Awesome Christmas, Holding Baby Jesus By The Leg, Kidney Stones and Benadryl Comas.....

We had a really busy Christmas! Between Mass, kidney stones (my stepson), runny eggs and the subsequent Bendadryl OD as well as tons of food, a Trivial Pursuit match that had us rolling, and Pennsylvania Dutch Egg Nog, we had a fantabulous Christmas!

Off we went to Mass; Paige, my mom and dad and myself. Paige was playing the part of Mary and when it was time for her to go up there with Joseph and baby Jesus, she walked up to the altar with baby Jesus alright...holding him by the leg...LOL! We got her attention and told her to hold Jesus and she whispers back, "I know!" and we're all like, "then do it!". She would also look at us periodically and wink and blow us a kiss. So much for a nice, pure Mary!! Seriously, Mass was really nice and I'm glad we went. It means a lot to me to go to Mass with Paige every Christmas Eve. Gary, Tyler and Zoe try to see his grandmother every Christmas Eve, so this is our thing that we do together. We got home and I had enough sense to start dinner earlier, so all I had to do was make the peas and finish the spinach my sister started. I am going to get the links to each of the recipes in order to share them. I made Nigella Lawson's Onion and Sage Chicken and Sausage Bake, Roasted Potatoes and French Peas. I made Ina Garten's Grown Up Mac and Cheese. I don't want to get any flak for reprinting, etc - so I'm going to just share the links. The Nigella recipes are fantastic and easy to do during the week. I actually did my own version of the chicken and sausage dish, so if I can remember everything I used, then I will post it on my blog. The sauteed spinach I made is easy and it could be about 15 people's recipe! Dice four slices of bacon and brown them in a Dutch Oven. Once browned, add two diced shallots and 2 diced garlic cloves; saute over medium low heat until tender. Add four bags of prewashed baby spinach, a drizzle of olive oil and stir to coat. Put the lid on and let the spinach wilt. Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of nutmeg. Squeeze a lemon over the sauteed spinach if desired and serve. Pretty easy!

While we were eating dinner, Tyler walks into the dining room and announces that he has a kidney stone. Someone asks him how he knows this and he informs us that he "peed brown" and that's what happened last time. We tell him to lay off the cokes and drink some water and cranberry juice. We also tell him to take it easy on the cranberry juice since we are using that to make our Poinsettias in the morning :) He goes to bed and wakes up Christmas morning in excruciating pain. Gary takes him to the Ennis ER where they confirm that he has a 3 mm stone between his kidney and bladder. So, they give him a bunch of fluids and pain meds and send him home. He came home and ate an assload of pancakes, so he was obviously feeling better. He told me earlier today that he thought he passed it. I asked him if he was going to lay off the milk and cokes.....he said he would. We'll see!

After dinner, we tracked Santa via NORAD and sent the little crackheads to bed. Gary, Courtney, Gammy and I settled in for our annual game of Trivial Pursuit. As expected, Gary did not disappoint. He managed to pronounce "impotent" as if he were saying, "im-PO-tint" and we couldn't stop laughing. Then, Courtney said the aliens in Blade Runner were called skinjobs and my mom's next question was about the song "One Night in Bangkok. It just went downhill from there and we kept getting more and more perverted and twisted. Courtney and I finished tied for 1st, Gary 2nd and Gammy in 3rd. We had a fun time drinking our spiked egg nog and trash talking each other. My dad slept through all of the laughing and hollering, poor guy. My mom and I got the rest of the kids presents wrapped and then we went to bed. I'm such a craptastic mom. I didn't even put nametags on their gifts. I was like, "screw it....I'll remember whose is whose." Right....Zoe was opening P's....P was opening Zoe's....oh well...they got it worked out :) My mom bought me two new cookbooks - Nigella Lawson's Nigella's Kitchen and Tyler Florence's new cookbook. They are both full of some great recipes that are quite different from what I normally cook. Still, I'm looking forward to trying out the recipes. The Nigella cookbook is full of comments and stories from her and most of them are pretty funny.

After the kiddos opened presents Christmas morning and Gary took Tyler to the ER, we started making breakfast. I made blueberry, apple and plain pancakes and scrambled eggs. My mom made Ina's Herb Baked Eggs and we also had toast and bacon. First of all, I have a bizarre protein allergy and all of my chicken, pork and eggs have to be cooked completely. I love a good over easy egg just as much as the next person, but they don't like me and trouble tends to follow should I indulge. Therefore, I eat what my mom calls "hockey pucks". Well, one of the herbed egg dishes had two eggs that were pretty firm and one still a tad runny. I said what the hell and ate them figuring it would either not bother me too much, or maybe a little and I'd just take a Benadryl. Well...it kind of bothered me a lot and I had to take one. I managed to stay awake for about an hour and then I lapsed into a Bena-Coma for three hours. I woke up, put on a clean pair of pj's and slept for another four hours. I finally woke up, ate some cheese and crackers with Gary and had a few glasses of wine and we watched The Town, which by the way is very good. We went to bed around midnight and I slept until 11:30. I think I finally slept it off! We went to the Hall last night and had a great time visiting with friends. A couple of Jack and Cokes and I was back in business :)

When I got home tonight, I made a few pots of soup; my chicken soup and I made a hearty winter soup. I was really pleased with how the winter soup turned out. The recipe is below:

Cadillac Cowgirl Hearty Winter Soup

2 T Olive Oil
1 T Butter
2 Large Shallots, diced
5 Garlic Cloves, diced
2 14 1/2 oz Cans Diced Tomatoes (do not drain)
2 19 oz Cans Cannellini Beans, drained (if you can't find the 19 oz cans, use the regular size)
1 Bag Prewashed Baby Spinach
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Rind of Parmesan or Gruyere Cheese, plus cheese to grate over the top
4 Cups Water
French or Multigrain Bread

In a large soup pot, melt the butter and olive oil. Saute the shallots and garlic over low heat until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, except the bread, stir well and bring the mixture to a boil. Allow to boil uncovered for a few minutes, cover and reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the soup simmer 25-30 minutes. The rind of the Parmesan or Gruyere cheese is optional, but it really adds a lot of rich flavor to this soup. Taste before serving to make sure the salt and pepper is to taste. Ladle the soup over a piece of the toasted bread and grate the cheese over the top. Enjoy with a big glass of red wine and a nice fire!

Well, my hubby has had to work in the field the past week and he was back out there today. He got home late, ate a bowl of soup and is snoring in the recliner - where he's going to stay. I'm going to scoop the boys out of my lap and get into the bed. Paige is at Gammy's for one more night since her BFF is at her YiYi's tomorrow. I hope everyone had a blessed and happy Christmas. I know we did and I'm grateful for all that God has given my family. Have a drama free Tuesday :)

Spreading joy and kindness in all that I do....

Kelly