Some Holiday Cheer

My brother-in-law had to come into town, and he stopped by for a visit.  I always like it when he stops by cause he's good company, and he always brings me a goodie or two.....or five.  ; )  He brought over some spices for meat, some salsa, and a turkey!  My sister-in-law also sent me a throw.  I've been wanting a red plaid throw, and that was thoughtful of her.

I've been cooking for many years, and although I do well, I have to say that my kids cook wonderfully.  My son used the meat spices a few days later and rubbed them into some pork ribs.  They were sooooo good.

I made my brother-in-law a cup of coffee, and we had a nice chat.  Now, I've known this family since I was 16, and we go way back.  He told me stories of old, and remembers things about my family that even I forgot.  He has a sharp memory, just like my middle brother does.  He remembers going over my parents' house and my mom cooking Venison steaks for all and string beans with tomatoes and onions.  I forgot about my mom's string beans, they sure were good.  My mom and dad were always gracious to company.

My dad used to make us try everything, from Venison to Tripe, which is sometimes added to Menudo.  I will not eat Venison any more.  Since living in the mountains, the deer are my friends now haha.

When the heavy rains came last month, my brother-in-law brought over a lantern in case we had a power outage.  It's a sturdy one that lights up a room.

We didn't have one then, but last week we did, and I was glad to have this lantern handy.  Candles are fine for an outage that lasts for an hour or so, but this was a seven hour power outage that went into the night, and it was cooooold.  Thankfully, the heater my brother installed warmed me up after it was over.

Salsa from the stores is good, but I made a homemade salsa over the weekend with tortilla chips.

I couldn't find the traditional Martinelli's Sparkling Cider that we have for Thanksgiving, but I did find this at the store.  Have never tried it, any thoughts about it?

I enjoy watching The Pioneer Woman show, and love some of her kitchen items as well.  When I was at the grocery store, I picked up a jar of this to add to my spaghetti.  It was so delicious.

I gave my brother-in-law this Panettone to take home to my sister-in-law.  They are really good, and that will be my gift to family this year.  I gave my neighbor one also.  My in-laws brought some holiday cheer to my home last week, and that meant a lot to me.

I just realized this post has a lot of food in it, but I did tell you that I love food, and it seems to taste better during the holidays, doesn't it?  You know I have a thing for gnomes - I saw this coffee cup at the store and just had to bring this fellow home.  I love the original ginger snaps dipped in coffee also.

 A pleasant Thanksgiving to you all.

~Sheri