Happy Holidays!

Wishing you all a happy holidays! I'm going to take a bit of a break from blogging....life just seems to get in the way of cooking and crap. Hope to be back in the New Year, recharged and ready to go. Stay warm and have fun (or a few martinis at least!).

Spreading xmas cheer

My best friend A sent me this clip a few years ago when I was going through a rough period before Christmas. It is my advent calendar...I watch it ever day as I count down from December 1st to December 25th. If you aren't smiling at the end of this, you are broken :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6NDXYrzioA&feature=related#watch-main-area

How cold is -30 Celsius?

Yes that's right, -30 Celsius, that is what the temperature was today. And for those of you who don't know how cold that is.....

1. Your coffee in the insulated to go cup that is supposed to keep it hot for an hour lasts 15 minutes.

2. Grabbing the handle of your truck without gloves leaves layers of skin on the handle. And then you are pissed off because you are missing a layer of epidermis and the truck won't start.

3. Standing outside without a jacket on hurts, and you are forced to wear hats with ear flaps (although I personally think they are quite trendy).

4. You walk around with permanently erect nipples (I work with all men, I didn't hear any complaints).

5. You finally break down and wear socks and a jacket rather than just dashing between the house, truck and work and praying that you get the doors unlocked quickly enough to ward off frostbite.

6. You can leave all frozen foods bought at the grocery store in the truck....for days... and they will still be frozen solid.

There is no cure for this kind of temperature shock other than pack up the parkas, sweaters and mittens and move to Hawaii.......a thought I am seriously entertaining. The only reason I like winter weather is it's easier to hide the lumpy bits that I call my body behind a sweater rather than behind a bathing suit.

Winter weather calls for a slow cooker meal. Something without a fuss that can be thrown together literally in seconds. Recipegirl had a post for an Easy Chicken Santa Fe that looked intriguing. How easy you ask? In between the frantic scooping and tasting of Cinnamon Jumbo Cookies I opened a can of black beans and 2 cans of corn. Mixed in some medium salsa. Threw some chicken thighs on top, poured on more salsa and done. 3 hours on high in the slow cooker and the meat was fork tender. Shred the thighs, cut up an 8 oz brick of cream cheese and stir until combined. And you get this:


A delicious, spicy, cheesy sauce that goes great over rice. I cannot believe how much flavour this recipe had. The goddaughter informed me she would eat it but would need to pick out the black beans. Fair enough. After the second helping when I pointed out there wasn't a picked out bean to be had on her plate, she told me she forgot they were there. High praise from a 13 year old I think......coupled with her love of the cinnamon jumbos, her 2 helpings of dinner and a lot of homemade pickles, that kid made me feel like Julia Child.

You can find the recipe HERE.

If they have no calories, why do I have a stomach ache?

Everybody has a Christmas treat that they love....and that you are allowed to bestow the "calorie free" moniker upon. The rules to this game though:

1. It has to be something you don't get everywhere
2. It can only be made for Christmas.
3. It has to be something you have loved since you could only crawl (no, crawling after downing the bottle of vodka at the xmas party does NOT count).

For me, that calorie free goodie is Cinnamon Jumbo Cookies. My mom has made these forever and they only get made at Christmas. I have many a fond memory of these cookies - including being grounded for calling my Opa a bugger because he wouldn't sneak more for me!

Now, if you have a PNE, Calgary Stampede or other fair type event in your vicinity, you have undoubtedly had cinnamon covered mini-donuts. That what these cookies taste like. Donuty, sugary, cinnamony goodness. You will not stop at one.....hell, I just ate 6. Yes, yes....I hear the rowing machine calling to me (happy to report that 8 pounds I lost with pneumonia has stayed off me!).


Update: I ate 7....on a dare from the neighbor husband that I couldn't get a cookie off the plate with my hands behind my back and my motorcycle helmet on. I did it so I got the cookie :)



Cinnamon Jumbo Cookies - adapted from Mom

1/2 cup butter
2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix margarine, sugar and egg thoroughly. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla.Blend together flour, soda and salt. Stir into above mixture.
Chill dough; about 2 hours.

** 1/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Mix together.**

Drop rounded teaspoonful of dough 2 inches apart on lightly
greased baking sheet.Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Bake in 400 º F. oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Yields: about 4 dozen.

Update

S is home from the hospital and on the mend. Thank you for everyones kind words!! And he got home not a moment too soon on Thursday - Friday we had a blizzard. I have never seen it snow so much or so fast as it did Friday afternoon. I closed our office early and sent my staff home at 2.......and I didn't make it in the door until almost 8:30 that night. There were vehicles in the ditch everywhere, 80 km/hour winds and snow drifts that were taller than me!

These hedges come up to my neck....and the drifts are that high.

Hey Dave - betcha wanna bbq at my house huh?

How many more months until spring?

When it rains it pours....

Well, now that I'm recovered, S has been in the hospital all week with pneumonia....no cooking for me as I travel back and forth from work to the hospital - doritos for dinner and a glass of wine for a bedtime snack! Looking forward to getting back to normal next week!