The Day After.......

Hi there everyone. Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Mine, it was quiet....but as I get older, I like it like that. My family is pretty much gone. My daughter lives in another state on the east coast and is busy with her own life. My step-father is in Las Vegas and busy with his life. JP's family is in Chicago and....busy with their lives. That leaves us pretty much alone at Christmas, and like I said, we like it like that.

This was our Christmas dinner and it was scrumptious. The main course was from Blue Apron their site. This was a "Spiced Roast Chicken & Collard Greens with Maple Butter & Thyme" Oh my, this was extra delicious. I never cooked with collard greens before and we really liked them. The greens were cooked with onion, salt and pepper, the chicken layered on the greens and a cooked sauce of butter, maple syrup and vinegar poured on the chicken. The right combo of tastes. The Chicken was fried, skin down till browned then roasted in the oven till the meat reached 165 degrees in the breast and thigh parts. I most certainly would make this recipe again and again. I shall be looking forward to my next whole chicken cut in half.

So we had the chicken with collard greens, baked potato with sour cream and chives, bread dressing with chicken gravy and cheese cake for dessert. Yum.....a very good meal to say the least.

Here is a snap shot of all our presents under the little tree.

And.....a picture of my presents. 6 tins of different teas. A new spice rack to organize all my Penzy spices. A new copic marker carrying case. A brand new (el-cheapo) purple watch. AND a new WOK.....healthy meals, here we come.

JP got a pair of slippers (need to get a larger size), socks, Amaryllis plant and 10 little bibles to pass out to truckers. He'll probably get a pair of jeans also.

Kylie got a pair of boots.....now we have to train her to wear them before the snow flies, she will love us for that. Oh and she got some soup bone chewy's.....right now she is hiding her bone so no one can find it....then she moves it to another place, then another place. That bone sure is keeping her busy.

Well, time to close and get to organizing my spices. You all have a great day and enjoy these last days of 2015. Keep looking up....
Cheers ~ Louise

Olympics, Pinterest and a Recipe 4 You

Another puppy picture for you. Whenever I see a puppy picture, they seem to always make me smile. Hope this one does for you too.

Been watching the Olympics on TV this past week, guess blogging and making cards have been put on the back burner for a while. Have some cards in the making but they are not finished as yet.

www.pinterest.com has been taking up alot of my time lately. But it is something I can do while watching the Olympics. Just love all the fascinating recipes you can find there. If you get a chance check out Pinterest and go to my Boards, I think you would just type in Louise Langefeld Gatti and be sure to "follow" me and do check out my stuff I have pinned. I tried a recipe out today, gosh was it ever good and very simple too!!! I love stringbeans so this caught my eye (and stomach), here is the recipe.

"Spicy Stir-Fried String Beans"
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1-2 teaspoons Asian hot sauce, such as Sriracha
1 tablespoon  canola oil
1 pound green and/or yellow wax beans, trimmed
4 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

1. Whisk water, soy sauce, cornstarch and hot sauce to taste in a small bowl.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beans, ginger and garlic: cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the sauce mixture: cook, stirring frequently, until the beans are tender-crisp and coated with the sauce, 4-6 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Nutrition: per serving, 97 cal, 5 g Fat, 0 g Sat, 3 g Mono, 0 mg Cholesterol, 12 g Carbohydrates, 3 g Protein, 4 g Fiber, 285 mg Sodium, 208 mg Potassium,
1 Carbohydrate Serving, Exchanges: 1 1/2 vegetable, 1 fat

There you have it, really a great side dish to serve with fish or chicken (which is what we had tonight). Well I shall close this blog for tonight, you all have a great weekend and see you Monday, maybe I will have a card or two for this blog.

Cheers to you all and keep looking up for your redemption drawth nigh.
Louise