Merry Little Christmas

"And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.  And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  ~ Luke 2 :8-14

 

Merry Christmas!

 

I hope that your Christmas is full of

love and happiness.

~ Joeby

Winter Time

Short Days

Warm Attires

Crackling Fires

Low Lights

Early Nights

Love & Care

Crisp Air

Snowy Hopes

Winter Time

 

It is hard to believe that it is only 3 days until Christmas!!  I love the days leading up until Christmas.  We have several traditions.  A couple of my favorites are riding around to look at Christmas lights in our pajamas, and eating popcorn in the car.  I also love making home made candy to give to friends.  I have been busy making candy in the last couple of days.

Fantastic Fudge, Cookies & Cream Fudge,

and Pecan Pie Balls

The Pecan Pie Balls are a new addition to the candy making day (I found the recipe on Pinterest, and it is fabulous).  I have been making the Fantastic Fudge since I was a teenager!! 

Fantastic Fudge

4 cups sugar

1 (13 oz) can evaporated milk

1 cup butter

2 cups marshmallow cream

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

 

Butter sides of a heavy 3-quart saucepan.  Add sugar, milk, and butter.  Cook over medium heat to a soft ball (236º on a candy thermometer) stirring constantly.  Remove from heat; add chocolate chips, marshmallow cream vanilla and nuts.  Beat until chocolate melts.  Pour into a buttered 13 x 9 inch pan.  Score while warm.  Cut when cool and firm.

 

Savory French Toast

I was at the doctor a couple of weeks ago and ran across a recipe in the magazine in the waiting room.  I was there a good while, had little to no cell phone reception, so I looked at a germy magazine while waiting.  I usually do not touch the magazines, because, I mean, you are in a doctor's office, so people are sick there....  But, I looked.  And, found this great looking recipe.  I unfortunately do not remember which magazine it came from.  I also had to "invent" the recipe.  I should have taken a picture of the recipe with my phone, but didn't do that either.  But, this recipe came out great, so all is well :)



I made this for dinner a couple of Sunday's ago.  My husband and daughter LOVED it, and so did I.  I made extra so my husband could have it for breakfast or lunch at work the next day.  We love having "breakfast" for dinner at our house.  We do this most Sundays, and really enjoy looking for new recipes to try.  This one is a keeper. 

I am thinking about making this recipe and a sweet French toast, as well, for Christmas morning.  We will see.  I will have to take a survey from my family and see what happens. 

 

Joeby's Savory French Toast

Serves 4

8 Slices of bacon (or more if you're like me and nibble while cooking...)

1/2 onion chopped

10 cups fresh baby spinach

salt and pepper to taste

3-4 eggs (3 if large, 4 if medium)

1 cup milk (or 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cream)

1/2 cup freshly grated nice-quality parmesan cheese (go ahead and get the good stuff)

4 (1-inch) slices of challah bread or sweet rolls (such as Hawaiian rolls)

1 Tablespoon butter

 

Fry bacon in nonstick skillet unil nice and brown.  Remove from skillet, and pour off all but 1-2 tablespoons bacon grease.  Add onions and saute until nice and soft and a little browned.  Add spinach to the skillet, add 1 tablespoon water.  Cook spinach with onions until the spinach wilts.  Salt and pepper to taste. (you may not need salt since you are using bacon grease).  Remove spinach from skillet and keep warm alongside the bacon (I usually put my items to keep warm in the microwave).

Whisk eggs and milk (cream) then add parmesan and mix.  Pour milk mixture over bread slices and soak about 1 minute on each side.  (If there is extra milk mixture when you are done, go ahead and soak extra bread for a quick lunch or breakfast the next day).

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in skillet. Fry the bread until golden on each side. 

To plate - put one slice of bread on each plate and top with 1/4 of the spinach-onion saute, and 2 slices of bacon!  It is very...very good!!!

Christmas Around the House

 I usually force paperwhites each year.  I love the smell and the tradition of doing something

from year to year. 

Lovely red amarillis this year!!

 

I hope that the days leading up to Christmas have been pleasant for you.  My husband, daughter and I attended the Houston Symphony Handel's Messiah performance last evening.  It was lovely.  We ate at a fabulous Italian restaurant - Nino's - on W. Dallas in Houston before the performance last night. Highly recommend it :)

I hope you have a great evening!

~ Joeby

December 20

"Christmas is not a time nor

A season, but a state of

Mind.  To cherish peace and

Goodwill, to be plenteous in

Mercy, is to have the real

Spirit of Christmas."

~ Calvin Coolidge

I can't believe today is December 20th...and it is almost over, at that!

December has flown by for me.

I have been crafting and cooking around my house pretty busily this past week.  Today, I made a coconut pound cake.  It is a great recipe.  I got it years and years ago.  About 25 years ago or so, I believe.   I wish I could remember who the recipe originated from....but, I do not. 

Delicious Coconut Pound Cake

The cake is incredibly moist and delicious!  I love coconut, and this is very coconut-y and fabulous.

Coconut Pound Cake

2 cups sugar

1 cup butter (2 sticks)

4 eggs

1 cup buttermilk

½ tsp. baking soda

3 cups flour

½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. salt

1 Tbs. coconut flavoring

1 cup pecans

1 cup coconut

Cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs (one at a time).  Mix soda in buttermilk.  Mix all other dry ingredients together and mix alternately with buttermilk mixture to butter mixture.  Mix well.  Add flavoring, nuts and coconut.  Bake in greased and floured tube pan for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 350°.  About 10 minutes before cake is done, mix 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, 4 Tbs. butter and 1 tsp. vanilla.  Cook for 5 minutes.  When cake is done, punch full of holes (I use a wire skewer).  Slowly pour sauce over cake (this takes a while).  Continue until all sauce is used (this may seem like a lot, but the cake is well worth it).  Let cake set in pan over night.  Next morning, run a knife around the sides of cake and around tube in middle and remove from pan.

 

Crafting

I need 10 little gifts for a party that I am attending tomorrow.  It is my card making club.  We are playing a dice game that involves the rules similar to dirty Santa, were you can steal from each other :)  Well, we have a $2 limit on each gift, so I decided to be creative and make most of mine.  I decided to make these little picture frame pin cushions.  I think they are very cute.  I am keeping the purple one, and taking the orange for one of my gifts.

 

I also made this little nativity from some supplies that I already had.  I think it is precious!!  I have enough materials to make myself one.  So, I will be adding to my nativity collection this year after all :)

 

I also made this coaster from wool scraps and an IKEA cork coaster.  I love how it turned out.  I am planning on making myself one :)

 

I hope that your Christmas plans are coming along well.  I have made several other things and plan to share some more recipes tomorrow if I have a chance.

I hope that the Spirit of Christmas is filling you with Peace and Goodwill towards yourself and others.

~ Joeby

 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
Ev'rywhere you go;
Take a look in the five-and-ten, glistening once again

With candy canes and silver lanes aglow.

 

I can't believe that it is so close to Christmas!

I am VERY behind...

We had a death in our family over Thanksgiving, my sweet father, and I am having a hard time getting into the spirit of Christmas...

My husband, daughter, and I started our decorating this past Saturday.  I am determined to be filled with the Christmas Spirit soon...

 

Winter Gardening

 My garden is coming along.  It has been really cold (for the North Houston area) this past week, and several of my more tender vegetables have died (green beans, eggplant, and tomatoes).

 

The cold-hearty Swiss chard is looking fabulous!  The colors are fantastic, and adds happiness to my garden.

 

Big pot of lettuce!  I love these little greens.  I snip off a salad with sissors, and the lettuce regrows!!  It is fabulous!  Mixed greens.

 

I brought in some lettuce (the larger leaves are romaine) to have for dinner the other night.

The lemon tree only had 2 lemons on it this year....It had over 500 last year!!! 

 

Raw Brussel Sprout Salad

 

Shaved raw brussel sprouts (very thinly sliced - I used a mandoline).

 

I got this recipe from my good friend, Paula.  She had it at a resturant in Houston (and even took me there :), and then found the recipe.  I pretty much keep this in my refrigerator to nibble on at all times...

 Finished salad - ready to eat!!!

 

Raw Brussel Sprout Salad

1 pound of shaved brussel sprouts

1/2 - 1 cup of toasted walnuts (chopped finely)

1/4-1/2 cup grated parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 lemon - juiced (can add a touch of grated zest, too)

salt and pepper to taste

Mix together and refrigerate an hour before eating.

(I used more nuts and cheese than the original recipe - and those amounts are listed above - feel free to play to suit you tastes).

 

Decorating for Christmas

 

It is beginning to look like Christmas around here!!!  I love all of our decorations, and really love to add to the collection each year.

 

Darling Texas Nativity made by a friend - love it!!!

My trees!  I collect bottle brush trees, and love to mix and match with other trees. 

Pretty bird ornament from my wildlife tree that I have in the dining room.

Sweet hand made bird house ornament that we got in Juneau, Alaska in September.

I collect nativities.  (After blogging, I realize that I collect many things...hmmm). 

This little nativity is only about 2 1/2 inches tall :)

Beautiful snowflake ornament (from Pottery Barn - a few years ago).

 

I am sitting here watching Monday Night Football with my husband, but I have watched several Christmas shows today.  I love Christmas shows, and have a nice collection of Christmas movies.  I think my favorite is "The Homecoming" the first Walton's movie that the series originated from.  Poor Gramps (my husband's father - who lives with us), has had to watch it like 3 times in the last couple of weeks :)

Where ever you are, what ever your circumstances, I hope that you are beginning to get in the Christmas Spirt like me.  I know the sweetness and goodness of the Christmas Spirit can bring us happiness regardless of your personal beliefs, troubles or griefs.  May goodness touch your lives this day!

~ Joeby