Tag: holidays

recipes

Recipe Friday

Despite it being the midst of the holiday season, I have yet to crack the oven open to fire up any holiday treats. No gingerbread men. No sugar cookies. No *gasp* rum balls (it’s going to be a very dry Christmas).  It would seem that time and my best of intentions have gotten away from me.

I don’t despair though, because on the savory side of things, I’ve been putting in some serious work.  For some reason, whenever I bring groceries into the house, the get eaten.  Has this ever happened to you? I put stuff in the pantry, and then the next time I open it to get out fixin’s for another meal, half the store is depleted. What is going here? Who keeps eating the food?

Earlier this week, I was culling stuff together out of the back corners of the pantry and the recesses of the freezer.  Monday night, it was “I-wish-it-was-more” tacos. You know, half a tomato, a little bit of lettuce, a pinch of mozzarella, and instead of ground beef, left over chicken from a rotisserie bird Craig had fired up for Sunday dinner.  I heated the chicken in a pan and poured some salsa over it to give it a little zing.  The children were not impressed.  They told me to”please pack my knives and go”.

 One night it was baked penne made with half a box of penne, Italian sausage that had been frozen since we moved (uh, that would be July), a quarter of a bag of mozzarella cheese and a jar or spaghetti sauce neither Craig nor I remember buying.  Thankfully high temps in the 375 range and high kill off all bacteria and dinner was a more better than we had hoped.  And yes, I did set aside a healthy part of that half a box of penne for some buttered noodles for the girls.  I’m no dummy; making pasta of any kind means a side of buttered noodles for the preschool set.

By the yesterday, I felt like Old Mother Hubbard, the cupboard was that bare.  ‘Lo and behold, though, behind a box holding a single Eggo waffle and peeking out from behind a box of frozen peas (who bought those?), there was a a lone ribeye steak and a container of about 5 sea scallops.  Surf and turf, anyone?

I pulled it out and set it to defrost.  I opened the fridge and grabbed the remaining three lonely slices of bacon, and reached into the crisper for miracle salad (it was a miracle there were greens in the fridge).  I dug out some potatoes and packet of onion soup mix and got to work.  When it was all said and done, dinner was seared ribeye steak with bacon wrapped scallops, roasted onion potatoes and a fresh salad.  Not to break my arm patting myself on the back, but it was mighty tasty.  Craig even got up from the table to plant a kiss on my forehead and say, “That dinner was grrrrrrrrrreat!” Just call me Top Chef.

For some reason, I was under the impression that bacon-wrapped scallops were challenging to make, but as it turns out, it was surprisingly easy.  They will definitely be making an appearance at Christmas dinner.  What’s going on your holiday menu?

(source)

Recipe courtesy of Recipe Girl. I didn’t make the spicy mayo, but I’m sure it tastes great.

bacon- wrapped scallops w/ spicy cilantro-mayonnaise

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 20 min
These make a wonderful appetizer, but they also are great to nibble as a light dinner!

Ingredients:

Spicy- Cilantro Mayonnaise:
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons ground chili paste
1 medium lime, juiced
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
Scallops:
1 1/2 pounds scallops, rinsed and dried
3/4 to 1 pound thin sliced bacon (not center cut), strips cut in half crosswise
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
large lettuce leaves, for serving
lettuce leaves, for serving

Directions:

1. Prepare the spicy cilantro mayo: In a medium bowl, combine mayonnaise, hot chili paste, lime juice and cilantro; stir well. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Prepare the scallops: Preheat your oven broiler. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Wrap each scallop with a piece of bacon and secure with a wooden toothpick. Place the bacon-wrapped scallops onto the prepared baking sheet and season them with salt and pepper. Cook them under the broiler for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the bacon is cooked through- turning once mid-way through.
3. To serve, line a large platter with lettuce leaves and place the bacon-wrapped scallops on top. Serve with a dish of the spicy mayonnaise for dipping.

Tips:

*The number of scallops this recipe will yield depends entirely on the size of your scallops. I like to use large scallops. They shrink a little bit during the broiling process, but they make a nice and hearty appetizer. Tiny scallops just aren’t very exciting.
*Ground chili paste can usually be found in your market’s Asian product’s aisle (I used one called Sambal Oelek). If you have something similar- maybe another spicy sauce, try substituting that (just add a little at a time until you reach your desired level of heat).
*Make ahead tip: Make the sauce ahead of time and refrigerate. Wrap all of your scallops and refrigerate, then just put them under the broiler when you’re ready to serve!
Continue Reading
IN: recipes ON: December 16, 2011 TAGS: , , , , , BY: Hilary
Continue Reading

Happy Week-End!

(source)

I’ve tried to stave it off for as long as I could, but it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

Week-end to do list:
* break out the ‘nog
* put on the Christmas carols
* decorate the tree
* break out some more ‘nog
* address Christmas cards
* inventory gifts that have been hidden in the guest room closet
* park children in front of TV in order to wrap said gifts uninterruptedly
* break out the last of the ‘nog

Happy Week-end, y’all!

Continue Reading
IN: ON: December 9, 2011 TAGS: , , BY: Hilary
Continue Reading

Fun with Photography

So, it’s that time of year when I need to take a picture of the girls for our annual Christmas card. Now that I’ve been accumulating all of this photography experience and knowledge, I really want to put it to good use.

Years past, it used to be that I would battle the masses to the Picture People or Portrait Innovations to get a great shot.  That has proven, time and again, to be an exercise in insanity and aggravation.  There were two years that I can immediately recall where I just said, “Whatevs. . ” and used some random shot from a good time we had at the playground.  Last year, when I was just getting comfortable with things like ISO and manual exposure, I did a pretty good job in getting the girls at their smiley best.  Remember these?

(source)

(source) 
(source)

Pretty cute and I love the how the tree made a natural backdrop for me.

So fast forward to this year and I’m wondering how I’m going to improve upon last year’s card. It’s a personal challenge. I’m so weird.

I was trolling around on Pinterest (what else is new), when I saw a few backdrop tutorials. There was one using some Christmas lights that gave off the effect a kind of snowy background.  Hmmm. . .I could do that.  So, I read up on the how-to’s, got my supplies and decided to try it out.

First, I rigged up my backdrop support and crossbar. I hate how this thing just came in a bag with no instructions. I’m a college educated woman and yet, putting this thing together made me feel like I was blind in one eye and couldn’t see out the other.  Still, I got it up.

Then, I grabbed my Target queen sized white sheet (I spare no expense) and tacked that up on the bar.

I used these nifty clamps, just like the pros use, to make sure there was no slippage.

After that, I started threading my Dollar Tree twinkle lights across the bar and on the backdrop.  I had to fill in with the other twinkle lights that have been earmarked for our Christmas tree because, truth be told, the background was looking pretty thin.

Let there be lights! It looks kind of sad, like Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree, but I keep reminding myself that this is just a test.  Now that I look at it in the picture, I’m probably going to have to use the other sets of tree lights to really make this thing pop.  We usually get the lights strung on the green wire to blend into the tree, but now I’m seeing the utility of the white wire ones. Well, if the picture doesn’t come out way quite the I want it to, then, I’ll upgrade to more fashionable lights. Besides, in my head, this is a tight, tight portrait shot, so really, whatever is on the sides doesn’t matter.

Okay. I got all my stuff in place and of course, I can’t find my tripod. Still.  After that big office clean-up, there are still some things that have yet to turn up. Maybe if I stop looking for it, that’s when I’ll find it. And maybe it really went out with the trash.  *le sigh*.

Anyway, the backdrop is set. The lights are up. The lights are on. Let’s see if we can make this work.  My nikon is powered up with my nifty fifty lens in place.  I’ve got my ISO on 320, my shutter speed at 1/60 and my apeture at 1.8 for that nice, creamy bokeh.  Now, where’s my model?  Oh, right. That would be me. And keep in mind, these are SOOC (straight out of the camera), so be kind.

Ooooh, not bad for a first try.  I think fiddled with some of my settings between the two shots, hence the blue tint on the first one. Plus it’s a little dark.  And I’ve kind of got a people’s eyebrow going on a bit in that one.  Anyway. . . I keep cutting off my head and my chin because my arms are only but so long.  Stupid tripod, where are you?! I can’t work like this.  I need another model.

 What a diva, but she’ll do.

I’ve still got some tweaking to do (I really want to blur out the strands and just see the bulbs).  Sure, it’s a very amateur, very MacGyver type situation I’ve got going on, but I’m going to make it work for the Dixon Christmas Card 2011. Overall, I’m going to say, mission accomplished here.  Now, to get the girls geared up in their holiday finery (read: clean shirt and combed hair) for the real deal.

And you, dear reader?  Go wait by your  mailbox!

Continue Reading
IN: ON: November 28, 2011 TAGS: , , BY: Hilary
Continue Reading

You say Valentine’s Day, I say Monday

I was going to make this a sweet little post to my DH about how I love how he and I make we.  I found this cute photo here:
Then I threw up in my mouth a little.
I’m not a Valentine’s Day Hater.  Really, I’m not.  I’m all in favor of a holiday that encourages the giving of gifts, especially one where women a clearly the intended recipients.  Still, Valentine’s Day is just the 14th day in February. I’m not saying that because I’m married either.  I’ve come to believe that how you choose to demonstrate your love for someone else, shouldn’t be reserved for one day of the year. If you’re loving someone all day everyday, there wouldn’t be a need for over-the-top declarations, proclamations, exclamations and consummations of love.  
Call me a prude, but PDA (public displays of affection) makes me cringe. I’m a closed romantic, as in I keep my romance behind closed doors.   Certainly, if you feel compelled to put your heart on your sleeve, send singing telegrams and have Shakespearean sonnets spelled out in the sky, go for it.  Expressions of love can range from the far-out, uber-public to the private, thoughtful and just-between-us.
After I got engaged, my brother asked me how I knew that DH was The One. How did I know that I loved him above everyone else?  I’m no Voltaire, but every once in a while, I can truly wax philosophical.  The little love nuggets I passed to my brother were totally on the mark.  How do you know you know you love someone — and when I say love, I’m talking romantic love?  When you realize they aren’t the person you can live with, but that they’re the person you can’t live without.  
I know, I’m deep. 
So, even though Hallmark has the market cornered on Valentine’s paraphernalia (sorry American Greetings), they won’t be getting my business this year.  And too bad for you, dear reader, as you won’t be privy to what goes on between me and my Valentine, either.  Conjure up your own best ever Valentine’s Day scenario and just insert us as the characters. Keep it PG, people. 
Side Note:  I helped Morgan and Coever put together their Valentine’s to hand out to their classmates.  The selections at the store were overwhelming. Gone are the conversation hearts and in their stead you could have temporary tattoos, pencils, all manner of chocolate confection, Silly Bandz, stickers, and lip-glosses.   There were singing bears, kissing bears, hugging bears, and for the grown-ups, bears promising naughty favors all in the name of love.  There were heart shaped garlands, Cupid shaped garlands, streamers, balloons, and assorted party products.  Every major character got into the act — Hello Kitty, Tinker Bell, Woody and Buzz, Barbie, and Lightening McQueen.  The girls made their selections, though it was not without several changes of heart before we made it to the register.  Morgan kept insisting that we needed more stuff.  I couldn’t figure it out.  We had gotten her Valentine’s. She and Coever both had stickers at home, chocolates, too.  What could she possibly want or need? 
“We need to decorate!” she declared.
“Why would we need to do that?” I asked.
 “So that Cupid will know where to find us.”
 Yeah, I’ll get right on that. 

Continue Reading
IN: ON: February 14, 2011 TAGS: , BY: Hilary
Continue Reading

It’s Almost Here. . .

Every day this week, the girls have woken up asking me, “Is it Christmas today? Today? This day, right here. Is this the day?”

Every day, I’ve had to let them down just a bit by saying that, alas, it was not. Still, they rebounded nicely when they tacked the next marker onto our DIY Advent Calendar.   Thankfully, the time has passed quickly.  Per usual, our days have been filled with school, shopping trips, French lessons, karate, visits to Santa, play dates, and lots of time in the car going to and fro.  Lots of time.

And yet, here it is, the 23rd of December, and I am blissfully calm.  Craig and the girls are out at the Y.  I had my date with Tony Horton after I cleaned the house.  Nothing pleases me more than clean, clutter-free counter-tops. . .well, there are a few things, but you know what I mean.

I’m breathing easy, because we are ready to go. The gifts are wrapped. The cards have been mailed.  The house is clean (at least for a little while), and the food has been prepared. The family comes in tomorrow. We’ve all done preemptive dietary maintenance so that we can enjoy whatever dishes pass over the table.  The sun is shining and I’m feeling really good.  Nothing left to do now but kick back with a glass of nog (*le sigh*) and admire my handiwork.  I feel like Tom Hanks in “Cast Away” when he finally sets the fire, dancing around the flames, announcing, “Look at what I have created!”

Sure, the dishwasher needs to be emptied, again. There are buckets of laundry to be folded and the inside of my car looks like dust bunny breeding ground, but so what.  The things that make the holidays enjoyable have filled my days and my home.  It may or may not be a white Christmas, but in our little corner of the world, it will certainly be a stress-free one.

Merry Christmas, y’all. 
Continue Reading
IN: ON: December 23, 2010 TAGS: , BY: Hilary
Continue Reading

DIY Advent Calendar

I really want an Advent Calendar for the girls.  I remember getting the cardboard calendar with the picture of the nativity on the front. Every day, I would pop open the appropriate door and fish out my little piece of chocolate.  Such a simple little activity, but it brought so much joy and just further fueled the anticipation of Christmas.

This is going to be Morgan’s 5th Christmas and I have yet to set up an Advent Calendar in the house.  Since they get their fair share of sugary snacks as it is, I’ve been leaning towards the kind of calendar that has pockets or little doors where I can slip small trinkets into or behind (yes, I ended on a preposition).

Once I’d made up my mind to make this the year of the Advent Calendar, I saw them everywhere.  Purchasing them became another story.

At first, I wanted the one from Pottery Barn Kids and would have been happy to take either the house or the hanging Christmas tree. I guess I was so busy researching Black Santa, I missed my chance because they were all sold out. 

A friend of mine suggested I check out Etsy.com because they always have really cool stuff.  I had heard quite a bit about Etsy, but hadn’t really sifted through it the way I should.  Ohhh, they have such wonderful stuff!  I really like this one:
Still, I didn’t order it. I kept putting it off and getting distracted with the myriad of other things I have going on in preparation for the holidays.  
Then, at 5:44 am, this morning, I got a phone call.  Schools are closed due to inclement weather. 
[insert your own expletive of your choosing here]
I was caught totally unprepared with no activities for us to do.  Before the wintry mix started falling, I phoned in an emergency playdate with a friend who was more than happy to come on by. Unfortunately, by the time she got here, the snow started coming down.  The girls had a good 15 minutes to hang out before their friend had to be bundled up and driven home.  I looked at the clock — 10:23.  It was going to be a long day.  
I wracked my brain for things the girls could do.  They played with their dolls, with their Doodle Pad, with their bead set.  It was only 10:45. We “wrapped” presents. Morgan chose an empty shoebox; Coever, an old coloring book.  I made them paper chain dolls to color.  Then, inspiration struck. 
We were going to make an Advent Calendar.  The first step was whether or not to do a cross off calendar or a stick on calendar.  The allure of using a tape runner or glue dots every day won out.  Coever’s teacher had been free-handing a picture of Santa the other day and I remembered the basic strokes to duplicate it on some butcher paper.    We cut out circles and Morgan numbered them with some help from me.  Coever handed me my tape runner and we started filling in Santa’s beard up through today’s date.  When we were done, we taped it to the back of the front door and voila!  Advent Calendar!  As much as I loathe arts & craps, in the end I always get some great art and happy girls. 

Continue Reading
IN: ON: December 16, 2010 TAGS: , , , BY: Hilary
Continue Reading

Ho! Ho! Ho, boy!

Three years ago, I posted about a quest to find a Black Santa Claus in our area.  This year, not only did we find one, we went to visit him at the Newsome House in Newport News.  The Newsome House is a historic landmark and a living museum where patrons can learn about the civic and social work of Thomas Newsome, a prominent African American lawyer at the turn of the 20th century.

I have to admit, I was pretty excited that I had the foresight to look into this Black Santa, or should I say, “The Soulful Christmas”, as it was billed on the event website.  I told two of my other girlfriends about it and we planned to meet up with our kiddos in tow. I didn’t know what to expect much beyond having them see Santa and maybe taking a brief walk through the house itself to learn about its significance to Black culture and to the city of Newport News.

We met our friends out front and took the obligatory group photo. 

After the kids let me snap a few, we headed inside for the main event.  We were greeted in the foyer of the house by several volunteers who directed us to the right where Santa was patiently waiting, candy canes as the ready.  Now, while the girls have seen Santa Claus and could pick him out of a crowd, they haven’t seen Santa Claus as in, waited in a ridiculously long line while being plied with candy canes by uptight, underpaid, underqualified elves. Thankfully, there was none of that here.  

 I will say, though, there is something supremely hypocritical about encouraging your children to totally throw off all of your hard-pressed pleas to “not talk to strangers”,  then watch them vault upon a random, red and white clad lap and use a laser pointer to emphasize the salient parts of their Christmas Wish List Power Point.

 I think Santa may have agreed to that tattoo set, hence the giant smile on Morgan’s face.  As for Coever’s smirk? Well, she always looks like that.

After the kids bombarded Santa Claus with their requests, they each received a free Scholastic book courtesy of the Newport News Public Library.  Then, we were told that there was going to be a puppet show performed off of the foyer within the half hour. We were welcome to tour the house while we waited.

Our kindly docent took us upstairs where we viewed a series of family quilts created by members of the African American Quilters Guild.  In the adjoining room there was an extensive exhibit about Thomas Newsome and his family.  The docent very patiently explained to us who Thomas Newsome was and what he had meant to the community.  Then, she asked if there were any questions.  Let’s just Morgan had that woman drawing upon every fact, however small, to flesh out the purpose and significance of the Newsome house for her 5 year old satisfaction.

Finally, it was time for the puppet show.  I have to say, when I think puppets, I think Sesame Street and The Muppet Show.  I wasn’t ready for the Soulful Christmas Puppet Show featuring Lawrence Atkins and “Da Crew”.  I’m just going to give you peek of their rendition of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” and let you fill in the blanks. 

Yeah.  It has gold fronts, earrings, Timberlands, and a dollar sign medallion around it’s neck. 
Soooooo. . . .we sat through that madness and the kids loved it, while we moms exchanged round-eyed looks of indignance over their hands. Thankfully, the puppet show wound down rather quickly, the kids metabolisms kicked back on and demands for lunch were fast and furious. 
In the end, the girls had a great time and a truly memorable experience.  There will come a day when they will no longer believe in Santa Claus, so it’s important to me that they have these magic of Christmas moments. Of course, when they start cutting up, instead of saying that they won’t get any toys,  I’ll say only thing under the tree will be that nasty-a** puppet!
Continue Reading
IN: ON: December 13, 2010 TAGS: , BY: Hilary
Continue Reading
1 2 3 4 5