'Twas the "Day" Before Christmas....

....and all through the house, not a creature was stirring (except for Kevin who had to be at work at 7 a.m.). AND of course ME! I have to admit to lying in my nice warm bed, longing to just roll over and snuggle in for another couple of hours, but then I knew what awaited me in the kitchen. I've been a prisoner to that room since Sunday afternoon and today doesn't look to be much better. So far I've managed my tortilla rollups, sausage stars, cookies, buckeyes and bacon/sausage/brown sugar wraps. Today's agenda includes my taco dip, party mix, the thawing of the shrimp, a banana-rum cheese ball, and the final arranging of various cheese/salami and cracker platters. Enough to feed an army you say? Well, that's a fair description of what will invade my house later this afternoon.

Photos will follow throughout the day....

It's now almost 1:00 and it's time to get out of my flannel pajamas and make myself look "festive". The dishwasher is being unloaded for the third time in 24 hours - much to the despair of my "elves". The Buckeyes were Kelli's contribution and she did a great job!!! Her special addition to the recipe - Rice Krispies.

I made the Tortilla Roll-Ups yesterday and just finished slicing and arranging them. It was hard not to eat them while I was slicing - OK, I'll admit to maybe just a couple. I LOVE these things!

Homemade Party Mix is a holiday staple in this household. I've already had to chase "Rock Star" away from the bowl and listen to his whining, "but I'm HUNGRY".




And of course, my taco dip - another family favorite. I can remember when Bobby was a little boy, I'd get so mad at him because the first thing he'd do was to dip RIGHT out of the CENTER - and mess it all up!



More photos to come - as soon as I'm looking presentable and the hot things come out of the oven.

OK - it's 3:00 - one hour until my peaceful house will be bursting at the seams with children, grandchildren and enough wrapping paper to wrap my house! The shrimp is thawing and the Sausage Stars just came out of the oven. I think I can actually sit down and relax for awhile!

Layered Taco Dip

I was up at 5:30 this morning, making this for a holiday party tonight. Of course, I'll be making another one on Monday for our Christmas Eve celebration because it's a favorite of my kids. If you want to make a HIT at a New Year's or Super Bowl Party - this is the recipe for YOU.

The "key" to making this quick and easy is to use extremely RIPE avocadoes. Make sure they're black and squishy when you look for them in the store. (I had to go to three different stores yesterday to find the ones I needed). I also had already mashed them up when I decided to take a picture of the ingredients.

Now, I layer everything in my round stoneware dish. (You can use a plate, but by using this enclosed dish, things stay where there supposed to stay).

1st Layer - one can of bean dip

2nd Layer - two smashed avocadoes (I mix in a couple tbsp. of mayo to make it creamy).

3rd Layer - 16 oz. container of sour cream mixed with one package of taco seasoning

4th Layer - shredded lettuce

5th Layer - shredded cheese

And finally, top the whole thing off with chopped tomatoes, onions, black olives, green peppers, red peppers - just about anything you want. I also sprinkled the top with a little southwest seasoning that I had on hand - but it's not a necessity.

ENJOY!!!!

What's Christmas Without a Little Something Sweet?

These things are on my weekend agenda. Better enjoy them now before January 1st gets here and I revert to my Weight Watcher meals. These little gems are called French Breakfast Puffs and I found the recipe on my favorite website. For additional photos and complete directions, please click the link below.



Photo courtesy of The Pioneer Woman.

http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/12/french_breakfast_puffs.html

I Actually Cooked....

The winter months have some kind of "weird" effect on me. It actually finds me in the kitchen - enjoying my oven. I mean, if I didn't have to work and have a million other things pulling me in all kinds of directions, I'd love to prepare great meals each and every evening - but then, I have this other life that prevents my gourmet side from finding it's way to the surface. I took my last "personal" day yesterday and enjoyed spending the day at home. Finished wrapping Christmas gifts and I actually cooked a hot meal. A few weeks ago, I discovered the absolute BEST website.

http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/

Not only is this woman an awesome photographer, she sounds like a wonderful wife, mother and cook. I've enjoyed her witty stories of life on the ranch - married to a hunky cowboy. Anyway, Pioneer Woman also has a second website loaded with some great recipes - two of which I tried out on Sunday and Monday.

http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/

I am posting a couple of her photos (for the finished recipes) here - all credit goes to her. Please visit her website and be prepared to stay awhile - she's addicting! Her photography will BLOW YOU AWAY!!!! I made these Holiday Bacon Appetizers for Ben and Jack's birthday party on Sunday. Sinful and delicious!!!! Here's the recipe and a photo of these little goodies.

http://thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/12/flashback_1981_-_holiday_bacon_appetizers.html

Yesterday, I made the Chicken Spaghetti recipe and got a major TWO THUMBS UP from my household.

http://www.thepioneerwomancooks.com/2007/06/chicken_spaghet.html

Again....all photos in this post were taken by PIONEER WOMAN.