Slightly Early Christmas...

First off, can I just say that I am completely EXCITED about Christmas this year... I simply CAN'T wait! And well... you can see from the scrapbook page that it is true... Not so much because I couldn't actually control myself... yes, it is hard to do, but I really can manage... The reality is that we simply will not be able to fit Iain's big gift into the car with us for the trip. So, we put it together tonight, and surprised him when we got home from church. Iain absolutely LOVED it... he immediately climbed aboard and started scooting it across the room, ringing the bell along the way. So of course I HAD to scrap the moment... not to mention, Daddy, happily piecing the trike together while Iain napped today.

Most of the scrapbook elements are from my friend at church who I just found out has an online digi store!!! I LOVE her stuff... and if you would like to check it out...go to www.paperbagstudios.com ...You will find some really awesome stuff there!

Christmas 1980

I absolutely love this picture from Christmas years ago. I can remember every little bit of going into the parking lot at K-mart to find the little red house where we would find Santa. Waiting outside, getting really antsy to see Santa, and seeing other kids coming out of the house smiling and eating their candy canes. After what seemed like a lifetime of waiting (in reality probably only 1 or 2 families in front of us...if that) we finally got to go inside to see Santa, where it was MUCH, MUCH warmer than outside, and the best part was getting to eat that candy cane thinking about how many presents Santa would bring me come Christmas.

Another Yummy Recipe... Gonna have to make this SOON!

I found this recipe From Cooking Light and it looks completely amazing! I tried something along
these lines a few years ago at a gourmet restaraunt back in Eureka Springs and absolutely loved it, and this is the closest I can find to the dish. The only difference I see is that there were also
golden raisins and cranberries with the dish from the restaraunt, and the apples were diced more "chutney" style with the raisins and cranberries, rather than being sliced.

I also think this would be amazing with a pork loin instead of the chops...Enjoy!

Pork Chops with Cinnamon Apples

Warm flavors like sage and cinnamon play up the contrast between the juicy chops and caramelized apples. Tart Granny Smiths and slightly sweeter Braeburn apples both work well for this dish.

Yield

4 servings (serving size: 1 pork chop and 3/4 cup apple mixture)

Ingredients

1 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (4-ounce) boneless center-cut loin pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon butter
4 cups (1/2-inch) slices peeled Granny Smith apples (about 4 medium)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of salt

Preparation

Combine first 3 ingredients, and sprinkle over the pork. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add pork; cook 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove the pork from pan. Cover and keep warm.
Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Add apples and remaining ingredients, and cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Serve the apples with pork.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
251 (30% from fat)
Fat:
8.3g (sat 3.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 0.9g)
Protein:
24.1g
Carbohydrate:
20.2g
Fiber:
2.3g
Cholesterol:
67mg
Iron:
0.9mg
Sodium:
388mg
Calcium:
38mg