Christmas and New Year's (Livingston, Texas December 21-Jan 2)

I haven't posted anything for nearly two weeks because our lives have settled down to a routine.  For Christmas dinner, the park had a dinner with the meat provided and everyone was to contribute a side dish or dessert.  There were about ten to a table so we didn't provide for everyone-just for our table.  My choice was to provide two pies.  Now, you have to know that I had never, and I mean NEVER, baked a pie since moving into the RV.  We do not have a regular oven, just a combination microwave-convection oven.  Since one of the ladies bragged about how she makes her own pie crust and would be willing to provide pies, I was not to be dissuaded and said I still wanted to bring the pies.  So I bought the ingredients for an apple pie (I don't make my own crust from scratch but have found that the Pillsbury crusts are just as good).  I decided that it would be a good idea to do the pies a day early so that if they bombed I could always go and buy some.  Well--I learned that the convection oven is better than I ever dreamed and the apple pie turned out beautiful and better that I have ever made in a regular oven!  Here is a picture of it (Pat was disappointed that I wouldn't let him sample it!):

The other pie was Rocky Road No-Bake Cheesecake (I had never made this pie either).  The recipe turned out to be fairly easy and is available at http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/rocky-road-no-bake-cheesecake-105199.aspx.  I knew while making it that the filling was really good and the pie did actually exceed my expectations.  After the picture was taken, I did add some shredded chocolate to the top to dress it up a little bit.  Beware-it is very rich!!

The Christmas dinner was very enjoyable and I am glad we signed up for it.  All the food, including the pies, was wonderful.

The rest of the holiday season was pretty quiet and we never made it to midnight on New Year's Eve.  We may have been awake to try to calm Abby.  Whenever she hears any loud noises--thunder, gunshots, fireworks--she gets highly nervous and starts shaking.  She is like a small child (and sometimes not so little child) who comes in to wake up "mommy" because she is scared.  Hopefully, the fireworks in the area are done so we can all get a better night's sleep!

We hope everyone has a Happy and Prosperous 2012.  We don't know where we will be heading after winter--it may be out west or east coast--but we will keep you up-to-date.

EASY LIVING!!