You never know...

...what the day may bring when you work as a Program Coordinator at a preschool!

Ornaments 3 & 4

I'm a little ornament obsessed.  I like to buy ornaments to remember places we've been, as well as to celebrate special occasions.  This ornament was bought on a very special occasion, one of the specialist of my life!

Any guesses??

I (we) bought this ornament the day we got engaged!  January 13, 2006.  I was completely taken by surprise...I had no idea John was planning to propose!  We spent the train ride home making a wedding guest list.  :)

And speaking of the train...we bought this ornament the same day!

Another way to commemorate the day and the trip.  NYC is one of our most favorite places to visit!  And we always take the train, either from Poughkeepsie or Rensselaer.  Come to think of it, I think it's about time we take another trip there soon...maybe before the baby comes!



Ornaments 1 & 2

The first ornament I'm going to tell you about was the very first ornament that I put on the tree this year.  It's also our newest ornament...it was given to us 2 days ago by John's parents! 

In case it's hard to tell (it was hard to photograph) it says "Mommy to Be" on one side, "Daddy to Be" on the other, and "Expecting a Precious Gift" in the middle.  I don't think I need to elaborate much on why this ornament is special to me.  I will always remember this Christmas as a very happy Christmas as we anticipate the birth of our little boy in a few months!  I couldn't dream of a better gift.

This second ornament runs on the opposite side of the emotional spectrum.  I actually cried putting it on the tree, remembering the past couple years and how difficult Christmas was for me.

 This was given to me by my sister-in-law and brother after the loss of our first baby, and to me it symbolizes both our babies we lost, November 2008 and November 2009.  I still cry sad tears sometimes over those precious ones I won't hold this side of Heaven.  It's still hard to understand sometimes.  This was the second ornament I put on the tree this year, and even though it's sad for me, I look forward to the day when my kids are old enough to understand it's significance.

There!  That's out of the way.  I promise, no more sad ornament posts!  Stay tuned...and Merry Christmas!

And now for something completely different...

I think it's time to get off the food subject.  At least for a post or two.  :)

Sunday was Christmas tree day in the Nuzback household!  We made our annual trip to District 2 Firehouse while John did his annual complaining.  He wants a fake tree.  I want real.  I won again this year.  It's getting harder though.  I just can't imagine our kids growing up with a fake tree!

And really, he doesn't have too much to complain about.  I picked the second tree that we looked at!  I'm pretty easy to please, I just want real!  I love the smell of a pine tree in the house.

Sunday night I strung the lights around the tree, and tonight I did the ornaments.  It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself!

There are lots of ornaments not on the tree...because I just have way too many. But all our important and sentimental ones are up. I'm hoping to do what I intended to do (but fell a little short) last year: I'd like to post an ornament a day, and tell you the story behind it, or why it's special to me. I'm going to double up the first few days in order to catch up, and hopefully do all 25 days of December!

Spinaches & Artichokes

After posting on facebook that I was making Spinach & Artichoke dip, I was hounded for the recipe!  Well, maybe not hounded...but several people asked about it.  So here it is!  This is pretty much my own recipe.  I had about five different recipes, and I picked what I liked best from each one!

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, minced

12 oz. cream cheese, softened (1 and 1/2 packages)

1 c. sour cream

1/2 c. mayo

1/2 c. Romano cheese

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

10 oz. package frozen spinach

14 oz. can artichoke hearts

Mix first 6 ingredients together well.  Cook and drain spinach according to package directions.  (I just do it in the microwave, takes only minutes.)  Chop it up and mix it into the dip.  Drain the artichoke hearts then chop them also.  You can make them as big or small as you want.  I chop them pretty small so they go throughout the whole dip, as opposed to big chunks.  That's just how I like it.  So add the chopped artichoke hearts, and mix it all up. 

I bake it at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, depending on the size of the dish I use.  If I put it in a 9x13, 30 minutes does it.  If it's in a smaller dish with larger sides, it might take a little longer.  You can stir it partway through if you want.  I usually do.

Serve with tortilla chips, toasted french bread, crackers, anything really.

I meant to take a picture of the dip I took to my parent's house yesterday, but forgot until it was almost gone.  So I took a picture of the leftovers that had been reheated. 

Doesn't really look that appetizing here, but trust me, it was good!

the peanut butter ball recipe I didn't promise you...

...but I was asked for, so I'll share it!

This recipe comes from Mom, but I'm sure you can find it pretty much anywhere!

Ingredients

1 c. melted margarine

1 lb. confectioners sugar

4 oz. coconut, if desired (I don't desire...)

1 & 1/2 c. peanut butter

1 c. chopped walnuts (you can omit this also, I usually do)

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

1 t. vanilla

pinch of salt

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1/2 stick parafin wax

12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips

Mix first 8 ingredients until well combined.  (Let me just say here, I use butter, not margarine.  I like to be healthy like that.)  Let cool for awhile (about an hour?) in the fridge, then roll into small balls.  Place on wax paper-lined baking sheet and refrigerate for about a 1/2 hour.  Meanwhile, chop 1/2 stick of wax into small pieces (reallllly small for easy melting) and place in a small pan on very low heat until melted (or on top of a double boiler).  Add the bag of chips and place the small pan in a frying pan of water (or on top of the double boiler) until melted, stirring occasionally.

Using a toothpick, dip each ball into the chocolate and place back onto the wax paper-lined baking sheet.  Refrigerate briefly to set the chocolate, then eat, give away or freeze!

Makes about 80, depending on the size you make.  :)

the frosting recipe I promised...

Remember when I posted my sugar cookie recipe?  I also promised to post my frosting recipe when it came time to, well, frost!  And when I was at my parent's today and mentioned frosting some cookies, my Dad reminded me that I needed to post the recipe!  So here goes.  This is Grandma's frosting recipe, used on many delicious cakes, including my wedding cake!  And I think it's just perfect for sugar cookies.

First, put 1 lb. confectioners sugar, 2/3 c. Crisco, 1 t. vanilla extract, 2 t. almond extract and 1/4 c. milk in a bowl.  (I kind of do the almond to taste...the recipe really only calls for vanilla!)

Second, mix it all up.

Third...well, there is no third.  You're done!  Unless, of course you want to add some color!

Now, I realize these colors aren't very...Christmas-y.  But let me explain.  I did yellow for the angels, brown for the gingerbread men, blue for the trains (Thomas anyone?) and green (which is Christmas-y!) for the trees.  Some years I don't color the icing at all, and just use sprinkles.  This year, I'm doing both!

And voila!

Delicious sugar cookies.  How do I know?  I may have just eaten 6 of them.  But in my defense, I'm eating for two.