to you, from me

delicious. a winter pomegranate barbeque sauce for a Pork dish.

1 shallot                                           1 tbs. dark brown sugar

1 clove garlic                                2 tsp. mesquite liquid smoke

2 chipolte chiles in adobo        1 tsp. ground mustard

1/2 c. pomegranate juice         1 tsp. worcestershire sauce

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar             1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 c. pomegranate arils           1/4 tsp. salt

2 tbs. pomegranate molasses

Mix all ingredients EXCEPT arils in blender, until smooth. Pour into small pan and simmer until slightly reduced. Stir in arils.

crafty in the kitchen, well kind of

every holiday-eve, such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, i spend hours with my mother in law, helping her prepare for their big day. their family is larger than mine and over the years, my help evolved into a requirement since i have a passion for cooking. i love these days spent cooking with such a wonderful person i adore. we have so much fun. and prepare so much food.

i make the desserts. & this year i made a beautiful lattice crust apple pie. now, i had never made a lattice crust before, so this may not be as exciting to most, but to me...a beautiful accomplishment. i also got to use yummy canned apples from their apple orchard this past summer. can't wait to enjoy!

1. Thaw Pie Crust. 2. Roll out, smoothing any wrinkles. 3. Slice one crust in strips. 4. Mix cinnamon, nutmeg & sugar, to taste - to fresh, canned or apple filling. 5. Smooth second crust in pie pan, rounding edges. 6. Add butter to apples. 7. Add first layer of crust strips. 8. Weave second layer in an alternating "over/under" pattern. 9. Pretty. 10. Bake in oven, 375 until crust starts to turn brown then remove & brush with egg whites on top of crust, replace back in over for additional 10 minutes until golden. 11. Love it!

loving these lovely things

last night, we had a spur of the moment dinner party. while frantically searching for what i wanted to cook, i had a craving for a unique appetizer, maybe crackers and dip. but, there was nothing. all i could find was dips for chips and humus, but i am not a humus fan. i was about to just settle for a desert when sweet hubbs mentioned the Lipton seasonings used for soups. perfect! so, we found that. on the back, of course a dip for a french onion dip, just add sour cream. eh, why not. its for chips but at least i can make it. looking on the box, there was a note in the corner of the recipe, "for a twist, add a 1/2 cup of your favorite salsa". i was unsure. i like salsa and sour cream on a taco salad, but for a cracker dip? skeptical, i picked out a medium heat picante salsa (we don't like chunky style salsa) and sour cream. once home, i whipped the ingredients together, stuck in the fridge. and oh my gosh; this was one of the best dips i had ever had - delicious! i served with regular wheat thins and wheat thins garden vegetable. the dip was a huge hit. we actually made some more today to enjoy while watching football!

1 pack Lipton Soup Mix - Onion
1 16 oz. tub of Sour Cream
1/2 cup Picante Salsa (the non-chunky style i think is the best to stick with)

Mix. Chill. Serve - enjoy!

so yesterday, day - we went to the mall. i have not been to the mall in forever! i have to admit that i was kind of giddy because of all the Christmas music and decorations. i know i posted yesterday about people not rushing into it and decorating, now - but the malls are different; we have to shop and be prepared. we kind of did the whole "this would be an awesome gift from santa", thing. of course, what tops my list is 1: KitchenAid Stand Mixer (red), 2. Nikon D90 and 3. Cricut. It's always fun to see and play with the toys you want but don't yet have. side note: hopefully santa saw that they were all on sale.

Well, I had a camera, a nice one - prob an equal to the D90; however; (long story short):
went on business trip. stayed at hilton. went out for dinner. came back to hotel room broken into. camera amongst other things, were stolen. company replaced camera with an upgraded version of what i had. i didn't understand it. sold it on ebay. downsized to a sony cybershot. but in trying to now make logic of what a stupid, stupid decision it was to sell that camera, i justify by knowing that my passion for photography wasn't there, as it is now. so, here is to hoping that santa will see i have been a sweet girl this year. i think, er, i hope.

are you ready for some football????

tis the season, my friends.

fall & football!!

so for your first football party of the season,

ya gotta try this dip.

jalapeno popper dip

- 16 ounces cream cheese, softened - 1 cup mayonnaise - 4 ounces green chilies, diced - 4 ounces jalapeno peppers, diced and drained - 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine cream cheese, mayo and peppers. Pour mixture into a baking dish. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 30 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and brown. Serve with crackers or tortilla chips.

it'll make the men

folk happy.

she so has a new recipe.

loaded baked potato salad

3 lbs. red potatoes, diced

2-3 TBS salt & pepper to taste.
1/2 cup mayo
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Boil potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and set aside to cool. Combine mayo and sour cream in a large bowl. Add pepper, onion, cheese and bacon and mix together. Add cooked potatoes and stir until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

i think i want

some watermelon

now.