The Art of Cookie Decorating

Friday night I got together with three of my dearest SWBTS friends for our last girls' night in. It was sad because I will miss them dearly, but we had a great time hanging out, baking, playing Linkity, and just being together.

Thanks to Gwen, Mayeli, and Jennifer for being such great friends over the last 6+ years! I will miss you terribly!

Vegetable Chili

Found on the back of a can of diced tomatoes, this is a treat to warm up everyone! It was a great post-ginormous-Thanksgiving-lunch meal, but would be good for any cold occasion!

Vegetable Chile

1 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 cans diced tomatoes with zesty mild green chilies
2 cans black or kidney beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
1 tbsp. chopped chipotle peppers with adobo sauce (optional and to taste)
And...if you want to add meat...1 lb. ground turkey or beef

Directions:

Cook onion in oil in large saucepan until tender. Stir in chili powder and cumin. Add undrained tomatoes, drained beans, corn, and chipotle peppers. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Garnish with cilantro, avocados, sour cream, and cheese, if desired.

Suggested Side Dishes: Corn bread, corn tortillas, or tortilla chips.

Thanksgiving Update

Thanksgiving was great again this year! (As always!) However, three of my cousins had to work, and we desperately missed having them around. Oh, and there was that seriously embarrassing loss by my alma mater/future employer's football team. We won't go there....

The food was great though!

Just to add an update, here are two non-traditional takes on two very traditional treats. They were a huge hit with my family, and gave us a little different taste for the season.

Tamale Dressing

Ingredients:

2 cups bread crumbs
2 cups corn bread crumbs
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped celery
1 chopped bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 can mild green chilies
4 eggs -- slightly beaten
2-3 cans of chicken broth
8-10 tamales -- chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. When pouring chicken broth, use enough to make mixture a little soupy. Pour into a greased 9x12 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 to 1.5 hours. Dressing may be prepared ahead of time, except for baking, and frozen until time to bake.

TIP: I used 5 pork and 5 beef tamales to mix it up a bit.


Cranberry Salsa

Ingredients:

1 jalapeno
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 bag fresh cranberries
1 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 bunch green onions
Juice of one lime

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in food processor and puree. With the jalapeno, remove seeds based on the temperature you want. (We removed all seeds.) Also, put the cilantro in first so it is weighed down by the cranberries. This goes really well on top of the tamale dressing, or just with chips!!!