No Resolutions

for the new year needed.  I have already admitted to being a habitual organizer and list maker.  I just woke up on New Years Day and continued on with the daily living towards being a better person and living each day to the best of my ability.  I truly believe doing this daily makes for an amazingly stress free existence.  I rose early enough to watch the new year sunrise because it's a nice way to mark beginnings.  This is the view that came as I drew in my breath that morning.

You can see the last sunset as I saw it on 1/31/12 on yesterdays post.  It was also an amazing site.

Today we kept a Texas tradition and ate black eyed peas.  Back during the depression and dust bowl days, many homesteaders were very hungry and a tradition was born as many Texans ate black eyed peas and hoped for better days of prosperity.  Prosperity eventually came and the tradition stayed on as a salute to survival.

We ate our black eyed peas in a relish type dip.  It is really delish.  I posted the recipe previously here.     I usually serve them with Frito brand Scoops, but my sister made some spicy saltines that were very good with them too.  I'll twist her arm gently for the recipe in a few days...

While I'm sharing, here are a couple of easy finger lings we had at our big family Christmas Brunch.  I sat the ingredients before a couple of nieces and they had fun assembling them while I made cup cake upside down pineapple cakes.

Found this easy recipe on Pinterest.  Purchased powdered donuts
and turned the into snowmen with candy corn & mini chocolate chips.

Another Pinterest find, Grinch fruit!  Spear a strawberry, banana slice and green grape.
We used purchased black icing in a tube from the grocery store to make the faces.

By far the favorite was this pineapple upside down cupcake recipe.
In a cupcake pan, place a teaspoon of butter and
a teaspoon of brown sugar
then a pineapple ring.
Enough simple yellow cake batter to fill the muffin pan 2/3 full.
Bake 350 F for about 20 minutes.
Flip over onto serving platter and
op with a marachino cherry.

I sometimes link up here...

It's not too late to prepare for a Texas New Year.

• Our new year parties in Texas usually:
• includes Black Eyed Peas.  Even my northern bred SIL will eat these, click here for Texas Caviar recipe.
• A cold New Year usually inludes a soup or chili. Check here for a great chili recipe, try serving it over Fritos in individual bags.  Your guests will ask for the recipe and I don't mind if you take all the credit!
• Make your own chips from purchased tortilla's.  Try cutting out shapes using a star cookie cutter.  You can see how I made gingerbread man tortilla chips for Christmas here.
• Finger food is a must, make my sister's Tortilla Roll Ups 
• and if you have a couple of sweet potatoes left over, try my brother's Sweet Potato Cakes.
• Want a little sweet pick up?  Make my big girl grand's Rolo Cookies in just a few minutes!
• Those purchased flour tortillas are a budget friendly treat to make Peach or Apricot Jam Burritos.
• If bubbly is something you like to toast in the new year, try a "Designated Driver" punch.
• 1 or 2 bottles of carbonated beverage such as Sprite or Sparkling Grape Juice
• 1 carton ice cream or sherbert, softened slightly
• or a Shirley Temple Sangria
• Stir till sugar is disolved
• 2 bottles red grape juice (try sparkling grape juice)
• 1 Cup orange juice
• 1/4 Cup fine sugar
• Add fruit 
• 2 sliced oranges
• 2 sliced lemons
• 2 cored/chopped apples
• add 2 Cups club soda to give it a festive carbonated bubble

Happy New Year - drink responsibly, 

and if you do drink...please don't drive.

party links here