Merry Christmas Cont.

It was soo good to hear from my brother on Christmas day!!!!! I can't believe he comes home in like 10 weeks! I need to book a flight out to CA for the first weekend in March. It will be so fun to see him :) He is such a good kid. One of the kindest people I know. I look up to my baby brother in so many ways!!

We were suppose to go over to the Aviles home for Christmas dinner, but Jeff got really sick. We had a TGIF take out dinner instead. Not the traditional Christmas meal, but hey, at least I didn't have to whip together a meal last minute. I desperately need to go grocery shopping!!! The fridge is bare when you are gone a whole week! I wanted cookies so bad, but we were (and still are) out of eggs, so I made no bake cookies. We did have a pretty good meal Sunday considering the circumstances (bbq chicken, salad, homemade rolls with honey butter, and some peaches). This was the only stuff I had on hand. Salad was fresh! I just wanted to clarify that. We were incharge of bringing a salad to the Christmas dinner that's why I had salad stuff.

I don't have to work tomorrow, so I will shop until I drop. Not really, but I will fill our fridge.
Of course, I do have to wait until the delivery people drop off our bed frame! Let's hope they come between the time frame they gave me. One can only hope. I will be thrilled no matter what time they show up. We will finally have a nice bed frame :) yay!

Sunday we were given new callings! A really fun calling that we get to do TOGETHER!! We both get to teach Sunday School to 16-17yr olds. It should be a good time. I am pretty excited about this too!

Just for kicks here is a picture of our Christmas meal:

I had the Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Pasta with these sides: breadsticks and loaded mashed potatoes. You dip the breadsticks into the mashed pototoes. Try it. You will love it. Its a nice little snack when you are out with friends, and don't feel like ordering a whole meal. Ya, who am I kidding. I always order a meal, and then some.

Adam had the Grilled Shrimp Scampi and Salmon

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Last night we got into the Christmas spirit. We had a fabulous Prime Ribb dinner, and watched the Nativity.

I love trying to imagine what it must have felt like to have lived during that time. How special would that have been to witness the birth of the Savior, to have known him, and to have seen His miracles. I am so thankful for Him, and all he has done for me. Let us remember Him this day!! We have so much to be thankful for, and too often we take it for granted. It is because of Him that all of us can live with our families forever. I can't think of anything better than being with Adam for all eternity. Christ has set the perfect example for us. Let us strive to be more like him each and every day. This life is just a test, lets not forget why we are here! Forget about wordly things today. Think of a gift you can give the Savior, not just today, but something you can do this whole next year. It would be a great New Years Resolution. ;)

After we watched the Nativity, we ventured downtown to look at some Christmas lights. There was nothing too impressive. I miss candy cane lane and that house near the Webbs. Nothing was comparable, so we were a bit dissapointed.

This morning Charlie got to open his stocking. I wanted to make sure he enjoyed his first Christmas!! He likes his baby carrots so much that he didn't even try for the new stuff, at first. He demolished the raw hide lolly pop later, and enjoyed it very much. This was new to him. He tried to go after the Christmas tree one, but I couldn't let him have two in one day. Charlie liked his frisbee. He didn't want us to stop playing with him. Adam and I just finished watching Mixed Nuts, while we snacked on some cadberry chocolate balls and sweet potatoe fries.

Now I am just anxiously waiting to hear from my brother!!!!

Then it is off to the Aviles for Christmas dinner :)

Happy Christmas Eve :)

We missed Charlie so much during our N.Y. trip. I can't even tell you how excited we were to pick him up this morning. SO happy to be home in time to enjoy Christmas eve and Christmas together as a family!

We sure LOVE this dog!!! He gets to open his stocking full of goodies tomorrow. Ya, he is a little spoiled.

 N.Y. pictures will be posted after the holiday :)


Thanks for all the Christmas cards everyone!! They sure are pretty! Grandma, thanks for the book! What a perfect read for Christmas Eve :)

We are lucky to have been invited over for Christmas Eve dinner at the Saunders, and Christmas dinner over at the Aviles house. It will be so fun getting together with family and friends. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve tonight! Merry Christmas to you all!!!!!

NYC

Here we come!!!   :)


We leave tomorrow for freezing 20-30 degree weather. Bring it on!! We will enjoy every minute of our vacay even if we freeze to the bone. We are very excited to visit NYC during this holiday season! There are so many awesome things to see.


I am so looking forward to it all....


I hope y'all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

After being really sick..these things made my day

This was in the mailbox today. My parents are awesome!! I have already eaten a lot of those Cadbury balls tonight.  SO glad to have my appetite back :) We ran out of our last bag during Thanksgiving, so we were in need of some more!

Today at work, my boss gave me a Christmas present! She is so sweet. I enjoy work mainly because of her. She gave me a book called "What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self," and that nice scarf that will come in handy in N.Y.

Weekend Recap:
Friday was the Ward Christmas Party. Had fun mingling and eating a Texas style bbq.

Saturday addressed all 50 of our Christmas cards, ran errands, and had the missionaries over for dinner.
We ordered Ribbs from Cooper's, and I made baked potatoes and glazed carrots to go with it. For dessert I made brownies and hot fudge sauce for brownie sundays. FYI Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla ice cream is SO increadibly delicious! I asked the missionaries what they wanted this time around. I must say they did a good job picking out dinner. I have never cooked ribbs before, so I didn't want to experiment on the missionaries. This is why we just ordered them from Coopers. We ordered way too many, so Adam took some over to his sisters house while I was sick. Even with company staying over at his sisters, Adam brought Ribbs home.

Saturday evening is when the sickness took its toll. I couldn't keep any solids down. I couldn't sleep. My tummy was in so much pain. I was sore all over. I felt flushed. I got the chills. The worst part was throwing up. I was glad when that stopped. I started feeling better yesterday, but missed work just to be sure. I didn't want to get anyone sick. I am happy to say I am 100% better today! So glad I got this over with BEFORE N.Y.

Here are the homemade cards I made this year:

Some of you will be receiving one of these along with the shutterfly picture card.

We have already started to receive Christmas cards. I love this time of year!

We don't have many decorations out this year b/c we are going to N.Y., but I had to put this out, along with the candle. I have way too many candles, but I can't help myself! I love them :) They make the house smell so nice!

Tis the season for LIGHTS

I love Christmas lights. Last weekend we drove down to Sundance Square.

We stopped at Starbuck's for some yummy carmel apple cider to help us warm up. It was a windy night on Saturday.

We ate at this yummy Cajun restuarant, and I enjoyed it very much.

Of course, I had to take a picture of my food. It was goood! (First cajun restaurant experience = success)

Check out the angel people on this building

We had a good time exploring dowtown. I definitely want to go back and go to a show sometime. They have a lot of different things going on. We got there around 8 on Saturday, which was too late to see anything. We even missed Santa. My co-worker, Anthony, said its best to go on Friday. Too bad my hubby doesn't get home early enough on Fridays to do anything.

We enjoyed some good food this weekend. Here are the fixins:

1) Shrimp Scampi for two

3 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup chicken broth/stock
20 pieces of shrimp
1/2 of lemon juice
fettuccine pasta noodles for two
parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine the rest of the ingredients in a saucepan (besides parmesan cheese). Cook till done. Mix in the pieces of Shrimp and pour over noodles when ready.

2) Beef Stroganoff

Tastes a lot better than it looks. haha

1 - 1 1/2 pounds cubed beef stew meat
1 10.75 ounce cream of mushroom soup
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup water
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup chopped onion

Combine and cook everything in slow cooker besides cream cheese. Set low for 8 hours or high for 5 hours. Stir in cream cheese just before serving.

3) Meatloaf - serve with mashed potatoes

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg
1 onion
1 cup milk
1 cup dried bread crumbs ( I use club crackers)
salt and pepper to taste (optional)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
1/3 cup ketchup

Preheat oven to 350. In large bowl combine everything but sugar, mustard, and ketchup. Place in greased pan. Mix the sugar, mustard, and ketchup, and pour on top. Bake for 1 hour.

Christmas Cards

We are actually sending out Christmas cards this year, and I am really excited about it. Thanks to a few friends recommending shutterfly, we will be able to get 50 free cards!  Yup, thats right, 50 FREE cards.You should too! Click HERE to get yours! They have a really great selection, and I can't wait to use them to make our first Christmas card. THANK YOU SHUTTERFLY :)

Aaron took some really cute pictures of our family today for the Christmas card!! Charlie was a good sport. We actually have quite a selection where he is looking at the camera. I can't wait to put it together. I actually made home made Christmas cards that I am going to give out as well. I made those the first week or so into November. I had never done stamping before, but I think they turned out pretty cute.

Anyways, if you would like a Towner Christmas card, send me your address. You can text message me, or send me a message on facebook.

These are a few favorites:

The last card pictured would be quite fitting for our family. ha. There are too many good ones to choose from! I have picked out three photos that I like, so we will probably use a card like the last one. I kinda enjoy having my name in the message.


Take a look at their Christmas photo cards HERE. You can also make Calendars. When I have kids, I will definitely make some calendars. The grandparents would love that! As for now, I am going to stick with the photo cards. My favorite thing that shutterfly has to offer is their photo books. If you have never made one, you should look into it. They are SO much better than regular old scrapbooks.

Our Turkey Day

Consisted of eating LOTS of food, relaxing on the couch, and watching t.v. We enjoyed the Macy's parade, some football, and spent the rest of the evening watching the first season of Heroes. We decided to start a new series, b/c we need a break from 24.

We thought we were going to get together with the Saunders for Thanksgiving, but we found out they were going to St. Louis to be with Aaron's family. I told Adam that I had to have all of the tradition Thanksgiving food, but I didn't want to cook everything for just two people. I knew Albertsons had Thanksgiving meals you could buy, but they served 6-8 people. Luckily, Adam looked online at Sprouts. They serve Thanksgiving meals for two, so we bought that package from them.  I made Lion House Yam Souffle (very very scrumptious), and pumpkin pie to go along with it. I have made pumpkin pie the last three years Adam and I have been together. It's my brothers favorite. Its just a tradition I am carrying out. My mom always made yams, so I had to make those this year. This was the first Thanksgiving we spent on our own!

Candied Yam Soufflé
Lion House
Soufflé
6 medium yams
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
 Topping
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

To make soufflé, boil, peel, and mash yams. In a large mixing bowl, beat together yams, milk, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, butter, and vanilla. Pour into casserole dish.

To make topping, combine brown sugar and flour in a medium bowl. Chop butter into1/2 inch pieces and add to bowl. Cut butter in with pastry blender until it is about pea size. Add pecans and mix well. Sprinkle on the top of yam mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and top with miniature marshallows. Return to oven and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until marshmallows are golden brown.
Makes 10-12 servings

Charlie sometimes watches the t.v. with us! haha I always wonder what he is thinking when he is staring at the television. Adam has started a bad habit of letting Charlie up on the couch with us, while we are watching t.v. He is hard to resist with that cute little face.


We let Charlie have a little piece of Turkey. That is what the video below is about.
Yes, I talk to my dog like he is a baby.
I trained him the "leave it" command sometime last month. He is a pretty smart dog.

Charlie is getting SO big! I can't believe it. He is no longer puppy size like in the pictures below

He got too big for his black collar, so we got him that red one the night before Thanksgiving.

We also got him a toothbrush and some toothpaste.

..as well as some dental Jerky. He was starting to have bad breath, so we had to do something.

He is the most loving dog EVER. He could never be an attack dog. ha. I love that he always wants to be with us. We have never had to worry about him running away. If he goes outside when we open the door, he doesn't get very far. Once he realizes we aren't coming, he runs right back inside. If we shut the door, he will paw at it. He can't stand to be alone.

Going on Vacation next month!

Adam was given Dec 17th-23rd off, so we will be spending it here:

I can't wait! :)

Today I purchased tickets for the empire state building, and statue of liberty. We booked our flights and hotel stay days ago. We are thinking about seeing The Lion King. We have already seen Phantom of the Opera, and I have seen Wicked. I would see both again though. I heard the Radio City Music Hall Xmas show is legendary. I'll have to look into it.

Being a "foodie" and all, I more excited about all the good eats. Here is a list of places I want to go, based on a New Yorker's recommendations:

1) Grimaldi's- Great Pizza, arguably the best / John's Pizzeria good pizza place too
2) Stand4 - best burgers / Corner Bistro rated second / Shake Shack third / Burger Joint fourth / Pop Burger / JG Melon
3) Katz - best sandwich of your life
3) Doughnut Plant - for their creme brulee donuts
4) Sweetpie - You can dine inside a bird cage!
5) Norma's - for the Waa-za Waffle
6) Crif Dogs - Hot dogs wrapped in bacon and what not
7) West Village Magnolia- cupcakes/ Crumbs/  Billy's
8) BRGR - for best Milkshake
9) Sarabeth's - Great place for brunch ( french toast and omelets)
10) Juniors - Best cheesecake
11) Serendipity's- Frozen Hot Chocolate

Sunday's Dinner -A great way to sneak in more vegetables, and still have a delicious heartwarming meal.

Adam loves chicken pot pie. He stocked his freezer full of those cheap one's you buy in the store, when he used to share an apartment with 5 other guys. Now that he has a wife, who enjoys to cook, he gets to eat a healthier version of his his beloved chicken pot pie.

Notice there is no pie crust on the bottom or sides. This helps cut out some calories, by just placing pastry on top.

Chicken Pot Pie for Adam

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a 9x13 pan. Set out frozen puff pastry on counter to thaw.


Filling:

3 cooked and diced chicken breasts
1 small Onion (we are not huge onion fans, you can use a medium onion if you like)
3 diced red potatoes 
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
3 stocks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons butter
* add any other vegetables you might like
 
To make the filling, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots and potato to the pan, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Mix in the garlic, celery, and any other vegetables you want to add, and cook for about 15 minutes more, until the potatoes are tender. Once the vegetables are finished cooking, turn off the heat and mix in the chicken. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Sauce:

8  tablespoons butter
1 cup flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream (use milk for less fat)
Dash of hot sauce (we use cholula)
Dash of worcestershire
Salt and pepper


To make the sauce, melt the butter over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the flour and whisk until smooth (it will be sort of a paste). Whisk in the chicken broth and cook over medium heat until it thickens to the consistency of a cream soup. Mix in the cream, the hot sauce, the Worcestershire and season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the cream sauce over the chicken and veggie mixture and stir to combine well.
 
2 sheets frozen puff pastry
1 egg white, lightly beaten

Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Lay puff pastry sheets over filling, and brush with beaten egg white. (This ensures a nice golden shiny crust.) Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet in case it bubbles over while baking. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.

Can't wait till next weekend, so I can cook some more yummy meals. We are having the missionaries over for dinner Saturday. Should be a good time. Still haven't decided what I am going to make them.

Cafe Rio style pork AND rice, Patrizio, Sugaraholic, and Charlie's new bed

You probably have tried to duplicate Cafe Rio's delicious sweet pork, but have you ever tried to make their cilantro-lime rice?  I made a version of it tonight, and it turned out very similar. It really makes all of the difference.

Fresh pico de gallo also makes this salad yummy. The only thing missing is guacamole and their dressing. We used ranch. Next time I will have to try to figure out how to make their dressing. I think they use buttermilk. IDK. I will have to experiment.

Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa

2 ½ lbs. pork roast
⅓ cup water
1 clove garlic, minced 
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon pepper
1 cup canned salsa verde
1 cup brown sugar
 
Put pork, water, garlic, salt and pepper in crock pot on high for 4 hours. Drain, shred pork with two forks. Stir together salsa verde and brown sugar, pour over pork and stir in. Serve in burritos, tacos, salad, etc.

CILANTRO-LIME RICE

1 c. uncooked rice (long-grain, white rice)
1 tsp. butter or margarine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
1 can (15 oz) chicken broth
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tsp. sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro

In a saucepan combine rice, butter, garlic, 1 tsp. lime, chicken broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and cook on low 15-20 minutes, until rice is tender. Remove from heat. In a small bowl combine lime juice, sugar and cilantro. Pour over hot cooked rice and mix in as you fluff the rice. 

 My co-worker, Anthony, told me that this was the best Italian place in Texas. He said his friends from Italy agree that this place sells authentic Italian food. Every time they visit, Anthony takes them there because they consider Olive Garden and Carrabas to be a disgrace.

I had to pick up Adam from the Love Field airport yesterday evening, so I decided to call in an order. Patrizio's is located five minutes away from this Dallas airport, so I considered this my chance to try this place.

Overall, it was very good! The online prices must be wrong, because our order came out to be 30 bucks. They were listed around $8/9 dollars. I would definitely like to eat here again, but wish it was cheaper.

Okay so I have officially become a sugarholic! Totally weird, since I was the girl in high school who didn't eat sugar. I still can't believe I went on a no-sugar diet for 4 1/2 years. The first two weeks of October, I went off sugar again, b/c it was a Zumba challenge. I felt so good! Maybe I should do this regularly. My sugar intake from the last two weeks of October up until today has been ridiculous! I am embarrassed to even think about how much I have consumed.

Snickerdoodles

2 ¾ cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In a separate bowl, mix butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in eggs. Gradually stir in flour mixture with a spoon.

2. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar in a small bowl. Shape dough into 30 (1 inch) balls; roll in cinnamon sugar. Space 3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. (If you don't have parchment paper, you'll have to get the cookies off the sheet quickly after baking or they'll stick. The bottoms of a couple of my cookies got stuck to the baking sheet.)

3. Bake cookies until edges are golden, 12 to 15 minutes.

For example, I ate a half dozen of these snickerdoodle cookies, shortly after I made them last night. I consumed a lot of cookie dough too. I also had milk duds, kit kats, and reeses pieces. Left over Halloween candy is hard to resist, when it is close in reach.

Are you a Sugaraholic? Take this quiz to find out

TRUE OR FALSE?

• I don't eat refined sugar every day.
• I can go for more than a day without eating some type of sugar-containing food.
• I never have cravings for sugar, coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, or alcohol.
• I've never hidden candy or other sweets around my home in order to find and eat them later.
• I can stop after one piece of candy or one bite of pastry.
• There are times when I have no sugar of any kind in my home.
• I can go for three or more hours without eating and not experience the shakes, fatigue, perspiration, irritability, depressions, or anxiety.
• I can have candy and other sweets in my home and not eat them.
• I don't eat something sweet after every meal.
• I rarely drink coffee and eat doughnuts or sweet rolls for breakfast.
• I can go for more than an hour after waking up in the morning without eating.
• I can go from one day to the next without drinking a soft drink.

If you answered false to more than 4, you are sugar sensitive. (Meaning a sugaraholic like me).

Charlie absolutely LOVES his new bed. We got him a new one today, while we were out buying an office chair for our new desk, and he has been in it ever since we introduced it to him. He will come play with us, and then go straight back to it. I can't believe how much he has grown! He outgrew his other bed weeks ago. He sleeps in his kennel at night, but loves to lounge in his bed during the day. I love our puppy!! I can't believe that we have almost had him for two months now. He will be five months old in a week. We got him right when he was three months old.

hehe Adam took this picture of his tongue sticking out.

Oh, so I was asked to post the recipes for the stuff I cooked last weekend (see last post). I will do that soon. I need to find all the papers I wrote the recipes down on first. I will also post the Cafe Rio recipes, sugardoodle recipe, and lemon bar recipe.