{Christmas Eve 2011}

Christmas--yes, it's February 13th and I'm just now posting about Christmas--


Caitlin and Carson spent Christmas and the following week in Rocky Mount with Carson's family, so we celebrated Christmas with them on Christmas Eve. We had a Nelson favorite---Tacoritos-- for dinner.  David's family used to eat these at a restaurant they frequented when they lived in Colorado and Barbara asked to have the recipe. It has become an "always" food when the family gets together. I've included the recipe below with my own little twist.

This will be a post full of pictures of THIS sweet girl---so sorry in advance. 

Shannon and Bill gave Eve this wonderful Pottery Barn chair---she looks

SO cute in it, don't ya think?

My parents gave Carson this pistol--this was one of our favorite memories from the holiday! My Dad had owned this for years, but had only fired it once or twice. He wanted to give it to Carson,  but was worried it may be loaded or something----so he took it up into his attic and fired it---just to see what would happen. IT WENT OFF---IN HIS ATTIC!!! When he told us this, we all just cracked up. 

Josh never wants to smile in pictures anymore---but I LOVE this photo---

a captured moment!

When Joshua and I went to the Panther's game in October, he bought this shirt for Eve--neither of her parents care a bit about the Panthers, but her Uncle Josh does, so she can wear it for him!

Shannon and her family were here for Christmas this year---and my sister Jennifer, too.

My nephew, Nathan with Eve.

 My mom with Eve

My daddy with Eve

Caitlin wanted a macro lens for her camera----which is just like my camera, so it would fit if I ever needed it......very nice!

Babies make things so much fun---what a joy to have Eve around this year---she brought joy into what could have been a hard season. It was truly beautiful. I'm so glad we were able to spend this time with them---

Here are the Tacoritos and the recipe(s). Mmmmmmmm, cheeeesy!

Nelson Family Tacoritos

meat mixture:

1 lb. ground beef (or you could use turkey)

1 T. chili powder

1/2 t. garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste

1 chopped onion

(I don't measure the spices---but these are the measurements from the original recipe)

sauce mixture:

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 can water

1/2 t. oregano, sage, cumin each

2 - 4 T. chopped chili or jalapenos

filling:

shredded lettuce

grated cheese

diced tomatoes

refried beans

Burrito sized flour tortillas

Brown onion and meat with spices until meat is tender. Simmer 30 minutes.

While the meat is simmering, mix soup, water and spices in a sauce pan. Simmer until meat is finished. Place a layer of beans & 1/2 c. meat mixture in the center of a flour tortilla. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and a bit of sauce. Close tortilla and place seam down in a casserole dish. Pour sauce over tacoritos and bake on 350 for 15-20 minutes. Top with remaining grated cheese and bake until melted.

Serve with guacamole and sour cream. 

Lately, I've been changing the meat to this recipe below. I make this recipe and use it in several recipes. It's a great starter to all things Tex-Mex.

Crockpot Spicy Beef (or Chicken)

2 lb. Boneless Beef Chuck (or chicken)

1/4 c. Salsa verde

2 cloves minced garlic

1 bunch chopped cilantro

1 medium onion, chopped

1-2 fresh jalapenos, seeded & chopped

2 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. salt

Place the meat in the crockpot. Mix all other ingredients together. Pour the mixture over the meat and toss until well coated. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4 hours.

I always have extra meat, so I'll make tacos one night---or put it in the freezer for another meal in the future.

 YES---the kids STILL get pajamas on Christmas Eve---this is the only gift they get to open.

And then, the obligatory picture with Santa's cookies---and yes, we give him a bottled Coke---we are THOSE people. I think he must be tired of milk by the time he gets down South....and he likely needs the caffeine.

 

AND, of course, the silly picture---I love that my 20 year old isn't too old for this!

 

Thanks for checking in--I have another post in the que---I'm just going crazy! ;D Have a great day!!

{I heart NYC!!!}

There is so much to love about New York---the shows, the art, the museums, the numerous languages you hear as you walk down a street, the busy streets and sidewalks....and so much more. But this post is about food! NEW YORK HAS GREAT FOOD!!! I didn't even get pictures of everything because I didn't want to totally embarrass my family. I would have taken pictures of every bit of food that each one of us had---but I used some restraint! Here are some pictures of SOME of the food we ate and some SERIOUS endorsements of our restaurants!

After we picked up Hannah, we went back to the hotel and dropped her luggage off and then headed out for a walk and an early lunch. We went to Ray's pizza for lunch....we had heard about Rays---we prefer John's, but we were hungry and the sign said, "75 cents a slice"---so we thought, "SCORE"----yeah, we're suckers that way. Don't get me wrong---the pizza was good and HUGE slices---BUT, it cost us $69....and no, we didn't eat 92 pieces of pizza between the 6 of us!!!! Uh, some of our pieces apparently cost $5....so that "75 cent" thing---it worked for Ray that day! Oh well, it's New York and Hannah was with us and we just didn't care.  Can I just say, one piece of Ray's pizza is probably enough, or one and a half at most---here, Joshua is living with the reality of two pieces of Ray's pizza....

We had to have Starbucks break after our pizza....I think there is a Starbucks ON EVERY CORNER in New York, so  you sort of feel obligated to go to at least ONE! Yeah, this picture isn't great----but it does show that we went there....it was raining and we were waiting inside while David and Joshua hailed a cab for us....I promise Caitlin and Carson really aren't mad at me....or I didn't think so!

Friday night we went to a little Italian Restaurant near our hotel---we wanted something affordable, but not fast food. Our concierge recommended a family friendly little place around the corner called Amarone. We had a good meal in a quaint little place--linen table cloths, but not linen prices!  David had mussels. He really likes them and these were good. This is one place where I only got one picture and it's this one.....yes, next time I'll just take whatever pictures I want....yeah, I probably won't, but I like to talk tough!

Saturday morning we went to my favorite little place in NYC for breakfast: Le Pain Quotidian! They have the BEST CAPPUCCINO in NYC! And, I must add, I think they have the best oatmeal I have EVER eaten, too. David loves their bread and meat plate....he's not a breakfast fan, so this is right up his alley. There are others around the country, you should try it if you ever find one.....honestly......LOVE the cappuccino! Everything is organic and fresh---it's really a great breakfast (and they serve other meals as well, we just love their breakfast)! They have a communal table where you sit right next to someone you've never seen---there's something wonderful about that! It's a HAVE to for me when I go to New York!

We went to a show Saturday night, so we ate dinner really late. We just went to a little restaurant on the corner of 48th right in the middle of the theater district, Sombrero.  The Nelson's will always try a mexican food place---and it was pretty good. 

Sunday morning we had a quick breakfast in the room and then headed out for an early lunch. We went to my favorite deli in New York-- Carnegie Deli. The Pastrami is A.MAZ.ING! Honestly, it's so good. Hannah LOVES a turkey sandwich----and THIS is a turkey sandwich!

She took half of the meat out so she could get her mouth around the sandwich, and still took half of the sandwich back to the hotel and had it for dinner that night! 

This is a picture of the pastrami sandwich, (photo courtesy of Carnegie Deli website) but we had it  made with swiss on rye bread. David and I split it and there was still pastrami on both of our plates when we finished. Caitlin and Carson had a roast beef sandwich, but I didn't get a picture of it.

Joshua is not a deli sandwich fan, so he ordered a hamburger----OH.MY.GOSH!!!

I couldn't resist taking several pictures of this burger and the progress he made. 

I did use my phone instead of my big camera....just to keep my family happy!

And finally---as if you aren't FULL ENOUGH after that sandwich, you HAVE to at least try a bite of their world famous cheesecake! We only got one piece to share because we were just too full. They actually have their Cheesecake recipe on their website if you are interested.

So, there it is---the food we had in New York on this trip. We really didn't plan our meals for this trip because we knew we just wanted to hang out and didn't really care where we ate....but we still were able to get to two of our favorites while we were there. 

So, what are your favorite places to eat in New York? I'd love to know so I can try them the next time I'm there! More NYC stuff to come......thanks for stopping by!