Ken and I had so much fun this past Christmas. We were lucky to have spent it with so many friends and family. Here are some pictures of the Holiday! Love you all!
Audrey, Gina, Me and Erica. I'm new family is a lot of fun!
We had the Zaffke Christmas at our house this year. Here I am stealing a hug from my nephew Oliver.
Oliver on Uncle Kenny's shoulders. Oliver seems to be liking Ken and I a lot more these days. 
Our house on Christmas Eve.
December 23rd is one of my favorite day's of the entire year. This we Lisa Marie Johnson joined the fun.
Our first Christmas!
The In-Law's and Lisa Marie Johnson.
The "Sansgaard" girl cousin's know how to have a fun time when we are together. Rook, Monopoly Deal, Banagrams were some of the games we played this year.
Aren't we a cute bunch? (Jeff is my favorite in this picture.)
Spending time together has really changed over the years. The "Sansgaard" boy cousin's were all REALLY into their electronic games.
Things have changed a lot for me in 2009. I love being married to Ken. I don't even mind the Yoda that tops my Christmas tree now.
Ok. Recipes. The recipes below are my versions of the recipes in the cookbook. For some I can't seem to follow the recipes. I just feel the need to change them and make them my own.
Mediterranean Chicken and Saffron Couscous -- This is adapted from Rachael Ray's recipe.
Cooking Spray - (Rachael calls for 4 T of olive oil. I try to make our meals as lowfat as possible.)
½ cup all-purpose flour
3 or 4 boneless-skinless chicken breast halves, cut into large chuncks.
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 pinch of saffron, or 1 single-use packet saffron powder
4 garlic cloves, 1 crushed, 3 chopped
1 cup couscous
1 large red onion, chopped
1 tsp dried thyme leaves.
1 15-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup dry white wine (I was bummed that I didn't have any on hand. I just used chicken broth but will use wine the next time we make it.)
10 -20 kalamata olives, pitted, cut in half
½ pint grape tomatoes
½ cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped - (I used the parsley in a tube. I used about a tablespoon. The stuff in a tube is great! It has more flavor than dried and doesn't spoil as fast as fresh.)
1 Tablespoon dried basil
Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spray with cooking oil. Place the flour in a shallow dish, season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper, and the cayenne, (Taste the flour to make sure you can taste all the seasonings. I added a lot more cayenne to mine.) Then transfer the seasoned chicken to the dish with the flour, toss around in the flour, then shake off the excess. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 5 to 6 minutes on each side. While the chicken is cooking, make the saffron couscous.
In a sauce pot, bring 2 cups of the chicken stock up to a boil with the saffron, the crushed clove of garlic, salt, and pepper. When the stock is at a boil, add the couscous, cover with a lid, and turn the heat off. Let the couscous stand for 10 minutes.
Once the chicken is done, remove it from the pan and cover with a piece of aluminum foil to keep warm. Return the skillet to the heat and add more cooking oil spray. Add the artichokes and wine to the pan, bring up to a simmer, then add the remaining 1 cup of chicken stock, olives, and grape tomatoes. Return the liquids to a simmer and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the grape tomatoes start to burst and the sauce has reduced by half. Give the sauce a taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper.
Add the chicken back to the skillet and warm through. Add the parsley and basil to the completed dish and stir to distribute the herbs.
To serve, fluff the couscous with a fork, remove and discard the crushed garlic clove, and transfer the couscous to serving plates. Serve the chicken whole or sliced on top of the saffron couscous. Top the chicken with some of the sauce and vegetables. Enjoy!
BBQ Sloppy Chicken or Turkey Pan Pizza
Adapted from Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats
2 boxes corn muffin mix (8.5 ounces each)
2 eggs
4 T unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup frozen corn kernels
spray oil for the pan
TOPPING
Spray Oil
1 lb. ground chicken (I used ground turkey because that is what my husband bought at the store. Would make it again with the turkey.)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, diced
salt and pepper
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin - (After tasting the dish I ended up adding more cumin. Probably a total of 2 1/2 tsp.)
2 tsp. hot sauce
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 cup tomato sauce
3 T brown sugar
2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
3 chopped scallions
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
In a large bowl, mix the corn muffin mixes, eggs, milk, melted butter, and corn kernels. Spray cooking oil into a very large nonstick skillet. Pour the batter in the skillet and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes or until it is well set and brown on top.
In another skillet over medium-high heat, spray pan with cooking oil and add chicken. Once the meat starts to brown add onion, and red pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add garlic and good for 2 minutes more. Season with salt, pepper, cumin, chili powder, and hot sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes or until veggies are tender to your liking. Add Wocestershire sauce, tomato sauce, and brown sugar; stir and reduce heat to low. Let simmer about 10 minutes or until your cornbread is done.Pour the chicken mixture over the cooked cornbread (leaving it in the skillet) and sprinkle with cheese and scallions. Return to oven for another 5 minutes or until cheese is all melted.
