Same Old New Years Resolution

For quite some time my New Years resolution has been the same thing: do something you've never done before. Though it is the same old resolution, it always brings a different adventure. For example, last year (if I hadn't made it obvious enough with my prior posts) I had a baby!

This year I'm excited for an opportunity I have to take part in a dinner group! It will be good for me to test some new recipes and foods, and stretch my baking skills. My first dinner is at the end of the month...and you'll have to wait to hear about it. :-)

Baby's First Christmas

We drove all the way to Midland, TX for Christmas this year. Benjamin was very excited as we started out our trip. We had good weather all the way, despite the fact it was cold.

We stayed in NM the first night. We had breakfast with Tio Dani, Tia Estela and Mariela, Clay and Sofia. I felt like it had been way too long since I last saw them and it was good to catch up and visit with them. We had a very yummy breakfast of baked french toast, eggs and bacon. Thank you for the great time!

 Baby had fun opening gifts. Of course, he loved the wrapping paper!

Mike received DVDs of all his slides from his mission. They are now preserved. He had fun reminiscing the good old days!

 We saw Aunt Wendy, and Mike and Benjamin got to meet David and all the kids for the first time. Baby had fun with all the kids and received lots of attention.

 He finally got pooped out by the end of Christmas day.

I got to see the Hobbit with Mom and Ariana. I really enjoyed being able to take off and see a movie. It was a guilty pleasure. I took Mike out to eat at Rosa's Cafe...which he enjoyed. Then we also ate at Luigi's downtown so that I could eat their famous pastrami sandwich. Yum, yum! Also, Dad took us out to one of his producing wells. Mike got an education on the oil business in West Texas. We also got a chance to visit with David's sister, Becca; and had a fun time catching up.

Finally, the day arrived for our departure. We left Midland and went to Carlsbad Caverns. The caves are as spectacular as ever and Ranger Mike (above) was impressed. I hope some of the pictures he took from the caverns came out.

After a long drive home, here are the boys relaxing in their own way. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year!

Pop Star Crispy Treats

Christmas treats...yum, yum, yum! This year I made caramel popcorn on my own. I helped some roommates back in my college days to make some once. So I figured it wouldn't be so bad doing it on my own. I'm glad I have a huge bowl, because it makes a lot. I used the recipe from allrecipes.com.

Caramel Popcorn

1 cup butter 

2 cups brown sugar 

1/2 cup corn syrup  

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
5 quarts popped popcorn 

Directions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (95 degrees C). Place popcorn in a very large bowl. 

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in brown sugar, corn syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil without stirring 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in soda and vanilla. Pour in a thin stream over popcorn, stirring to coat. 

Place in two large shallow baking dishes and bake in preheated oven, stirring every 15 minutes, for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let cool completely before breaking into pieces.

I baked the popcorn for a little over 30 minutes because I like my caramel a little softer and it turned out excellent.

In addition to the popcorn, I made rice crispy treats in the shape of stars, and....

 Ginger bread men. I think they looked pretty cool and it was less work than the real cookie.

My First Chili

I've never made chili before and figured I needed to add it to my recipes. I searched the internet for quite some time looking at all the different recipes. I settled on one that looked decent and then found another just as tempting to try...so i took a big risk and made up my own recipe. I am so happy about the the way it turned out, but I was even more happy that Mike really liked it. So, here is my chili recipe as best as I can recall from memory of what I did.

My First Chili

1 lbs ground beef
1 can diced tomatoes (slightly pureed)
2 cans kidney beans (drained)

1 can black beans (drained)
1 green pepper (chopped)
1/2 onion (chopped)

2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
1 stalks celery (chopped)
1 Tbs jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbs Argentine steak rub
1 Tbs Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube

1 cup water

1 tsp sugar
salt & pepper
hot sauce
oil (for frying) 

 

Toppings:

sour cream (optional)
shredded cheddar cheese (optional)
chopped raw onion (optional)

Sautee garlic, onions, green peppers in oil. Brown ground beef. All all other ingredients and simmer for 1-2 hours. Serve with sour cream, shredded cheese and onions.

The chili freezes well, is great for cold days and yummy served with a baked potato. This recipe is really not hard...just a lot of chopping to do. I hope ya'll enjoy!

November Happy Boy

Benjamin has outgrown his baby bath and had his first big bath. He loves kicking the water around as much as before.

 He also likes to try to feed himself. He's usually unsuccessful at getting the food into his mouth.

 Love, love, love his little face on Thanksgiving day!

Here is the happy boy playing with his pillow pets. His daddy and I are very happy for the blessing he is in our lives. We hope everyone had a great November.