Christmas in Santa Barbara

I had a WONDERFUL Christmas this year!
One of the best Christmas I've had in a long time actually.
I hope you all a great Christmas too!!

My parents flew in a few days before and we drove up to Santa Barbara on Christmas Eve.
We had a delicious dinner and then attended 9PM Christmas Eve Mass.

Some pictures with the tree outside the church.

After that, it was time to get ready for bed so Santa could come!

And don't think I forgot to set out cookies and milk...
I was hoping for something good in my stocking and under the tree!!

After just a few hours of sleep, it was up bright and early.
It was time to open presents, drink lattes and eat warm homemade cinnamon rolls!!

My aunt and uncle's beautiful 13 foot tree!!

Presents time!!!

I was a good girl and Santa brought me a Sock Monkey Onesie! 

After presents and breakfast, I got myself ready and then went to town prepping and cooking!
After all...I was making the Christmas FEAST for 13 people!!!

So what was on the menu you ask?

Let me tell you...
(Because sadly not everything got photographed. I was BUSY...)

Roasted Pork Crown Roast with Apple, Bacon Cranberry Stuffing.
Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary and Onion.
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Garlic.
Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic and Lemon.
Garlic Herb Monkey Bread Muffins
and an Arugula, Cranberry and Parmesan Salad.

Oh yeah, and Homemade Applesauce too.
But sadly I was so busy that I COMPLETELY forgot to serve that.

Pictured Top Row: Arugula Salad, Cinnamon Rolls, Pork with Stuffing.

Pictured Bottom Row: Finished Crown Roast with Homemade "Hats", ALL the produce, Roasted Cauliflower

I was proud!

Can you tell???

I had some GREAT helpers that made the day quite tasty!!!

And these folks had a great time relaxing in the beautiful California weather!

Most of us were in short sleeves!!!

The Christmas Feast is served! 

Like I said before, I had a wonderful Christmas and LOVED cooking the whole meal. 

I think it was a success and look forward to making many more holiday meals in the future.

Chicken Soft Tacos

If you haven't figured it out yet - I LOVE to cook. 

I love it even more when I can cook for a group of people like my amazing family or my close friends.

 I love searching cookbooks and online for recipes (heck - I do this for fun all the time!), I love going to the market (sometimes more than one!) to buy all the ingredients, I love the whole cooking process (yes, even all the prep work too!) and I love seeing the happiness and full bellies once the meal is all over.

 Without boring you even more about how much I love to cook, let me tell you about an amazing and SUPER EASY meal I made for myself and two of my girlfriends a few weeks ago!

I was randomly browsing recipes online one night (surprise surprise, right?) and I round a recipe for chicken tacos. I've made chicken tacos countless times, but this recipe sounded so simple and looked amazing! I called for a crock pot, a few ingredients and not much else.

I used this recipe as a starting point, but made a few modifications. I didn't use green chiles because I didn't have any. Instead of using a jar of salsa, I made my own, which is so easy too! Lastly, I used chicken thighs AND chicken tenders because...I wanted to and I did! The only thing I'd do different next time would be to use "fajita" sized instead of "soft taco" sized tortillas. Sounds odd, I know, but the "soft taco" ones are quite large.