Well Christmas day fun came and went as fast as this last year has. The holiday started on Christmas Eve where I spent 4 hours wrapping presents that took less than 2 hours to actual destroy while watching the hangover (too damn funny ) and A Christmas Carol (a classic). My mom came down the night before and we took the dogs for their annual Christmas lights tour of the Fab 40s, so on Christmas Eve I was preparing to make my desserts for the big day.
As I gathered all the ingredients out to start baking I noticed I was missing something quite important for my Chocolate Ricotta Tart - the ricotta cheese. Apparently the grocery store did not feel the need to put it in my grocery bag after I paid for it. So here I was on Christmas Eve at 8pm (I know I should have started it earlier) without ingredients to make my dessert. Luckily I had a back up dessert to make but unfortunately it wasn't chocolate like what was requested by the family. So I decided to improvise and combo both desserts into one - Chocolate Cheesecake.
Christmas morning started off with the dogs opening their gifts and playing with them for about a half hour before falling back asleep on the couch and looking bored as usual.

Charlie enjoys his chew toy

Maggie enjoys her dental toy (hoping it helps her breath)
Charlie fast asleep on the couch
Maggie bored with her toys already

I gathered my famous shredded cheesy potatoes dish (recipe below) and my 5 pound chocolate cheesecake and all the presents to head up the hill to my sister's. I arrived right on time and surprisingly my sister wasn't in the shower and actually had appetizers out (OK, probably because mom actually brought the appetizers). The living room quickly filled up with presents, even though this year was supposed to be low-key.
Jasmine was already playing with her newest toy, Wii Fit. I figured I wanted to try it but didn't know the damn game was going to end up insulting me. According to the game I'm considered obese and quickly made into a fat little Wii person. I no longer wanted to play. I did try a quick game of snowboarding before my person ended up crying in the snow because I was so bad. Luckily it was time to open presents.
The few hours it took to open the presents was mostly drama free. We of course had a few unmarked presents from grandma but luckily since they are always wrapped in bags themed for another season it's easy to know who they are from. Fonda didn't get her yearly black sweater but now was upgraded to Christmas kitten sweatshirt from Grandma (her sweatshirt matched the sweatshirt Grandma was wearing that day, lucky girl). Mom got a like a little jacket that probably was made in the 80s (it included shoulder pads) and so small it wouldn't even fit Jasmine. Dad and I got into a giggle fit over this gift as we weren't quite sure how grandma thought it would one fit mom or that second she would need a cropped business jacket for the job she doesn't have..... So as you can imagine I was quite nervous when it came time for me to open my gift from her, luckily I got new set of dishtowels and a periwinkle turtleneck, compared to years past this was a good thing. Jasmine got more games for the Wii including another guitar and a quilt my mom knitted for her.

Jasmine gets Band Hero for Wii which will be played all night
Dad gets some framed photos of 3 beautiful girls!!!
Jasmine's new quilt
Fonda's new matching kitten sweatshirt
Our annual stairway photo
Dad, Cindy and Jasmine showing some Christmas cheer
Fonda and Jasmine looking like Santa's helpers

After the hours of unwrapping, oohhh, aahhhs and THANK YOUs it was dinner time. Cindy cooked a yummy tender Tri-Tip, mom made her yams with marshmellows, my potatoes and Fonda's green bean casserole and grilled zucchini. Of course we can't forget Cindy's famous onion bread. Everything turned out delicious and i was good not to over stuff myself as I knew there was a game of Band Hero ahead of of me and didn't want to get a side cramp.... Jasmine and I quickly started a long marathon of Band Hero and finally got someone other than Fonda to sing. Grandma pushed her store bought sugar cookies on everyone right after dinner and my cheesecake was forgotten until almost the end of the day, just meant more left overs for me.... All in all it was a good day with lots of family fun. I look forward to challenging Jasmine to more Band Hero at New Years Eve, where hopefully we can talk my mom into singing otherwise it means more tone deaf Fonda!!!!

Cindy, Jasmine and I rock Band Hero

Wanda's Potatoes Recipe
(don't know who Wanda was as this is a recipe passed onto me from someone else)

1 pkg frozen shredded potatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/4 cup of butter
1 pt of sour cream
1/3 cup of chopped onion
1 cup of shredded cheese

Heat oven to 350. In a large saucepan melt butter and stir in cream of chicken soup. Add in sour cream, cheese and onion, stir in frozen potatoes. Make sure all the potatoes are covered with the mixture. Pour mixture into a buttered dish (I find a shallow cake pan works best). Top with extra cheese (or corn flakes mixed with melted butter for added crush). Bake for 45 mins.

Seeing Red

As we draw closer to the Christmas deadline, I ventured out into the crowded territory known as Target on Arden and Fulton. Whenever I know it's going to be super crowded in the parking lot I usually end up parking closer to the garden center as it's always less crowded there. As usual I was right. I got in and out in no problem, even spending under $40 for last minute supplies.

I then pushed my luck and went to Cost Plus. That's where the real damage began. First I spent a good hour wandering the store wondering should I get this or that, even though all my Christmas shopping has been done and looking for a box for a gift. Instead I end up spending close to $50 in there. While trying to pull out of my spot a HUGE truck decides to squeeze into the compact spot next to me, leaving me little room for error. It's times like today in the parking lots where I was cut off 3 times by people who then in return gave me dirty looks when I tried to remind them it was my turn and parking so close that you have to get in your car through the passenger door that you just want a big piece of crap car to just run into other people and not care. But I finally made it home to unpack, eat lunch and then make some cupcakes for the potluck tomorrow at work.
Now I've never made Red Velvet cake mix before and after today not really sure I will again. I've heard many people tell me it's their favorite, but I think this was the first time ever that I didn't lick the bowl clean. It looked like a bloody mess and that just isn't appetizing. Plus it doesn't really taste like chocolate or anything else. It's its own unique taste, one that I didn't really care for. But haven't topping it with cream cheese frosting and cake sprinkles it had more of an appeal. I'll bring as many as I can fit into the cake tin to work and the other to my neighbors, thanks to these handy little boxes I found at Cost Plus.

I think it also didn't help today that I dyed my hair Egyptian Plum and when rising it in the sink looks like I was trying to commit suicide instead and filled the bowl with blood red water. Even though it turned out like I wanted (dark brown burgundy) I think I will stick with color and taste I know, like Dark Brown haircolor and Devil Food's cake mix.

Thanksgiving 2009

Well the holidays are officially on, starting with Thanksgiving with the annual feast of turkey and green bean casserole and family gathering. I took off work early on Wednesday to start my cleaning and cooking as the family was coming to my house as usual (my sister gets Christmas and Easter, I get Thanksgiving and Mother's Day).
I thought it would be better to first make the pumpkin pie the night before, just in case I messed up I would have time to make another as I bought back up ingredients such as pie crust and extra can of pumpkin. Now I have never made pie crust from scratch, let alone a cookie pie crust. This was to be made out of gingersnap cookies and almonds (gluten free as one of my friends pointed out). Not having a proper food processor, I took hammer to cookies to break them down enough to resemble crumbs for the crust. I mixed in melted butter and then tried to press it into the pie pan, but it didn't seem to go evenly and still seemed quite crumbly. But I got it in there and baked it for ten minutes and then set aside to cool.
The mixture was easy to put together and included a lot of good smelling spices (cloves, cinnamon and ginger). I poured it into the crust and put it in the oven for over an hour until the middle wasn't moving anymore (they always tell you that it will still jiggle somewhat but will set and it never fully does for me so I just cooked it all the way to make sure). The house started to smell of spices and crust and let me know the holidays were about to begin.
You can find the recipe for the pie at the following link: http://www.oprah.com/recipe/omagazine/recipes/200911-omag-recipe-pumpkin-pie (note that I omitted the cranberry sauce portion of the recipe)

Next day I woke up early to start working on the Turkey (Free Range, Organic Hormone Free Trader Joe already Brined bird). I thought it was completely thawed until I went to remove the innards and of course found ice inside. So as I let cold water run through the bird I started my hours of vacuuming, swifter, sweeping and vacuuming again as my sister likes to make a hobby of pointing out how much dog hair I have in the house. I have two dogs that live indoors, there will be dog hair no matter how much I clean.

Dogs banished outside for the day

Finally the bird was ready for it's herb rub bath. I watched a lot of Food Network before today and found a herb roasted turkey by Ina Garten that looked easy and sounded too tasty. (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/herb-roasted-turkey-breast-recipe/index.html) She used it for turkey breast but I figured it would translate to a whole turkey just fine. After cleaning, drying and removing all the unwanted parts of the bird, I slowly worked my hands under the skin with the olive oil mixture. It was much easier than butter which I usually used. I then put some white wine, sage and garlic in the bottom of the roasting pan and placed it all in the oven.
It only took about half hour before the house filled up the with the most wonderful aroma. I can't even describe how good it smelled, but I knew I had picked the right herb mixture for the bird. It took about 3 full hours to cook the 13.5 pound turkey, but once I brought it out of the oven I knew I had cooked the best bird YET!
While we let the turkey rest mom, Fonda and grandma cooked up their side dishes in the oven. The classic menu of green bean casserole, candied yams, stuffing and homemade cornbread. Everything came out perfect and tasted the best it could. I guess that is what happens when everything is made from scratch and with love.... After the meal we settled down on the couch and watched the movie Up. We played Mastermind (which wasn't as difficult as I remember, except for mom). After dessert Fonda and I defended our winning streak at Pictionary against mom and Jasmine. It came down to the closest game yet as both teams were on the final spot, but Fonda and I won the game like the true champions we are. But still Jasmine is getting a little too good now at these games. I guess that is what happens as they get older. She can still kick all our butts at any Wii game though. Which we will find out on Christmas. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and now the holiday season officially begins.....

We get ready to feast

Hunger Busting Chili

Last week at our company's annual Chili cook-off I got pre-taste of one contestants chili as I went in for my morning oatmeal. Already by 9am the smell of spices and meat were thick in the air and I could smell it from my cube around the corner. Most of the chili's are red and thick with sauce and meat, but my friend Jenny's was more clear and full of ground turkey. The smell of cinnamon and cumin struck me first and then I couldn't wait to try it. A healthy chili, yes it's true and yes it's very good. At the cook-off I filled my dish up with her chili along with samples of others. Jenny ended up winning most colorful, but I think it should have won most unique and tasty category. I asked her immediately for the recipe and even took leftovers home with me and had them for dinner the next night.
I got the recipe from her and couldn't believe how simple the ingredients were. She said for a double recipe the cost was about $30 for 12 servings. Not bad. I decided to make it up tonight so all the yummy spices and flavors could soak in for a great lunch tomorrow, and from the looks of it many after.
First you will notice is the smell, it's sweet and cinnamony (its a new description). I made the regular amount and it looks like enough chili to last a few days and nights. Which is good since I'm on a budget and need to eat healthier. In this chili you have 3 beans (chickpeas, black beans and kidney beans) and ground turkey so LOTS of protein in there (30g in fact). It's low fat (5g) and low calorie (292 a serving). I used the low sodium beans and chicken broth to keep it less salty. But overall the taste is great and if you have some artisan bread to dip in it, it's a perfect new healthy chili to enjoy all winter. Now if they weather would just realize it's fall and not be 80 degrees in November it would be perfect.

Recipe:
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 small white onion chopped
1 lb lean ground turkey
1 can diced tomatoes with jalapenos (or chilis in this case)
1 10.5 oz can each of chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans, drained
1 can low sodium chicken broth
1/4 tsp each salt and cumin
1/8 tsp each cinnamon and cayenne pepper

In a large pot, heat the oik on medium-low heat. Add the oino and saute until soft (about 3 mins). Add the turkey and brown it (5 minutes). Add the remaining ingredients. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Top with low-fat shredded cheddar, if desired.