Photography

A Christmas Cookie Exchange Party

/ Jodi / 52 Comments

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My sweet daughter-in-law never ceases to amaze me!  With a brand-new baby, she still managed to pull off the loveliest of Christmas Cookie Exchange parties this past weekend.  I am so proud of her.  I love that she values creating traditions and memories for her family…. and admire that she does it on a few hours’ sleep each night!

This year, three new babies attended the party.  Although our granddaughter is the first grandie on our side, she is the fourth on her other side – three of which were born this year!   What a joyful occasion.

Of course no cookie exchange party is complete without a hot cocoa bar (oldest nephew’s fave – especially when stirred vigorously with peppermint candy cane sticks).  And my daughter-in-law’s s’mores cookies made it even more special.

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And don’t veggies taste better when shaped into a Christmas tree on the platter?

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And cheese and sausage on a bed of aromatic rosemary shaped into a wreath?

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Deviled eggs are more festive, too, when dyed red and green.

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There is nothing like Christmas through the eyes of children and passing down traditions.

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Lovin’ from the oven!  The best kind.

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Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Quick & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein

/ Jodi / 36 Comments

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What do you make when you have A LOT of leftover spaghetti?

I made this super quick and easy vegetable lo mein last night while baking cookies for an upcoming cookie exchange.

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Are you like me and have a hard time judging how much spaghetti to cook?

Our youngest son came over Sunday, so I made one of his favorite chicken dishes, Pepperoni Chicken.  I wanted to make sure to make enough extra so he could take a meal or two home with him, so I got a teensy bit carried away and made two pounds of whole wheat spaghetti.

After I filled a gallon Ziploc bag about 2/3 full and he started calling “halt” to any more, I realized I still had half of what I made left.

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Since I had some leftover cut up veggies, tossing them together and making a quick sauce, made this dinner come together in about 10 minutes!  Can’t beat that – right?

You could really use any vegetables you have on hand.  Here is how I made mine.  Use it as a base recipe to flex to your taste!  I imagine mushroom lovers would totally enjoy them thrown in.  Want a protein?  Add some leftover chicken, pork, beef, or shrimp.  I’ll bet some steamed broccoli or fresh green beans and/or sliced sweet peppers would be great too!  You could even toss in some water chestnuts or peanuts, walnuts, or sliced almonds.

Quick & Easy Vegetable Lo Mein

Ingredients:

  • 1/2-1 lb spaghetti (I used whole wheat)
  • 2 Tbsp oil (olive, sesame, canola or vegetable)
  • 1/2 sweet onion chopped
  • 1 cup shredded or chopped carrots
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 cup green peas
  • Sauce – Whisk together:
    • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
    • 2 Tbsp teriyaki sauce
    • 2 Tbsp honey
    • 1/2 tsp ground ginger
    • Dash Sriracha hot sauce

Directions:

Heat oil in stir fry skillet.  Add vegetables and cook 3-5 minutes until crisp-tender.  Add spaghetti and sauce.  Cook until heated through 1-2 minutes.

That’s it!  Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Weary World Rejoices

/ Jodi / 28 Comments

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The Weary World Rejoices

There are always bright, beautiful spots
if only you open your eyes
and believe in the magic.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

PS – See! Told ya!  yep – another Christmas song running through my head!

Relax

Quick & Easy Crispy Pork Stir Fry

/ Jodi / 41 Comments


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Stir frying any kind of protein with your favorite veggies makes a quick, easy, and healthy weeknight dinner.

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Yesterday, I pulled a small piece of pork tenderloin out of the freezer in the morning with no idea what I was going to do with it.

By 6 pm, I decided I better figure out something to do with it.  After all, the spaghetti and meatballs I made for Sunday’s dinner, that hubby also ate leftovers of on Monday while I was out of town, and that we made into meatball hoagies  onTuesday was losing it’s charm and appeal!

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A quick “google” resulted in a few ideas I combined to come up with this quick and easy, but more importantly AMAZING Crispy Pork Stir Fry!  Coating the thinly sliced pork with seasoned salt and cornstarch before stir frying resulted in a wonderfully crispy coating and texture, and the simple sauce really packs a flavor punch!  You can use whatever veggies you have on hand or love.  Some may love mushrooms, snow peas, sugar snap peas, green beans, and/or water chestnuts.  Stir frying is one of my favorite ways to create a healthy, colorful, delicious, fast, and easy weeknight dinner.

Hope you give this a try!

Quick & Easy Crispy Pork Stir Fry

Ingredients:quick-and-easy-crispy-pork-stir-fry-01

  • 1 lb. pork tenderloin or sirloin, sliced thinly
  • 1 tsp seasoned salt
  • 1/3 cup cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp Vegetable or Canola Oil
  • 1/2 large sweet onion, sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup sliced sweet red, yellow and/or orange peppers
  • 1 cup steamed broccoli
  • Sauce
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 3 Tbsp brown sugar
    • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Sprinkle thinly sliced pork with seasoned salt and cornstarch in a bowl with a lid or Ziploc bag.  Shake to coat.

Prepare sauce by combining garlic, pepper, brown sugar, and soy sauce in a small bowl.  Stir well, and set aside.

Heat 1 Tbsp. oil in a large stir fry skillet over medium-high heat.  Add sliced onions, peppers, and minced garlic.  Stir fry approximately 2-3 minutes.  Remove from skillet, and set aside.  Add the other 1 Tbsp. oil and heat for 1 minute.  Add coated pork, and stir fry approximately 5 minutes.  Add steamed broccoli and return onion, peppers and garlic to skillet with all.  Stir fry an additional minute.  Add sauce and cook an additional 2 minutes.

Serve over steamed jasmine (or your favorite) rice.

Enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

All is Calm – All is Bright

/ Jodi / 18 Comments
Christmas Tree Lights - Bokeh

Christmas Tree Lights – Bokeh

All is Calm…
All is Bright…

For now.

Relaxing by the twinkling lights of the tree
willing myself not to worry about gifts and wrapping and baking
and all of the “material” things that aren’t the things that make
the holiday season special.

All is Calm
All is Bright

I think that will be the theme this year!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#itsnotthistimeofyearwithout…

The Season of Magic

/ Jodi / 50 Comments
sammy-the-elf

Sammy the Elf – the Magic of Christmas

Long before the Official “Elf on the Shelf” was marketed (and got a bit out of control – but dang!  Why didn’t I think to market it!?!), our family had an heirloom elf who came to visit during the magical month of December.

Sammy (we knew his name because it was written on his shirt) came to visit and watch over our boys to assure they were being good and deserving of Christmas gifts from Santa.  He would move around the house every night, and the boys had so much fun waking up each morning trying to find him and see what he might have been up to the night before.

Sammy always left with Santa on his sleigh after Santa brought the boys’ gifts on Christmas eve, and he didn’t return until the following December 1st.

One important thing about Sammy was that he could not be touched by human hands – never – ever –  or he would lose his “magic.”   The boys never dared touch him.  (He came with a note from Santa the first year telling us so.)

Though our Christmas tree has become a smaller, themed, and artificial version of the live cut trees of years past loaded with sentimental and handmade ornaments, the one thing I still put on our tree is Sammy.

Our boys still often reminisce when they see him, laughing at how they believed so strongly in him and his magic – yet still almost afraid to touch him…

Sammy is an heirloom Christmas “decoration” that was my Grandma’s, so I especially cherish him.  She had what seemed like dozens of these tiny toy elves all over her home doing silly things at Christmas.   She was such a character and had a great sense of humor, so her elves would be hanging from curtain rods and peeking over picture frames and sitting cross armed and legged in the strangest of places.

And then, it seemed for many years, these elves were impossible to find (especially when friends’ kids wanted an elf like Sammy!) – until “Elf on a Shelf” became the rage.

Our sweet Sammy is worn and thread-bare in many places, but he will always have a place of honor on our tree and in our home in December.

He reminds me of the magic of the season.
The magic of Christmas.
The magic of children and believing.
The magic of family memories –
my children and my own childhood.

It is indeed
the season of Magic!

Happy December!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

WordPress Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge:  It’s Not this Time of Year Without

Goodbye November

/ Jodi / 8 Comments
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Mars, PA – November 2016

Goodbye November…
The hush before winter.

Just like that
another Autumn is gone.

You were a good month this year
my Sweet November.

Thanks for giving
such great joy!

Cheers & Hugs
Jodi

 

 

Sticks and Stones

/ Jodi / 43 Comments

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Sticks and Stones…
can break our bones.
But bones can heal.

Words…
can harm us deeply.
And they can be hard to heal from.

As I looked at this photo I took last week
of a charming old building made of stone
and covered with twisted, tangled sticks,

it reminded me of the old childhood adage
“Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words will never hurt me.”

And I realized how absurd that is…

I have suffered through
my share of broken bones in my life,
but they have healed.

There are words, however,
that have been spoken
that have changed my life forever.

Choose your words carefully…
Consider their power.
Words can seriously hurt.

But also know
words have the power
to love and heal.

They have the power
to build up
rather than tear down.

They have the power
to create positive change
now and forever.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Let’s Teach our Children

/ Jodi / 62 Comments

clara-10-days-old-2
Let’s teach our children…

to be kind to those who are not kind.
They need love the most.

to offer help to those who struggle.
It is in giving that we receive the most.

to be a friend to the lonely.
They are often the best friends.

to sit with those sitting alone.
They have much to share.

to look for the good in others.
That is when we learn the most about ourselves.

These are the ways we can teach our children
to change the world.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

 

Happy Thanksgiving

/ Jodi / 26 Comments

happy-thanksgiving-2016

So very much to be thankful for…

Warm fires.
Full bellies.
Joyful laughter.
Tight hugs.
Soft candlelight.
Growing family.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi