Christmas at Home

We are not usually at our own home for Christmas, but this year we were. It was kind of bittersweet because while we really enjoyed the day, we missed our families! I love being together with our parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, and grandparents. I love the parties, the food, watching everyone open gifts, seeing the kids play together, playing games, and talking.

We had a party the day after Christmas (I didn't take any pictures) with some good friends that felt a little like being home to me, which was nice.

Christmas Eve

Almost impossible to get them all looking at the same time!

Christmas Morning

Waiting for Dad to turn on lights and check to make sure Santa came.

Heading down youngest to oldest.

He came!

Cam finally got his Nutcracker.

The long awaitest Stratego game.

Sam got his SLINKY!

KAYAKS!

I gave the boys fleece blankets with their favorite baseball teams.

The back of Nate's has old uniforms and special t-shirts from sporting events.

I was excited about this goody that Matt gave me. I love the polka dots!

Lots of screams when the boys opend Beatles Rock Band from Nana and Grandpa!

Another fun surprise--which I only took video of--was from Mom and Ennis. The boys had fun doing a treasure hunt which led us to the final clue and message that we will all be going to DisneyWorld next Christmas! I'll have to add the cute puzzle Mom drew. The boys didn't quite know what to think. I'm already getting excited. It is always fun to have something to look forward to.

Thanks you to everyone for the wonderful gifts and cards and for making our day great,

even though we couldn't be with you! We love you!

Merry Christmas!

Snow Snow Snow

TWO FEET of SNOW!

WOOHOO!

Christmas Vacations starts three days early!

Matt doesn't always wear this coat, it just looks like it lately.

Cameron could hardly play outside the first day because it was too hard for him to walk around.

Some good face plants happened

Two ways: Which one do you like?

DC Tradition

One of our favorite things to do before Christmas is the go into DC to see the national tree. it is a beautiful setting with the White House on one side and the Washington Monument on the other. This year we went a few days after the big snow storm so it was trickier to find parking and some the trains were still buried. It is always fun to warm up at the GIANT yule log, peek in Santa's workshop, look at the manger scene and walk around the state trees and find Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

Cam was getting cold by this point.

On our way home we stopped to buy some donuts. The girl was so nice and she gave an extra half dozen, which the boys were pretty darn excited about!

Tree Pickin'

The day we planned to get our tree we had an early snow storm which made everything so beautiful and feel Christmasy. During the day Matt took the boys on a snow hike. Later we went to Five Guys, dropped some packages off at the Marine Museum, and headed to Home Depot to pick a tree. While it is not the most picturesque place to purchase a tree, they have good prices and it is close to home so it works for us. One of these years we'll get out and cut our own somewhere.

This is one day of opening the advent box. There were plenty of useless plastic objects this year. Some favorites were the snowglobe (which only lasted two days until Cameron broke it), jingles bells (who knew they could have so much fun spinning them?), and of course they loved it when they got chocolates.

12

Honey Butter

From My Kitchen Cafe

2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup marshmallow fluff

Whip this stuff together and then slather it on anything edible. We had it with our scones one morning. I've made honey butter before but with the marshmallow it is so light!

11

THESE ARE DELICIOUS! This would be a great recipe when you need to take a tray of something sweet for an event. I made them following her suggestion to substitute 1/2 of the oil with a 1/2 cup applesauce. That did make it lighter like cake, but really yummy. Olivia was a great helper!

Pumpkin Bars
from Paula Deen

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (can substitute 1/2 cup applesauce for 1/2 cup oil)
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

10

I think recipes9-15 will all be from the My Kitchen Cafe blog. I tried most of them for the first time while we had company recently, which is not always a smart idea. Everybody were good sports about my experimenting, especially Olivia if it happened to be a dessert:)

I made this meal with chicken instead of pork, just because that is what turned out to be easier that day. It was good, but I think I'll try the pork next time just for fun.

via My Kitchen Cafe

Mu Shu Noodles

12-ounces fettuccine
3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
3 eggs, beaten
3 medium-sized boneless pork chops, thinly sliced (it is easier to slice thinly if pork chops are slightly frozen)
Ground black pepper
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons ginger (about a 2-inch piece), peeled and grated
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
1/2 pound mushrooms, stems removed and caps thinly sliced
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 small head Napa or Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth

Place a large pot of water over high heat to boil. When the water comes up to a bubble, add some salt and drop in the fettuccine. Cook the pasta to al dente according to package directions. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve.

Combine the hoisin and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Set aside.

In a 12-inch non-stick skillet, heat one tablespoon oil over medium heat. Add eggs and scramble. When done, scrape them onto a plate and reserve.

In the same skillet heat two tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Season the pork with salt and pepper, add to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and cooked through, about 5 minutes (don't overcook or pork will be tough!). Remove the meat from the pan onto the same plate as the eggs and keep warm.

Add the scallions, ginger and garlic to the pan, and cook until aromatic and the scallions are tender, about 1 minute. Add the mushrooms to the pan and stir-fry until golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Add the cabbage to the pan and stir-fry until tender, about 3 minutes. When the cabbage is tender, add the reserved pork and scrambled eggs back to the pan along with the hoisin-soy mixture and the chicken broth. Stir-fry to fully heat through, about 1 minute, and then toss with the reserved cooked pasta. Cook to heat through and serve.

Recipe Source: adapted from Rachael Ray

9

This Julia project has been motivating for me. I've enjoyed looking through cookbooks and food blogs for ideas. So, lately I've gone a little nuts with this new food blog my friend told me I should check out. It is her niece or cousin or cousin's niece or something like that and It is a really well done food blog and so far everything I have made from it has been great. I've gotten lazy about taking my own pictures so I'm borrowing from her blog My Kitchen Cafe.

I liked this and it made good leftovers for reheating later.

Chicken Enchilada Pasta

Serves 6-8

*Plan Ahead: the recipe calls for cooked chicken so use leftovers or plan enough time to cook the chicken beforehand.

2-3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed or shredded
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
4-ounce can diced green chilies
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 (10-oz) cans green chili enchilada sauce (I used mild)
2/3 cup red enchilada sauce (I used mild)
1 can large black olives, cut in half
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
16-20 oz. penne pasta (Depending on how "saucy" you want the pasta)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the pasta until tender. While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet and add the onion. Cook for 2-3 minutes until onion is translucent. Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another 2 minutes, until pepper is barely tender. Add the cooked chicken, green chilies, spices, enchilada sauces and olives. Let the sauce simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Add the sour cream and cheese and heat through, until the cheese is melted (but don't boil!). Pour the sauce over the hot pasta. Garnish with extra sour cream, cheese, diced tomatoes, green onions or crushed tortilla chips.

Recipe Source: adapted from my friend, Suzie (Her friend Suzie, not mine)

Christmas Trains

We try to visit the Botanical Gardens each December because of the awesome train exhibit. This year we were able to take Nana, Heather, Jaxson, and Olivia with us. It was a beautiful crisp day in DC.