What We Ate

Last Saturday night, we ate Steak & Shake after going to see Kung Fu Panda 3.

On Sunday, we had our gumbo. It is SO good.

We had enough gumbo for dinner on Monday night as well.

On Tuesday night, we had cracker crusted chicken, baked potatoes, and sauteed green beans. For this recipe, we crumble Ritz crackers and add melted butter to them and then coat the chicken in the cracker crumbs. You then bake the chicken at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.

I made a batch of banana bread with some ripe bananas! I use this amazing recipe.

On Wednesday night, we had bean and rice burritos and roasted asparagus. The asparagus happened to be on sale at Harps that day so I picked some up!

On Thursday night, I made spaghetti and served it with leftover asparagus.

On Friday night, we ate leftover spaghetti.

Tonight, I made country style ribs. As always, they were super delicious!

Country style ribs

This is one of our favorite things to cook. 

I've wanted to share it for awhile, but we usually eat it all before I think of photographing it. It's also not the most photogenic thing either! The taste more than makes up for that!

We weren't really schooled in how to cook meat early in our marriage.

One day, we learned that you just keep cooking meat until it is literally falling off the bone and then it is done!

You will need:

a crock pot

a package of country style ribs

garlic powder

barbecue sauce to dip it in!

Place the ribs in the crockpot and generously sprinkle garlic powder over them.

Let cook for 4-6 hours until meat is falling off the bone. Note: sometimes I add some BBQ sauce to the meat in the crockpot. Either works great!

Serve with barbecue sauce and the sides of your choice!

Salmon cakes

Salmon Cakes

1 can Alaskan salmon

1 egg

6-8 crackers (saltine, Ritz, etc), crushed

2 Tbsp. onion, minced

1/4 cup red bell pepper, finely diced

1-2 Tbsp. mayo

Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

1 Tbsp. green onion, minced (optional)

Other options: Old Bay seasoning, dill weed

Drain salmon and place in mixing bowl. Flake with a fork, mashing any bones (they are edible). To the salmon, add the egg, crushed crackers, onion, red pepper, mayo and seasonings. Mix thoroughly. Shape into patties. Refrigerate the cakes once shaped for 20-30 minutes. It will prevent the cakes from breaking up during cooking. There are two ways that you can cook these: bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes...flipping once halfway through OR heat enough oil to cover a skillet on medium to medium high and pan fry them.

Pan seared, caramelized honey-garlic carrots

I am always searching for new ways to cook vegetables, specifically to entice my children to eat them. They are actually really good eaters, but age has brought about more pickiness. 

We typically steam carrots and serve with honey drizzled over them.

This recipe takes it to the next level with the carmelization.

I l-o-v-e carmelization! It brings out those sugars!

You will need:

5-6 medium carrots, sliced into coins or whatever shape you prefer

olive oil

salt

pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

honey for drizzling- maybe 1 Tbsp?

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oil, then the carrots. Salt and pepper them. Cook, rolling the carrots occasionally so that they brown on all sides. How long you cook them is your preference. I like to cook them until they are pretty brown and soft. Remove carrots to a serving dish and toss with the garlic and honey. Serve warm.

Friday randoms

TGIF!

I'm so glad it is the weekend!

I was able to have my weekly catch up with a sweet friend yesterday during piano lessons. Her son has lessons during the same time.

Yesterday evening, some ladies in our Sunday school class met up at the home of Susan Goss. Susan is a wonderful, beautiful and extremely funny woman who goes to our church. She is also a faith based counselor. Over the past year, we have had a few "sessions" with her. She has tremendous knowledge and shares so much good stuff with us.

Last night, we discussed prayer.

Somehow, the words came out of my mouth about one of my deepest shames in my life- 

I have never prayed out loud around other people in my entire life.

She gave so much Godly advice and I feel such peace about where all of this is leading me.

I'm thankful for friends who do not judge when you confess/share. Although, my friend Kacy almost killed me on the drive over! Just kidding! She will get it!

Susan is also the childhood friend of someone that a lot of people might know:

This morning, my friend Berkli came over for coffee and our weekly "catch up." We usually walk weekly, but it is way too cold for me right now! It's fun to sit in our robes with coffee and just chat!

I ran some errands today. One of those errands was to pick up a Redbox movie for tonight. We got a digital gift card for Christmas. The way you use it is to register online, pick your location, pick your movie, and then take the credit card on file with you when you go pick it up. I *thought* I had picked a certain location, but apparently I wasn't thinking that there were two Neighborhood Markets on this specific street. You would think that wouldn't be too big of a deal, but it was 30 minutes round trip out of my way. I will definitely be more careful with that process in the future!

A friend posted this recipe for a homemade chai latte recently and I made one today. It is so delicious and easy to make! I halved the recipe to make one serving, used a vanilla chai tea bag, steeped the tea instead of using a coffee pot, and used 1 tsp. of vanilla extract in place of the vanilla creamer.

Tonight, we are going to have dinner at home and watch Rio 2!

I went to the library today to get some good old fashioned fiction. I also got the sound recording for the book, Wild: From lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail. It is our January book club book. We are going to dinner and to see the movie next weekend.

I haven't listed to an audio book in years and I'm kind of looking forward to it!

The yummiest Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I'm not sure why I have never posted our recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies. This is very high up on my favorite cookies list. Tim and the kids cannot get enough of them either. Also- I like to think they are a little healthy since they have oats and raisins. Just let me keep thinking that :-)

The Yummiest Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 cup shortening
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups uncooked oats
1 cup raisins (sometimes I use golden raisins)

In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening, on med-high speed for 30 seconds.  In a smaller bowl, stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add this to the shortening along with brown sugar, sugar, eggs and vanilla.  Blend 1-2 minutes or until thoroughly combined. Stir in remaining flour and oats. Fold in raisins. Drop by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350° for 10-12 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on wire rack.

Deviled Eggs

I started making deviled eggs when I still lived at home with my parents.

It gradually became my "thing" to make for family gatherings.

It morphed into being my "thing" that I brought to Tim's family gatherings as well.

I remember lots of holiday mornings, up early and stressing about peeling eggs! I always wanted to make enough for everyone to have two eggs and usually we had about 30 people at family meals, so that is a lot of egg peeling!

This is my mom's recipe and though I no longer rely on the recipe, it is a good starting base for someone who has never made deviled eggs. I think once you make them quite a few times, you start adjusting everything by taste. This recipe is very easy to double or triple.

With summer starting Saturday, I think deviled eggs would make a nice addition to a yummy weekend barbecue!

6 hard-boiled eggs

3 Tbsp. mayonnaise

½ tsp. dry mustard

1/8 tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

 Cut eggs lengthwise in half. Slip out egg yolks and mash with a fork. Mix in mayo, mustard, salt, and pepper. Fill egg whites with egg yolk mixture, heaping it lightly. 

Chicken Enchilada ring

I just finished updating the recipes tab at the top of the blog. Somehow, a few recipes had not been added to it!

This recipe is from Pampered Chef and is a big favorite at our house.

If you have never tried this before, you must rectify that soon!

This picture only has a cross section of the "ring." I failed to get a picture of the entire ring before it was eaten!

2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
1/4 cup chopped pitted ripe olives
1 (4 ounce) cup shredded cheddar cheese, and monterey jack cheese blend
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies, undrained
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon taco seasoning
2 plum tomatoes
1 lime
2/3 cup finely crushed corn tortilla chips, divided
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup salsa
1 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 375F. Chop chicken and olives using Food Chopper; place in mixing bowl.
Add cheese, green chilies, mayonnaise, and seasoning mix. Seed and chop 1 tomato.
Slice lime in half. Using Juicer, juice one half of lime to measure 1 teaspoon juice.
Reserve remaining lime for garnish. Add chopped tomato and lime juice to chicken mixture. Reserve 2 tablespoons crushed chips; add remaining chips to chicken mixture and mix well. Sprinkle reserved crushed chips over cutting board.
Unroll crescent dough. Place dough, sticky-side down, onto crushed chips; press down lightly, so chips adhere to dough. Separate dough into triangles. Arrange triangles, chip side down, in a circle on round baking stone (or round pizza baking sheet) with wide ends overlapping in the center and points towards outside. (There should be a 5-inch diameter opening in center.) Scoop chicken mixture evenly onto the wide ends of each triangle.
Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough at center of ring.
(Filling will not be completely covered.) Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden. For garnish, cut remaining tomato into 8 wedges. Cut remaining half of lime into 4 slices; cut in half.
Arrange between openings of ring. Cut and serve with salsa and sour cream.

Broccoli salad

This recipe is not mine and it is not new, but it is very good. I have made it quite a few times in the past few months. It makes me eat more raw broccoli and there ain't anything wrong with that!

Broccoli Salad

2 heads fresh broccoli 1/2 pound bacon 3/4 cup raisins

3/4 cup sliced almonds/pecans 1 cup mayonnaise 1/2 cup white sugar 2 tablespoons white  vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Place bacon in a deep skillet and cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Cool and crumble.
2.	Cut the broccoli into bite-size pieces. Combine with the bacon, raisins, your favorite nuts and mix well. To prepare the dressing, mix the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar together until smooth. Stir into the salad, let chill and serve.

sweet potato fries

I started making sweet potato fries a few years ago. We really love them, but they always ended up being soggy. I happened to see somewhere that the fries cannot be touching while cooking or they will end up soggy. Bingo! Now, we separate them and no more soggy fries!

First things first. I cut up one large sweet potato into fries. I then toss the fries in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Next, I place them on the baking sheet with room to breathe! Bake at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes, flip and then bake for 10 minutes more. You can cook them longer if you want them extra crispy :-) They do get darker as you bake them, but it is carmelization, not burnt-ness! Try them, you might like them!

Fish Tacos

Food is an important part of our family. 

We love to cook and we love to eat. 

When I was growing up, my parents cooked at home a lot, but they were not very adventurous in the kitchen. 

I studied food preparation in college and that was the first place where my eyes were opened to the joy of cooking and different kinds of food.

Tim opened my eyes to even more food experiences and we love to try new foods and recipes.

I have been creating a recipe book with all of our family recipes.

I have posted some of them on the blog and you can find them here.

Since I have had children and gotten older, healthy food has become more important to me.

Being diagnosed with IBS has also contributed to eating changes in my life.

I've learned that a lot of times, healthy food tastes better and makes you feel better than the alternatives.

In our day and age, there are many more food options than ever before.

However, knowing what is a "good" choice isn't always cut and dry.

I've read and researched and I try my best to make the healthiest choices that are within our budget.

We make good choices the best that we can, but we also enjoy treats.

A few years into our marriage, I decided that we should eat fish pretty frequently.

For the longest time it consisted of pan fried tilapia or salmon.

We have added a few more dishes since then. One of those dishes is fish tacos.

I had never eaten a fish taco until last year.

I had always been leery of them for some reason. Once I tried them, I was hooked and determined to make them at home.

We tried a few different versions before we arrived at this recipe.

There are so many ways to do fish tacos. The fish can be grilled, baked, or fried. The toppings and sauce are all up to your imagination.

Our version is just what we like. You can look around at recipes on the web and create your own fish tacos!

Fish Tacos

-4 tilapia fillets
-1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
-butter to coat pan for pan frying the fish
-1 cup prepared black beans
-Sauce:
1/3 cup sour cream
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. taco seasoning
juice of 1 lime
-Pico de Gallo

1 medium tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped
3 sprigs fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
-hard or soft shell corn tortillas

Melt butter in pan over medium to medium high heat. Coat tilapia fillets in panko crumbs and place in pan. Cook on both sides until fish flakes easily with a fork.
To prepare sauce, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, taco seasoning and lime juice. To prepare pico de gallo, combine tomato, onion, cilantro, garlic powder, salt and pepper. 
Assembling tacos: in taco shell, add fish, black beans, pico de gallo and top with sauce.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today seems like a good day to have cookies, am I right?!
One of my close friends gave me this recipe years ago and it is the only one I have made since. 

Tim absolutely loves this recipe and the cookies are usually gone in two days.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. In small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. In large mixing bowl, beat butter, shortening, and sugars until creamy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.  Add flour mixture; mix well. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Southwest Chicken and black bean soup

The weather has been bitter cold here lately.  We have had snow and ice and missed multiple days of school.  

Today is a different sort of day.  We live in Arkansas, so we are used to these rapid changes in weather.

It is currently 50 degrees and steadily raining with a little thunder here and there.

There is nothing like a dreary day to put me in the mood for soup.

I made this Southwest chicken and black bean soup last month and it was the first time I had made it in a few years.

I'm not sure why, now that we have had it again!

It is a simple recipe that is super delicious!

Ingredients
about 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can black beans
1/2 bag frozen whole kernel corn
1 16 oz. jar mild salsa
6 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
3tsp cumin

Put all ingredients in crock pot and cook until chicken is cooked through and shreds easily. Shred the chicken with a fork, place it back in the soup and serve. This goes great with tortilla chips.

The kids ate this up!  My husband said, "Put this at the top of the menu list!" That, my friends, means that this recipe is a keeper!

Seriously good Taco Soup

Our weather is about to get really cold and nasty.  There is nothing I like better on days like that than a hot bowl of soup.  This soup is one that we make frequently.  The kids lap it up.  That's a win in my book!

Taco Soup

1 lb ground beef

1 can pinto beans, rinsed

1 can black beans, rinsed

1 can mild Rotel

1/2 pkg frozen corn (or as much or little as you like!)

1 pkg Hidden Valley dry ranch dressing mix

taco seasoning to your liking (I make my own seasoning so I pour as much in as I think looks good. If using a package, maybe 1 package?)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker or stock pot and cook on low for 3-4 hours.  We love to sprinkle cheese over this in our bowls and serve with corn chips! Yummo!

Crock-pot Thanksgiving dressing & a visit to Santa {Recipe}

We had breakfast at The Egg and I in Rogers this morning with Tim after his doctors appointment.  We had been wanting to try it for a long time.  It was really good!

Afterwards, we headed over to the Promenade to visit Santa!

I know, I know. It is still November.

BUT, we were the only ones there and the kids had a blast visiting with Santa!

Compiling all of our recipes digitally and also putting them into a binder has been a big goal of mine for awhile.  I haven't had lots of time to work on it, but it is at the top of my list right now.

I want to have all of our recipes together for my sake and for the kids to have someday.

Today, we are having our own family (Tim, the kids, and I) Thanksgiving.

We are having turkey, dressing, cranberry sauce, sweet potato casserole, asparagus and pie!

This dressing recipe is from my mom.  She made it a few years ago and it was instantly my favorite dressing ever.

It has so much flavor and is so moist! I cannot tolerate dry dressing!

Crockpot Thanksgiving dressing  (or make it anytime you want!)

8-inch pan of prepared cornbread
8 slices of bread
4 eggs
4 cups chicken broth
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sage
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp butter

Crumble breads, then add all ingredients except butter. Pour into crock-pot and dot butter on top.  Cook on high for 2 hours or on low for 3-4 hours.

Pumpkin pie {Recipe}

I pretty much love every season.  By the time they get here, I'm so ready for the change.

However, from the end of November to the end of December may be my favorite time of the year.

I love the holidays. We are in full gear for Thanksgiving and have even started a little for Christmas :-)

I love the traditions.  Today, the kiddos painted ornaments like they do every year. 

Most importantly, I love the FOOD!

We have four Thanksgiving meals over the next three days and today I began baking.  This morning, I whipped up pumpkin pies, pecan pies, and sweet potato casserole.  Tim says my pecan pie is the best. Ever.  I have to say that it is very, very good.  
Pecan pie is my most favorite pie.  

Another pie is high up on the list too-- pumpkin pie.

Pumpkin Pie

1 can pure pumpkin
1 can evaporated milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
2 9-inch unbaked pie shells/crusts

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Thoroughly blend all ingredients and pour into pie crusts. Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

The best cinnamon rolls I've ever had [Recipe]

I have been dying to learn how to make homemade cinnamon rolls.

The best cinnamon rolls I ever remember having, were on beef stew day in the cafeteria at school when I was growing up. 

I've never found a cinnamon roll that has really came close to them.

I tried making the Pioneer Woman's recipe last year. I don't know what happened, 

but it was a total flop :(

I gave up for awhile after that.

Then, in Sunday school someone had made homemade cinnamon rolls and it gave the itch to try again.

I did an Internet search for the best cinnamon rolls ever and I came across THIS 

(Recipe and my notes below.)

I have to admit, when I saw the potato in the recipe, I was pretty skeptical.

Another problem I've always had is getting my dough to rise.

It would rise, but it would never double.

I don't know what the magic in these cinnamon rolls comes from, but they may actually be better than the ones I remember.

This recipe is not hard, but it is somewhat time consuming.

However, a lot of the time is waiting on the dough to rise.

And rise, it did!

If you've ever wanted to learn to make cinnamon rolls, I highly suggest this recipe!

They are perfect in my book!

Yield: 12 servings
Time: 3½ to 4 hours, mostly unattended

*My notes are in purple

1 small potato (about 4 ounces), cut into 1-inch chunks
1½ teaspoons salt
4½ cups flour, plus more for kneading and shaping
1 cup sugar
2¼ teaspoons instant yeast or one ¼-ounce packet active dry yeast
¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
Oil or butter for greasing the bowl and pan
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used 1/2 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp maple extract)

1. Put the potato in a medium saucepan with ½ teaspoon salt and enough water to cover it by at least 1 inch. Cover the saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook until the potato is very tender, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the flour, ½ cup of the sugar, the yeast, and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl.

2. Drain the potato, reserving 1¼ cups of the potato-cooking liquid, and put the potato through a ricer (I just used a fork and smooshed it. You are just trying to get baby food consistency.) (Discard the potato skin.) Add ¼ cup (½ stick) of the butter to the reserved potato-cooking liquid and stir until it melts. When the butter mixture cools to 100°F—about the same temperature as the inside of your wrist(I used my candy thermometer and did the exact temp it called for)—add it to the flour mixture along with the riced potato and the egg. Stir with the dough-hook attachment of a stand mixer or by hand until combined.

3. Knead the dough with the dough-hook attachment of a stand mixer or by hand until it feels smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Grease a large bowl (it’s fine to use the same one you mixed the dough in), add the dough, and turn it over to coat it lightly with oil or butter. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, put it in a warm place, and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. (I set my bowl outside because it is very hot and humid. Maybe that was the difference in why I got the dough to rise so much?)

4. Grease a 9- by 13-inch pan(I used two 8-inch round pans) with oil or butter. Punch down the dough, then transfer it to a floured surface. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into an approximately 8- by 12-inch rectangle(I did this exactly and the dough was still 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch. So it will look kinda puffy, not flat.) Spread the remaining ½ cup (1 stick) butter over the surface of the dough(My butter was softened, not melted.) Combine the remaining ½ cup sugar with the cinnamon and sprinkle this mixture evenly over the butter. Starting from one of the long sides, roll up the dough as tightly as possible. Cut the roll into 12 one-inch slices and arrange the slices, cut side up, in the greased pan.

5. Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, put it in a warm place, and let the rolls rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.(Again, I put mine outside to rise.) (At this point you can refrigerate the cinnamon rolls for up to 12 hours or overnight; let them return to room temperature before baking.)

6. Heat the oven to 350°F. Uncover the cinnamon rolls and bake until golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth, then whisk in the vanilla(and maple extract.) Let the cinnamon rolls cool slightly, then drizzle the icing over them and serve warm.

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings

When I take a meal to a family, it is almost always chicken pot pie or chicken and dumplings.  This is definitely an "old-fashioned, takes some time" recipe.  But it's so good that I don't mind taking the time to make it.  This makes a pretty full pot and we rarely have much left over.

Chicken and Dumplings 

Broth- 
2.5-3 lb whole chicken, or 4 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded

2 cups chicken broth, or 6 cups chicken broth with water added as needed
water 
Dumplings- 
2 cups all-purpose flour 
1/2 tsp salt 
5 T butter 
1 egg 
1/2 cup whole milk 

Place the chicken into a large pot. Add chicken broth and water. Make sure the chicken is covered with water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmering. Throughout cooking, skim away any foam that forms in your pot. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours until chicken is done and tender. Remove chicken from the broth and allow to cool. De-bone the chicken once it is cool enough to handle. While de-boning the chicken, discard the undesirable parts. Cut de-boned chicken into bite sized pieces. OR Bring pre-made broth/water to a simmer and then skip to nest step.

To prepare dumplings, mix flour, salt, egg, butter, and milk in a stand mixer. Continue to mix until a ball forms. Form your dumplings by rolling out the dough to about 1/8 inch on a cutting board. Use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to cut your dough into bite-sized pieces.

Bring the chicken broth to a boil. Drop dumplings into the broth, ensuring that they submerge. Add all of your dumplings to the broth. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 8-10 minutes. Add chicken and simmer until chicken is heated. You can also thicken broth with a cornstarch/water paste to your liking.

Chicken and dumplings do not photograph very pretty, but I added the picture anyway.  

Ringing in 2013 {and a black eyed pea recipe}

I spent most of Christmas break relaxing and enjoying family. I let the house go for awhile. I read books. I ate lots of food. I've watched movies. It was so very nice. The break felt so carefree. 

On New Year's Eve, we don't go crazy, but we do build up a little excitement for the kids. We have our own little "party."
Next year, I want to actually plan some fun food and games. 
This year, we just made some chili cheese dip, popped open the sparkling grape juice and played lots of games. The kids just love it. We also had a little New Year's Rockin Eve on the TV. 
We played Creationary, Candyland, Sorry, and tabletop Foosball.  The kiddos stayed up until 10:30 when we made them go to bed because WE were tired! 

On New Year's Day, we always have creole black eyed peas for good luck and prosperity. I remember sometime early in our marriage when Tim found the recipe in the newspaper. He has made it every year since, and it is so good. 

I'm not making a "this was 2012" post, and I'm not posting resolutions. Most of the things that I hope to resolve to do are very personal to me.  

2012, for me, was a good year, but not the absolute best. Not every year will be the absolute best.  It had quite the trying times, but there were some really good things too!

I'm hoping 2013 brings many happy memories. That sounds like a very good plan to me.

Creole Black Eyed Peas
4 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled

bacon drippings reserved

1 cup chopped onion

1 cup chopped green bell pepper

1 cup chopped celery

1 can Rotel

2 cans black-eyed peas

2-3 tsp sugar

salt to taste

1 bay leaf

Place reserved bacon drippings in a large pot and saute onion, bell pepper, and celery until tender. Stir in Rotel, black-eyed peas, sugar, salt, bay leaf, and half the crumbled bacon.  Cook over low heat 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water if necessary. Remove bay leaf and sprinkle with remaining crumbled bacon just before serving.