If you’re family is anything like mine, you just can’t get enough celebration around the holidays!  To add to the mix – my mom’s birthday is the 28th, so we have Christmas, two days off, Mom’s Birthday, two days off, and then New Years Eve – CRAZY! 

Saturday we went down to the Westside Market together to pick up the cupcakes I had ordered  – but my mom didn’t know that, she just thought we were taking a trip for fun!  Here’s what we got for her:The 6 in this box were:

• 1 M&Ms
• 1 Chocolate Mint
• 1 Chocolate Covered Strawberry
• 1 Cookies’n'Cream
• 1 Carrot Cake
• 1 Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

The 6 in this box were:

• 1 Red Velvet
• 1 Pumpkin
• 1 Strawberry
• 1 German Chocolate
• 2 Wedding Cake Vanilla

Here’s the whole spread:

After we went down to Grumpy’s, in the Tremont area of Cleveland to get brunch.  I got the “Egg Skillet“, which was a whole bunch of eggs, cheese and veggies, all thrown over some potatoes:

It was so delicious!  They roast the broccoli that they throw into the medley and it was honestly the best tasting broccoli I’ve ever had! 

We headed back over to my parents later in the evening to watch the UFC fight, and I decided to test out an English Cider I’ve heard really great things about:  Strongbow.It was amazingly sweet – I wasn’t expecting that.  A friend had described it as tasting like “beer, champagne, and wine all mixed into one”  – and I think that’s a fairly accurate description.  After reading the ingredients, I realized how I would describe it (fermented apple juice was the main ingredient) – it tasted like Mott’s Apple Juice with some carbonation and vodka added! 

In an effort to get things back on track, I had an awesome breakfast Sunday morning:

It was 2 egg whites, 1 full egg,  some 7 grain salad from the Westside Market, and vanilla yogurt topped with Kashi H2H and pom seed.  My body was quite thankful to be back on the healthy track after two straight weeks of indulgence.   On top of that, I headed to the gym to test out my new iPod nano, and pounded out 2.5 miles on the treadmill.  It really feels nice to be getting back into the swing of things.  Don’t get me wrong – I know everything’s  gonna go back down the drain Wednesday and Thursday of this week, but still…for the time being, it’s nice to be back on track.

For my Mom’s birthday lunch – we went out to eat at Moosehead Saloonin Olmsted Falls, and I got the most fabulous turkey reuben I’ve had in a long time:

It was HUGE, but so very very tasty – my only complaint is that there was a lot of butter on the bread, but I guess you have to expect that when ordering a grilled sandwich.  I ate half (and stole a bite or two from the other – and then passed it along to Mike)  Instead of fries on the side, they serve the most AMAZING potato chips with french onion – not the healthiest side, but so tasty they are worth every single calorie!  

For dinner, I volunteered to cook since everyone was still home for the holidays, and I wanted my mom to relax.   The boys liked the turkey enchiladas I made two weeks ago so much, that I figured those would be safe for the whole family to test out this time – so I went with the sure bet:

And fresh out of the oven:

Everyone said they liked them, but the tortillas were really hard on the bottom this time.  I think it was a combination of using a new brand, and not having enough enchilada sauce to thoroughly coat everything.  Either way – I think my mom enjoyed her birthday, which is of course, all I wanted! 

For those of you who have to work this week – hope you are having a good week – only two days and then you have off again – right? 

Hi lovelies!

I know my Christmas post is a few days late, but unlike many of you (wink wink, JK!) I had to work the day after Christmas!   So I’m finally finding time right now!

For the past few years, Mike and I have been trying to figure out how to best split Christmas so everyone get’s a fair share of us (yes- we are that high in demand) 

This year we switched things up and I think it went pretty well, except we didn’t get to see his Grandma. 

Christmas Eve we headed out to Mike’s parents to celebrate with them – and were welcomed with the most unbelievable spread of appetizers:Look at all that food!  It seriously was all amazing!  Here are some of my favorites, BUFFALO CHICKEN DIP:

SHRIMP!!

AND OF COURSE, VEGGIES!

Here’s my first plate:

I never officially got a second plate, but definitely spent the majority of the night grazing off the table.  Then we drank plenty of wine, opened presents, and passed out for the night.  I woke up early to head home and open stuff with my family and my grandparents on my mom’s side.  Remember how I was talking about all the gifts I made?  Well now I can finally show you!

For my mom, I made her a personalized throw, where you can add whatever picture you want and they make a blanket out of it.   I put a picture of our family dog Murphy on there, who passed away in June.  We all miss him very very very much, especially my mom, and this Christmas has been hard for her, since it’s the first one without Murphy here.

And here’s a slightly better picture where you can see more of the blanket:

See what a cool dude he was?   I also made a calendar for each of my grandparents, which I’m now realizing I didn’t snap a good picture of – but each month had 2 pictures, and I added in all the familys’ birthdays and anniversaries – I have to admit they came out pretty darn good, and both sets of grandparents just LOVED THEM!

Now here’s something you can all appreciate…

I really wanted an 2 things for Christmas,  a new camera for the blog and because mine is old and crappy, and an iPod nano because my other iPod is HUGE and old – and I got the new 4th generation nano – in green my fav color!   Which is super exciting -but I don’t have a picture of it.  Here is the gift I was most excited about, and felt it most necessary to take a picture with:

A full box of blueberry z-bars – YAY! 

Here’s Lando with her presents that Santa (my parents) bought for her:

There was more eating and drinking all day long on Christmas of course, but now it’s time for the culinary highlight of ANY OF MY HOLIDAYS - my Grandma Stewart’s stufffed shells (or lasagna – it doesn’t matter the form – my teeny tiny italian grandma’s recipe ROCKS no matter what way you make it!)This is honestly my favorite meal of the year, and I’ve missed it the past three years!  So you can imagine how much better that made everything taste this time around! 

Doesn’t that look amazing?  Jealous you couldn’t have any? 

My brothers came home with me and Mike to continue celebrating the holidays – and Mike and I broke into on our coolest gifts of the season, a HUGE bottle of sparkling wine from Santa (his parents)

Look how big it is compared to my head!  (and I’ve got a big noggin’!)  Also, can you tell how much I love that green/gray shirt?  I just bought it this season, and I think I’ve had it on in 2 out of the last 3 pictures of myself I’ve posted.  I swear I do own other clothing.  That’s about it!  I’ve read all your posts and it looks like everyone had such a nice Christmas/Hannukah!  Hope you are all enjoying your time off (if you’ve got it) and are looking forward to New Years!

Hi gang!

I don’t have any fun food to show today, I’m taking full advantage of the holidays – we have nothing left in the house, Mike and I are planning on scarfing down at his parents and my parents!

Since I don’t have pictures, I though I’d share a funny list that came along my way this holiday season – I figured all you food bloggers would laugh.  ENJOY!

Tips to a great Holiday Season

1.   Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit.  In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately.   Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls.

  2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It’s rare. You cannot find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It’s not as if you’re going to turn into an eggnog-alcoholic or something. It’s a treat. Enjoy it.   Have one for me. Have two.  It’s later than you think. It’s Christmas!

  3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That’s the whole point of gravy.  Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

  4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they’re made with skim milk or whole milk. If it’s skim, pass. Why bother? It’s like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

  5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people’s food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

  6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year’s.  You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you’ll need after circling the buffet table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

  7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don’t budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They’re like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you’re never going to see them again.

  8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you don’t like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three.   When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

  9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it’s loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

  10. One final tip: If you don’t feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven’t been paying attention.  Re-read tips; start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this motto to live by:

“Life should NOT be a  journey to the grave with the  intention of arriving  safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, body thoroughly used up, totally worn  out and screaming “WOO HOO what a ride