Robyn's Recipe

Ok, you asked for it, and here it is - Robyn's 10-Minute Appetizer!
1 Pkg (8 oz) softened cream cheese
1/2 C Miracle Whip dressing
TOPPING: 1 C chopped tomato
1 C chopped cucumber
1/4 sliced black olives
Athenos crumbled feta cheese with herb and garlic

Mix cream cheese and dressing until well blended. Spread on dinner platter or serving platter. Layer toppings over cream cheese. Sprinkle with the feta cheese. Serve with your favorite Nabisco crackers or cut fresh vegetables. ENJOY!

Family Cooking Show...

Julia Child's doesn't hold a candle to cooking with Julie Doucette!

What a fun afternoon we had! I got a phone call this morning suggesting that I come enjoy an afternoon of giggles and laughter cooking in mom's kitchen. So off I set after picking up a few last ingredients from the store, with the mission of making Chicken Enchiladas. (for those that are now drooling, turn to page 90 of "Tasteful Treasures - The O'Connell Family Cookbook.)


So Mom, Brenda & I cooked (and sampled) to our hearts content! For the record, black beans are also a very good addition to the recipe, as well as the green chile enchilada sauce. :)

The whole time we cooked, Brenda's babies slept... we were able to zip around the kitchen quickly and without any accidents! :)

After... 25 steamy, cheesy, tasty enchiladas... YUMMY!!!

And one not-so-happy Ashlynn because Auntie Dawn woke her up from almost a 3 hour nap. But it's nothing a little Grandma snuggle can't fix!! :)

Amber & Matthew's Vegetables Vinagrette

I'm still reminiscing over all the wonderful dishes we had at our Christmas party. I really enjoyed the multiple potato varieties... heck we wouldn't be Irish if we didn't have a potato feast, right? LOL

I also enjoyed the fresh vegetable salad that Amber & Matthew brought. I asked Amber to share the recipe because that is one dish I would love to make again! I'm guessing I'm not the only one that loved the Vegetables Vinagrette, so here's the recipe for all to share! Thanks Amber for making a great dish! Much love to all and a very prosperous 2010!

Vegetables Vinegrette

Grape Tomatoes - One package ( 16oz.? )
Yellow Pepper - 1.5 large
Sugar Snap Peas - One package, cut in half short ways
Button Mushrooms - One package ( 12oz? )
Shredded Carrot - Not much, just to add color

Dressing:
Balsalmic Vinegar - I didn't exactly measure, I'm guessing about 1/3 cup
Olive oil - 1/4 cup?
Lemon juice - 1/8 cup?
Minced Garlic - 1/8 teaspoon
Pepper - 1/2 teaspoon, I think it coulda used more, but I ran out!
Salt to taste

This was the first attempt at making this, so I experimented with the dressing.
I suggest mixing it up and tasting it as you go to make sure the measurements are appropriate.
I am delighted that it was enjoyed by many. I will definitely be making this again!

LET'S START HERE

Turkey - Aunt Mae & Uncle Doug... it's a big bird! 24+ lbs.
Ham -
Potatoes, mashed -
Potatoes, cheesy - Uncle Vince
Gravy - Aunt Mae
Stuffing -
Green Bean Casserole - Griepentrog Family
Corn - Dawn - I'll make Aunt Noreen's Corn Casserole from the Family cookbook!
Vegetable Vinaigrette - Amber & Matthew Fisher
Candied Yams -
Relish Tray & Dip - Audrey (with the help of Noah)
Dessert (specify).............. ???
Bread/Rolls - Casey & Dylan
Butter -
Coffee - Amber & Matthew Fisher
Milk -
Appetizers -
Taco Dip - Rita - Thank you oodles & oodles! :)
Appetizer Surprise - Aunt Diane
Little Wieners/Little Smokies -
Meatballs -
Fudge - Amy & Greg
Homemade Caramels - Diane -Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Hey Everybody! Here's the start to our Family Christmas Menu. Feel free to comment on this post for what you want to bring. We welcome items not specifically listed, so if you have a hankering to make something new or different, drop us a comment and we'll add it a la carte!

For those that don't have e-mail or access to the blog, can a family member please touch base with them and see what they wish to bring and we'll update the menu with those delightful blessings too? Thanks so much. You are also welcome to e-mail us your thoughts and planned menu additions and we'll happily update.

Everybody that is participating in the ornament exchange/gift exchange should have gotten their postcards in the mail! Have fun being creative and let your love shine!

Looking forward to drooling over this wonderful feast!
Love,
Julie & Dawn

P.S. We hope you enjoy the holiday music as we prepare for another wonderful Christmas together.

More Pictures from the August Family Gathering

As promised, I said I'd bring you more pictures from the August Birthday Parties, so here there are. :) (I haven't been delinquent, I've just really been enjoying everybody else's pictures, posts and loving news.)

This is our family bodyguard... way to fend off the strangers Aunt Diane! :)


Isn't it wonderful to see the Merfeld's are equal opportunty baby lovers?!?! ;)

It sure was beautiful, and looking at the pictures again reminds me every day of how lucky we are to have such a diverse, loving, wonderful family!



Have a wonderful day everybody! Love you!

Dawn

Food on a Stick, Animal Smells... what could it be?

Polly Want a Cracker???

Well, Aunt Rita, have you recovered from your wii-pisode with your personal trainer??? I hope you and the virtual dude are getting along better now... can't we all be friends? LOL

Yesterday Chris & I just took a day off... we've been plugging away on our computers for hours on end, months on end and just needed a break. It was a beautiful, sunny day, so we opted to give State Fair all of our un-divided attention! It was GREAT!!!!

We saw baby lambs... and they are so cute. Saw the baby goats too... I still want a goat... someday I'll have my pet goat. We ate plenty of fried food and drank our "fair" share of fresh squeezed lemonade... you should see the refillable cups this year... they have a HUGE 64 oz. gallon size. Now that's crazy. Personally, I wouldn't have wanted to carry that around all day! We of course indulged in the required cream puff and opted to skip the chocolate covered bacon.

It really was a beautiful day. We could both act like kids and people watch. Lots of Laughs and absolutely no stress! It was bliss!

Hope you get a chance over the weekend to experience bliss... be thankful for what we have!

Love to all!

Dawn

Do You Like Meatloaf?

Okay, this is a very random post. But you're all related to me, so I know you all love me... inspite of my unique fascination with food. :)

Last night we had the most incredible meatloaf.... seriously, I like a lot of food. But this was the most tasty meatloaf we've ever eaten... in Chris' words, even better then the Cheesecake Factory Meatloaf... and if you've had theirs, you know it's good.

So for anybody that likes meatloaf... and loves food in general, please feel free to bop over to my delicious blog. If anything, you'll get a laugh at how goofy I am, but I am laughing with you... promise ;) http://dawnsfood.blogspot.com

There's also an incredible Winter Salsa Recipe over there... Bon Apetit!

**See for those people that think they have nothing to say, or their life is seriously boring... you can talk randomly and it still might make someone's day! Who's smiling now?? If you're smiling, I did my job! Love to all!**

Celebrate Good Times... C'mon!

Happy New Year Everybody! I hope you all had a safe and wonderful celebration to ring in 2009! We've "re-decorated" our family blog to keep it fun and exciting! We also added a new poll over to the right! I hope you find it fun & amusing.

Chris & I stayed in for New Year's eve... It was fun to watch the crazy people freezing their rumps off at the annual Rockin' celebration in Times Square while we sat home toasty in front of our fire. We had Lasagna, wine, and a Triple Layer Brownie Dessert I whipped up. Tonight will be the rest of our special meal (yes, I didn't get started early enough yesterday). So our fancy dinner tonight is an incredible stuffed beef roast. Stuffed w/ a carrot/celery/bacon stuffing... Neither recipe belongs in our fitness blog!!!!! LOL :)

Here's some pics of the scrumptious eats... the roast is in the oven now (my kitchen smells amazing, Thanks to Anna & Keith for the excellent meat) and the dessert was soooooo easy! Let me know if they wet your appetite!

Happy New Year to All! Love you much!

Dawn

P.S. Check out my jewelry blog for a special piece of jewelry I made last night too! :)

P.P.S. Here's the completed New Year's Dinner!

Christmas Dinner Menu

Hey Everybody! I am so excited to see how many people have responded to Aunt Mae's e-mail with what delicious dinner & dessert items they are offering to bring.
I also love how people are using "Reply All" to keep everybody else in the loop. When I tried reply all earlier, I got 3 e-mails returned to me with wrong e-mail addresses. So I was concerned that some people wouldn't be in the same loop... and I know we are all a little loopy at times! :)
So I thought it would really be helpful to post the current menu as it stands at 4:57 pm on Wednesday, 12/3... and whether people reply all or post here, I'll commit to keeping this up to date as long as you all continue to hit "reply all!"
Deal... or No Deal?

Turkey...................................................................Mae
Ham...................................................................Mom
Potatoes, mashed.......(need more than last year)......... Carissa
Potatoes, cheesy...........(need more than last year)........Vince
Gravy................................................................??
Stuffing...............................................................??
Green Bean Casserole...................................Anna
Corn..................................................................... Brenda
Candied Yams..................................................... Vince
Cranberry Jello Salad----------------------Dawn
Relish Tray & Dip..................................... Amber & Matthew
Dessert (specify)............................... ???
Pies - Pumpkin, Apple & Mudslide Pie .......... Cassie & Jesse
Brownies-------------Monica – (not really a Christmas dessert, but they’re always good J )
Bread/Rolls........................................................Monica
Butter...................................................................Julie
Coffee...................................................................Mom
Milk.......................................................................Mae
Fruit Salad ------------------ Julie

Appetizers -
Taco Dip..............................................................Rita
Little Wieners/Little Smokies (politically correctly speaking).....Katie Griepentrog
Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts.............. Katie Griepentrog
Meatballs..........................................................Scott
Biscotti or Cookies......................................... Amber & Matthew
Fudge_______......................................... Amy & Greg
Black Bean & Corn Salsa (and chips)............. Diane
Ooy, Gooey Homemade Caramels............. Diane
______________........................................??

If I don't hear from you by December 13th I'll be assigning you something and sending you a note as to what I assigned you. ~Warm Regards ~Aunt Mae

**And a final winter wonderland thought for all of you. Here's a picture of today's beautiful snowfall on our Christmas lights (just click on it to see a larger view). It's a very pretty evening... just look at those snowflakes. And it's a great excuse for a hot chocolate too! **
Love you! ~Dawn

P.S. Don't you miss this Bridget and Uncle Jeff???? (just a little?)