Whooooosh!
That’s the sound of Christmas sweeping by. It was a wonderful holiday, and yet in a blink of an eye, it’s a Christmas Past.
Mr. Gordon and I got up early (as our habit) on the 25th, and after some coffee, exchanged our gifts. It was lovely, quiet morning.
Christmas Morn – Coffee and Presents
I actually gave Mr. Gordon his “big gift” around Thanksgiving. I had planned on checking prices at Kohl’s to see what kind of deal I could get compared to online options. Mr. Gordon was with me and I wasn’t planning on buying it then. I was just going to casually walk on by the box and eyeball the price.
Well… it was priced right (on sale) and also earned me a bunch of Kohl’s cash. It was better than the one Mr. Gordon had earmarked in his online wish list. So, I said: Merry Christmas!
Plus, BAGELS. The man makes me bagels!
I also gave Mr. Gordon this hummingbird feeder (pictured below) and he really liked it.
We both like that it’s actually red glass instead of painted glass.
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For Me?
My big gift was such a surprise – and WOW! I was (am) so excited! Mr. Gordon, my own personal Santa, gave me a Canon PowerShot SX530 HS!
I’ve been wanting a nice camera for awhile now for taking photos for GardenCookEatRepeat.com and whatnot, and this was a totally unexpected present. I really am fortunate. π
(As you can probably guess, the photos from this post are still photos we took with our iPhones. I mean, I had to charge the new camera!)
ALSO, Mr. Gordonβs son gave me a Canon Sure Shot 80u camera because I love film photography. That will be harder to master, but I am so pleased. Just so pleased!
Okay, a few more lovelies – and I’ll be getting to some great appetizer recipe recommendations below. Stay with me. π
Hand-made Holiday Ornament from Great-Niece and Great-Nephew = THE BEST
A Scent-sational Ornament!
Mr. and Mrs. Simmons – Ain’t they sweet?
Ready for it? It’s the March of the Penguins!
Oh, the cuteness!
A Waddle of Penguins
Like my cute little friends? I’ve been wanting to make these for awhile. Simple recipe: Colossal-sized black olives, small-sized olives for the heads, carrots (sliced, raw), cream cheese, green onion strips (just the green tops), and toothpicks.
Note: I goofed up and didn’t buy colossal-sized black olives, but bought extra-large black olives instead. Turns out that extra-large and colossal are NOT the same. The extra-large were pretty small. If you make this recipe, make sure you definitely get the colossal-sized ones for the penguin body.
If you Google “stuffed black olive penguins” you will get all kinds of recipe sites. Foodie with Family is one. I like her recommendation for the green onion scarves. One more note, I don’t like using the Neufchatel cheese she suggests, so I just used regular cream cheese.
Party Poppers
I also made this fun and tasty mini-sweet peppers appetizer recipe from Listotic. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly, using 3 diced jalapenos AND I went with her option to “dip your final poppers in shredded cheese for more cheesy goodness.” I rolled the cheese ends in a thicker shredded sharp cheddar. ALSO, the recipe author recommended making the day before. I was worried that the sweet peppers would make the cheese mixture inside watery, so I made them on Christmas morning. Not necessary. Turns out it would be fine to make the day before. The leftovers were great the next day – not watery at all.
I took 2-pounds of red, orange, and yellow mini sweet peppers and stacked them in a lovely, round pyramid for the presentation.
And… didn’t take a picture.Β
BUT, here’s a shot of the leftovers.
Not Pictured
I also made these delicious Bacon and Chives Mini Cheese Balls from Diethood.
I was in such a hurry to get out the door to the family gathering, I forgot to take a photo of the mini cheese balls. ARGH. But check out the recipe on the Diethood site. I didn’t follow it exactly, but it was still very good!
My change-ups:Β
- Where she used 1/3 less fat cream cheese, I used original Philadelphia Cream Cheese.
- I don’t like turkey bacon, so I stuck with the real deal.
- Also, I tossed the bacon into the cheese and mixed it into the ball itself versus rolling the cheese ball in the bacon bits and chives. It was fine, but next time I will roll the cheese balls in the bacon as directed.
- Additionally – and maybe because the cheese balls had the bacon mixed in – they were a little bigger than I would have liked. I will roll them smaller in the future.
- I used the recommended chili powder, but I’ll swap that out for some smoky paprika when I make this recipe again. Try out a different flavor, you know?
The Day After
Usually Mr. Gordon and I have the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day off from work. This year, Mr. Gordon has to go into the office. I miss him and I’m sure he’d rather be on vacation, but what a blissfully quiet December 26th for me.
I read, I wrote in my new 2020 planner (thanks, Sandy!), and I even napped for an hour – totally not something I normally do.
It felt glorious to “do nothing.”
Coming Up
- How Could I NOT Have Known About Chili Mac?
- Planning the New Year’s Eve Feast (but in the meantime, you can read about past NYE feasts here)
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ohhhhh…those little penguins are just SO cute!!!!!
heeheehee
Merry Christmas! π
Thank you, GKGirl! I just found some mini veggie and cheese “Christmas Tree” appetizers that I think I’ll make to go with them next year! π
Oh. My. Goodness. Those penguins! How stinkin’ cute! I might have to make those when we have a friend’s gathering or go somewhere where penguins would make an extra cute decoration/treat.
I hate when I forget to take a picture of something. It happens all the time. I get in a hurry and then forget to take a pic. But with both those cameras, you are sure to want to take photo after photo. I can’t wait to see them!
And I love my mixer. We call it the beast. It’s one of the professional models and weighs a ton and a half. But I use it for everything and have various attachments. I’ll be using the meat grinder soon enough. I have the pasta attachment but not the ‘pasta shapes’. It was on sale for $99 before Christmas via Amazon and I didn’t buy it. I kick myself.
Anyway, I’m glad you and Mr. Gordon had a nice Christmas. I think the best gifts are a little quiet time. At least for me. I totally recharge by having just a little bit of downtime especially in between all the hustle and bustle of the holiday season!
Oh yes, Kristin, the quiet time is the real gift. Tomorrow is my first day “back to work” and I’m a bit sad because I have been cherishing the downtime so very much. It’s hard to give it up. π
I used Mr. Gordon’s mixer while making the New Year’s Eve dinner and it really freed up my hands. Definitely a worthwhile kitchen addition! Mr. Gordon’s son bought him some sausage-making attachment for it, and Santa put casings and chorizo seasoning into his stocking. He is raring to go!
The penguins were a little fussy to make, but I’d do them again. They are adorable! Make sure you get the slice of carrot (used for the feet) thick enough. I sliced a bit too thin and they kept toppling over! π