OMG, you should have seen (and smelled) my house yesterday! Bodies everywhere and pots of everything going… the house smelled absolutely delish! I had Creamy tortellini soup, homemade chili (reg.) and chili (super fire hot), a chicken base that turned into homemade chicken & dumplings, and a tomato based veggie soup. It was one of those crazy experiment days! And let me tell you OMG I should be a scientist LOL! I made some cornbread- both regular and jalapeno cheddar and some garlic toast to go with them all and then there was crackers, etc. It was like a soup kitchen literally… they all made rounds at the different pots. This was in between my lovely hubs sitting there tattooing my baby brother all day (and into the night LOL). And my brother brought a friend of his, so we had a "new" person here too! Its interesting to watch all the different things that go on in my house at the same time… cooking, computers, crafts, engraving, tattooing, you name it! To the outsider, it may seem too busy to keep up with, but I love it! Its what I call home.
Ok, let’s address the title… Do you resolu? Resolutions… do you believe in making them? I, personally, do not believe in making “New Years resolutions.” People will say “oh yes this is a resolution…” and then they don’t stick to it… empty promises if you will. Now I do set goals… things I would like to accomplish during the year but if I don’t get it accomplished, I don’t feel as if I failed. For example- if I set a “New Years resolution” to lose 50 pounds and then I don’t lose that much or none or I gain weight, then I am gonna feel like I failed. But if I set a goal to get in shape and with that I lose weight… hey that is inspiring to me. But I can’t get discouraged because when you exercise and you lose weight, you can actually GAIN because you gain muscle mass. Normally I just set goals I would like to accomplish throughout the year. If these are resolutions… so be it but I am not gonna call them that LOL!
What about the old “food superstitions”? I mean we DO discuss food a lot, so it would be fitting to discuss it now LOL. Pork, Cabbage, and Black eyed peas… Health, Wealth, and Prosperity is what I’ve always heard. My mother called me yesterday, as a matter of fact, to “remind” me to eat them tomorrow LOL! There are many stories about New Years foods… Black-eyed peas are typically accompanied by either ham or another pork product. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many because cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day. In addition to the aforementioned lucky foods, there are also a few to avoid. Lobster, for instance, is a bad idea because they move backwards and could therefore lead to setbacks. Chicken is also discouraged because the bird scratches backwards, which could cause regret or dwelling on the past. Another theory warns against eating any winged fowl because good luck could fly away. There's one more superstition—that is, guideline—to keep in mind. In Germany, it's customary to leave a little bit of each food on your plate past midnight to guarantee a stocked pantry in the New Year. Likewise in the Philippines, it's important to have food on the table at midnight. So wherever you are in the world… there’s a belief for you! I wish you health, wealth, and prosperity in the coming New Year.
OK here's another Dutch oven recipe for my friend... last one of the year... lol! But I'm not gonna post the recipe because its too long LOL! BUT I can link you to where I found it! Its for Pina Colada Cake! YUMMY! This is another great website page with tons of Dutch Oven recipes... Check it out- Its called Byron's Dutch Oven Recipes! Enjoy!
Now as for your party foods for today or tomorrow or anytime… Start out with these adorable additions to your table…
Cream Cheese Penguins
Ingredients
18 jumbo black olives, pitted
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
18 small black olives
1 carrot
Directions
Cut a slit from top to bottom, lengthwise, into the side of each jumbo olive. Carefully insert about 1 teaspoon of cream cheese into each olive. Slice the carrot into eighteen 1/4 inch thick rounds; cut a small notch out of each carrot slice to form feet. Save the cut out piece and press into center of small olive to form the beak. If necessary cut a small slit into each olive before inserting the beak.
Set a big olive, large hole side down, onto a carrot slice. Then, set a small olive onto the large olive, adjusting so that the beak, cream cheese chest and notch in the carrot slice line up. Secure with a toothpick.
Ok, gotta have your veggies lol, so here is a delicious recipe for some light corn fritters…
Corn Fritters with Caramelized Onion Jam
Ingredients
1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Crisco® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup apple jelly
1/3 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/8 teaspoon curry powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash salt and pepper
FRITTERS:
2 cups biscuit/baking mix
1 can (11 ounces) gold and white corn, drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
Oil for frying
Directions
In a small skillet, saute onion in oil until golden brown. Add vinegar; cook and stir for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, combine the jelly, tomatoes, tomato paste, curry, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for 5-7 minutes or until heated through. Add onion mixture. Cook and stir for 3 minutes; set aside and keep warm.
In a small bowl, combine the baking mix, corn, eggs, milk, sour cream and salt just until combined.
In a deep-fat fryer or electric skillet, heat oil to 375°. Drop batter by heaping tablespoonfuls into hot oil; fry for 1-1/2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with jam. Yield: 2 dozen (3/4 cup jam).
And one last one for today… another “basic-but-add-anything-you-want” recipe!
Mini Bagelizzas
Ingredients
8 miniature bagels, split
1 cup spaghetti sauce with miniature meatballs
32 slices pepperoni
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
Directions
Spread the cut sides of bagels with spaghetti sauce. Top each with two slices of pepperoni; sprinkle with garlic powder and cheese. Place on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
By now, your table should be covered in tons of yummies! What time are we crackin’ the bottles my friend? LOL! Well I’ve made this a super long blog… so I will end for now. Be safe in your celebrations and I’ll see you next year! (LMAO oh come on… you KNEW it was coming!)… Until tomorrow… HUGS!
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