In the Dark

Woke up this morning to no power. The entire town of Breckenridge is in the dark due to high winds.

Wind gusts reached 126 mph early New Years Day:

http://summitcountyvoice.com/2012/01/02/summit-county-records-top-wind-speed-in-state-again/#more-35301

Breckenridge from the Balcony

We are in Breckenridge for the weekend.  It has been really windy here and the snow conditions are just so-so.  Our friends who are renting the condo with us skied Keystone yesterday and the lifts were closed due to the wind.

Erica is working from the condo today, Chris is headed to the mountain.  The wind died down today, but it is supposed to be windy again tomorrow.

Whole Wheat

I found a blog called 100 days of Real Food.  A family of 4 has taken 100 day food challenges and do not eat processed foods that contain more than 5  ingredients.  I like the idea, but who has time for that?  Anyway, we took a small step by buying 100% whole wheat flour and busting out the bread machine.  I made our first loaf last night.  It tastes good, but it didn't get as big as I would of liked.  Whole wheat breads don't get as big as other types, but I was hoping it would be a little higher.  

Does anyone have a good bread machine recipe for a 1.5 pound loaf of whole wheat bread? 

Merry Christmas!

Hummel Fitter

This recipe was given to me by Aunt Krystal.  According to Google Translator, Hummel=Bumblebee and Fitter=Food.

2 eggs - well beaten
1 C. Sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. Flour
1 C. Chopped nuts
11 oz. mandarin orangees
16 oz. pineapple
2-3 bananas
Large Cool Whip

Combine and bake the first 6 ingredients at 375 degrees on a greased and floured cookie sheet for 25-30 minutes.  Cool and break the cookie into pieces. 

 Layer the fruit, cool whip, and cookie and serve.

Bzz: The Truly Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookie

2 boxes of Kroger's The Truly Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookie arrived in the mail last month from Bzz Agent.  I opened them the minute I got home from work on they day they arrived - I was STARVING and needed a snack.  Chris was also there to try 'em out.

Chocolate chips are the number 1 ingredient and I would have to agree.  You couldn't take a bite without a mouthful of chocolate - not chocolate shnibbles either, but full sized chips. The other thing I picked up on is butter.  According to the package, they are made with real butter.  It was not an overwhelming flavor, but they were buttery enough to taste more like home made. 

The only downfall for me is that they were crunchy.  I prefer soft cookies, but that is just me.  I got around that by dunking them in milk.  I even warmed one up for a few seconds in the microwave and had it with ice cream. 

I don't usually buy this type of "treat" regularly, but there are other products in The Truly Awesome line of products like Macaroni and Cheese that I would be inclined to buy more often.

McChristmas

We had Christmas with Chris's family today.  I made Hummel Futter for the occasion.

All of the Cousins and Significant Others

Buffalo Chicken Dip

We made this for our company last week.  We hadn't made it in a while and forgot how addictive it is.

8 oz. cream cheese

1 1/2 C. chopped cooked chicken

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1/2 C. blue cheese dressing

1/2 C. buffalo wing sauce

Microwave all ingredients until heated through.  Serve with celery sticks, Wheat Thins, or tortilla chips.

Recipe: Kraft

Recap of the Week

It has been a busy week!

Emily and Andy left on Sunday evening.  Mom and Dad left Monday morning.  We had such a good time - I think this was one of the best family get-together's yet!  Head on over to rak-kak.blogspot.com for some pictures.

Tuesday and Wednesday Erica had dinner and drinks with out of town work people at Rioja, The Corner Office, Corridor 44 (cool Champagne Bar), Green Russell, and Euclid Hall.  

Warning as you enter the Green Russell.

Thursday night Chris felt a little under the weather, possibly due to the Swing Thai he ordered in on Wednesday night.  It was tasty and spicy, but Chris's tummy was doing flip flops.

Friday we got up bright and early to head to Breckenridge for some snowboarding with my old boss from Utah and a few other co-workers from the Denver office.  It was our first day out this season and we were beat when we got home.  We had a Steak and Mashed Potato, Carmelized Bell Peppers, Onions, Mushrooms, and Gruyere Pizza from Hops and Pie for dinner.  It was very delicious and soon after that we were asleep on the couch and out for the night.

Christkindl Market

Drinking Gluwhein in downtown at the Christkindl Market.

U.S. Mint Tour

We toured the Denver Mint today.  Sorry there aren't any pictures, no cameras allowed inside.  

And the Stockings were Hung by the Chimney with Care

Erica picked the fabric and Pam sewed.  Thanks Pam, they turned out great!