Merry Christmas!

   Hope the holidays are treating everyone kindly, I know I've been super busy!

Some how I managed to get some presents for most of the people on my small list (small amount of $$= small list!) So I'm all set to set back and enjoy the next two days. I just finished cooking all of the side dishes for tonight's Christmas Eve dinner, and I thought I would share some pictures and a recipe or two! Most are traditional for me, and the other but a few are new.

From left to right:Sweet Potato Casserole, Squash Casserole,  and Green bean casserole

This squash casserole is a family staple, my grandmother has been making it for 50 years,and I was taught how to make it when I was a little girl. Its pretty famous for being AWESOME amongst family and friends. 

Squash Casserole:

Ingredients

3lbs Squash (lightly skinned, boiled until soft,drained, and mashed)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 sweet onion

stick of butter

1 can sliced water chestnuts ( you find these in the Asian food section)

1 cup sour cream

1 cup dry crushed stuffing

   Finlay chop onion, and cook with 1/2 the butter in a small pan until transparent and soft. Mix all ingredients except stuffing & butter, pour into a casserole dish, and top with stuffing, sprinkle with left over butter. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. 

Four layer Strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting

This one is new to me, but it totally rocks! 

Ingredients

1 pakg white cake mix

3 tbs flour

4 eggs

1/2 cup veg. oil

3/4 cup water

1 3 oz. pkg  strawberry jello

1 pkg frozen strawberries (thawed)

1 cup powdered sugar ( or to taste)

1 stick softened butter

2 packs softened cream cheese

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 pkg fresh strawberries

Combine cake mix, flour, eggs, oil, water, jello, and 3/4 of thawed strawberries. Mix well. Pour into two oiled,  9 inch cake pans.  Bake about 30 mins at 350. When cooled, split into 4 layers total.

In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, and rest of thawed strawberries (slightly mashed). Add more lemon juice as necessary to thing frosting. Frost cake when cool adding sliced fresh strawberries to each layer. Decorate top with whole strawberries, and left over slices.

Make sure to refrigerate!

Wooooo Dental surgery!

So this morning , bright and early, I went in to get some work done in my mouth. Had my one and only wisdome tooth removed, AND and even less pleasent skin graft across 4 of my bottom teeth. Some how, I caused tramma to the gum a few years ago (not suprising, im prone to freak accedents) and it caused the gumm beneath two of my teeth to fall. 

Good news: I had two super skilled dentist preform the sergery

- I was knocked out for the whole thing

-I'm on LOTS of nice pain killers for the next week.

Bad news: - I look like a chipmonk 

-Im tottaly out of it! So im sorry if I make silly/ inapropreate replys on anyones blog!

<3

California here I come!

So this is the last place I've gotten around to posting this little tidbit...

I"m moving to California this January to start school at CalArts, studying costume design and construction!

(yay!)

I'm super excited, and a bit scared too! I've already found a place to live, a room in a condo within 5 minutes walking distance, for a super reasonable price. If my cat comes home ( my mom accedentily let her out thanksgiving day...shes been missing since =(  She will be coming with me, and if not...well I may be looking to adopt a new cat once I get there. Im going to be up in Cali by myself for at least a month, and Im going to miss Max terribly...Im realy trying my hardest not to think about that part! But he should be following me up soon, hopefully to work an internship, or a full time job as a story board artist!

Wish us both luck, were going to need it!