Holiday Cooking and Happy New Year

[me_apple]

I had a really good holiday. With the thesis coming to an end finally I was able to actually enjoy some time off. We got to spend lots of time with friends and family and relax for a few days. We also had quite a few cooking adventures.
You'll also notice that MeanMeals.com has gotten a new look. Chris has been making himself busy.

• Peppermint Hot Chocolate is a nice combination of hot and cold from the mint flavour.
• Roasted Chestnuts are a really nice winter treat, perfect for a cold day.
• Emeril's BBQ Shrimp is an appetizer we ordered in Vegas, and Chris ventured to try making it himself. It sure is a lot of work, but pretty good.
• Pierogies seem to be quite complicated to get quite right. Our first attempt was pretty terrible. The dough was just too doughy. With Chris' brother's help we were able to make them quite a bit better, although they still aren't perfect. Maybe they just don't work with whole wheat flour.
• We made some delicious Klouski soup using chicken broth mix, so it was really easy and quick to make.

In other news, my thesis presentation is Monday afternoon. Then I have one week to make any requested changes before submitting the final copy for formatting review. The following week I'll be running around getting forms to all the right places, and on Jan 25 I should be officially done! Then we get some time to rest before we leave for our trip to Egypt and Israel which is now booked. We might have time to make a short trip to Florida before we leave too, but that hasn't been decided yet.