of both of our parents, and we were very fortunate that my Mom was able to stay home with us until circumstances demanded that she went back to work.

I am grateful to both of my parents for instilling such a work ethic in me. 

The lessons my Dad taught me about hard work, generosity, and honesty have served me well.  You gave me some pretty awesome gifts!

Happy Birthday, Dad. 

Manic Monday

Your Monday morning earworm.... Just in case if you are tired of hearing Christmas carols!

 I don't know about you, but this definitely sums up my day already!

 

Six o'clock already
I was just in the middle of a dream
I was kissin' Valentino
By a crystal blue Italian stream

But I can't be late
'Cause then I guess I just won't get paid
These are the days
When you wish your bed was already made

It's just another manic Monday
I wish it was Sunday
'Cause that's my funday
My I don't have to runday
It's just another manic Monday

 

-The Bangles

Boonsboro Public Library

Oldest child came home for break on Wednesday - he had a ride most of the way home with a friend.  We agreed to meet up at the Boonsboro Library  - a branch of the Washington County Free Library.  

Do you happen to know the historic significance of Boonsboro?  Anyone?  Any Civil War history buffs out there?

Boonsboro is 6 miles away from Antietam Creek, known as the Battle of Sharpsburg or Antietam, depending upon where you went to school.  South Mountain is a very visible presence from most of Boonsboro, and a critical battle was fought at South Mountain 3 days before the battle of Sharpsburg/Antietam.

The resounding victory at Sharpsburg/Antietam gave President Lincoln the momentum he needed to declare the Emancipation Proclamation.

Sadly, this battle was the single bloodiest day of the Civil War.  (Gettysburg had higher casualties, but that battle ranged over several days.)

If you'd like to learn more about these battles, you can follow these links:

Antietam

South Mountain

 

Anyway, back to the little library.  I was absolutely enchanted by the architecture of this cozy little library sitting on top of a hill, with the very friendly mountain sitting in the background.  The library itself is modern and well lit.  It was night when we were there, but I can imagine how this library looks in the daytime with the floor to ceiling windows in the reading room.

If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you know how I feel about libraries.  The exchange of information, and the ability to read, is crucial for the success of a nation and a people.  Do you realize that we live in a unique time in the history of the world?  Most people are literate.  This was a privilege granted to only a few nobles and the very wealthy until the coming of public schooling for everyone.  The idea behind the public schools and public libraries being that an educated populace, with the ability to freely exchange ideas, was crucial to the success of this fledgling government by, for, and of the people.

Enough rambling and ranting.  Onward!  To the gorgeous pictures of the beautiful Boonsboro Public Library!

I love the stone work on the exterior!

The front entrance.

The library itself is one very large, big open room.  This is the reading room!

The information desk.

They have a fireplace in the reading room!

Nora Roberts has given much back to her community.

We were there at night, but you can still tell what a big open airy space this is!

This was my Google!

The historic library sign.  Gorgeous, isn't it?

Advent Photo of the Day

Rebuild

Book Review: Crafting With Cat Hair

Note: This Post Contains Affiliate Links.

Well, this is a fun little book.  Seriously fun.  If you have a cat, you have cat hair.  We've joked occasionally about taking the hair from the comb and spinning it into yarn, but have never actually followed through on that weird little thought.  This author decided that she was going to do something fun and unique with her extra cat hair.  She decided to make it into crafts.  What a brilliant idea!

Crafts ranging from cat tote bags, to finger puppets, to fluffy cat toys and picture frames, these unique, environmentally friendly crafts require no special tools beyond patience, cat hair, and a sense of humor.

This awesome little book is a great present for the cat lover in your life! 

Peanut Clusters

Double Boiler

This post contains Affiliate Links. 

This is one of the easiest recipes you will make all week.  It's quick and easy, but it looks as if you've spent hours and hours on it.  This is also very easy to make into a dairy free version, if need be.  I love making this recipe.  The hardest part is laying out the wax paper ahead of time and finding a double boiler to melt the chocolate.  Not many people have double boilers anymore.  You could probably melt the chocolate in the microwave, but I prefer the consistency of melting it on the stove top.  Somehow, it just seems more Christmassy to me.  :)

(Note: these whip up fast.  I started and finished within an hour this afternoon and then realized I had forgotten to take pictures while I was going.  Don't worry - I'll make up another batch later this week and have one of the kids take pictures as we go.)

Peanut Clusters

Spread wax paper on counter and table tops.  I line cookie sheets with wax paper and then drop the peanut clusters onto the wax paper to cool.  Some people will tell you to spray the wax paper with non-stick cooking spray - but that decision is up to you.

Ingredients:
2 (10 ounce) bags of non-dairy chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life)
1 pound of roasted peanuts not in the shell.

Place water in the bottom pan, and then put the top pan over the water.  Add chips to the top pot, and set the heat at medium.  Stir the chips occasionally until the chocolate is melted.  Add peanuts, a handful at a time,  to the pot, and stir until the peanuts are covered with chocolate.

Remove pot from the heat.  (Turn the heat off) Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate/peanut mixture onto waxed paper.  Let sit until the chocolate hardens. (about an hour)  Remove from wax paper and store in an airtight container.

Advent Photo of the Day

House

Book Review: A Clash of Kings

It's my 75th book, and it's a doozy!  This is the second book in the series, "A Song of Fire and Ice", upon which the HBO series Game of Thrones is based.
In this second book, with the death of King Robert, the 7 Kingdoms are no longer allied.  Alliances have been broken and new partnerships are being formed.  Devious plots within plots within plots are hatched, and deception and intrigue run rampant throughout the land.

In the north, King Rob Stark seeks vengeance for his father's death.  His sister Sansa is held hostage by the Queen, betrothed to King Joffrey.  The sister Arya has disappeared into anonymity and is desperately seeking to get home.

King Joffrey, a true figurehead, loosely reigns over his kingdom while his mother, the Queen Cersei, and his Uncle Tyrion, the Hand, truly rule the kingdom.  Both the Hand and the Queen have very different ideas of what is in the best interest of House Lannister.

Meanwhile, a deposed Danerys seeks to return her family to the rightful throne of the kingdom.  With the help of the darkest of magics, she has hatched 3 dragons.  Real, living dragons that have not been seen in the kingdom in more years than anyone can count.  The addition of dragons to the power struggle in the 7 Kingdoms is a powerful game changer.

This is a thrilling high fantasy ride for the dedicated Fantasy fan.  I know many have seen the HBO series, but the book is always better.  Deeper plot, deeper story line, and more details and side plots than you find on the television series.  While not the page turner that Game of Thrones was, Clash of Kings still has a driving plot that relentlessly moves forward.  No character is safe from the whims of fate, and the realities of life will take down any character at a moment's notice.

Advent Photo of the Day

Word

Tailor's Buttons

Many years ago, when middle child was in second grade, he was in a "literature enhancement group" at school.  They read a series of books together, and then at the end of the series, the children had a large celebration party.  We were to send in something for the kids to eat that was related to the stories that they had read.  One of the books they read was a story about a tailor. As son and I tried to figure out what to make, I began to fixate on these things.  I'd had them before, but I couldn't remember what they were called.  Desperate for something quick and easy, we decided to call these things "Tailors Buttons".  The premise is very simple.  A pretzel, topped with a Hershey Kiss, topped with an M & M.  When I made them years ago, I used the circular pretzels, so that they would look more like buttons than this iteration does.  I still vividly recall the frustration involved with figuring out how high to set the oven, and how long to put these things into the oven.  I destroyed a full bag of Kisses before I finally struck upon the magic combination of time and temperature required to make these wonderful little concoctions.  They have become a family favorite!

Tailor's Buttons

Ingredients:

1 Bag of Pretzels

1 Bag of Hershey Kisses

1 Small Bag of M&M's

Step 1: Pre-Heat oven to 350*.  Place pretzels in an even layer across the bottom of a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Step 2: Unwrap all the Kisses and place each one on a pretzel.

 

Step 3:  Put the cookie sheet into the pre-heated oven for 5 minutes.  Check after 3 minutes, and every minute there after.   If the Kisses are soft and beginning to melt, pull them out.  It's really, really, really easy to burn the Kisses - a minute or two can make a big difference.

Step 4: Working Quickly, push an M & M into the center of each Kiss.  Cool completely before storing.  Make sure the chocolate hardens up again before you remove these guys to a separate storage container.  Note - I put mine in the refrigerator for a while.

The hardest part of this project is cleaning up the wrappers!

Dick Van Dyke's 90th Birthday Flash Mob

Happy Birthday!

Advent Photo of the Day

Persevere

Advent Photo of the Day

Gentle

Can You Cook From Scratch?

A few days ago, I issued the Can You Cook From Scratch? challenge.

I asked what you would make, given one pound of meat of your choice, a carrot, an onion, and a stalk of celery.  Any condiments and seasonings that you have readily available in your house were fair game in making  your meal.

Since I had a wicked sore throat, I went for Chicken Soup.

Basic Chicken Soup 

1 pound chicken - with bones
1/2 onion - mince fine
1 carrot - cut in half, and then cut into bite size pieces
1 celery stalk - cut in half, cut into bite size pieces - don't forget to use the leaves!
1 cup rice, cooked
Salt and Pepper, to taste

I can't stress enough the importance of having the bones.  The bones make a fantastic broth, with many minerals that your body needs to keep healthy.

Bake the chicken in the toaster oven at 350* oven until the juices in the thickest part of the meat run clear.  Check after half an hour, and then every 15 minutes after that.

Meanwhile, cook 1/3 cup of rice in 1 cup of water.  Set aside to cool.

Cool chicken, and then pull the meat away from the bones.  It's okay to leave some meat on the bones, it will help flavor the chicken broth!

In a soup pot, add chicken bones to 6 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally, skimming off any fat and foam that rises to the top of the pot.

While the broth is brewing, cut the cooked chicken into bite size chunks.  Measure out 1/2 to 1 cup of chicken to save for chicken salad.

After 20 minutes, remove the chicken bones from the broth using a slotted spoon.

Add the onion, carrot, and celery to the pot, and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Add the cooked chicken, salt, pepper, and the cooked rice.  Heat through (about 5 minutes) and serve.

Some people will add bullion cubes or granules to their chicken soup.  I choose not to do this, as I find it really ups the sodium content of the soup.

Chicken Salad
1/2 - 1 cup of cubed chicken
1/4 of an opion, diced
Ground Mustard, about 1/2 tsp.
Mayo, about 1/4 cup.
Celery Seed, about 1/2 tsp.
Paprika, about 1/2 tsp.
Pickle Relish, about 1 TBSP
Black Pepper - 2 or 3 turns of the pepper mill

Mix together in a bowl and make it into a sandwich, eat it on crackers, or put it over a bed of lettuce leaves.

If I have them on hand, I will toss in a handful of Dried Cranberries, Chopped Apples, Celery, or Pecans to give it a little more punch.


So, what did you make with your pound of meat, celery, onion, carrot, and rice? 

Justin Tucker Amazes Audience At Opera Concert

You might know of Justin Tucker as the kicker for the Baltimore Ravens.  What you might not know is that he is an amazing operatic singer.  If you have the time, click through the link to listen to him belt out Ave Maria.

Merry Christmas!

 
Justin Tucker Amazes Audience At Opera Concert

Advent Photo of the Day

Herald

Frugal Friday

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Foggy morning today!

Other than a wicked sore throat, this has been a great week!

Middle Child is in the middle of finals right now.  I packed a picnic lunch and stole him away from campus for a couple of hours earlier this week.  We have a favorite spot by the Jones Falls near an old mill where we like to picnic.  We've had some fantastically warm weather this week, and I really enjoyed spending an hour outside with him, shooting the breeze and watching the river flow by.

Pumpkin Enchiladas

I finally made the Pumpkin Enchilada recipe that I shared earlier this week.  Good Lord, that recipe is HOT.  It's fantastic, it's tasty, and I'll make it again, but I will cut the spices down by more than half.  I think I'll divide the spices in half, and then half again.  So, when it calls for 2 tsp of ginger, I'm going to add 1/2 tsp. of ginger.  Let me reiterate - the enchiladas are amazing.  They are great.  But as the recipe stands, they are really spicy hot.

We have almost finished cleaning out daughter's room.  Now that she's transferred back to the Community College, we need to move her college dorm stuff into her room.  And we need to get the various assorted crap out of her room.  I've been surprised at the memories we've found - like a photocopy of a comb that we made on our new scanner/printer five years ago.  I can't wait to get the very last of the junk out of our living room so that we can get our Christmas Tree and decorations up!

I tried something new, too.  Have you ever heard of Zaycon Fresh?  It's a different way of buying food.  Zaycon sells food online - and you pick it up from them - in your car, in a parking lot.  (It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "fell off the back of a truck" doesn't it?)  Seriously, the food is fresh, high quality - bought directly from the farmers.  It is sold in large quantities, by the case.  You pick up your case from the official Zaycon truck in a parking lot and take it home.  You don't even have to get out of your car.  You take it home and freeze it, and *BAM*  you have high quality meat waiting for you in your freezer.  I have bought chicken through them, and now salmon.  The prices are phenomenal, and the quality is excellent.  I will continue to buy red meat from our local farmers, but I really a Zaycon.  I can am happy with the quality of the Salmon and Chicken.

I did make a couple of things with the Can You Cook from Scratch challenge that I posted earlier this week.  The first thing I made was a pot of chicken soup, which helped immensely with the sore throat.  I also made a chicken salad with more celery, mayo, paprika, ground mustard, and some pickles that I had on hand.  I love chicken salad.

I bought 10 pounds of potatoes back before Thanksgiving.  I used several of them to make Latkes on the first night of Hanukkah.  We are not Jewish, but the Jewish faith is integral to Christianity. We always make Latkes on the first night of Hanukkah as we talk about the miracle of the oil in the temple that lasted for 8 days.

I hit up the Pennsylvania Dutch Farmer's Market this week.  I picked up spices!  Look at those spices!  I also got a couple of Gluten Free Whoopie Pies.  I may have paid almost as much for my Whoopie Pies as I did for all of the spices, but my, oh, my, it was great!!!  It's not often you find fresh baked gluten free goodies!  (It's the little things.)

The Historic Colored School House.

To top off my story of the week, I had to share my story about Saturday.  I spent the afternoon at the Historic Colored School House, listening to the birthday reminiscences of a gentleman who is celebrating his 95th birthday, and attended that school from the time he was 6 until he turned 10.  It was a very gentle reminder of how much our world has changed over the last 100 years.  When he began school, it wasn't common for any man, of any color, to finish the grades and graduate from high school.  Life was very different in those days than it is now.  As we approach the beginning of a new election cycle, and hatred and fear begins to rear it's ugly head, it does pay to look back at the past, at our history, and learn from our mistakes and celebrate the progress that we've made.  

Advent Photo of the Day

level

 
Why a Ferris Wheel?  Because no matter how much you spin, the basket that holds the seat within always remains level (parallel) with the ground.