Christmas Tree 2010 Display

Day 338, 2010

Woke up this morning to find this gorgeous snow falling.  Hard to capture in a photo, but I love it when the snowflakes are big fluffy ones like these are.

Day 337, 2010

Put the tree up today..... woohoo!  It snowed last night... it's just perfect start to December... (remind me I said that in a few weeks!)

My first attempt at Bokeh photography.  This snowman was taken in front of the same tree you see... isn't that fun!??!

Day 336, 2010

 

Do you think Daisy is a sound sleeper??  LOL

Day 335, 2010

I have just one thing to say about today.. Chicken and Dumplings... Yea Baby!!  Thanks Doug!  He made this scrumptious dish! This is a Tyler Florence recipe..


In case you wanted to know:


Chicken & Dumplings:  (just so you know.. Doug actually used leftover turkey in this... so the first section was done... can't tell a difference!)

Servings: Serves 4–6
Ingredients

Chicken and stock:
1 whole organic chicken , 4 to 5 pounds
2 bay leaves
1 head garlic , split through the equator
6 sprigs thyme
Kosher salt
4 to 5 black peppercorns

Vegetables:
2 carrots
1 large onion
2 ribs celery
1 clove garlic
4 sprigs fresh thyme , leaves only
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Buttermilk-Chive Dumplings:

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
3/4 to 1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup chopped chives


Directions
To make chicken: Place chicken and all ingredients into a slow cooker and cover with water. Set on low (according to manufacturer's instructions), and cook until chicken is falling apart.

When done, remove the chicken. Strain the stock and shred the meat into big pieces.

To make vegetables: Slice vegetables up into a julienne, and set a large sauté pan over high heat. Add a 2-count of olive oil, and sauté vegetables until translucent. Fold vegetables into the slow cooker with the stock. Fold the shredded chicken back into the mixture and season well. Add chopped fresh parsley and stir. Turn slow cooker up to high while you make the dumplings.

To make dumplings: Sift dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk together; pour the liquid in the dry ingredients and gently fold.

Mix just until the dough comes together—the batter should be thick and cake-like. Using a small ice cream scoop, make dumplings and layer into the slow-cooker. Place the lid back on. Turn cooker up to high and leave for 30 minutes until the dumplings are cooked and puffed up slightly.

Day 334, 2010

Took this photo with my phone... this is the extent of our office decorations!  It cracks me up every year... I go down the hall... pick up this box that has this stuff in it... including the extension cord for the lights and even the hangy thingie to hang the wreath... and I put it up and badbabing...badaboom... it's Christmas!  LOL  Yes, it's a very Staunch office environment, so I really shouldn't be complaining... Fa la la la la... la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaaa :)

Day 333, 2010

Used the Red Box rental tonight to rent and then watch this movie..... it's such a fun movie that leaves you with a happy feeling.  What a character Julia Child was.  Meryl Streep, as always, is amazing!  If you haven't seen this and you like cooking and blogging, then you really should watch this.  Even if you don't like either of them... it's just a "feel good" movie.

Day 332, 2010

Is it me or did we get an unusual amount of Black Friday/Thanksgiving weekend sale flyers... OH my gosh!  They just keep coming!  I didn't do any shopping.  Well I went to Walmart on Friday morning, but spent about 5 minutes walking around and decided it wasn't for me!

Day 331, 2010

Yesterday Doug and I received a cord of wood... tis the season... well let me tell you... they delivered it and dumped it into a large pile in the middle of the driveway.... Doug and I stacked it.. it's two rows thick by about 18 -20 feet long by 4 ft tall.. it was a lot of wood and mamma feels it today!  UGH

Day 330, 2010

This is my son trying not to let me take his picture! He's headed back to IU today. He's going early so he can go to the IU/Purdue (big rivals) football game on Saturday.

Took this photo Thanksgiving Morning to put on my Facebook Profile to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.