Last night, my wife and I spent the evening wrapping presents. Well, let me rephrase that. . . I wrapped one (sorry to my brother-in-law Chris; you will know it when you see it) and decided I was better off stuffing boxes and bags. My wife is a wrapping machine! I mean she goes all out making the most beautiful presents you have seen. With ribbons and bows, she can make the simplest gifts look remarkable. Now me, on the other hand, I am the best bag-stuffing, box-packing husband you have ever seen. Shirts in a box, no problem, purse in a bag, no problem, 14-dimensional bulky object with handles, big problem! LOL!

As my wife says, wrapping the presents is half the fun. Although our new kitty, Isis, thinks its fun too. She is now running around the house wearing a Christmas bow. I will post pics soon.

Simple Taco Salad

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 Large Chicken Breast
• 1 Packet Taco Seasoning
• 1 Large Flour Tortilla
• 1/2 Tomato, diced
• 1/4 White Onion, chopped
• 1 Cup Shredded Cheese
• Mixed Lettuce
• Vegetable Oil

Dressing (Served on the Side)

• 1/4 Cup Sour Cream
• 1/4 Cup prepared Guacamole
• 3 Dashes your favorite Hot Sauce

Directions

1. Heat a small pot of vegetable oil over medium high heat and heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Coat both sides of the chicken breast with half the taco seasoning packet.
3. In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium high heat and cook chicken both sides for 3 minutes; then place in oven for 10 minutes until juices run clear.
4. While chicken is cooking slice the tortilla into thin 1/4 in by 2 inch strips.
5. Place place tortilla strips int the pot of hot oil a fry for 5 to 10 minutes until desired brownness. (We like ours crispy.)
6. Once the strips are fried, place them on paper towels and sprinkle with remaining Taco seasoning and mix well.
7. Once chicken is done, chop into bite-size pieces.

To make Dressing

1. Combine Sour Cream, guacamole, and hot sauce in a bowl.
2. Hot sauce is optional but I think it adds a nice level of flavor.
3. It’s best served on the side; then each bit gets the perfect amount.

Final Steps

1. On 2 plates layer:
2. Lettuce, tomato, onion, chicken, cheese, and tortilla strips.
3. Serve with a good drink like a Margarita with lots of salt.
4. Enjoy!

It’s definitely Christmas shopping time. My wife and I are elbow to elbow with the rest of the crazy shoppers out there. We have found some really great deals, and I am excited for this Christmas Eve and and Christmas morning. We have a lot of traditions in our families when it comes to Christmas. For instance, my wife’s family always opens their presents Christmas Eve; where my family opens them Christmas morning. This has worked out brilliantly when you have to get to both households for Christmas. My family opens a “funny” gift on Christmas Eve, and my parents are very good at finding the funniest presents for each of us. This tradition started when as kids we would be so anxious for Christmas morning mom and dad would let us open 1 present on Christmas Eve. We would be so excited to open that present, only to discover that it would be something like a note that says Merry Christmas or the like on it. It was great fun and now we look forward to it every year. In my wife’s family, they lay the presents under the tree as soon as they are wrapped, which is also great because it’s a whole new level of decorations. You get to see Christmas morning every day in December. It’s the traditions and spending time with the family that make Christmas so remarkable.

I watched a special on the History channel about the history of Christmas and how we got a lot of our traditions. I recommend everyone watch it. It explains how the secular world intertwined with the religious world to give us the Christmas of today. Things like why it’s celebrated on the 25th of December and why we have a Christmas tree (thanks, Vikings!). Another cool thing I found out was about the song, “We Wish You A Merry Christmas.” Man, that’s a crazy song! You should really listen to the lyrics. Carolers would stand in front of your house singing, and, basically, would continue singing or (worse) invite themselves into your house until you brought them something to appease them, like figgy pudding. It was not a nice thing, as is always portrayed in Christmas movies. It’s the funny things like that, that I enjoyed finding out.

Our last tradition that I have now inherited from my wife (and I am curious if anyone else does this) is that our TV stays on the Hallmark Channel all the month of December. Every show is a Christmas show, and my wife can’t get enough. Some of the shows are very corny, but, I will have to admit, most of them are heart warmingly good. What Christmas traditions do you have?

Peach French Toast

Serves 2

Christmas shopping in our family always gets a little carried away. Anyone who knows my family personally will tell ya we’re crazy when it comes to Christmas. Why? Because we love it we would damn near rather go bankrupt than to not have a huge, gi-normous Christmas. Where talking a Christmas with so many presents that we have to take breaks in the middle of opening presents. Now, I will say at any time we can have up to 3 generations with us opening presents, but still it’s insane. Especially if there is family in from out of town with their kids; then it can get really fun.

Over the last few years, I have introduced this style of Christmas to my in-laws and their family. They think I’m crazy too! Why not have some fun and watch the joy of somebody opening a present? Better yet, watch somebody completely freak out because you got them something they weren’t expecting but what they really wanted. I look forward to it every year.

My wife and I started our shopping this year on the dreaded Black Friday. We spent the weekend on Lake Grapevine camping with my family. It was cold and wet on Thanksgiving day, but it was a lot of fun the rest of the time. We went with the family to ride the North Pole Express Grapevine. It was a good time, only the kids were supposed to dress up in their pajamas, but all of us grown ups decided it would be fun too. You should have seen the looks we got walking through Historic Grapevine Texas in our pajamas. The train ride was okay and Santa looked great, but they could have done a lot more to make it more like the Polar Express Movie. I will say that my parents, my wife, and I really had more fun going to the wineries after the train ride in our PJs, because that’s when we really got some good looks. All in all, it was fun. It’s been awhile since I posted, so I am starting off with an easy one. If you haven’t been to Grapevine, Texas, during Christmastime, well, you’re just missing out. They claim that they are the Christmas Capital of Texas, and I bet that they are not far off on that claim. The whole downtown is done up with that Holiday flair and shows. You can’t walk past a shop or store without seeing wonderful Christmas decorations and holiday cheer.  We had so much fun that we may make family camping on Grapevine Lake a family tradition for this time of year. Where else can you do your Christmas shopping, drink as much wine as you can get your hands on, Christmas shop ’til you drop, and camp all at the same time? What a great time with the family and our dogs (we had 8 out there!).

Now it’s time for the real shopping to begin. We have our Christmas list and our checking it twice and we don’t care who has been naughty or nice. Actually sometimes the naughtier the better…

It’s been awhile since my last post so I am gearing up with a simple one and will get working on Holiday recipes. Christmas is my favorite time of year. I know that Christmas has a lot of different meanings, but, for me, it’s the look on people’s faces when they get something they really wanted that is my favorite.

Simple Honey Mustard Chicken

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper