Merry Christmas!

This was the first Christmas we were all by ourselves. Usually either we go to my inlaws’ or they come to our house. That all changed when we moved to Texas since it makes it more of an ordeal to go one place or another.

Still, I made a Christmas dinner and now we are faced with mounds of turkey leftovers. I went to Sam’s about a week ago and they had 10-12 pound turkeys but I didn’t buy one since it was over a week away. Then I went this weekend and all that was left were big ones. I ended up with an 18 pound turkey for 2 people. (But it cost only $15!) I’m going to freeze most of the leftovers and make casseroles this winter: King’s Ranch, turkey pot pie, turkey enchiladas, turkey quesadillas, etc.

Besides the usual stuffing, mashed potatoes & gravy, I made Paula Deen’s Sweet Potato Balls. It’s mashed sweet potatoes, brown sugar, spices, orange juice & zest (I didn’t have an organic orange so I used apple cider instead), rolled into a ball around marshmallow, then the whole thing rolled in coconut cinnamon sugar. I made mine a little smaller since I had mini-marshmallows. They look really cute and festive. As far as taste, I thought they were just OK. Mine were a little dry, I’m not sure if that’s because I microwaved the sweet potato to bake it. I thought it could use a little butter, both for moisture and for flavor. When I thought of that, I was surprised that a Paula recipe like this had no butter written into it.

For veggies, I wanted something simple so I made a recipe from "Everyday Food" magazine. It’s carrots (little strips made with a vegetable peeler) sauteed in butter with peas. That recipe was definitely a keeper since it’s simple and straightforward, tastes like it looks. A lot of times when I cook it’s usually just the entree for dinner so it’s an easy dish to throw together to make the meal more balanced.

What a downer today is. I hate that "snap of the fingers Christmas is over" feeling. I’m not sure what to do with this blog. Obviously I haven’t posted much so I’m thinking of consolidating my efforts and just post everything on my other blog.