Sunday, December 8, 2013

Sunday Night Chit Chat

This was one of those rare weekends when we didn't have much going on, in terms of planned activities. Thank goodness, because we had a ton to do! Here's what happened around our house.

First up, on Saturday morning, we went out & picked all of the ripe fruit, knowing it was going to freeze overnight. Here was our harvest. Still a *ton* of citrus fruit & avocados on the trees, so hoping they survive. In the bowls, we have - red leaf lettuce, four giant Haas avocados, 8 mandarins, 3 lemons, 4 smaller oranges of unknown variety, and 5 Valencia oranges.

We juiced the oranges & made these orange muffins. Last time I made them, they were amazing. This time, they had a slightly bitter flavor. I wonder if it was because the oranges were too big. Next time I'll add more juice, & peel part of the rind off when using larger oranges.

Since it was chilly, I also made one of my favorite (and incredibly easy) soups - tomato with chicken & gorgonzola. We use feta in place of the gorgonzola, because we always have that on hand.

I also made homemade pizza (taco, a childhood favorite - taco meat, cheddar cheese, mild chiles, topped with fresh tomatoes), Italian chicken sausage/pesto/mushroom pizza. And, since the kids had already had pizza once that day, I made their pizza dough into pigs in a blanket/weiner wraps. They were fantastic! M & I even had wrap. :-)

We took the kids to see the Christmas lights last night, and there was a clear winner. The picture doesn't do it justice, but . . . wow. So much going on! :-)

I also ordered our Christmas cards today, & attempted to make an old family favorite holiday recipe - cardamom bread. My great aunt made it every year until I was in college or so. We would toast it & eat it with butter on Christmas morning. Her version was a yeast bread with cardamom (of course :-)), candied fruit, nuts, & a glaze on top. I finally tracked down the recipe, & gave it a shot. Her instructions (from memory, of course) were a little vague, so it wasn't perfect, but the taste is great, & my house has never smelled better! I still have to add the glaze tomorrow, and then wrap the loaves for the freezer. I plan on bringing them in my suitcase for Christmas with the family, as a surprise. :-) 

Thanks to Carla for hosting!

  • Reading: Nothing. I haven't gotten into any books lately, & I need to fix that. Just the usual mix of blogs these days.
  • Listening to: Christmas music, all weekend.
  • Watching: Nothing. We don't typically watch TV in the evenings.
  • Cooking/Baking: See above! The kitchen was busy all weekend.
  • Happy you accomplished this week: So happy that I finally ordered our holiday cards, & ordered the last gifts. I'm officially done with our shopping.
  • Looking forward to next week: I need to wrap the last couple of gifts, & mail out the cards, & I'll be on to the relaxing part of the holidays. :-)
  • Thankful for today: Having two boys who are just at the perfect age to enjoy the holidays. Love it!
  • Bonus question: What is your favourite Christmas carol? - I like any Bing Crosby song, but am also partial to "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses.
Hope you all have a great week!

4 comments:

  1. The Waitresses? Man, that's obscure! lolz
    Sluggy, who went through a major Waitresses phase back in the 80's. ;-)

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    1. I try! :-) I have an old Christmas CD from high school, & the Waitresses were on there. Fond memories. ;-)

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  2. I love that Waitresses song! You are one busy momma - I need to do my cards. One thing at a time!

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    1. It felt like a pretty relaxing weekend, but I'm always amazed by how much I accomplish on my days off. I have to get the cards in the mail this week!

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