Mexican Tortilla Casserole

I was trolling Facebook one day and noticed a recipe that a friend of mine had re-posted. It looked pretty tasty. I knew it was something I wanted to make for my family. 

However, I can NEVER make a recipe true to it's originality, so here is my version of the recipe. 

(The original recipe is included at the end of this post to give credit where credit is due.)

You will need a spring-form pan the size of your tortillas. Mine was a 10-inch. Or you could use a deep dish cake pan or other 10-inch round pan, but you need to make sure it's deep enough (at least 3 inches).

Didn't know ahead of time I was going to blog this, so not everything is pictured.

Ingredients: 

20 oz pkg ground turkey (Jennie-O Lean)
3/4 cup diced sweet onion
1 pack McCormack Chicken Taco Seasoning
2 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used Kraft Mexican 4-cheese blend)
1 can Old El Paso Fat Free Refried Beans (warmed in microwave 30-40 seconds)
1 cup prepared rice (you can use any kind you desire, but I used Minute Multi Grain Medley)
11 oz can Meijer Baja Corn Blend
4 large flour tortillas 
16 oz jar thick & chunky salsa (I used Meijer Naturals Thick & Chunky)

Prep:

The Minute rice I used had microwave directions, so I cooked it that way. 1 pouch (1 cup) rice, with 1 cup water and 1 tsp oil in microwave rice cooker for 10 minutes.

While rice is cooking.... 

Brown ground turkey, with diced onions, in large skillet over med-high heat. I used setting number 7 on my electric stove. When turkey is cooked thru, add the chicken taco seasoning pkt and 1/4 cup water. No need to drain first. Continue cooking a few minutes until seasoning is well blended. Turn off heat. Let sit til ready to use.

Prepare for baking:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Spray the inside of your baking pan with non-stick spray.

Bottom Layer: tortilla, 1/3 beans spread evenly, 1/3 meat mixture, about 1/4 cup cheese

2nd Layer: tortilla, 1/2 the rice, 1/2 jar salsa, 1/2 corn, 1/4 cup cheese

3rd Layer: another tortilla with 1/3 beans (I spread beans on tortilla on cutting board then transferred to stack when spread evenly.), 1/3 meat, 1/4 cup cheese

4th Layer: tortilla with bean spread again, rice, meat, corn, salsa and about 3/4 cup cheese to cover everything.

HINT: If you are using a spring-form pan, it will leak from the liquid in the salsa. So, you must place it on a large enough baking sheet while cooking to prevent spillage in your oven. I also sprayed the baking sheet to ensure easier clean-up.

Cover dish with foil and bake in oven for 40 minutes.

Remove foil cover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes til cheese is brown and bubbly.

Let dish set for 5-10 minutes before cutting.


Serve with any or all of your favorite toppings: dice green onions, sliced black olives, sour cream, shredded lettuce, guacamole, etc.

I also have a bag of crispy tortilla strips I considered layering with the dish, but forgot, so we could add those as a garnishment if we want as well.

Hope you like it as much as we did! 




Here is the original copy and paste from the post so the original poster gets the credit for their recipe...


Kristine Peterson with Tammy Sanders and 2 others

December 16, 2014 · 

MEXICAN TORTILLA CASSEROLE!

1lb. ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion
1 pack taco seasoning mix
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1 can refried beans (they spread easier if you warm them in microwave)
1 cup prepared rice (I used Minute Rice)
1 can Mexican blend corn (DRAINED)will only use about 1/2 can
4-5 large flour tortillas
8 oz of thick chunky salsa (your choice mild or hot)

Spray a spring form, round cake pan or casserole with cooking spray
Brown ground beef ,and onion and drain
Add taco seasonings and cook according to package direction
Lay 1 tortilla in bottom of baking dish and spread 1/3 of bean on it ,top with 1/3 of the meat and sprinkle on some cheese .
2nd layer tortilla, 1/2 the rice, 1/2 salsa, 1/2 the corn and cheese
3rd layer tortilla, 1/3 beans ,1/3meat, cheese
4 layer tortilla . beans ,meat, corn, rice, salsa and cheese

Bake covered with foil at 350 for about 40 minutes uncover and bake 10-15 minutes longer. let sit 5 minutes before cutting . After baking top with sour cream,diced onion and shredded lettuce if desired.

Vegetable Quinoa Slow Cooker Soup

This is the pre-cooked picture - just placed in slow cooker!

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium russet potatoes, cut in small pieces, approx 2 cups

2 zucchini, cut in circles then quartered, approx. 3-4 cups

1 summer squash, cut in circles then quartered, approx. 1-2 cups

1 (baseball sized) sweet onion, cut in small wedges

2 cups sugar snap peas, ends snipped, cut in half

1 - 8 oz. pkg mini bella mushrooms (I bought whole ones, cut in half, then wedged)

1 cup quinoa, rinsed (do not pre-cook)

2 - 14.5 oz cans petite diced tomatoes, low sodium, undrained

3 fresh garlic cloves, minced (approx. 3-4 tsp)

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 Tbsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried bay leaves

1 tsp garlic powder

1 - 32 oz box vegetable broth 

I just added everything to the 6- qt. slow cooker, gave it a good stir, put the lid on and turned on low.

Probably cook about 6 hours on Low or until veggies (specifically the potatoes) are tender.

Other options: 

May use sweet potato instead of, or in addition to, russet.

May add fresh cut green beans.

This is really a 'toss whatever veggies ya got' in the slow cooker. Add your favorite broth, herbs and spices and enjoy!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2014/09/stuffed-pepper-soup/

Above is the link to the original recipe.

Below is my recipe...

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground round

12 oz ground Italian sausage (cuz that's what I had in my freezer)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

3 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes (I used 1 petite and 2 regular)

1 (15 oz) + 1 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce

3 cups beef broth (I used one 15 oz can + made 1 cup of my own using hot water and beef soup base)

3 bell peppers, diced (I used 2 green and 1 red), your choice really

1 cup sweet onion, diced (or one medium size)

2-3 Tbsp fresh minced garlic

1 (8 oz) pkg fresh mushrooms

1 Tbsp each Parsley, Oregano and Basil

Garlic Pepper seasoning, to taste (I use Tastefully Simple brand)

1 cup uncooked rice, but you will need to cook this!

Tools needed:

large skillet, soup pot w/lid, rice steamer (or medium sauce pan/lid to cook rice), cutting board, knife, measuring spoon/cup, can opener, large spoon

Directions: 

Hint: This recipe moves pretty fast, so it's recommended you have your veggies chopped and the canned goods opened and ready to dump.

1. In large skillet: cook burger and sausage together until no longer pink. Drain grease and pat dry with paper towel. Set aside.

2. In large sauce pot (soup pot), heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onions and peppers (You can add mushrooms at this time too, if you want them well cooked) and saute 3-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and saute 1 minute longer.

3. Add to soup pot: diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, beef broth, parsley, oregano, basil and mushrooms (if you didn't saute them earlier). Stir well. 

4. This is the time you would want to start cooking your rice as well. Mine takes about 20 minutes.

5. Add beef/sausage to pot and stir well. Cook on same heat until boils. Then reduce heat to Simmer and cover for 30 minutes.

6. When rice is finished, add to soup and stir well. Let soup finish simmering for another 10 minutes or so, and you're done!

Now, you may add to your individual servings: shredded cheese, sour cream or whatever other things you may like with your stuffed peppers, or Soup, in this case. 

Hint: Don't add too much cheese, cuz then it all just sticks to your spoon after it's melted!

I must admit, adding the Italian sausage to this recipe has made all the difference! I absolutely love this recipe and will be making it again!

I do not think it tastes as much like a Stuffed Pepper as it could. Maybe because I used less rice and added the sausage. But I like it!

Shannon's Famous Hamburger Pie

Ingredients:

1 box (2 pack) Pillsbury (or whatever brand you prefer) refrigerated Pie Crust
2 lbs Ground Chuck (or any type of ground beef or sirloin)
1 medium onion (I use sweet, but it's a matter of preference), diced
8 oz package fresh mushrooms, sliced or diced (canned is OK, but too salty and no flavor, in my opinion)
1 - 15 oz can Whole Kernel Corn, drained
1 - 15 oz can Diced Potatoes, drained
1 family size + 1 - 10.5 oz can Cream of Mushroom Soup, undiluted
 (I didn't have the large can, so I used 4 standard size cans instead. Works just the same.)
24 slice pkg Swiss cheese (approx.)
24 slice pkg American cheese (approx.)
1 - 8 oz bag Shredded Colby Jack (or mild/sharp Cheddar, if preferred)
fresh minced garlic, if desired, for added flavor

Tools needed: 
large skillet (and strainer to drain grease)
Pampered Chef Mix and Chop (if you have one) or whatever utensil you would normally use to cook burger.
9 x 13 baking dish
non-stick cooking spray
large mixing bowl
large spatula
can opener
cutting board, knife

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Cook ground chuck* in skillet on stove top, add chopped onion and minced garlic (if preferred).
Drain liquid/grease and add to large mixing bowl.

*I love flavor! So, I will add about 3-4 Tbsp fresh minced garlic to the burger while it's cooking. Or I might add Tastefully Simple Garlic Pepper Seasoning or a multi-seasoning of some sort. It all depends on how much flavor you like in your burger.

In large bowl - Add the burger mixture, corn, potatoes, mushrooms and soup. Mix well. Set aside.

Add caption

Lightly spray your 9 x 13 baking dish. Carefully unroll pie crusts and position in baking dish so as to cover bottom and as much of sides as you can. This is difficult to do with a round object and a rectangular pan, but do your best. Gently press dough to remove creases and bubbles.

Starting at one end of your pan, begin placing one type of cheese in an over-lapping pattern, in a single line from top to bottom (or side to side if that's how your point of view is skewed).

Repeat this process with the other cheese until the alternating layers of cheese slices cover the whole bottom and sides of the baking dish.

You can see I used 18 slices (3 rows of each) of each cheese in above picture and added two additional slices of each, torn in half in bottom picture. As much as we like cheese, this is a sufficient amount for us, but if you want to use the whole pkg of 24 slices, by all means, go for it! My cousin does, and this is her recipe. Just place your layers closer together than I did.

Pour burger mixture from bowl on top of cheese and spread evenly.

Bake on 350 until it starts to bubble - approximately 45 minutes to an hour - depending on your oven.

Remove from oven when bubbling, sprinkle bag of shredded cheese evenly on top. Return to oven and bake until shredded cheese is melted and bubbly, or browned, if you prefer.

When done, let sit for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

Angie's Venison Chili

Photo taken by Me! - Angela Abernathy 05/05/14

My neighbor and I were talking the other day. She was making chili and needed to borrow some cumin. In exchange she gave me some "Mexican" oregano. I don't know what makes it Mexican, but she got it at a place called Penzy's Spices in Southfield, MI, and she said she uses it in her chili all the time.

http://www.penzeys.com/

I thought it sounded yummy so I knew I needed to give it a try. I love love love spicing up any dish and trying new things make it even more enticing.

When I realized I was going to make the chili the very next day, I had forgotten to ask my neighbor for her recipe, and she had already left for the week, so I went on an internet search for what looked like a good one.

Do you know how many different ways there are to make chili? Geez oh pizza! Mmmm Pizza. That sounds good too. Anyway, there were a lot! So, I printed a couple recipes and saved a couple more to my Pinterest  page and Allrecipes.com account.

I had to make do with what I had in my kitchen. As it was, I only had one can of beans. But who likes beans anyway. Ick! If it ain't black beans, it ain't goin' in my chili! LOL So, I had one can and got another from my Mom the next morning to make it complete.

These are the links to the two recipes I actually printed.

http://leetea.hubpages.com/hub/Homestyle-Venison-Chili

and

http://www.id-rather-be-deer-hunting.com/crockpot-venison-chili.html

Now, here is my recipe...

Angie's Venison Chili

2 lbs ground venison

1 medium red onion, peeled and chopped (about size of tennis ball)

2 Tbsp fresh minced garlic

1 Tbsp Cumin (other recipe said 1 tsp, but I goofed. Thought it would be too much, but I don't think you can taste the difference.)

15 oz can tomato sauce

12 oz can tomato paste

28 oz can diced tomatoes

4 celery hearts stalks, chopped

2 - 15 oz cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp beef flavored soup base, dissolved in 1 cup hot water

2 Tbsp chili powder

3 Tbsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 Tbsp Mexican oregano

4-6 shakes hot sauce

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

couple shakes of salt and a few extra of course ground black pepper

What I did next:

1. In large, deep dish skillet, add venison, onion and minced garlic. Cook over med-high heat til browned. Add Cumin, tomato paste and tomato sauce. Mix well.

2. Meanwhile, in slow cooker pot, add diced tomatoes, celery, black beans and soup base/water mixture.

3. Pour contents of skillet in to slow cooker, then add all remaining spices/seasonings. Mix very well.

4. Cook on low about 6-8 hours.

We were eating our chili after about 7 hours cook time AND I stirred it twice thru-out the day. My slow cooker is older and cooks hotter on one corner than the rest so I stirred it to evenly distribute and avoid that section being burned/scorched.

I must say, I thought this recipe would taste very tomato-y because of the paste and the sauce, but it really doesn't. I think all the spices really offset the overabundance of tomato. The taste is very 'zippy' with a bit of tanginess. I don't know where that comes from, but all in all, this is a very tasty chili. Not spicy hot, cuz my daughter and I are not too much in to spicy hot.

So, try it or don't try it. Makes no difference to me. But coming from a person who has spent most of her life absolutely despising chili of any kind...I give it two thumbs up and a great big Can I Have Some More Please?!! And yes, I did have seconds!

Enjoy!

Home-Made Thick and Creamy Mac & Cheese

OK, this has got to be one the best macaroni and cheese dishes I have ever made. I've tried lots of different recipes from web, cook books and even my Mom's homemade recipe, but this one had ZING! and was just as creamy and tasty the next day when we re-heated it for lunch.


Ingredients:

16 oz box elbow noodles (I used Barilla. In my opinion, it's the best brand out there.)
16 oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I think I had one bag of Meijer brand and one bag of Kraft but it really doesn't matter what kind you use)
8 oz shredded Mexican Style Four Cheese (I used Kraft brand, cuz it was what I had in my fridge)
2 cans (10.5 oz) cream of chicken soup, undiluted (I had Meijer brand)
1 cup low fat sour cream (again, Meijer brand)
1 to 1 1/2 cups low fat milk (I buy less than 2%. I didn't really measure this, I just sort of poured it in, but it was roughly one to one and a half cups.)
Tastefully Simple Garlic Garlic and Bacon Bacon seasonings

My process:

Preheat oven to 375°

Cook, drain, and dump noodles back in pot. But only if your pot is oven safe - otherwise, pour noodles in large mixing bowl and have a 13 x 9 inch greased casserole dish set aside for the baking.

Now, I'm a huge fan of Tastefully Simple products. 

If you're not, or never heard of them...What's wrong with you!?!

Their products are absolutely amazing and will enhance the flavor of any food you cook!

Find a local consultant and stock up your kitchen spice cabinet! Now! Seriously!

Once I cooked the noodles and put them back in pot, I shook in about 1-2 tbsp Garlic Garlic and 1-2 tbsp Bacon Bacon. These are the Tastefully Simple products that will become staples in your kitchen, along with their Onion Onion spice too! I kid you not!

Buuut, if you don't have these or aren't planning on getting any soon, then you can just as easily replace these two ingredients with fresh minced garlic (about 3 cloves) and either real cooked/chopped bacon bits (if you've got that much time and energy to do that) or buy the store-bought kind that come in the little pouch. I do use the Meijer brand Real Bacon Bits or Pieces quite often in baking recipes. Honestly, because I can't stand the greasy smell of cooked bacon in my house! P-U! But I would NOT recommend the crunchy salad style bacon bits. Those are just plain nasty!

OK, moving on. Next add one 8 oz bag (or half) of the Sharp Cheddar Cheese and one 10.5 oz can of condensed Cream of Chicken Soup. Stir well using the wooden spoon.

Add about one cup, or so, of milk and the rest of the cheddar cheese. I just sort of poured it in there. Didn't really measure, but I know it wasn't any more than 1 1/2 cups. Stir again.

Last, add the 8 oz of Mexican style Four Cheese shredded cheese and the remaining can of cream of chicken soup. Stir it all up nice.

Now, if you're still using the same pot you cooked the noodles in that is oven-safe for baking, then put it in the oven and cook for about 10 minutes. Otherwise, dump it in the (lightly greased) baking dish and cook it that way.

After about ten minutes, I took it out and gave it a stir to make sure it was creamy and not too dry. It should be nice and thick and creamy, but if not creamy enough for you, then add a bit more milk or sour cream. Milk might make it runnier as opposed to the sour cream that would make it creamier. The choice is yours. I didn't need to add anything.

After stirring, put it back in oven to bake for another 10 minutes. 

When done, eat and enjoy!

When I reheated it the next day, I shook on some Tastefully Simple Garlic Pepper to boost the flavor even more and I was not disappointed. It was so freaking good!

Feel free to post any comments or questions. Happy cooking!

Chicken Vegetable Slow Cooker Soup

Hmmm. Both kids have ball games tonight. Not going to be home to cook, so I raided my fridge to see what I had. Mostly vegetables. So, I tossed a bunch of stuff in the crock and this is what I created.

I do not know how this is going to taste when it's done cooking, but I'll be sure to let you know! Can't be too horrible right? I mean, these are all pretty basic ingredients! Not sure if the chicken will screw up a perfectly good vegetable soup or if it will just enhance it making it better. Who knows?

What I do know is I needed something easy and non-time consuming that will be ready when my kids get home from their ball games and are "...starving Mom. What's for dinner? Is it done yet?"!

1 pkg (approx. 1 1/2 lb) chicken tenders (vein removed and diced)
4 small red potatoes (skins on, diced - approx. 1 1/2 cups)
1 1/2 cups diced celery
1 onion, cut however you prefer, approx the size of a tennis ball
1 1/2 cups diced carrots (I cut up carrot chips in to smaller pieces, but could use baby, matchstick or cut your own from whole)
2 small zucchini, skin on, sliced rounds (I used the nice small fresh spring zucchini)
28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 box (32 oz) vegetable broth
3 tsp fresh minced garlic
3 tsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp black pepper
sprinkle in a dash of salt if you prefer

So, I basically just tossed this all in the slow cooker and am cooking it for 6 to 8 hours on LOW, or until everything is nice and tender. I'm sure I'll stir it a couple times throughout the day to mix up the herbs and spices.

There ya go. I'm sure this is similar to any other vegetable soup that's out there in cyber or non-cyber world, but I didn't follow anyone else's recipe. I made my own.

Chicken Enchilada Bake

I was unable to get a picture of my own casserole because I was working and had pre-made and refrigerated the dish for the kids to bake for dinner. So I'm using the stock picture from the original website where I got this recipe.

http://www.sweetlittlebluebird.com/2014/01/chicken-enchilada-bake.html

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts, approximately 3 cups, cooked and cut into bite size pieces
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup (10 3/4 ounce)
• 1 can cream of chicken soup (10 3/4 ounce)
• 10 ounce can Rotel (drain excess liquid) 
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese (divided in half)
• *12 corn tortillas - prepared/softened - see note below (flour tortillas can be  substituted for corn - If you use flour tortillas, skip the Softening process)    
• fresh lime (optional) cut into wedges
• fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.  Prepare your corn tortillas and set aside.  In a large bowl mix the soups, rotel, sour cream, garlic powder and milk.  Reserve 3/4 of the mixture and set aside.  with the remaining 1/4 of mixture, add the cooked chicken and 3/4 cup shredded cheese.  Next, add a little sauce to the bottom of the baking pan, enough to coat the bottom lightly (see photo).  Spoon chicken mixture into each tortilla, roll and place seam down in baking dish, side by side (see photo).  Spoon the reserved sauce evenly over rolled tortillas and top with remaining cheese.  Place in oven on middle rack and bake for approximately 30-35 minutes until cheese bubbles.  Serve hot with fresh cilantro sprinkled on top and fresh squeezed lime juice.   Enjoy!

My version of above recipe:

1 1/2 - 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked, cubed (I poach my chicken breasts and squeeze fresh lime on them while they cook to add flavor)
1 - 10 3/4 oz can low-sodium cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 - 10 3/4 oz can low-sodium cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 - 10 oz can RoTel Mexican Lime & Cilantro Diced Tomatoes, juice drained (mostly)
1/2 cup fat free sour cream
1/4 cup 1% milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 cup finely chopped onion (I used sweet onion, but in future I might use green onion) - optional
6 - (8 inch) whole wheat flour tortillas, cut in approx. 1-2 inch pieces
2-4 cups reduced fat Mexican blend shredded cheese
1 fresh lime
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro

Large bowl: mix together both cans soup, diced tomatoes, sour cream, milk, garlic powder, onion and cilantro. 
Remove one cup of mixture and set aside. Use about 1/2 to 1 cup to spread across the bottom of a lightly sprayed/greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle pieces from two cut tortillas evenly over bottom layer of mix. Then sprinkle about 1/2 to 1 cup reduced fat shredded Mexican cheese over tortilla pieces. Cheese is definitely up to you and how much you like cheese.

Add diced chicken to bowl along with 1 cup of the cheese, mix well.

Spread half chicken mixture in baking dish over shredded cheese.

Sprinkle pieces from two more cut tortillas, evenly.

You may sprinkle more cheese here if you like, but I did not.

Spread remainder of chicken mixture and top with pieces of two more flour tortillas. Finally, sprinkle about 1 to 2 cups more cheese. However much you use is completely up to you! We like cheese, so we made this cheesier, but we used reduced fat cheese so that's good, right? 

Now, her recipe says to bake about 30 minutes on 350 degrees, which would be perfect if baking as soon as you make it.

However, because I refrigerated my dish before baking, it needed closer to an hour to fully bake out til it was all melty and bubbly.

Her recipe also says to squeeze the lime over dish and add some fresh chopped cilantro as a garnish, but because I knew I would not be home to do this, that is why I added the fresh cilantro to the mixture and put the lime in the chicken as it cooked.

This dish is absolutely a must have for every kitchen! 

I can't wait to make it again!

Bon Appetit! Or whatever the equivalent to that is in Spanish. 

25 Days of Christmas Adventures 2013 (2nd Annual)

So, I never got around to blogging last year's 25 Days, but it is archived on Facebook for anyone interested. This year, however, I will keep up with each day as our adventure progresses.

Day 1: Made Cinnamon Ornaments!

Firstly, here is the recipe for the dough we used...

The recipe calls for a few ingredients:

•4 oz. (or 1 CUP) cinnamon

• 1 TABLESPOON ground cloves

•1 TABLESPOON ground nutmeg

•3/4 CUP applesauce

•3 TABLESPOONS white glue

You'll also need:

• cookie cutter(s)

•rolling pin

•string/twine/ribbon for hanging

Combine all the ingredients; work with them until smooth.

Divide into 4 portions.

Roll out 1/4" thick & cut out with cookie cutters.

Make a hole in the top for looping ribbon through. (We used a straw)

Dry at room temperature for 1-3 days.

Thread with ribbon.

We chose to put the ornaments in a dehydrator, as suggested by another blogger. Hopefully they'll be done and ready to decorate in a day rather than 3 days.

 

Day 2 of our 25 Days: 

Making Christmas cards for 20 of our closest friends and family!

Last years 12 cards weren't quite enough. Also, the cinnamon ornaments are all done drying, so we will decorate them sometime this week or by the weekend.

Day 3 of our 25 Days:

 Movie Night - Nick's choice!

He picked Jeff Dunham's Christmas Special. Love Akmed!!

Day 4 of our 25 Days: 

Reindeer Decorations!

We traced our hands for the antlers and one foot for the head. As you can see, we each used our own creative genius when it came to overall design. Mr. Grumpy (aka Nick) complained he "hates crafts" but he put the most effort in to his Christmas "moose". Personally, I think his moose looks a little like a Franken-moose!

Day 5 of our 25 Days:

Watching the Sound of Music Live on NBC!

Family just got home from scouts, so it's time to sit down and start the DVR. Holy Cow! This is 3 hours long! I don't anticipate Allie making it til the end, but lo and behold, she does...barely.

Nick complained for two days that "I don't like that movie!" Wanna know something? He sat there the whole three hours and didn't move at all. He watched the whole thing and afterwards when I asked him what he thought, his response was "I didn't remember what the story was about from before, but I liked it!"

Day 6 of our 25 Days:

St. Nicholas Day! Reading the Legend of St. Nicholas.

Well, were going to read the story, but last year, Douglas put our stack of Christmas books away somewhere. Probably in the basement. Gah! Have you seen our basement? It's filled with boxes and other crap! Well, I think there's a monster down there hiding among the boxes and randomly hides things we put down there. Maybe we can bribe him with other goodies and it'll return our stack of books.

So, alternate plan. We're driving out to see the Rochester Light Show. On the way I remember my sister-in-law posted a picture on my wall of a Christmas light scavenger hunt.  

So, we're driving up Ryan Road. Allie has my phone on my Facebook page and is reading this list to Daddy while he writes them down on a scrap piece of paper we find in the van.

First thing we find when we get to Rochester is the Santa on the roof...

We drive around for a while. The traffic is absolutely crazy!

When we make it back out of downtown Rochester, we end up driving back down Ryan Road and randomly driving down side streets trying to find all the items on the above list. We do find them all! Here are just a smattering of the things we found.

One house we stopped at was on the corner of Frazho and Thomas. That house had absolutely everything you can imagine in the way of giant, plastic, light up figures. There was even a choir singing! 

It was awesome!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152071050068330&l=8894350381387845771

Day 7 of our 25 Days - Part 1:

I woke up early to go out to my scrapbook club, but when I got home, we were preparing steaming hot water for hot chocolate to take along and help keep everyone toasty warm while we were

BELL RINGING for the Salvation Army!

Nick and Miss Lisa as a very voluptuous Snowperson!

Allie and Zack

Luke sings: "All I want for Christmas is my two..er...four front teeth!"

Cub Scouts and a Boy Scout (Zack) singing to help raise money!

Miss Lisa finally got her magical top hat so can move and dance!!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10152074356513330&l=8460455627450350471

Mrs. Robyn getting touchy!

There's something stuck up in the snowman's butt....

Day 7 of our 25 Days - Part 2:

We had planned to attend the Center Line tree lighting ceremony, but we were all still frozen from bell ringing. I asked the kids if they just wanted to stay home and decorate the cinnamon ornaments from day 1 instead. We all heartily agreed.

Then about 10 minutes before 7 PM a thought struck me. The high school theater group was performing Grease this weekend. Tonite was the last performance. "Hey, anyone wanna go see Grease at Fitz?" Nick promptly responds "I'm down for that!"

So, we all rush to put on our shoes and jump in the car cuz curtain goes up at seven!

Bravo! Those kids did a great job! That was fun!

Now, back out in the frigid cold night to head home and finally decorate our cinnamon ornaments.

Day 7 of our 25 Days - part 3:

Nick's friend, Nathan

These are some of our ornaments the next day after they are all dry.

Day 8 of our 25 Days:

Decorating Gingerbread Houses!

Today we had two extra guests. Our friend Gerilyn showed much interest in making a gingerbread house, so of course, she was invited to join us. Nathan is Nick's friend from school who is at our house almost all the time. He ended up spending the night last night and stayed all day today so he could partake in the fun. 

I was up to 'here' in fundraiser spread sheets and tallies, so I was unable to decorate my house, but I sat nearby and snapped a few pics when I could and enjoyed listening to Doug 'teach' everyone his techniques. All in all, they had a blast! 

Geri's house has one side of the roof left off because she plans to fill it with candy canes and set it on her office desk to share.

Nathan will be giving his house to his parents.

Doug decorated his for a co-worker and the rest of us are giving ours away as gifts.

Day 9 of our 25 Days:

Watching classic Christmas cartoons!

Frosty the Snowman and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

We would have watched more but Monday is Daddy's late night and we could only get these two in before bedtime.

Day 10 of our 25 Days:

Movie night - Allie's choice!

Allie originally chose to watch Dr. Seuss's The Grinch with Jim Carrey, but she changed her mind and we watched A Chipmunk Christmas and The Year Without A Santa Claus instead.

The Year Without is the one where Santa gets sick and loses his Christmas spirit. It has Heat Miser and Cold Miser. The beginning intro is Mrs. Claus narrating about how there almost wasn't a Christmas. Well, Nick looks over at me and sincerely asks, "Did this really happen?" I had to turn away to avoid giggling. Gotta love the naivete of children. And he's 15 years old!!

Day 11 of our 25 Days:

Shop for and wrap gifts for the Scout Christmas gift exchange.

Today the kids had a PLC day (early release from school) and Daddy had to work late again so the three of us went out shopping for the Scout gifts. We started at Toys R Us because I had a gift card we needed to use, and then we went to 5 Below. They ended up finding what they wanted at Toys R Us, but they wanted to see what was at the 5 Below store. Allie ended up finding a silicone protector case for her new Nook for only $ 1.00 and Nick bought Pixie Stix!

After shopping for the gifts we had to go do a bit of grocery shopping and the kids helped me out big time cuz I had already had a super long day running multiple errands before getting them from school and also had to babysit Drake from 6:30 to 10 AND pickup and sort a fundraiser for Scouts.

So, we get home and Allie helps me make an Italian Sausage Tortellini Soup recipe that was so super yummy, while Nick worked on his IED project.

After dinner, and when Daddy was finally home, we sat down to watch Miracle on 34th Street. A busy, busy, busy day, but fun nonetheless. We definitely are full of the Christmas spirit this year, even though it is going to be small in the way of gifts. I'm just glad we can spend all this quality time together as a family.

Day 12 of our 25 Days:

Thursdays are always Scout meeting nights, so we have to plan something that is not very time consuming. Tonight we have a craft planned, but it's now 8PM and the family is still at Scouts.

Nick's Troop is working hard on finishing up their Citizenship in the Community merit badge and the merit badge counselor was going to be there tonight to finally sign off for them. But, they also had to finish a making a presentation display with pictures of historical buildings and important places from our community to present to the counselor. I don't anticipate they'll be home soon.

I guess we'll see if we actually get to do the craft tonight. We might need to postpone it until tomorrow, seeing as how it's Friday then and there's no rush to get up for school. That being said, I'll update when everyone is home, but I'm thinking we'll just relax and watch a couple more Christmas cartoons.

Update: copied and pasted from my Facebook page...

Day 12 of our 25 Days: 

Craft Night! 

Well, it was going to be a craft night, but Doug and kids just got home from Scouts and  we don't wanna rush thru the craft, so we're going to postpone it until tomorrow night when we have more time. 

This always seems to happen on Scout nights, but tonight it doesn't really matter, because Nick was able to (finally) earn his Citizenship in the Community merit badge! It took a year and a half of him working on it but he finally got it! Aunt Sondra Proctor helped a lot this past summer with the second of the three Citizenship merit badges (Nation). So, now he has two complete and there is only one left...Citizenship in the World. He's so close to having earned all the Eagle required badges. I'm so proud of him. 

So, them staying late at Scouts tonight was well worth the delay in our day 12 adventure. We'll more than make up for it over the next three days! Just stay tuned for more Abernathy family Adventures!!

Day 13 of our 25 Days:

Family Game Night!

But first, we need to do our crafts from last night. 

I bought several 'melty bead' kits. Boy, what a waste of money. We all sat at the table and placed those small plastic beads in tiny spots on a tray to create various Christmas shapes - Santa, snowflake, candy cane, snowman, penguin and Christmas tree.

Well, let me tell you, those damn things didn't wanna melt. We had the iron nice and heated but could only get the edges to melt together. The designs that had many beads in the middle just didn't wanna melt together.

Doug tried to cover the back of one with Elmer's glue. That was a mess and a half. But ultimately seemed to work. Once it was completely dry, it was clear, and any glue that poured thru the beads peeled right out and stuck to the wax paper.

Penguin had to be glued. Santa is only one that melted nicely.

I also bought two kits that were lacing pony beads thru string to make a Christmas tree. The kids made those while Doug and I tried to melt the other ornaments.

Crafts are finally done, so we clear the table and sit down to play a game of Life. We only get one game in before it's time for bed. Nick petered out just before it ended and he went to bed. Daddy was kicking our butts and he won with almost 6 million. Allie and I, respectively, ended up with 3.2 (her) and 3.5 (me) million. All in all a fun evening. 

Now, off to bed. Daddy has to work in the morning. He doesn't like working Saturdays, and there's a snow storm brewing. Supposed to get 4 to 7 inches. Let's see if that actually happens.

Day 14 of our 25 Days:

Wild Lights at the Detroit Zoo!

We used to go to this every year and then, all of a sudden, the zoo stopped doing it. Well, it finally came back last year, but we were unable to attend. So, this year we made it one of our 25 days.

My parents really wanted to come too, and Mom bought our tickets for the evening.

Well, we DID end up getting the snow storm. Doug awoke to only about an inch so his drive to work was uneventful. However, when the kids got up around 9:30 there was about 3 - 4 inches out there. We were going to visit my parents cuz my niece, Shelby was coming down to visit with her son, Jasper, so we all worked together to shovel the drive and walks. Thankfully the snow was light and fluffy.

Now, the snow didn't end all day. It was coming down in varying degrees of small flakes to large, snow-globe type flakes. Temps were frigid, but we braved the evening and worked our way to the Zoo. What fun that was!

Took about 3 hours of walking, stopping to rest and wandering thru the otter house (complete with carolers) , reptile house (where Allie decorated a cookie) and then thru the education center (where Santa was, but the kids didn't wanna wait in line) out to a covered outdoor stage to watch a performance of people in giant costumes sing and dance. There was also a couple guys with chain-saws doing ice sculpting. That was pretty neat.

L-R: Nick, Doug, Allie, Mom, Dad and Nathan

I absolutely love when the snow covers trees like this!

Allie's cookie she decorated in the Reptile house.

My crazy kids decide to get an ice cold drink as opposed to a nice hot chocolate!

Look!! I'm in the picture! :-)

Rudy, Santa, Mrs. Claus and Snowy the polar bear sang and danced for us!

Day 15 of our 25 Days:

The Desolation of Smaug (The Hobbit part 2)!

Oooo What fun this was. Last year we only attended the regular version of The Hobbit. This year, we decided to see it in 3-D HFR (high frame rate). Holy crapoli! Was that ever amazing! It was like watching a live performance on the stage. The picture was incredible! Can't wait until next year and the final installment of the Hobbit series.

Because we saw the 10 AM show we had the whole day to decide what else to do. We came home and had to shovel more snow. Then the kids helped peel potatoes and I made a big pot of potato cheddar soup. Soup is always good on a chilly day. We eat a lot of home-made soups!

Daddy and I caught up on a few shows, did the laundry and the kids played, rested, then went outside to sled a bit (and shovel again). Nathan went home at 6. Daddy is cutting dough and going to bake out the gingerbread houses we're going to take up north for Christmas gifts.

We will relax for the rest of evening and watch The Grinch cartoon and Rise of the Guardians.

Day 16 of our 25 Days:

Chocolate Dipped Pretzel Rods

Boy, what fun (and a bit messy) this was! It went much faster than the chocolate dipped Oreo's we did last year. We used semi-sweet and white chocolate this time around and rolled them in various types of sprinkles. After they hardened overnight we wrapped them in cellophane pretzel wrappers we bought from the local cake decorating store and will give them out when we finish our cookies.

Day 17 of our 25 Days:

Movie Night - Daddy's choice!

Doug had his mind set on watching an old Red Skelton Christmas special we remembered seeing when we were younger. After digging all around on our Roku channels I finally found a Christmas special from his old television show. It wasn't the one we thought it was, but Nick sure giggled a lot at all the jokes. 

After doing some searching on Amazon, we realized the one we wanted was called

Freddie the Freeloader's Christmas Dinner from 1981.

After that we watched Jack Frost. The 1979 Rankin Bass version from our childhood days (stop motion animation like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer) where Jack wants to be human and Father Winter gives him until spring to get a house, a horse, a bag of gold and a wife. Boy, the pressure they had back in the day, huh? Ha Ha!

Day 18 of our 25 Days:

Family Game Night!

We chose The aMAZEing Labyrinth.

It's a fun game by Ravensburger. You slide whole rows of pieces to alter the maze in hopes of making an unbroken path to move your piece along in order to land on a picture of an item that matches one of your cards. 

Day 19 of our 25 Days:

Christmas Pack Meeting with the Scouts!

Ah, the annual Christmas pack meeting where everyone gathers to eat yummy food, receive awards (and their long overdue prizes from October's popcorn sale), donate/pledge money to the Friends of Scouting, yell at the kids for running around the gym like chickens with their heads cut off, gather everyone around the tree for the annual group photo that will be given to families at February's Blue and Gold Banquet, and hopefully have some nice conversations with other grown-ups that may or may not involve a 'whack' with the Inappropriate Stick!

Kids are asked to bring a wrapped gift for the gift exchange. We separate kids in to three groups - Boy Scouts (Troop), Cub Scouts (Pack) and Sisters (all the girls)! Miss Lisa then reads a long, drawn out poem where kids pick a gift, then trade over and over again until finally the poem ends and you get to open your gift.

This year, Terry Phillips brought his cousin, Jackie. Nick and Allie ended up with both the gifts the Phillips boys brought, which were the exact same item! A Duck Dynasty throw blanket in a tote bag. They both really liked it. The blankets are so soft and fuzzy!

All in all we had a very enjoyable evening. I took a total of 7 shots of the group photo. I don't think there's ever going to be a single photo where every person is smiling and looking directly at the camera. There's always one boy who is looking in another direction, or he has these weird demon looking eyes, or is moving and blurs the photo. But whatever the glitch, getting them to sit still, if only for a few seconds is blessing enough for me!

Merry Christmas from Pack and Troop 1447!

Day 20 of our 25 Days:

Movie Night - Mom's Choice!

As of right now, I have not yet decided what to watch. There are so many favorites that it will be hard to narrow it down. I rarely get time of my own to sit and watch all the classics I enjoy so much, but you can bet the farm that one of them will be chosen this evening.

Hmm, will it be It's a Wonderful Life, White Christmas, Meet Me in St. Louis, The Polar Express, Rise of the Guardians (we didn't get to watch that last week), Scrooged or some other random Christmas show we've got recorded on the DVR. Guess we'll wait and see what I'm in the mood for tomorrow evening. Until then...

Well, today turned out to be busy busy busy! After I finished babysitting at noon, I ran out to grab a few extra Christmas gifts. Then I picked kids up from school, grabbed Doug (he got off early because of office party) and we zoomed to Sam's Club to meet my Mom. 

We shopped at Sam's for a while then came home to eat a quick dinner (Chinese!) and went back out in the rain (yes, I said rain) soaked evening to take the kids shopping. They each had $100 to buy gifts for family and friends.

Allie and Doug got snow boots and Allie also got snow pants. Those were early Christmas gifts for them from my parents and are going to be much needed for our vacation up in Cheboygan next week.

Now, anyone who knows my son and has ever been shopping with him (oh wait...that's only ME! Lucky you!) knows he is the pokiest poke out there. He needs to stop and look at everything and read packages and "ooo, what does this do?" "how does that work?" etc etc etc. You could take an hour long nap and he'd only have moved one aisle. ;-) He also loves the element of surprise. So, when I noticed he was hiding something while I was nearby, I decided to leave him alone. Poor kid. Some of the surprise is gone with some of the gifts he bought, but it's still the thought that counts, right?

After we got home, he promptly went to his room, closed the door and started wrapping his treasures. He struggled with the wrapping paper, but again, it's the thought that counts. 

I love my kids! God bless them!

So, we're finally home. By this time, it's after 9 PM, so I guess I don't get my movie choice (was going to be It's a Wonderful Life), cuz it's just too late and we're all too tired from the hectic day.

Instead we knock off a couple more shows on the DVR. 

Dragons: Gift of the Night Fury and Kung Fu Panda Christmas. Both very cute and entertaining. We saw Dragons last year, but for whatever reason we can't recall, Nick missed it last year, so he was all surprised and happy to see it this go-'round.

Daddy was kind enough to massage my feet and calves for me and then it was off to bed for four very exhausted Abernathy's. Shopping really takes a lot out of you!

Day 21 of our 25 Days:

Christmas at Crossroads Holiday Magic!

This will be a first-time adventure for our family. None of us has been before. Well, Doug thinks his Mother might have taken him when he was very young, but who cares. This is our time for making memories with our kids.

I babysit until 1:30 and we're supposed to hit the road soon after. We're going to wander the village, have some dinner and then our train departs for a 40 minute tour at 8:20.

But there's a big-time glitch in our plans. There is a huge ice storm heading our way. Flint is already being hit with it, while we are still getting lots of rain, and the temps are hovering right near the freezing mark. But it's coming. The alerts won't stop dinging on my Weather Bug app. They're predicting 1/4 to 1/2 inch ice to cover everything and possibly knock down wires, trees and all that nastiness. Worst times are from 2 PM this afternoon until 7 AM tomorrow morning. Gah! That's when we'd be going. I guess we'll have to wait and see if we even get to go at all. I'm going to call Crossroads and see if they will honor our tickets for another day, possibly having to wait until next year because we're booked the rest of the days for this year. My Mom says it's better to lose out on the $49 than to risk our lives. I agree. Until then...fingers crossed.

Well, luck was in our favor today. The temps hovered between 32 and 34 all afternoon and in to the evening. So, we loaded the vans with any provisions we might need (in case of disaster): shovel, blankets, hats, mittens, scarves, tub of kitty litter, bag of ice melter and a bag of snacks and beverages, just in case. Thankfully, we needed none of it!

One hour and ten minutes it took to get there. We arrived just after 3 PM. I didn't know the place didn't open until 4. I missed that part on the paperwork. So we sat in the Depot to stay warm and dry until the gates opened to let us in the village.

Finally, the gates open at 4 PM and we begin a new adventure. Every building is lit with many twinkling lights. There are so many!

We wander thru a few shops right in town before venturing further in to the village to see the random homes, businesses and artisan shops. There are more light displays all through-out the village. The roads are dirt and somewhat iced over, so we tried to stay mostly to the boarded walk-ways.

Under a gazebo in the central park area.

Opposite side of the village entrance is the entrance to a small amusement park. There are a few outdoor rides that were shut down, of course, but the carousel house was in full swing...er...spin. Whatever. It was busy and moving fast!

Behind and to the left you can see the steamboat docked on the frozen lake.

We are definitely coming back in the summer time to enjoy this place again and take full advantage of all it has to offer!

Fah who For-aze
Dah who dor-aze
Welcome Christmas
Come this way!

Fah who for-aze
Dah who dor-aze
Welcome Christmas
Christmas Day!

Welcome, welcome
Fah who rah-moose
Welcome,welcome
Dah who dah-moose
Christmas day is in our grasp
So long as we have hands to clasp

Fah who for-aze
Dag who dor-aze
Welcome Christmas 
Bring your cheer
Fah who for-aze
Dah who dor-aze
Welcome all Who's
Far and near

Welcome Christmas, fah who rah-moose
Welcome Christmas, dah who dah-moose
Christmas Day will always be
Just so long as we have we.

Fah who for-aze 
Dah who dor-aze
Welcome Christmas
Bring you light

Welcome Christmas 
Fah who rah-moose
Welcome Christmas
Dah who dah-moose
Welcome Christmas
While we stand
Heart to heart
And hand in hand

Fah who for-aze
Dan who dor-aze
Welcome welcome 
Christmas
Christmas
Day.

Ok, so we had a moment of silliness, but WHO doesn't have those?

This was the schoolhouse. They were doing a craft inside, but we went in to warm up for a few minutes. It was like being in Walnut Grove. I was waiting for Miss Beadle to ring the bell to start the day.

Inside the Broom Shop they were selling roasted almonds! We bought a bag and munched on the warm goodness until it was time to eat dinner.

I didn't get any pictures of the beautiful church but we talked to the historian there and he explained that Crossroads Village was designed to resemble an actual working village from the time period between 1860 and 1880.

The above building a full scale model train set. It was really interesting.

Darkness is finally starting to fall and the lights are shining brightly now in the village. We leave the train building and our eyes are immediately drawn to this tree right in our path. I sure wouldn't wanna be the ones responsible for stringing up those lights!

You can see Allie, sort of, on the right side of the tree trunk, just so you get an idea of how big that tree actually is.

Next, we wandered thru the home of what would have been the richest man in town. It was too dark to take any pictures. The rooms were only lit by oil lamps. We learned this man had 10 children and the home had 11 bedrooms. That was almost unheard of for each child to have his own bedroom in that time. Also, the teacher for the village, who had to be a single woman, would more than likely be lodging with the most prominent family in town, and she also had her own bedroom with an attached work room.

Now, for some dinner. We don't buy the buffet tickets, but instead stop in to a small cafe for burgers, chips and a drink.

Allie got a stuffed wolf! She's so happy!

Near the bottom, left-center, of this building is a lighted entrance with stairs leading up to the playhouse.

Waiting for the 6:30 showtime!

The play turned out to be a Scrooge-like melodrama. There was also some caroling involved. Very nice and worth the time spent (not to mention the two flights of stairs to get up to the playhouse)!

Now we're done and only have to wait for our 8:20 train departure. Egad! That's almost and an hour and a half away. Maybe we'll get lucky and get on an earlier train. Heading back to the depot.

The whole time we were wandering around the rainy sleet never stopped. Sometimes it was light and sometimes it was heavier. We all got wet and chilled. The depot was warm and dry.

We weren't there but a few minutes when one of the rail-workers walked in and asked if we were waiting for the next train. 

Nope. We've got 8:20 tickets.

"Come see me around 7:30. Right over there." he points outside to the tunnel entrance. "Because of the weather there have been a lot of empty spots and I can almost guarantee I can get you on the next train."

Yayyyy! We made the 7:30 train!

We had been very lucky all day with the weather temps just hovering above the freezing mark. Yeah, there were some icy spots on the dirt covered roads and we had to walk arm-in-arm to cross them, but by this time it was getting colder and we still had to make the drive back home.

I took lots of pics on the train ride, but very few were recognizable as anything other than a blur of colored lights. The train was old and rickety, but was still fun. Anyone with a bad back might have a hard time, although the seats were very springy and thickly cushioned.

During the first loop that takes us back to the beginning of the train tour, they had the 12 Days of Christmas all done up in lights that matched their part in the song. Very very cool!

This dragon was at the end of the second loop! Holy crapoli! This thing had to have been 25-30 feet tall. I totally want this in my front yard. Ya think it would be too much? Yah, me neither. Hee Hee Hee!

Well, this was one adventure that we will definitely do again. Hoping to get my parents to tag along next year. They would really have a good time. 

Some of the funniest moments though was when we would walk arm-in-arm over icy spots and I would repeatedly say "If I go down, we're all going down!" We'd laugh and then it would be over. But on our way to the car (which was in an icy covered dirt and pot-holed parking lot), again we were arm-in-arm, clutching on to each other for dear life. Doug on the left, me in the middle and Allie on the right. Allie slipped but quickly caught herself. But that didn't stop my quick wit. Thru my giggles I said "If you go down, I'm letting go!" We all got a good laugh at that one, but thankfully we made it safely to the van with no one going down!

The drive home was wet and yucky but no icy roads. We made it home safe and sound.

To end our night, my son and I sat up til after midnight watching White Christmas together. He had never seen it. I make sure to watch it every year and I was so happy he was interested in watching it with me this year. He loved it!

Day 22 of our 25 Days:

Making Cookies!

We have 8 or 9 recipes that I found online. All of which we have never made before. We want to do them all, but, I woke up sicker than sick! Yesterday I had an annoying dry cough, but I blamed it on being outside in the drizzly mess at Crossroads. Well, it is more than a cough now. I'm guessing bronchitis and possibly a touch of pneumonia. I've had both before and know the symptoms very well. I'm miserable! Allie just has a cold. Nothing as serious, thank GOD.

So, I will be steering clear of all cookie making. I will snap some pictures, but none of my germies are gonna be anywhere near those delicious crisps!

Allie chose her favorite from the stack of printed recipes...

Chocolaty Melting Snowmen! They were the ones that required the most work and the most steps, but boy did they turn out good! Great job Peanut!

   

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/chocolaty-melting-snowmen/

Nick's turn! His cookie choice is Eggnog Snickerdoodles!

Well, Doug made the third batch, but by this time it was so late and I was so sick I had gone to bed hours before.

Doug made Pumpkin Biscotti. Our very first time ever making biscotti. It was really cheap to make and looked super easy. All I can say is, I hate my oven.

When I bake anything I have to always add extra time. Sometimes just five minutes. Sometimes up to a half hour. It's an old oven. It's been acting up for some time now. Well, Doug was getting tired himself and didn't know until it was too late that the biscotti didn't quite cook all the way thru in some parts of the loaf. He added the extra time, but still it was under-cooked in parts. Ah well. No harm done. It tasted fine. But I think my favorite so far was Nick's Eggnog Snickerdoodles! Those are absolutely amaze-balls! Especially dipped in warm tea or cocoa. Highly recommend this recipe!

http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/eggnog-snickerdoodles

So, only three of the stack were completed, but our goal is to make all the others before Christmas break is over. Will keep you updated.

Day 23 of our 25 Days:

Well, bad news for the Abernathy family. We were intending to hang out and watch movies all day, while finishing up laundry, packing our suitcases and getting ready to travel up north to visit family for Christmas, but this sickness is set in deep. 

My Uncle and Aunt have both recently undergone major surgeries and have heart conditions that if exposed to this 'virus', could do some severe harm to their immune system, so, <sad puppy faces> we're canceling our trip and celebrating Christmas at home.

My daughter has receded to her bedroom in a crying fit because "What's the point of Christmas now?! We didn't even put up a tree!"

Hmm, what to do? Well, I would like nothing more than to curl up in my bed and just die, but a new adventure awaits.

I can't even recall the last time my parents put up a tree, let alone a REAL live tree! We have never put up a real tree because of our Dusty-kitty, but he's been gone for just over a year, so I guess now's as good a time as any. Off we go!

I gather the children and head first to find a tree stand for a real tree that holds water. Aco Hardware. Nope. Burlers next door. Nope. Kmart. Yay! Cost: $20. Now, where we gonna get a good real tree?

We drive up Ryan road and the first place we come to is the church just north of Frazho. They've got some beauties. Hope the prices aren't ridiculous. It is two days before Christmas. Give us a deal please. 

Score! It's not a huge one, but it'll do. I think it's roughly about 5 feet tall. Allie picked a nice Black Hills Spruce. Cost: $30. We don't even have him tie it up. Pop that baby in the back end, we're going home to put it up now!

So thankful Nathan was over to help Nick haul it in from the van. I know I didn't have the strength to help. Now to get it lit. 

I'd been chatting with Daddy in texts and he works til 8 tonight. He's expecting to come home, dig out our 7 1/2 foot tall, pre-lit (icky white lights) tree from the basement and get it all set up so we can decorate it tomorrow. Well, we want to surprise him and have this one all done before he gets home. We're on a mission to make Daddy's day! Now, let's get this thing lit up like a Christmas tree, Allie.

Half-way done. Man are my arms breaking out. This tree is like covered in little kitty claws and making me break out in a rash. But it's gonna be worth it. I can occasionally get a faint sniff of pine, and if I wasn't sick I'm sure it would smell amazing. The kids say it does.

Finally done with the lights. Break time. 

We call the boys in, they haul up the ornament totes and start decorating the tree with Allie. Nathan's family doesn't set up a tree. I don't know if they ever have or if it's just been since his Dad has been sick, but he's all gung-ho to decorate.

All done! Daddy's gonna be so surprised!

Normally I put my lit star on the top, but the piece that it attaches to is on the fake tree, so we put on the angel. Nope. She ended up being too tall once we put the tree back up on the stand. Ah well. It's fine as it is. Kids did a great job.

Day 24 of our 25 Days:

We should have been traveling up north for a week-long visit with Uncle Kev, but this sickie kept us home. So today we are resting and trying to kick the sick out, but this little bastard wont go anywhere. I just awoke from a restless nap in more pain than when I went down. Fever is spiking...again! Head, chest and every other part of me just wants to float in a hot tub and let the jet sprays pound this crap out of me and massage away the achies.

For now, the boys are playing video games, Allie is resting in her room, and probably drawing, Doug is decorating gingerbread houses and me, well, I'm wrapped in my fuzzy blankie, sucking on cough drops, sipping hot tea, blowing my nose every ten seconds trying not to pee when a series of sneezy coughs attack, wiping the constant drip from my eyes that I can't be sure aren't actual tears and patiently waiting for the ibuprofen to kick in so I can move.

So, how's your Christmas Even going?

I honestly can't remember what else we might have done this night. I was so out of it.

Day 25 of our 25 Days:

Merry Christmas Day!!

I was up at 5 AM. Yep, 5 AM. The house finally started stirring around 8:30, but only after I had showered and was making noise in the kitchen by doing the dishes. 

Doug got up and made us all breakfast. Nick ate "baby food", which is farina, but it has the consistency of baby food so that's what they call it. Allie and I had eggs and hash browns. I could sort of taste it. Doug had a leftover omelet. Don't ask. You really don't wanna know what was in it. o.O

So, breakfast done and the kids finally wanna open their gifts, but not before Mommy and Daddy open theirs. We don't usually get gifts for each other or from the kids, but this year things were bought...or made. 

Daddy and I each got a Commander deck. Daddy bought mine and Nick bought Daddy's. I also got socks from Nick and shoe inserts from Allie. Daddy got socks and two new t-shirts.

Kids had fun opening their gifts from Uncle Kevin, us and Santa. We tried to stick with a theme. I told the kids to make their lists following this poem...

Something you Want

Something you Need

Something to Wear

Something to Read

My Mom saw an article in a magazine about a woman who did that with her kids. Worked out pretty well for us, although we sort of follow that anyhow. Only thing different I do is movies. We LOVE movies in this family and I get such fantabulous deals on Black Friday, that we always get lots of DVD's and Blu-Rays!

Our Christmas at home is done. Kids are enjoying their gifts.

It's almost time to head over to my brother's house. We exchange gifts there just between the kids, but Doug, the kids and I all pitched in and bought my parents (and Uncle Kevin) a blu-ray player for up north, so we brought that gift along with for them to open.

We were only there a couple hours hanging out before we all head over to the Harbor House on Groesbeck, south of 15 Mile for dinner.

After dinner was over, we all went our separate ways. Our family went home and with hot cocoa and home-made cookies in hand, we sat down to watch one of our new movies...Despicable Me 2!

Thus ends our 2nd Annual 25 Days of Christmas Adventures with the Abernathy family! 

Thank you for taking this journey with us. Whether you came along to any of our events, or just followed along as I posted updates on Facebook. Thank you.

We have enjoyed spending this quality family time together and making memories that will hopefully last a lifetime.

May God Bless you and your families during the holidays and for always.

Happy New Year!