An interesting Christmas for sure....

This month has been a very trying time...
So much work, but we are glad to have it.

The saddest news: We lost our good friend Greg, our neighbor Mark, The scrapbook queen Teresa Collins lost her husband, even Joe Cocker the great singer passed away....so many people leaving us behind...rest in peace all of you, we will see you on the other side....

Everyone had to work or left Nevada for Christmas so I decided to take my husband out for a massage, he has been working 7 days a week for the last 2 months. He needed some R&R!
I booked us at the Green Valley Resort, we got a room for christmas eve, 50.00 dinner credit, 2 movie tickets and use of the spa all for 130.00!! the massage was 150 with the locals discount.
While charlie got his massage I enjoyed the jacuzzi, and steam rooms. ahhhh so relaxing!

Afterwards I wanted to play some machines and bingo..let's just say I was on one very hot streak and I came home with a nice little bank roll for my check book!

But I had something bad to eat and ended up feeling very ill and we came home at 5 am. I spent christmas day eating toast and laying on the couch all day. I was fine the next day.

December 23rd I was able to have a Vegas day with my friend Tanya..we hit the Bellagio, Aria, Cosmo..we had lunch at Todd English Pub. They changed the bologna sandwich, which is why we go there, that was amazing but we learned the pastrami sliders are to die for! We had a wonderful day exploring our fabulous city!

I got some great gifts:
A garmin vivofit from the hubby and my annual Cashmere sweater, so soft!
Tanya made me a cool scarf and a pin cushion doll from a german figurine head, she is stunning!

Here are some holiday photos, Hope you all had a peaceful holiday.....

The Ice Skating rink at the Cosmo, I am going to try skating next year!

I named her Kasimira, in German it means "commands peace"

Have a wonderful New Year everyone!

Secert Santas and Racecars

I have to share the story of the secret santa...
Charlie's son Joe got his hands on the starting of a Dirt modified racecar.
Charlie has dreamed of driving on dirt and even though he won't race all the time, he would love to go try it out. He used to race on dirt in figure eight racing and loved it!
Joe built the racecar and gave it to Charlie for a Christmas gift. Everyone around the racing complex had to keep the secret and they had to keep hiding the car from Charlie because he would make the rounds to talk to everyone, needless to say it was quite an effort to keep it a secret for 6 months!!
Lots of people donated time or money to help get it built, mostly Joe doing all the work and buying parts when he could....
So 2015 will find Charlie and Joe racing their brand new awesome dirt car!

Joe, Charlie and the Dirt car!

He can't stop smiling, no really, he can't....

Still needs a little work to finish it but Joe wanted to give it to him before Christmas trip.

In other news, we took Ethan to see the Christmas lights they set up at the racetrack...Elvis, and Dinosaurs...how is that for Christmas Lights!!

Well, I will probably check back in after Christmas....enjoy your family, friends. Merry Christmas!

Thanks Chef Ludo!

I am not a big breakfast fan, I prefer savory foods in the morning, BLTs or a hamburger...when I go out for breakfast I usually order scrambled eggs because they say it is too early for lunch. I hate omelets, especially in restaurants, they always come out like shoe leather or a like a plate of rubber bands. I always want to order the veggie omelets, I love spinach and onions and tomatoes, I keep trying but every time I get a chewy yucky mess on my plate. But all that has changed now in my kitchen, Thanks to Chef Ludo, that little hunk of a French guy can make a damn good omelet!! And this morning he taught me how!

Tattoos, an accent, and loves food! Sign me up!

Let me explain, he was not actually in my kitchen, because if he was over, uh, we wouldn't have been in the kitchen...wink, wink!!

Last night Charlie and I watched "The Taste" we love this show and are so glad it is back! We like the fact that people are being judge on their food, not by the way they look, or sound, they cook a little taste of food and that is all that is judged, then the judges get to see the chef after they have placed their votes! Like "The Voice" only for cooking instead of singing. Then the chef's that get picked to be on each judges team get mentored by the famous chefs, Ludo, Nigella, Anthony and Marcus.

So last night Ludo had his team make a real omelet. I saw that omelet and thought, damn that has to be the best omelet I ever saw. Everyone said how light and creamy the omelet was, Yes! that is what a real omelet should be like!

My FABULOUS omelet!

I went to YouTube this morning and got a Chef Ludo video of him making an omelet and cooked right along with him! Oh My, that was the best omelet I ever had!! I am so proud and happy that I was able to make a real, beautiful, wonderful, tasting omelet!!
Thank you, Chef Ludo!!

Here is the video so you can watch and learn too! I used swiss cheese, I did not have boursin on hand, and I love swiss cheese and it was so great in this omelet!

Chef Ludo makes an omelet

Welcome to December!

Wow, the year is almost over, can you believe that?

2015 will be here soon. 

I don't think I will decorate for the holidays, I want to put all my Jim Shore snowmen out but it just seems so dauntung of a task. Everything is up in the attic. plus, no one is coming for Christmas. I think I will just make my hubby take me out to see all the decorations on the las vegas strip, a couple trips through some big casinos and I will have my fill.

I may pick up a real little tree, just cause I love the smell of real pinetree in the house....stay tuned, you never know what will happen around here!

Happy December!!

HAPPY TURKEY DAY!

HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL FUN FILLED FOOD FANTASTIC DAY!

What's in your oven?

News from around the world!

Sometimes Charlie and I like to go hang out at Margaritaville on our Friday nights out, we have dinner at one of the restaurants at the Linq, then walk up to Margaritaville where they have an outside bar that sits right up along the sidewalk. We have so much fun sitting there drinking beer and wine and watching all the tourists go by, some stop and talk, some just high five you as they go by. It is just a fun happy place to hang out.

One night during the summer we sat next to a young couple, Rasmus and Linda, they were on holiday from Sweden. They were traveling all over and we told them a lot about Las Vegas and places to visit. They said they were headed to New Zealand, we said if you get near Hamilton stop by and say Hi to Charlie's sister, Violet, who runs  "Violets Coffee@Pit Lane" in Hamilton, New Zealand. We gave them the info and said goodbye.

Linda, Violet and Rasmus!

Well, guess what???
They made it to Violet's Cafe!!

Here is the message we got.....

Almost two months since we saw each other in Las Vegas, and today we met your sister her in Hamilton, New Zealand. We went to her coffee shop and drank tasty coffee and ate pie. We actually are going to sleep in their house tonight She is so lovely, and we don't regret a second that we took a little detour to see her. I attach one photo of us three Hope you are doing well!

HOW FLIPPING COOL IS THAT!!!

Travel the world and meet new friends!! We hope the rest of their journey finds them more new friends, happy travels Rasmus and Linda!!!

Chili Verde, this will be great in the winter!

I got the day off today, so I decide to tackle a big recipe. We love to have Mexican food on Sundays, so I have been making tacos or carnitas and we have been staying in and not going out.
I have been wanting to try chili verde so I searched online and found Juanita's Cocina blog had a nice one. Please go visit her at www.jcocina.com
I followed her recipe and this was so so good!! My husband came home and ate it for lunch and will eat it again for dinner! He loved it!!
I started at 9:00 in the morning and had it in the pot and stewing by 11:00. I just cooked it on the stove and did not put in the oven.
It was fun roasting the chile's, everything went well, I served it with cheese, avocado's, chips and some Mexican rice and heated flour tortillas.
This morning was cold and I thought we were going to get a cold spell in but it is now 80 something degrees out. This is going to be so good to eat in the dead of winter!! I can't wait to make it again!!

 

My dish!

 

CHILE VERDE WITH PORK

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. pork butt, cut into bite-size chunks and trimmed of fat (you can also use pork stew meat)
• Kosher salt
• 2 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely chopped ( only used 1/4- hubby hates onions!)
• 1 Tbs. cumin
• 5 poblano pappers
• 5 Hatch green chile peppers (you can also use Anaheim peppers)
• 13-15 medium-size tomatillos, removed from their husks
• 2 jalapenos, stems removed, and cut in half lengthwise
• 1 Tbs. minced garlic
• 1 bunch of cilantro, divided
• 2 cups chicken stock (plus more to thin as needed)

Instructions

In a large bowl, stir the pork with 2 Tbs. of Kosher salt, mixing so that everything is well-coated. Let sit for one hour.

While pork is marinating, roast the other ingredients:

Place the poblanos and Hatch chiles on a baking sheet underneath the broiler of the oven. Blacken on one side, flip, and blacken on the other side (about 5-6 minutes per side). Put the charred peppers in a bowl with a lid (or a plastic Ziploc bag) and cover for 15 minutes. After the peppers have steamed, remove the skins, stems, and seeds from the peppers. Roughly chop the peppers and place them in the bowl of a food processor.

Place the tomatillos and the jalapenos (cut-side down) on the baking sheet. Place them underneath the broiler and blacken the skins of the jalapenos and both sides of the tomatillos (turning the tomatillos after they blacken on one side). Once veggies are blackened, transfer the tomatillos, jalapenos, and any juice from the baking sheet to the food processor with the chiles.

Add the garlic and one handful of cilantro to the food processor. Pulse all ingredients together until the texture is mostly smooth with a few small chunks.

Preheat the oven to 300.

While oven is preheating, heat a large Dutch oven with the oil over medium-high heat on the stovetop. Add half of the marinated pork, browning well on all sides. Add the rest of the pork and the chopped onions, cooking until the onions have softened. Add the cumin, stir well, and cook for one more minute.

Add the chile mixture and the chicken stock to the pot. Bring all ingredients to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot with a lid that you leave slightly ajar, and place the pot into the oven.

Cook the chile verde for 3-3 1/2 hours, or until the pork meat is fork-tender, and can be shredded easily with a fork.

If you’d like to thin the stew, you can add more chicken stock as needed and bring to a boil on the stovetop. Taste the stew for seasoning and season as needed with salt. Before serving, stir in another small handful of chopped cilantro.

Serve with desired toppings (ex: cheese, sour cream, onions, cilantro) and fresh tortillas.

 

ENJOY!! AND THANK YOU JUANITA FOR THE FABULOUS RECIPE, WE LOVED IT!!