Monday, December 29, 2014

It's A Wrap!

Oh man it's hard to believe Christmas has come and gone!

I did manage to get the tree done.
Rudolph even got some lights.
After work last Monday night and over the next two days, I spent all my time preparing to host Christmas day dinner for myself and my honey's family. Including us, there were a total of 12 people. This was my first time cooking for this many and while it was a lot of work, I enjoyed the end result of sitting around the table with loved ones enjoying the home cooked meal that I put so much thought and effort into. Would I do it again? Absolutely.
Only after the table was all set, I could then focus on finishing cooking the dinner.

Our vegetarian dinner included a total of nine dishes, plus one dessert. I am still amazed that I managed to pull that one off, especially since according to my honey, they were complex dishes. Even better, is that I managed to get them to the table warm or, oh my gosh, even hot!

My menu included (all recipes are linked):
With it being a vegetarian dinner, I wanted to include a variety of items. I think I succeeded. I was told everything was delicious and here I was just praying it would all be edible.

I didn't take pictures of everything as it was finished. I completely forgot. But I do have these:
The soup I made the day before and reheated.
Leftovers I had the next night.
Somebody enjoying the rest of the green bean casserole.
Frozen Peanut Butter Pie I managed to make on Tuesday.
After dinner, gifts were exchanged, dessert was consumed and before we knew it, our guests were departing for the evening.

Between myself and the help of some elves (my honey, his mom and his cousin) all the dishes were cleaned, dried and put away. I tried desperately to clean all the crumbs up from the floor and sofa's before going to bed. After our house guest departed the next morning, my honey and I went into cleaning mode and we got the place all back in order.
I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday recovering. I had sleep I needed to get caught up on and didn't feel overly ambitious to do too much. The remainder of the long holiday weekend was spent on the couch knitting.
One of these items may have been finished during a Harry Potter moviethon! Will have to follow-up with a FO post.

All in all my Christmas was wonderful. It was all I had wanted and hoped it to be. I have to give my honey a huge thank you! He was the most supportive person during the days leading up to, during and after Christmas. He helped me whenever and wherever he could. He never hesitated to help. I am truly blessed to have him as my partner in life!

With that I leave you with one of my favorite photos from Christmas day:
Hope everyone had a beautiful holiday! Tell me, what were some of your highlights from this holiday season? Any traditions old or new?

6 comments:

  1. Please may I have the pie recipe? The portobello wellingtons sound amazing too.

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    1. Sorry I forgot to link the pie! Forgive me? ;-) It's now linked above with all the other recipes. The Portobello Wellingtons were delicious. I didn't get the thicker dough for the shells. I bought whatever I could find in Whole Foods so they ended up being a much lighter, thinner shell. Didn't take away from the deliciousness inside! Let me know what you think of the pie!!!

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  2. That feast sounds amazing! How can I get an invitation to the next one? :)

    (Thanks for the recipe links. Definitely going to try the portobello Wellingtons some time!)

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    1. Ha ha I'll be sure to put an invitation in the mail to you! The Portobello Wellingtons have been a popular recipe request!

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  3. That's an awesome photo of you guys! and your menu is amazing! You got the place looking so festive and warm and cozy! Love it -- I can't believe you guys just moved in!

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    1. Awe thank you! If I could of kept up the decorations longer I would have. Loved how it made the place feel. I am still amazed that we pulled this one off after only being in the apartment for 6.5 months and still not having everything finished!

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