Happy New Year!

2010 is over, and the new year has begun!  I hope the past year was one you can look back on with fond memories - a year where you grew and learned and loved and lived a life worth living!  But if not, isn't it wonderful to be able to start a New Year today?  It's like opening a brand new notepad with clean, white pages, full of anticipation about what you're going to fill it with.  Did you love that feeling when you were a kid at school?  I did!  I was always determined to keep my book clean and neat, no smudges, no messy writing, no scribbling in the margins... but, human nature being what it is, that never lasted long. :)  So I'm pretty sure my New Year's Resolutions won't be kept perfectly - life may get a bit messy, and I might 'scribble in the margins' sometimes this year, but that's okay. When that happens I'll turn the page in my notebook and start a new one, reminding myself, "This is the first day for the rest of my life!"  I'm so thankful that it's not just on New Year's day that we get a chance to start over, it's every day. :)

So, what are your New Year's Resolutions?  I think most of us would say that eating healthier is one of them, and  I hope we can all encourage each other to do that.  If you're anything like me, you probably cheated a bit over Christmas and New Year's (and maybe you're regretting it now!), but just remember, what you ate between Christmas and the New Year is less important than what you'll eat between the New Year and Christmas!!!  :D  So start a new page, and let's work on it together!  Here's to a year of delicious, healthy food, in your house and mine!

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We started off the year on a good note today, with lunch at Grandma's house, which is always a treat - Grandma is well-known for her wonderful cooking!  At Christmas, Grandpa and I surprised her with a Thermomix (she was very surprised - so much fun!) so she's having a great time learning to use it... She's already making up recipes and adapting the ones in the book to suit her, and we're enjoying the excitement of each new success.  Today she made cornbread stuffing (or 'dressing') in the Thermomix (for the Chicken and Dressing), as well as the gravy... it was sooo good... We didn't have a turkey at Christmas, so we had it for New Year's instead, as well as this lovely dish...

Grandma's Chicken and Cornbread Dressing Bake

I'll have to post her recipe for that cornbread dressing - it's so yummy - my mum's dressing is the only one I like!

Roast turkey, chicken and dressing, veges and gravy

For the gravy, I usually just tip all the meat juices into the Thermomix, add some cornflour and a bit of tamari (or soy sauce), and thicken on 100 degrees, speed 4 for a few minutes.  If you like, you can use your vegetable/meat stock concentrate to flavour it, instead of tamari.  So easy, and so delicious!

We also had some homemade bread - my spelt baguettes, and Grandma's bread (she's still amazed at how quick and easy it is in the Thermomix!)...

...and some Cherry Dream with Berry Nougat for dessert - yum!

Oh, and some of my Flourless Pecan Brownie Cookies with a cuppa...
I made this recipe up yesterday and they turned out so yum,
if I may say so myself - recipe coming!
 (Sorry, didn't get a good photo as the light was low - I'll have to make them again now, so I can take some photos! hee hee)

So that was our New Year's Day lunch - dinner was leftovers :) Hopefully next week I'll get back into my usual routine and get a menu plan posted!

Have a great weekend, and many blessings for the New Year,

Jo :)

P.S. Don't forget to leave a comment on my "Happy Birthday to Quirky Cooking" post, so you can go in the draw to win a Miessence Sample Pack, which includes organic chocolate perfume and coconut body lotion!!