Well,it's a dreary rainy day here. We are planning a quiet night at home...you know,the usual! New year's eve is nothing special,just another day.Looking forward to seeing the hostas emerge in only 2 months! Yes,they start coming up March 1st! Have a safe eve,Janice! Phil

I just talked to my brother-in-law. My sisters outside poking around in the garden (the pacific northwest). He said she saw some hosta sprouts. I don't think I believe him. Have a good New Years everyone. McT

as DH had to work today and tommorrow, he is already in bed:( this will be the first year since we have been married that we haven't toasted the New Year togather, it is 9:14 here and as soon as all is quiet down the hall (oldest boy still not asleep yet) I will be heading to bed myself.
ohh 2 months til hostadom!!!!! I cannot wait, I want to see how well all the new editions will do this coming spring:)

Happy New Year to all my Hosta friends!

It's a quiet stay at home night tonight with Hubby watching
the Bears-Packers game and me on the computer.

Connie

We had a lovely and safe evening. The food was great, the movie
("Dream Girls") was good and the cheesecake divine!

The company was good too, although too many to make the rounds with!
We had about 30 of us and I'm more of a small-group person, myself!! Although, I
enjoy every person that was there one on one or two on two or four on four, but 30
is just too much to keep up with!! We had them all over one evening earlier in the
month and boy was our place packed! Not so much fun as some of the dinners and lunches
I had with a total of 6 of us at a time!!! More intimate and enjoyable for me, I must say!!

Meesh--where in the world do you live??? Two months till hostas appear????? I can't even fathom that!
It will be late April and maybe later till we have them show their "eyes" around here! Sigh!!!

Phil, it started out very rainy here but when we came out of the restaurant to walk to the theater,
it had stopped and even here in Ohio, it is only 50 degrees right now, at almost 1:30 a.m.!
That is too weird! I want snow!! But, not as much as some are experiencing right now!!!

I'm heading for bed--enough celebrating for me tonight/today already!!!

The hubby and I went out to eat early last night, because he couldn't miss the Packer game. Since we stayed home to watch the game last night I figured I could get the pre-split king crab legs. We are having friends over today to watch the Badger game. I'm still off until the 8th, so I can do all my partying today instead!! ha ha

Janice, you will have to post that recipe, sounds yummy! Today we are having sloppy joes, bacon wrapped pork tenderloin appetizers, cheese & mushroom stuffed bread (store bought, had to try it), beer dip & pretzels, and whatever everyone else is bringing.

I must first tell you I got this off Hallson's site, (thank you Arlene--it's wonderful!) their cooking forum and it is indeed wonderful and
wonderfully easy to make. You can shorten the cooking time in the crock pot by putting it together in a large pot first and cooking it abit or
at least bringing it up to "speed" to "hot"!

Crockpot Chicken Tortilla Soup

Place in crockpot 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or cut into small cubes before placing in crock.

Without draining anything, combine in crock-pot bowl or pot:

2 (15oz) cans black beans (I use three and you can combine other types of beans as well)
1 (14.5 oz) can tomato sauce or 1 large can crushed tomatoes (I prefer the crushed)
2 (15 oz) cans Mexican stewed tomatoes or "Rotel" (a spicy tomatoe mix in a can I like really well)
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chilies (don't if you use the Rotel unless you like it REALLY HOT)
1 cup salsa, your preference as to strength

Pour over chicken and cook on low 8 hours.

Just before serving, remove chicken, shred it (if not cubed before), and stir it back into the soup.

Stir in:
1 can Niblets corn (I use the white shoe peg corn myself)

Heat just long enough to get corn and chicken hot.

Serve topped with shredded cheese, sour cream, and crushed tortilla chips. Or put the chips in the bowl
first and ladle soup on top.( I love it with just the cheese on top)

I have served this at couple of ladie's lunch's with a really good multi-grain bread rolls and they loved it!

Saves well and is even better as leftover!

Here is a really, really good pear salad I made to serve before this soup:

Use 1 pkg Dole Spring Blend lettuce or similar type

divided for 6 on individual plates
top 5 slices of pear (canned works)(star arrangement)
dried cranberries or raisins
top with Feta Cheese
and top that with the packaged Honey Roasted Almond slices

I found a good vinegarette recipe to use that is:

3/4 cup sugar, 1 cup vinegar, 3/4 vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds and 1 tsp salt,
heat to rolling boil in sauce pan and keep stirring till sugar dissoves! Cool and drizzle over salad!

This salad was a hit!

A quick and easy dip for tortilla chips: 1 roll of pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean original) browned and broken up like ground beef 1 can Rotel (original or milder) 1 pkg. cream cheese Combine all and place in your smallest crock pot! Really yummy! Freezes well, too! I've recently decided I like cooking for small gatherings again! I'm really enjoying finding wonderful recipes o the internet, especially where folks can pst comments upon trying them out for themselves! I've gathered some real winners this month!! I even found the recipe for Tuscany Brio Grille's "Roast Chicken with Butternut Squash Risotto" today!!!! So yummy and "comforting"! Hope you get a chance to try...

those recipes sound yummy! I will have to try the Chicken Tortilla Soup for sure! (love my crockpot!)
To answer your question on where I live it is in the far southwest corner of Missouri. actually not cold enough for hostas, we had a excellent!!!!!!! storm November 28th, lots of snow and ice, couldn't get my car out for a week! I was thinking oh goody! lots of dormant time, but oh no, we had 60 degree weather since then, now again it is cold (30 degrees right now) we go through this all
winter:( I want it to get cold and stay cold. I have been too afraid to go out and look under the mulch to see if any have broken dormancy. They always start srouting pretty early (march) and so far none of them have gotten frost bitten. I usually have Tulips and Daffodils coming up in February.
glad you had a safe and happy New Year all!!!!!!

My pants feel tighter just *reading* the recipes! LOL

Sunday nights are outreach nights for me w/ the homeless so we hung out last night and had a *great* time! :) At 11:40, DH and I arrived home w/ some friends who helped out and we watched (scary) Dick Clark and the ball drop while toasting.

I was asleep by 12:30. LOL! I'm so wild.

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