Countdown: Negative One. The After.

If you are reading this, you made it!  You survived Christmas 2011.  Congratulations.  As promised (due to the comments from three of my favorite faithful readers) I am going to bring you The After and a short list (because even though a picture is worth a 1000 words, sometimes 1000 words is just not enough).  It was an amazing Christmas (partly due to the amount of food I consumed and partly due to children who behave when surrounded by every toy they could possibly imagine).  So, here is the photo recap.

The wrapping carnage.



Some of the kids.  Now, amazingly, well behaved.




The brussel sprouts.  Yes, I said, "brussel sprouts" (see the note on that later because we are that hip).



The New Green Bean casserole.  See note on that later.



The tamales.  These are home made.  Yes, I ate one for you.  And, yes, it was yummo.




The ham.  Yes, my love for ham is a little obscene.




The children.  Again, oddly well-behaved.




One of the Presents of the Day.  An autographed copy of Eva Longoria's cook book (if you look closely you will see that she wrote, "To Monica - One of the best cooks I know and the inspiration for this book!" - or at least that's what it looks like she wrote).



Apparently my brother knows me better than I thought.  (As evidenced by this T-shirt he gave me.)




Ah.  Love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are born into the hearts of mankind.  Let's see how long before they are evicted.

Now, for the list:

1.  I heard on NPR a while back that brussel sprouts are the new black.  And thanks to my nephew our family was hip this Christmas (the brussel sprouts were good, too).
2.  Again, my nephew and niece saved the day by bringing some tamales they made......with their hands.  What a relief to eat home made tamales on Christmas.  Thank you, Niece and Nephew.  You have guaranteed your lifetime invitation to our home for Christmas.
3.  Although my family (and by "my family" I mean "hubby") tends to be staunch traditionalists when it comes to holiday meals, I tried two new recipes.  Both were DELISH and you can find them here:

• Hubby and my brother could possibly be the only people on earth that love green bean casserole.  I kinda think it's food porn.  BUT, this scrumptious recipe by Paula Deen was recommended by a friend (thank you, friend).  It is Paula Deen, so it consists mostly of cheese and butter (and a few green beans thrown in for good measure).  Hubby's only complaint (hubby is a freak) was that he prefers canned green beans.  Hello?  Food 911?  HUBBY NEEDS AN INTERVENTION STAT.
• The other recipe was from another friend, but I found one to pass on to you that is just as yummy and the one I actually used (since I didn't want to risk my life by making another trip to the grocery store).  It is a Christmas morning recipe that can bake while you are opening presents.  The key there is to remember to put it into the oven at the crack a$$ of dawn, pre-coffee.  Note to self:  Next year do not rely on memory.  Make an actual note.

5.  As you might know, my list to Santa was kind of taken care of by me.  So, I was not expecting any gifts.  What I got were some AWESOME gifts.  My sister really took the cake (and this is NOT to say that I did not LOVE all the other gifts from my super great hubby, my sweet, sweet kids, my friends, and other family members) this year.  But, sissy gave me the above signed cookbook.  It's not that I cook, like to cook, aspire to be a great cook - or any of that.  I just have this thing about food, cookbooks, the Food Network, great restaurants, and anywhere I can see and enjoy great food.  So, really it was an AWE-SOME gift.  The other crazy thing she got me is a Christmas apron.  I know - totally dorky, right?  But, here's the crazy thing - I was in Hobby Lobby the other day and I thought, "I need a Christmas apron."  Kind of like when you see a great car and you're like, "I need a Jag."  So, now I have one.  Yay, me!  Oh, and YAY, sissy!  You totally earned your shirt that says, "My sister has the best sister ever."

So, that's my wrap-up.  I hope yours was grand, too.  It may be 2012 before I write again.  Depends on how well I can recover from the weight gain.  Peace!