MAMMA MIA!!!

Just finished watching MAMMA MIA! and I can't get the song "Dancing Queen" out of my head. I LOVED the movie, but I love ABBA and found myself wanting to grab a blowdryer and sing along. Then, I remembered this party we went to years ago at Neil's house ......1997 to be exact (that little bump on my belly is Ethan). It was a '70's party and we hit every Goodwill and Salvation Army store on the south side of town to find the "perfect" outfits. When Andrea found her silver cape, we sang "Dancing Queen" on the spot!!! So it's only fitting that I share these photos, watch out Andrea........they might make it onto facebook!!!hehe:-) We are going to a neighbor's house a little later for snacks, drinks, and to celebrate the New Year. I am so ready to say goodbye to 2008 and hello to 2009!!! Happy New Year!!!!

A Typical Day At Our House....

So here we are last night playing Monopoly. Ethan got the new Monopoly Here & Now: The World Edition for Christmas from Uncle Kenny & Aunt Shirley, and we are loving the electronic bank. I decided to try out the timer on my camera since everyone was playing the game......Colin wasn't cooperating. Which is very typical of Colin since he enter the wonderful "teen years." So, I decided to post the photo of him "hiding" under the blanket. Don't you just love his hairy legs???? After he found out that the leg photos were gonna get posted, he decided to sit down and just let the timer do it's thing. I think it's kinda cool.......especially since everyone's in the photo. I have to remember to take a family photo in front of the tree next year.

Well' I decided to cook tonight and Shrimp Creole was on the menu. Here's how I made it:
Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/4 cup chopped celery

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can cajun style stewed tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1/2 cup water-I use 1 cup

2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp chicken boullion granules

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

1 pound peeled medium-size shrimp

Hot cooked rice (Zatarrain's)
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat; add green peppers, celery, green onions, and garlic. I used the frozen recipe beginnings from Kroger's with green peppers, onion, and celery to make things even easier:-) Cook, stirring constantly, 4 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, water, parsley, bouillon, salt, & red pepper; cook 2 minutes over medium heat. Add shrimp, and cook until shrimp turn pink.
Serve over rice and enjoy! I got the recipe from Southern Living's Our Best Easy Weeknight Favorites. It's my most favorite cookbook, and stays on the stand in my kitchen. If you have it, you really need to pull it off the shelf and put it to use!! Gotta go......Rose stopped by and dropped off "Mamma Mia" and I'm dying to watch it:-)

Merry Christmas!!!

Here's the photo in front of the tree this morning. The boys are getting so big.....you can barely see the tree:-) Colin loved his Dwight bobblehead, and Ethan is putting together all the Legos he got.

Here's Ethan with all his Cheesehead and foam finger........he can't wait until the game on Sunday. If only the Packers played the Texans here in Houston, all his dreams would come true!! Let's not forget Maggie, she got a new gorilla baby and loved it.

Colin playing on the guitar hero complete band set.......he was very surprised:-)

Here are some photos from Christmas Eve last night at Popo's house. These are some of my favorite photos from the eveneing:

Love this one of all the Grandkids with Popo. Ethan is in front of Mellie, but I love it anyway. I will be working tomorrow morning, but hope to do alittle after Christmas shopping in the evening. For some reason, I love to go out and shop the day after Holidays. I think it's because I love a sale:-) Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!!!! hug~Rita

More Food Recipes....

Here is a photo of the strudel sliced ready to be served.

Then you have these little appetizers. I named them the "sweet squealers".....this a photo I took before I put them in the oven. I have no after photo, because they were gone!!! They were a HUGE hit. So, if you need a 3 ingredient easy appetizer here's the recipe:

Sweet Squealers

1 package little smokies

1 package bacon

brown sugar

Cut your bacon strips into thirds and wrap each little smokie with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place wrapped smokies in a baking dish and generously sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 1 hour and 350 degrees, then watch them disappear!!

More Happy Surprises From The UPS Guy

This is what I found on the front porch this evening after a day of last minute shopping........ Aren't they lovely??? Everytime I see them, I picture Julie Andrews singing, "these are a few of my favorite things." I have all these pears PLUS the ones that came yesterday.....I think I might explode by New Year's Day!!! I guess someone else found out how much I love Harry & David's pears:-) If anyone would like to try one, feel free to stop by......I promise I'll share. I'm really not a crazy pear loving freak:-)

Okay, now the photo above is a sure sign that I have been reading way too many cooking blogs. I mean who has time to photograph the ingredients and finished product?? Well for some reason I had a little time this morning, and took some photos of the Apple Strudel I made for Christmas Eve. Now strudel looks really pretty after it's been cut into serving pieces, but I just pulled it out of the oven and it's too hot to cut. It's also 11:59pm at my house and I'm ready for some sleep. So you're getting photos of it fresh from the oven!! The one on the left has a little crack, but noone will know that once it's been cut.........

Here's the recipe I used from The Best Recipes in the Country Cookbook (compiled by the employess of Blue Bell Creameries......it's in the giftshop)

Apple or Pear Strudel

3/4 cup melted butter

1 cup milk

2 egg yolks

3 1/2 cups flour

5 to 6 large apples, sliced

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup coconut

1 cup sugar (1/2 brown, 1/2 granulated)

Cinnamon to taste

raisins, optional(I used in mine)

Combine butter, milk, egg yolks, and flour; blend well. Chill dough at least 2 hours(overnight is best). Divide dough in half; roll out each half thinly on a floured surface. Mix remaining ingredients in a large bowl, and spread over each half of dough evenly. Start at one end of dough and roll up in jelly roll fashion. Be sure ends of roll are closed; fold in as you roll up. Place both strudels, seam side down, on greased or buttered cookie sheet; bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Butter roll before and after baking with additional butter. Makes two strudel rolls.

Happy Christmas Eve!!!! hugs~Rita

'Tis The Season.....

I just got the most wonderful surprise.......a Harry & David basket from Dave, Becky, & the kids!! I say "I" because it is me that absolute loves their pears:-) We have already ate through one basket that Ron got earlier this month:-) So, if you need a Holiday gift idea.....go with Harry & David, I mean who doesn't love moose munch or the pears?????
I had to post this photo because Ethan asked me to post it, and he worked so hard trying to get Maggie to pose for the camera. She wasn't in the mood for a photo session......the only reason she is in the room is because E has a treat! We are so sneaky:-) She has been freaked out by the new singing snowman that Mom gave us for Christmas......it is on the far right side of the photo.

Well, I've been pretty busy lately and just found a block of time to upload the photos from Saturday. We celebrated Christmas with Mom & Dad on Saturday. Rose, Mike, & the girls where in Austin with Mike's family, so we will get to see them on Christmas Eve at Popo's. Theresa, mom's YOUNGER sister, made the party, and I had lots of fun visiting with her.

This one is a little stinker....Kasey is always into something and was literally climbing up the inside of Mom's Christmas Tree trying to get to a gift in the back:-) I'm not kidding, the whole tree was shaking........she really WANTED that gift!! Then you have Kayla very timidly asking Santa for a DS. She was very sweet, and really has her hands full keeping things out of Kasey's reach. It reminds me so much of Colin & Ethan when they were younger.

Then you have these two.......they know the rules, "you don't believe and you don't receive." They very happily jump on Santa's lap every year for me to take a photo. Of course, Santa is on my side and pinches them if they give me any trouble:-) What can I say....he loves the cookies I bake him on Christmas Eve!!!!

Here's Mom, Theresa, & Santa.....I like this photo alot!!! Then you have Ron & Me......Ethan took the photo and has no concept of "cleavage" and the angle isn't very flattering of Ron. But I like it because Ron & I are together in it, and I don't have that many photos of us with Santa.

Got Honey????

We do:-) This past summer we discovered bees trying to move into our house. We spent $500 killing the bees, and recaulking the house to prevent a reinfestation. The bee guy told us that they didn't build a hive.........boy was he wrong!! The first sign was after Ike when honey began to ooze down the front of the house. Now we will be spending quite a bit more money to repair the house, and for those of you that know me......this is yet one more reason why I HATE BEES!!!!

Tomorrow....December 19th

Popo will turn 91!!!! That's worth posting a day early. I haven't been very good with birthdays lately.....I forgot to post a photo of Val on her 18th birthday last Saturday. I have given up on remembering everyone's anniversary......Andrea & John, and Rachel & Ed had anniversaries earlier this month, but I forgot to send a card or call them!! I guess this can be my belated acknowledgement of all the special occassions I forgot about the last few weeks......

Have a wonderful Thursday!!! I plan to finish up with some of my "elf" duties before the weekend gathering at Mom & Dad's on Saturday.

Twenty Years Later......

Happy Anniversary Rose & Mike!!!! I hope that your Dinner tonight was wonderful......and that you have many more years of marital bliss!! Love, Rita

The 3 Amigos.......

These guys have been friends for years, and I have tons of photos to prove it! I am so glad that they are all in band this year. They are in different bands, but we enjoyed hearing all the bands play at the PJHE Holiday Concert on Friday night. Colin is wearing those black pants that were such a pain to find, but looked so handsome in the tux shirt, and tie!!

This was his first outing without his crutches, and he did very good. I mean, he is actually holding the handrail on the stairs:-)

Today, I went to Mom & Dad's to drop off cookie dough and gifts for Saturday. We are going to celebrate Christmas with Mom & Dad this weekend. I just have to say that I am totally jealous of their house!!! They have a new roof, new carpet, and new drywall & paint!!! Mom has it looking very pretty, and I wish that I had taken my camera because she had some of the cutest Christmas trees. I am planning on taking photos of her trees on Saturday.......one of them has photos and paper angel garland, simple but very cute!! I plan to steal a few ideas:-)

Not much else going on around here. Colin has PT tomorrow morning, and I'm meeting some girlfriends for lunch........I hope to have a relaxing day!