Christmas At Our House 2022 – Very Eventful

For our Christmas meal this year we invited daughter, Wende, and family, our friends Kathy and Pat, which along with Cindy, Pat, Bev, and me, gave us 10 diners which fit our number of chairs.

Southwestern Pot Roast & Beef Quesadillas

I found a chuck roast in the freezer and decided that beef quesadillas would be an easy meal for our Friday get-together so I went in search of a pot roast recipe.  I found one that sounded good at one of my favorite recipe sources that we could eat a meal from then use the leftovers on Friday.  The recipe for Southwestern Pot Roast comes from Pam on her “For The Love Of Cooking” blog but I changed the cooking method quite a bit to fit my needs.

Merry Christmas

I generally won't build a fire if the outside temps are above the low 40's but Friday's 10F definitely fit the bill.  I plan for Christmas Eve and Day to look the same.

Kitty has decided she likes the Christmas season providing her a new spot under the tree to hang out during the day.

We hope your Christmas is all you wished for.

Bev and Larry

Pan Fried Crappie With Mustard Caper Cream Sauce

Before our crappie fishing friends go to Florida for the winter (to crappie fish) they always give us a supply of frozen filets so we have plenty and need to eat it regularly.  We have a couple of recipes we really like but I’m always on the lookout for new ones then along came this one.  The recipe for Pan Fried Cod with Mustard Caper Cream Sauce came from Lea Ann on her “Cooking On The Ranch” blog.  Bev was cool toward the mustard idea until I reminded her of one of her favorite fish dishes that contains mustard so she got on board.  I made it per Lea Ann’s recipe except I used crappie rather than cod.

Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf

It’s been about 10 years since we last enjoyed this meatloaf so we opted to make it for our Friday get together.  Since my cooking is now limited for six weeks, Bev was the chef for this meal.  Our favorite part of a meatloaf meal is the leftovers made into meat loaf sandwiches and to ensue plenty and match our meat amount, we doubled the recipe to get the one below.

Baked Potato Chicken and Broccoli Casserole & Second Toe Surgery

With my second toe surgery was set for Tuesday, and I knew we wouldn’t want to be cooking so I made up a casserole the day before so all that we needed to do was reheat it.  I used the recipe for Baked Potato Chicken and Broccoli Casserole from Mary’s “Barefeet In The Kitchen” blog. Since I wanted plenty of leftovers, I increased the ingredients by 50% to get the recipe below.  Just click on the above link for her original recipe and some tasty looking pics.

Homemade Corned Beef With Spices, Cabbage & Carrots And Sandwiches for Card Night

In early October, I made my own corned beef from a large brisket and posted about it in November.  When I made it, I cut it into two good sized pieces and put one in the freezer which is the subject of this post.

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Potatoes

When Mary posted the recipe for Roasted Chicken Thighs with Red Potatoes on her “Vegetable Recipes” blog, I decided it would be a good use of the thighs I had in the freezer as we like lemony dishes.  I followed her recipe except I used larger Yukon Gold potatoes and I increased the amounts for my number of thighs and extra potatoes.  For the original recipe and some delicious looking pics, just click on the above link to visit Mary’s site.

The Girls At Marco Island

My girls (Bev, Cindy, & Pat) visited Marco Island, FL for the annual visit and I stayed home to mind the ranch and the dogs - neighbor Pat joined them for weeks two and three.  We have had a timeshare there for many years and it is a highlight of Bev’s year.  From left - SIL Pat, Bev, neighbor Pat, Cindy.

Southern Smothered Oxtails

While here last year, our son, Rhett, raved about the oxtails he had made and, since I like braised beef shanks, I knew I wanted to give them a try.  So, when they butchered their beefs last winter, I asked our neighbors to get us some oxtails (really cow tails) and I’m just getting around to cooking them.