christmas eve shenanigans.

merry christmas!

i hope you are all enjoying your day off and getting some quality time in with those you love.

sooo.. i took yesterday off and you know what that means~lots of photos and catching up!  starting with..

wednesday night.

after publishing this post i ended up dragging myself off the couch and to the gym.  thanks to a few ladies motivating me with their tweets :) 

treadmill HIIT

minute	speed MPH	incline
1	3.0	0
2	5.0	0
3	6.0	0
4	6.5	0
5	7.0	0
6	7.5	0.5
7	6.0	0.5
8	6.5	0.5
9	7.0	0.5
10	7.5	0.5
11	6.0	1
12	6.5	1
13	7.0	1
14	7.5	1
15	6.0	1.5
16	6.5	1.5
17	7.0	1.5
18	7.5	1.5
19	8.5	1.5
20	4.0	0

 

and then i finished the workout off with ten minutes on the stairmill:

minute	level	direction
1	6	facing forward
2	6	facing right
3	6	facing backward
4	6	facing left
5	8	facing forward
6	8	facing right
7	8	facing backward
8	8	facing left
9	4	facing forward/double step w/ leg raise
10	4	facing forward

 

i got home and my roommate, drew, made us all some pizza~

boboli crust.. marinara.. mozzarella cheese.. mushrooms soaked in red wine.. sun dried tomatoes.. black olives.. topped off with some freshly grated parmesan and baked for far too long considering how hungry i was ;)

viola!

  

‘twas delish.

thursday.

i was up bright and early again and had a bowl of cereal before hitting the slopes. should had something with protein but i am all out of groceries these days.

snowboarding was COLD (like 7 degrees plus the wind chill) but really fun.  i was with lots of friends and good times were had.  photo sesh:

gogry day.

after snowboarding i was famished and had to get something to put in my belly.  i had to make a stop at whole foods.. so salad bar it was!

all sorts of good stuff in there.

i cleaned myself up and headed to btown so i could start the christmas eve cooking!

i had nine appetizers planned for the  menu.  i recruited the help of my family members and managed to get it all done in under two hours.  unreal!

before i show you what we made, i have to share a tradition with you.  each year, my family buys a plethora of groceries for one family in need and drops it on their doorstep real late at night.  after most the appetizers were made, my mom and sisters hit up the grocery store to do the shopping.

we had a super-stealth mission at midnight and delivered these to the family in need.  i love this family tradition and i will definitely carry it along for as long as i live!

okay, back to the smorgasbord!

on the menu?

grape jelly meatballs.

for meatballs: 1 lb lean ground beef + 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs + 1 egg.  form into small balls and bake at 400 degrees [f] for 20 minutes.  place meatballs in slow cooker along with 8 oz grape jelly+12 oz chili sauce+2 tb dijon mustard. let cook on low for 5 hours.

susan’s sunflower seed hummus+pita bread.

recipe can be found here.  there was no sunflower seed butter to be found so i subbed 6 oz of sunflower seeds+1 TB tahini.

jessica’s buffalo chicken dip+celery & multigrain baguette.

recipe can be found here. so dang good and so dang bad for you!

guacamole+tortilla chips.

made by marshall :)

sausage stuffed mushrooms.

 

made by marisa & eric~ let me know if you would like the recipe because THESE WERE EPIC!

caramelized onion & apple tarts.

i got this from the real simple website.  recipe can be found here.

pears with bleu cheese & prosciutto.

another winner from real simple.  these were SO easy, recipe can be found here.

clam dip+potato chips.

sorta just made this one up! cream cheese, 2 cans of clams, some greek yogurt, mayo and sour cream. added some onion flakes and paprika.. also added salt & pepper. turned out yummy!

shrimp+cocktail sauce.

bought this at market street.

for the main course, my mom made homemade clam chowder.. which is something we have had on christmas eve for as long as i can remember.  my sister made rolls to serve with the soup.

my brother-in-law made some wassail which is a fancy term for hot spiced apple cider. yum!

my plate~

 

i definitely didnt have room for it all~i ended up going back for a prosciutto wrapped pear.

i have mentioned before that my mom collects salt & pepper shakers, these are the cute ones we used last night:

poor marshall has been sick. he is a trooper to do all this family stuff with me :) killer hairdo, no?

penelope joined me on my lap for awhile. so dang cute.

i took a poll to see what the favorite appetizer was.  i was really surprised that the pears wrapped in prosciutto got several votes but the buffalo chicken dip was probably the biggest hit (thanks jess!) another favorite was the onion & apple tart.  my favorite had to be the stuffed mushrooms!

after dinner my little nieces and nephews decorated cookies for santa~ i colored the frosting. i know, major talent here folks.

my mom had some wassail in this adorable new marshmallow mug!

 

we all hung out and everyone was basically in a food coma..including the pups (i am pretty sure they got LOTS of table scraps last night! especially since randy has some ridic gas today.. TMI?)

 

and that photo above is about how i feel now.. and this post is already of novel length.. and i have places to be and people to see!  so i will be back tomorrow with a christmas day recap+flashback friday saturday post!

OH and my reader is up to 278.  and i refuse to mark all as read because i want to see how you are all doing.. so please excuse my absence this week.. it has been a busy one! i am sure you feel the same. i can’t wait to relax tomorrow and read blogs and play with my new christmas gadgets :)

i hope you all have a fabulous evening and i will be back tomorrow.

until then.. happy holidays from my family to yours!

Qs~

1. what is your favorite appetizer? i love stuffed mushrooms and also have a weakness for spinach artichoke cheese dip.

2. what was the highlight of your christmas day? i will tell you all about my day tomorrow.. but the highlight had to be the fact that my WHOLE family was under one roof.. even my fam that lives out of state. that is rare and it was really special to me :)

love you guys!

xo. janetha b.