Happy New Year's Eve

All the kids are ready for an exciting New Year's Eve....well, not really.  Annabelle just wants to sleep.

Abby was playful for a few moments and now she's fast asleep.

Manny?  He could care less.  Manny just wants to sleep as well!

It's hard to tell if Aiden is excited for New Year's Eve.  He never shows much emotion and just wants to snooze in his cat bed.  I do have one secret to share.  All I have to do is shake the kitty treat bag and they all will instantly come running and meowing.  They love their treats.

I thought Bike man and I should celebrate with a delicious fresh citrus & pomegranate salad, followed by a nice homemade pasty for dinner.  Sure, we could drive down the road to the nearest Supper Club for a special evening meal, but who wants to do that when you can make a delicious healthy meal at home.

And now my special favorite part of New Year's Eve....enjoying a little champagne!

Can't forget the little snacks with our bubbly.  Thanks big Sis for the gift of nuts.  So, the big question is, will we make it till midnight?  Some years yes and some years no.  Guess it depends on the movie we want to watch.  Still trying to pick one out on Amazon Prime so we can stream it for free.  Have a wonderful evening everyone and stay warm.  It's currently -15 below zero here!  

Food, Family & Friends

Zero degrees with a 15-20 mph wind blowing this morning, so we're talking about a -20 degree windchill factor.  I know that's cold, but I just needed to get outside to exercise my heart and legs.  Instead of a road run, I opted to walk up and down our stairs down to the lake dock.  50 steps down and back up....twelve times.  My legs were wobbly by the time I finished and my eye lashes were icy!  It felt good to exercise and my torso and hands were actually sweaty.

We actually had one more family feast last night.....that's why I made the cheesecake.  Bike man's son Mike, and his wife Lynn, have an annual family dinner after Christmas so we can see the grandchildren.  Lynn is such a trooper and cooks an entire meal, complete with soup, cooked turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy stuffing, garden green bean casserole, baked dinner rolls and salads.  Lynn's dad always brings a Portuguese braised meat dish, which is so unique.  It's so nice to see Bike man's grandkids, however, some the kids couldn't be there this year. And one granddaugher (Rissa) from Minneapolis, was really sick with a viral infection.....I felt so bad for her as she could hardly speak.  

Bike man had to show off his new cozy to the family last night, which was actually a special deal from Woot.com!

Spent the rest of the night out in the Man Cave (garage) with the men!  Friends Todd and Rob came over to help us celebrate the night.  Spending time with family is so fun at this time of the year whether you're in the kitchen, garage, family room or down on the lake ice......it's all good.  Now it's back to work to finish out my 2013 budget year.  I'm actually looking forward to 2014.  For some reason the odd numbered years are never good for me.

This Is the Last Of........

This is the last of my holiday baking, really.....no more!  Since 1991, I've been baking this delicious toffee cheesecake.  It is by far my favorite recipe.  After all these years, I have now been mastered the technique of preventing the center crack.  It's called patience (don't hurry), don't over-mix, work with room temperature cream cheese and eggs, and most important.....after 1:15 hours of baking, turn off the oven and crack the oven door open.  Leave the cheesecake in the oven and let it cool slowly for up to one-hour.

Tomorrow, I will garnish my cheesecake with crushed Heath bars and drizzle with caramel sauce.  My last tip, wait 24 hours before serving this cheesecake.  The dense, rich texture is so worth the wait.  When I don't feel like toffee, I substitute Snicker's candy bars cut into very small pieces.

Tomorrow night is our annual dinner with Bike man's extended family, including all the grandchildren.  After tomorrow night, it's back to simple food and no sweets.      

Family Joy

There's a new meaning to garbage......I mean garbage lasagna.  Came home from work today to a wonderful smell throughout the house.  Bike man called it his "lol" lasagna, or otherwise known as left-over lasagna.  After I found out all the ingredients in this delicious dish, I labeled it garbage....but good garbage.  The whole purpose behind this lasagna was to use up ingredients that have been just taking up space.  So, what's in the garbage lasagna?  Vegetable spaghetti sauce, salsa, whole wheat lasagna noodles, onion, spicy sausage, hamburger, marinated greek olives, corn, ricotta, Mexican, parmesan and cheddar cheese.  It's quite the combination, but surprisingly good. 

Trisha and I decorated the last of our gingerbread men & women tonight.  Don't you love the bib overalls???  Great idea Trisha.  Chris and Trisha will leave tomorrow and Becca left last night.  The house will go back to being quiet, hoo hum.  Now I know how my mom feels.  Love my family....

Merry Christmas

Christmas morning?  Gotta start the morning with a Pannekoeken (oven pancake).  Eggs, milk, flour, sugar, butter and a pinch of salt.  Add the egg mixture to a preheated cast iron skillet with blueberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon.  Serve with a splash of real maple syrup.....perfect.

Christmas afternoon?  Ice fishing of course!  We enjoyed the day down on the lake ice fishing for Northern's and Walleye's.  Chris, Trisha, and Becca were all prepared for our fishing adventure.   

Our afternoon consisted of roasting hot dogs and brats down on the ice.  Bike man moved our cooper bowl down on the ice so we could build our fire.

 

Our Minneapolis guests also showed up this afternoon to join in on our fishing adventure.  Dana & Artena were excited to go ice fishing. 

And the city dog, Jerney, came along to enjoy the day out on the ice, especially with a  plentiful  supply of tree branches!

Four hours of running around through the snow and ice made this canine sleepy.  With the snow and twenty degree temperature today, it was a perfect day.  Merry Christmas my friends......

Christmas Eve

It was all smiles today!  Like I mentioned several days ago, decorating sugar cookies has been a big tradition for my family for many years.  Becca and Chris, have been helping decorate Christmas cookies since grade school. Now, our son's girl friend Trisha, is helping in our tradition.     

The kids don't just decorate, they take it one step further and create their own designs.

I almost hate to eat the cookies since they spent so much time decorating each one.  When the mail carrier stopped by today with a special package, I told Chris to run outside and give her some freshly decorated cookies.  Then two hours later the UPS delivery guy stopped by and I fed him cookies as well.  I certainly give lots of credit to any delivery person at this time of the year.....it's a tough job.

I kept busy this afternoon preparing for my big Christmas meal, which we ate tonight.  Sorry, I didn't snap any photos as I was busy with the food prep.  My feast consisted of a baked ham with brown sugar & maple syrup glaze (thanks Trisha), roasted sweet potatoes, cheesy potato bake, buttered corn, and a new fresh pomegranate, cranberry, orange & apple salad.  Everything tasted so good.  We ended our meal with a pot of Good Earth tea and then opened Christmas presents.

It's now snowing again tonight....probably another 2-4 inches.  How appropriate for Christmas Eve.

Road Trip

 Arrived in southwestern Wisconsin last night and just in time for a good old fashion dumping of fluffy snow.

About 6-7 inches of snow fell late last night and into today.  The snow was actually very pretty, especially when it's light and fluffy.

The snow didn't bother us.....mom and I had some serious cookin to attend too. 

Well actually, our lunch consisted of very little cooking since I made fresh spring rolls.  First, I marinated the tofu in tamari sauce and then pan fried it till crispy.  I also cooked the rice noodles, while doing the prep work for the filling.  My filling consisted of fresh red peppers sliced, grated carrots, fresh ginger and Italian parsley and a very small amount of jalepeno jelly.

Next, I soaked the tapioca sheets (one at a time) in water and then added a small amount of the rice noodles, veggie filling and pieces of fried tofu.  Just wrap them up like you would a burrito.  I like to eat them raw, but my family enjoyed them pan fried in a little olive oil.  Be sure to serve them with a side of Asian peanut sauce....I found a recipe online by searching Google. 

It was then on to decorating the Christmas cookies.....my favorite part.  Becca and I decorated the cut-out sugar cookies along with a small pan of gingerbread men.  We have more cookies waiting for us at home to decorate, so I'll just leave these cookies with my folks.

So fun to spend time with family during the holidays.  Short trip as we'll be heading back home tomorrow.