Christmas Cookies 2013

This year, things have been pretty hectic around here and for the first time in years, I almost didn't make my Christmas cookies.  So rather than not make any at all, I decided to keep it simple.  I stuck to three flavors, Gingerbread, Sugar and Cardamon Spice.  I also kept a simple color palette.  Is white and pink simple enough?

Here are some pictures of our Christmas decor.

The kitchen tree

 

Mateo's tree

 The main Christmas tree

Mr. Casillas' outdoor lighting

I hope you all had a blessed Christmas and I wish you all of the best in 2014.

XOXO

Tamale-Making Party

There is a reason that we only make tamales once a year (at Christmas)...they are labor intensive. Wow! This was the first time that I was involved in the process from beginning to end, from buying the ingredients to eating them, and now I can appreciate how much work goes into making these little packages of yummy-nes. You cook the meats, make the sauces and the salsa, prepare the masa, soak the corn husks, spread the masa on the corn husks, add the meat with sauce, wrap in wax paper, and steam for 2 hours.  Keep in mind that usually a family will make more than one kind of tamale and each kind requires a different method of preparing.  In my family, we always make pork with mole sauce, chicken picadillo (chicken in a red sauce with vegetables), and rajas (green chiles and cheese).  Some families make sweet tamales which are the dessert version of the savory kind but most members in my family, including me, don't really like them so we don't make them.

These dry chiles are used to make the mole, picadillo sauce and salsa

The tomatillos are soaked for several hours then peeled and roasted for the salsa

Roma tomatoes are boiled and used for the salsa

The master tamale-making chefs: mom and aunt Felipa.  The best!

Three generations.  I have hopes for my niece, Viviana, to keep the tradition going.  At her age, I could care less about making tamales but she is very interested in learning.

I don't know what happened to the grandchildren in this family, but they all seem very eager to learn and be part of the process.  I don't recall doing this when we were children.  I think it's beautiful and amazing that they are so interested in learning and helping.

To soften them, the corn husks are soaked for several hours, then drained

The fragrance of roasting tomatillos...it warms the soul.

The salsa is ready to go!

The meats are cooked, the masa has been prepared, we are ready to start spreading

Of course, that is everybody's favorite task!

 Master Chef, Coco looks on as her apprentice, Valentina makes her proud

 

Once the tamales are wrapped in wax paper, they are placed in gallon-size baggies (a dozen at a time) and put in the freezer until you are ready to cook them.  Growing up, my mom and aunts used to go through this process and cooking the same day (on Christmas Eve).  No wonder they spent the entire day and most of the evening in the kitchen!  Now, we prepare the tamales days ahead and freeze them until we are ready to steam them. They do not have to be defrosted so it makes the job easier.

Merry Christmas!

Catechism Folders

I am so excited to share that I have gone back to teaching catechism this year!  I started teaching about six years ago when Mateo was in second grade and did it for just a couple of years.  There were many reasons that kept me from fully committing myself to it at the time and had to stop.  Recently, I started to hear the call and felt the tug on my heart again.  I was considering going back to it and then, over the Summer, I bumped into Lillian, the Religious Ed director and took it as a sign!  I contacted her to ask if she was in need of teachers and she said yes.  So here I am.

I am no less busier than I was back then but I am trusting in the Lord.

This year, I am teaching 5th and 6th graders in their second year (Sacramental), which means that I will be preparing them for Reconciliation and First Holy Communion.  We had our first class last Saturday.  There was no lesson planned for that day as the time was taken up by administrative tasks.  We did fit in a little game of "Know My Name".  I had the kids stand in a circle and one of them started by making up a nickname; an adjective that describes them that starts with the first letter of their first name (example: Silly Sara).  The next kid had to repeat the names before him/her and tell us his/her nickname and name.  I think they really enjoyed it and it really helped me to remember their names.

We still do not have our assignments for this week yet so I have not yet planned my lesson but for an activity, I am going to have the kids decorate their Catechism folder.  I bought simple two-pocket folders.  On the outside of the folder, they will paste an envelope which will hold their reward card.  The reward card is an incentive for participation and completion of assignments.  When a child has received 10 stickers, they will get to pick an item from the treasure box.  When the whole class has received 10 stickers, I will give them a pizza party.

Here is what the folders will look like once they are decorated.

What you will need:
*Pocket Folders
*Envelopes
*Cards (with a hole punched at the top center)
*Saint or Prayer cards
*Yarn
*Stickers
*Washi Tape

Cut the flap off the envelope

Decorate the outside of the envelope with a Saint or Prayer card

Punch a hole at the top center of the card and write the student's name on one side, thread a yarn through the hole to make it easier to pull out of the envelope

 

 Glue the envelope to the outside of the folder and insert the card

 

 During class, have the students take the card out so that you can easily add reward stickers and little messages during class.  At the end of class, the students can insert the card inside the envelope and take it home to share with mom and dad.

I hope they like their folders as much as I do!