Wonderful Christmas!

Obviously I know that Christmas is about much more than the presents we receive, the food we eat, and getting days off from work. But with that being said this blog post is going to be about those things so read along and celebrate with me.

I still make Christmas lists and this year I put lots and lots of cooking items on my list. My wonderful family and friends generously gave what I asked. THANK YOU!!!


My Secret Santa at work spoiled me with gifts from Williams & Sonoma among other things. Then I went home that night and made Kielbasa Rotini Skillet for friends using my new toys. Check out that sexy tablespoon/teaspoon slider. Also, how did she know that I needed a knife sharpener??? She is good!


I like to joke that my mom is the only one who reads this blog. I know that's not realistically true, but she is a loyal supporter and probably my number one fan. She proved that even further by showering me with cooking supplies to further enhance my recipes and therefore, this blog.


This includes a casserole case and a casserole carrying bag, new martini glasses! (and olives to go with them), a whole new set of pyrex dishes!, a marble pastry board, a container to store fresh herbs in the fridge, two new cook books, 3 warming trays, containers to hold all my freezer pleasers meals, plus multiple bags of cooking ingredients that I usually need such as pasta, pie crusts, diced tomatoes, taco seasoning, etc. It was awesome! 

My sister-in-law had my name for our family's Christmas Gift Exchange and she spoiled me as well. Flexible, color-coded cutting boards, measuring cups & spoons (which I desperately needed), and of course this awesome Once-A-Month Cooking book which I am anxious to try out in a couple of weeks! 


My mother-in-law got me a hand mixer which is another item off my list that I really wanted. It can be annoying to get my heavy Kitchen Aid mixer off of the shelf to use for a small job. There are times when I wish I had a more portable mixer to use instead. I was getting excited about all these new toys and ideas when my mother-in-law surprised my husband and I with the biggest Christmas gift of them all...

A brand new Freezer!!!!

We had asked for a chest freezer for Christmas. We wanted to start freezing more things because it can be more economical and also time-saving for us. We wanted to save up money before we did it and we couldn't find any great great deals on Craig's List. But my mother-in-law had a connection and was able to get us this used stand up freezer instead that looks BRAND NEW! I was so excited I hugged it. Gerald & I have been literally day-dreaming about this freezer since we got it. I think it just means we're getting old...


Needless to say, with all these new gifts it made me start thinking we need a new kitchen! That's not likely to happen any time soon, so instead of a new kitchen we just got a new shelf unit for the kitchen. When we first got married we bought this black 4-shelf kitchen rack for Loews for our first apartment. It fit our first apartment and held our wedding gifts perfectly. But now it was at a point where it was overflowing, we could never find anything, and couldn't find a home for everything we used in the kitchen. We were hoping to get another one just like it to hold all the new Christmas presents. Well, wouldn't you know, we went back to Loews five years later and they had the exact same kitchen rack! Now they sit side-by-side in our kitchen with room to spare!

So, needless to say, this was a great Christmas and a great Christmas break. I got to cook some great new recipes and enjoy all my new presents. Stay tuned...


I would love to know that you visited my blog or tried out a recipe. Leave me some love & encouragement!