1 Week Away

I don't know how it happened, but Christmas is a week away.  I am almost physically ready (the shopping is almost done, and I have baked a bunch of goodies), but I am not mentally ready.  I want some more time to soak it all in, and to enjoy and appreciate the season before it has come and gone.  Christmas is not a stressful time for me in the least.  It is warm, and relaxing, and comforting, and I wish it could last all year long.

After a day of boring eats yesterday (toasted tomato sandwich, soup, yogurt) the hubby and I went out for dinner before doing some Christmas shopping.  We shared a dinner for 2 at Peking House (the same dinner my dad and I had on Monday - yes, it was that good!)

I had 1 spring roll, a small bowl of won ton soup, some sweet and sour pork, mixed veggies and rice (the camera ate some of the pictures):

Dessert was a grapefruit and a handful of chips and dip.  

I also snacked on a homemade marshmallow earlier in the day - thanks Sharon!

This morning I grabbed a glo-bar for breakfast and headed to work for a great day.  I enjoyed a small plate of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and gravy with my students and colleagues at lunch.  

 

The hubby and I had green curry with sticky rice and shrimp for dinner, and an orange for dessert.  I spent the evening Christmas shopping, then came home to watch "The Town" with the hubby.  This was a really good movie, and I snacked on junk while watching it :-)  'Tis the season folks - bring on the junk! 

This weekend we are going to a Christmas party and a 50th b-day, and hosting a brunch.

What are your weekend plans?

Old Dutch Caramel Corn

You can find the recipe on the back of this bag:

Make it.  You won't regret it.  It is healthy (I know this because it has the word "corn" in it.  Corn is a vegetable, therefore this recipe is good for you, and will make you smarter and prettier and awesomer).

Caramel Corn

(Recipe from Old Dutch)

- 1 cup butter (not margarine)

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 1/2 cup light corn syrup

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 bag popcorn twists (175 g)

Put the twists into a large roaster.

In a saucepan cook the butter, sugar and syrup for 2 minutes.  

Remove from heat and add the baking soda.  

 

Allow to cool slightly, then pour over twists.  Cover and bake at 250 F for 45 minutes (stirring every 15).

Remove and pour onto wax paper or a glass cutting board to cool.

 

Try to eat just one piece.  I dare you.

What is your easiest, BIGGEST hit recipe?  

Link to it if you want to share!

Secret Santa Gift

Thanks for all your sweet comments about my Christmas party!  I would really love to have you all over for a party - let me know when you are in town!  The pancake that looks like an apple/ peach/ strawberry was an accident, but the hubby told me he spent years perfecting his apple pancake making skills.

He is dorky like that.

Monday morning I needed some greens in my life after a weekend of party food.  I had a green monster for breakfast, and a toasted tomato sandwich and yogurt for lunch.  My dad took me out for supper to a restaurant called Peking House.  It has authentic Chinese food.  We had the dinner for two, and it was incredible.  We then went to the Casino for a Bee Gees and ABBA tribute.  The Bee Gee group was great, but the ABBA group made me not like ABBA anymore - hehe.  They were corny.

Breakfast this morning was 2 eggs with hot sauce, 1 slice of toast and OJ:

Lunch was perogies, a mini choc. chip muffin that someone brought to the staff room, and yogurt:

After work I came home to find 2 packages in the mail!!!  The Glo bars that I ordered arrived!  

Check out the seasonal flavours:

I also got my Canadian Blogger Secret Santa gift!!!  Kris from iheartwellness sent me the BEST oven mitts I have ever seen!!  They are so "me."  Both my hubby and I thought that Kris did a pretty amazing job picking these out for me - and she doesn't even know me!!!  She put a lot of thought into these based on the few things she knew about me, and I am SO happy with them.  They were JUST what I needed ...

My old oven mitts were in great shape ...

I just love burning my hand as I take things from the oven to the counter.  

RIP old oven mitts.  Welcome, new, much cooler oven mitts.

Thank-you Kris!  I could not have picked out a better set myself!

Dinner this evening (brought to my counter by new oven mitts) was curried chicken and Indian spiced potatoes.

What is something in your kitchen that needs replacing BADLY?

Christmas Party Re-Cap

On Saturday night the hubby and I had some friends over for our annual Christmas party.  I woke up early and fueled up for the day with some whole wheat pancakes.

What does this pancake look like to you?

I then set out to cook and bake a few things for the evenings festivities.

By 7:00 p.m. the food was ready, the house was decorated, and we were ready for our friends to arrive.

People came two by two, from 7:00 - 10:00, and everyone stayed until about 1:00.  

The Hubby

Near the end of the night I was forgetting to take food pictures, but we also had dim sum, potstickers, jalapeno poppers, and a bacon mushroom dip.

Sunday we ate eggs and toast for breakfast, then picked up my nephew and spent the day with him playing, and making a gingerbread house.  I had a mini stirfry for lunch, and then for supper we ate goodies from the party, drank Coke Zero, and watched Home Alone 1 and 2.  

What is your favourite Christmas appetizer treat?  

Are there certain foods you only eat around the holidays?

Christmas Party Tonight!

The spiced butter-cream icing on the Pumpkin Gingerbread loaf I made is so darn good, I just couldn't resist scraping a little off and ...

Yep.  I tossed it in my oatmeal.  'Tis the Season peeps.

That was breakfast on Thursday.  Lunch was Italian wedding soup, and dinner was pizza.  I had leftover pizza for breakfast on Friday, a pita for lunch and then Red Lobster for dinner!  We went out to Red Lobster to celebrate with a friend who just got a great new job!!

We started with some coconut shrimp.  I then had the Caesar salad, and the crab legs with potatoes:

I just woke up a few hours ago, and am enjoying some coffee and pancakes with the hubby before getting ready for our annual Christmas party tonight!!!  I am so excited!

Baking up a Chocolate Storm

It is days like today that I just want to hibernate.  It was absolutely, frigidly freezing today.  The students got to stay inside for recess, as they would surely freeze to death if they stepped outside.  I know I would.

I didn't have time to eat breakfast as I remembered this morning that it was my turn to buy the iced cappuccinos for my coffee group at work (yes, we still drink iced cappuccinos when it is -30).  I ate a slice of gingerbread loaf when I got to work.  Lunch was canned Italian wedding soup - my new obsession, a baby bel cheese, and an orange.  This evening for dinner we had spaghetti with tomato sauce:

I spent the entire evening baking.  Ahhhhh, the joys of being done classes. 

I made Oreo stuffed, double chocolate cookies:

Before Baking

Baking

Done

And Chocolate Peppermint Crinkle Cookies:

Before Baking

 

Done

Tomorrow I am baking short bread, and at least 1 other type of cookie.  If I had to eat one sweet treat for the rest of my life, homemade cookies would be it!

If you could only eat one sweet treat for the rest of your life, and you had to give up all the others, what would you choose?