Keeping Christ in Christmas-Our Jesus Tree

 I love Christmas. All of Christmas, the hustle and bustle, Santa Claus, snowflakes, but most of all I love Christmas because of Jesus. This year our family  wanted to decorate with more spiritual meaning but we found very little, not even any ornaments, when we went shopping for decorations. So we decided to come up with our own.  Mr. G, who is handy as all get out, used some boards he had on hand to build me a manger,  and the girls and I made paper ornaments proclaiming some of  the many names/titles  of Jesus. (We found the template online.) We added the angel ornaments we already had and proclaimed this our Jesus tree. Every time I look at it I have a good feeling and remember the true reason for Christmas.

New Year's Good Luck Meal--Southern Black-eyed Peas with a Twist!

Ever wondered where the southern tradition of eating black-eyed peas for good luck on New Year's Day began?  Well, here you go! 

According to lore, during the Civil War, the Yankees pillaged and plundered the south until there was little left for southerners to eat except for black-eyed peas and greens. The  south survived and thrived on these nutrient rich, common foods and today they are a staple we love to enjoy anytime.  Add some cornbread-another southern staple-and a fortunate New Year is almost guaranteed!

 Try this healthy black-eyed pea salsa/side dish we call "Cowboy Caviar". There are many variations. This is ours.

                                                            Cowboy Caviar
                                                         The Goodnight Way

1 can whole corn, drain half the juice
1 can black-eyed peas, drain half the juice
1 bell pepper, diced (The red or yellow ones make it pretty, but green will do.)
½ cup green onions, diced (any onion will do)
1 medium tomato, diced
1 tsp. minced garlic

Optional: If you like spicy, add a chopped jalepeno.

Mix all ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Dressing
½ cup vinegar
½ cup sugar
1/3 cup oil

Mix the sugar and vinegar together until the sugar melts. Then add the oil and mix well. Pour over the vegetables, stir and chill for about an hour until the flavors get well acquainted. Can be made the night before. Serve as a cold side dish or as a dip with tortilla chips or Fritos.

WISHING YOU A HAPPY  AND PROSPEROUS 2015!

Seven Layer Dip

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and us wild partiers at the Goodnight casa are revving up for a good time of chip and dip, maybe a movie or two, and the ever popular midnight event (at our house anyway)  that comes right after the ball drops in Time Square - The Chicken Dance!

Here's the dip I'll be serving to all the revelers:

Seven Layer Dip

(Yes, I "borrowed" this photo. I'll try to post mine tomorrow.)

 

 

1 16 oz can of refried beans (no-fat kind is okay.)

1 package taco seasoning

1 small, (about 12 oz) container of guacamole dip

1 16 oz carton of sour cream (low-fat is okay)

 

2 cups of cheese, cheddar or Mexican blend or Monterey Jack. I usually do cheddar (low-fat is okay)

1 small can sliced or chopped black olives

                                                                               3-4 green onions – just the green part chopped up

                                                                                1 cup chopped tomatoes

To put together:

9 x 13 dish (Can also do round if you have a pretty round container. A trifle bowl would look gorgeous!)

1. Mix beans with the taco seasoning and layer into bottom of dish. Then layer on the following:


2. guacamole dip


3. sour cream


4. black olives


5. cheese


6. Green onions
Tomatoes. 
I sometimes like to put a little shredded lettuce on top but that’s optional

You can eat it right away or chill and serve in an hour or so. Best if eaten the same day it’s made but still good the next day--just not as pretty.

Serve with tortilla chips or corn chips.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR, my dear friends.  Keep Calm and do the Chicken Dance!!

 

Ireland, land of poetic kings and fairy dreams

Don't I look elegant in my tennis shoes? :-) I loved this garden in Killarney but I was always cold in Ireland!

Can words even experss how gorgeous this is. We climbed some stone steps to a rise and looked down onto this Victorian garden at Muckross House in Killarney. I wish I was there right now!

This makes me think of romantic times past, of poetic kings and fairy dreams. Muckross House

Queen Victoria once stay at Muckross House.  The men rode off on hunts while the ladies had tea.

Just like a in a romance novel. We're riding in the horse drawn carriage toward a thatched cottage. Those thatched roofs are amazing. I'm told they last up to 7 years!!

Ireland photos, May 2013

Let us travel this road together through Killarney NP into our dreams.

 Sundy outside Muckross House, a gorgeous, wonderful "castle" from the 1850's.

 Have you ever seen such rhododendrins? They were huge and blooming everywhere in Killarney.

NEW BOOK!

THE NANNY'S HOMECOMING, book one in an exciting new series with 5 other fabulous authors, hits the stands June 21. Order now from Amazon

A PLACE TO BELONG - NEW BOOK

Apparently, my latest Redemption River novel has made an early appearance on the shelves. Here's the cover. I hope you like the book better than I like the cover! :-)

RITA Nomination!

THE SNOW-KISSED BRIDE is nominated for a RITA Award!

NEW BOOK

I think I've forgotten to mention one of the two new books I have on the shelves right now. This one is mostly available at Christian bookstores or larger retail book stores that carry books from Christian publishers.

A BRIDE BY CHRISTMAS is a book of four novellas set on the American Prairie in the 1800's. I authored the story titled,"The Cossack Bride". For fun, we authors decided to make each heroine a particular ethnicity and toss in some Christmas traditions from their native cultures. We have a Cossack (Ukrainian-Russian), Dutch, English, and Irish. I hope you'll pick up a copy or order one and enjoy this taste of early American Christmas.


To order the Cossack bride from Christianbooks.com click the blue words.

To order from Amazon, click here.

WEDDING PLANNER Blog URL

Don't forget to visit the Wedding Planners blog!

http://harlequin-theweddingplanners.blogspot.com/

Firefighter Daddy

The life of a new dad. He's discovered that fighting fires is easier than having a new baby. :-)

I think this looks like a good romance cover, don't you? Or maybe have Cody wear his turnout jacket, put some ashy smudges on his face, toss the helmet down to the side? What do you think?