December 2011

Homemade Chex Mix and Other Favorite Things

December 22, 2011 Snack

My yoga teacher likes to tell the following story during the holiday season. Her sister calls her one day to grumble, “I was up all night making the (expletive) Christmas cookies!” My yoga teacher, an easy-breezy spirit who seems to enjoy life, simply said, “Don’t send me any. I don’t want your angry cookies.”  To her, that was the opposite of [...]

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A Major Milestone!

December 20, 2011 Blogging

Exciting news!  Yesterday my wee little blog reached a major milestone, – 10,000 hits!!  In the blog world, 10,000 total hits is peanuts.  Major bloggers get that many in a month. But, for me, 10,000 hits is huge, and marks eight months of dedication and effort. When I started this blog, I was so excited at the prospect of creating, publishing, and [...]

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Slow Cooker Pork with Sweet Savory Sauce

December 19, 2011 Crock Pot

Sunday, the “day of rest,” had a to-do list longer than Santa’s naughty/nice list. We were checking things off that list in a blur all day long. Prune Christmas tree so we can actually fit some presents under it?  Check.  Sweep up ridiculous amounts of pine needles that appear to spontaneously dive off of tree every [...]

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On Stuffing Your Pie Hole…

December 15, 2011 Pie

What do volleyball and fruit pies have in common? Nothing, unless you happened to be at a volleyball tournament this past weekend at MIT.  After the rousing success of our Guac-off this summer, pals Robin and Samantha were looking to plan another foodie/VB event at the next possible opportunity.  Since we were all playing on the same [...]

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Chicken Francais Ooh La La!

December 13, 2011 Chicken

My daughter is quite fond of the Fancy Nancy books.  Nancy likes to put a little fancy into everything she does.  Her fashion sensibilities favor feathers, bangles, and beads. A tiara perched atop curls can complete any outfit. Parties aren’t just parties, they’re extravaganzas.  She likes to fancify words as well.  Nothing is ever just ‘good’ – it is magnificent, extraordinary, or superb. I [...]

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Toffee Cream Cheese Dip with Apples

December 8, 2011 Dips

“Mum, can I have a snack?” A simple question, with about a zillion possible answers, most of which start with “yes” followed by….what??? What the heck do you feed your kids after school that is good for them, but doesn’t take much preparation? Apples, though deliciously sweet and crisp (and that secretly deliver all kinds [...]

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Savory Pork Tenderloin

December 6, 2011 Pork

Saturday was the scene of Occupy Chex Mix at my house — an operation that takes over every inch of counter space as well as the oven, for hours. At 4:30, I was only half done. So, supper plans had to be simple. With a pork tenderloin in hand, I was in search of a quick recipe for the [...]

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Turkey Vegetable Soup

December 1, 2011 Chili/Soup/Stew

It seems impossible that it is December 1st already. It feels like Thanksgiving was just YESTERDAY!  Really, it does. I have the leftover turkey, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce to prove it (you notice I didn’t mention any pies…). Thanksgiving was a good day. I ran my first 5K! Just under 30 minutes, at 29:39. Not [...]

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