Merry Christmas Eve

Christmas is such a wonderful holiday filled with so much love, family, and remembrance of our Savior.  No matter how much Christmas has been PC-friendly-nized, it is still Christ-mas.  So until they change the name of the holiday (like how the White House now calls Christmas trees holiday trees which is so lame btw), it's still a religious holiday!

In the midst of the religious holiday, I've said it before, and I'll say it again.. it has never been as big of a deal in my life now as it has ever pre-religious me.  Yet despite how much bigger of a deal it is now, it is so much more special now and that I can't deny.  The story of Jesus, the love for Jesus, the love for such a sacrifice - it all is so beautiful and precious and makes this day of giving (even when it is a lot of giving) so much more special!

I'm always hesitant when it comes to spending a lot of money on material items or traditions that might seem like recurring actions that are just for show, but I've come to appreciate the beauty of finding gifts that people really do value and appreciate and traditions that bring us closer or help enhance the spirit of Christmas.  It has been a wonderful journey and though it's still easy for me (no pressure, nothing to compare to.. never had a mom or dad who did anything big for Christmas so no traditions to place the bar high) in my humble opinion having no prior expectations, I can easily see how over the years, with more children and a larger family.. it will become harder.

I really wanted to do a few things this Christmas like a Christmas card and chex mix for our friends.  None of that happened because of timing, other to do items that had higher priority, and what not.  But that doesn't mean we can't have a New Year card or chex mix later!  So here's my gift to all of you - the best dang chex mix recipe in the world from my dear friend Sara (it's a Hawaii original hehe).

The Best Party Mix Ever

Ingredients

½ bag     pretzel sticks

1 box      Corn or Rice Chex

½ box     Crispix

½ box     Honey Comb

Syrup

½ c.          margarine or butter

½ c.          Karo light syrup

3 T.          sugar

1-2           drops of vanilla

                 

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

In microwave oven, heat syrup ingredients for about 1-1.5 minutes.  Remove from microwave and mix well.

Put cereals and pretzel sticks in a 10x14 roasting pan.  Mix gently.

Spread one-third to a half of the heated mixture over cereal mix.  Mix cereal with rubber spatula to spread sauce evenly.  Repeat until all the sauce is used.

Bake for 1 hour, mixing cereal every 15 minutes.

Cool, but continue to mix so cereal does not stick to pan.

When completely cool, store in plastic bags.

*I'll post photos later. 

Food That Jordan Will Eat

I guess it's no surprise that since Jordan is 3/4 Asian, he prefers Asian food above all else which is funny considering his own daddy wouldn't touch Chinese food until his senior year of high school.  It probably also doesn't help that I moderately consumed Asian foods while pregnant or that I'm the one who feeds him during the day.  Don't get me wrong, he'll still eat mac'n'cheese, pasta, casseroles, chicken nuggets, french fries, and loves his milkshakes (cuz they bring all the girls to the yard), but he definitely won't touch mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, or stuffing, and if given the choice, he'd pick the shrimp chips over the regular chips.  It makes me so happy that he loves the stuff I liked growing up too!

Among his favorites are noodles, rice, Chinese style chicken soup, Asian snacks, and dumplings or frozen dim sum from Trader Joe's (cuz where else would we get it here?!)

I always meant to make some teriyaki sauce to mix with his veggies, protein, and rice, but I never actually got around to it until last night.  What a success!  He sat in his high chair, fed himself, and ate a hearty meal of shrimp, broccoli, and rice all slathered in teriyaki sauce.  This will definitely be a consistent staple going forward.

I got the teriyaki sauce recipe from YourVegan Mom, but I didn't have any garlic powder, so I substituted with onion powder.

Teriyaki Sauce:
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 cup water
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 cup packed brown sugar

Mix the above on medium in a pot until it simmers.  Reduce the heat to low, then add a mixture of 1 cup water, 1 1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch and continue mixing on low heat.  After a few minutes, move aside and let it cool.

I used a child sized pair of scissors gifted to me from my cousins in Taiwan (cuz that's where they sell stuff like this) specifically made for the purpose of cutting your child's food to make all his adult food edible (size-wise).  The scissors even came with a cute cover so you can take it with you to restaurants (however, I seem to have lost that during the move) but I'm sure any pair of scissors would work.

It never ceases to amaze me how happy and proud I am when he eats what I cook.  It's the best self affirmation ever.