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My holiday recap

*As previously published on Hybrid Mom

I can’t believe another year has gone by. It seems like yesterday I was sharing last year’s holiday adventures with all of you. Crazy! All of my kids are older and my two oldest live away from home so the holidays are a great time for us to be together. It is so fun for me to decorate the house, have a fire going and something great smelling baking in the oven for their return. It felt so warm and welcoming and we were all so happy to reunite.

A couple of days later we headed on our annual road trip to Colorado for Christmas. This year we went a day earlier and stayed a day later, so it was a nice vacation. It really gave everyone (mainly parents) the opportunity to relax. We had the big group of extended friends and their families for Christmas Eve. The food was amazing and like always a few of the guys bring out their guitars and one keyboard and start singing songs. Before you know it everyone is singing. It is such a happy memorable night for all of us. 

On Christmas night my friend Carrie always makes turkey (leftovers) tacos. She sheds a head of lettuce and the Turkey, tosses in shredded cheddar cheese, a chopped onion, a little V8 juice and a little salsa. She then fries corn tortilla shells into folded taco shells….YUM.

We hung out a lot by the fire, everyone doing their own thing. Playing music, knitting (me), reading…whatever. So nice and peaceful. Everybody skied or snowboarded and we all ate TOO much, but hopefully it was balanced out.

One night my friend Marty made this delicious pasta with short ribs you might want to try (recipe below).

Pasta with Short Ribs 

Ingredients 

  • 4 pounds beef short ribs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
  • 5 Roma tomatoes, cut into eighths
  • 1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • 1 pound penne pasta
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions Place an oven rack in the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. In a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or ovenproof stock pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. In batches, add the ribs and brown on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and set aside. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, wine and mustard. Bring the mixture to a boil and scrape up the brown bits that cling to the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Return the ribs to the pan. Add the beef broth, cover the pan and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours until the meat is fork-tender and falls easily from the bone.

Remove the ribs from the cooking liquid. Using a large spoon, remove any excess fat from the surface of the cooking liquid. Using a ladle, transfer the cooking liquid in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and keep warm over low heat. Remove the meat from the bones. Discard the bones. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into small pieces. Stir the shredded meat into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large serving bowl. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat from the sauce and add to the pasta. Pour 1 cup of the sauce over the pasta. Toss well and thin out the pasta with more sauce, if needed. Sprinkle the pasta with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley before serving.

All and all we filled our cups with love and friendship and returned home ready to tackle the new year!!!!!

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