Santa Must Be Real

After going to KS, I drove with Rodney, Carmina and my nieces back to Illinois for Christmas with my folks. From there we drove to Michigan for a couple of days and then on to Canada. We made it there in time for one of our favorite Christmas traditions: Christmas Eve service in Baden, Ontario with warm apple dumplings for dessert when we get home. Thanks, Aunt Gladys!

On Christmas morning we were surprised to discover that "Santa must be real because he ate some of the cheese and cookies and drank all of the milk." He even wrote a note to Ember and Cheyanne and SIGNED it!

Cheyanne's favorite present was the pretend ice cream that she got.

Ember's favorite present included body crayons, which were great entertainment on the 22 hour drive back to Kansas.

A Parade of Cookies

Every Christmas involves lots of travel for me. This year I took the train to Kansas for our Annual Cookie Parade where we get together with friends and bake cookies. It must include peppernuts, or pfefferneusse made with anise. I prefer the small, crispy kind.

They are tedious to make and I don't have any pictures of the finished products because we were too busy gathering and eating them. We had such a variety of cookies in the end that we took some to neighbors and friends, brought a couple tins to Canada, and still have some to finish off after Christmas.

It's Snow Time!

Be careful what you wish for. The snow is here, and the forecast is for snow on nearly every day for the next 10 days. Certainly a snow day is in our near future...



Now, since this blog is called "KnitB4Sleep," I thought I should include something I've been knitting. This is a baby sweater that my coworker asked me to make for her niece. It was the first lacy thing that I have made, and it was easier than I thought it would be. The pattern is Helena from Ravelry.com.

Mmmmm...Peanut and Curry Chicken

Peanut Curry Chicken

1 tsp peanut oil
2/3 cup onion
3 cloves garlic
1 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces
3 TBSP peanut butter
1 tsp curry
1/8 tsp red pepper
black pepper
3 oz tomato paste
1 14oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth

Heat oil in pan. Add onion and garlic. Cook until tender. Add chicken and cook 4 minutes or until chicken is almost done. Stir in peanut butter, curry, red pepper, black pepper and tomato paste. Cook 1 minute. Add broth and tomatoes. Bring to boil then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, or until thickened. Serve over rice. Yum!