Mom, Dad, and Lynley showed up at our house a couple days before Christmas, which was great because it gave us more time to cook together. Our first official Farris Family cooking experience of holiday 2011 involved mashed potatoes, grandma’s noodles, brussel sprouts with garlic tempeh, carrots and Blueberry Hill chicken. The Blueberry Hill cookbook is becoming on of my personal favorites and even though I don’t eat chicken much anymore, I was excited for dad to cook one of the inn’s most popular recipes.

Grandma's noodles cooking away in veggie broth. I make them huge, more like dumplings, but that's the way I like them and it's my house!
I’m not going to lie to you, but while the chicken baked for 30 or so minutes so drinking happened…
And then some singing and dancing occurred – to this song in particular….
John came home from a long busy day at work to find us acting crazy in the kitchen, so he had to join in.
The potatoes were mashed and we were ready to eat.
After dinner we played Old Maid– oh yes we did. If you haven’t played Old Maid since you were a kid, give it a try. It’s way more fun than you remember and you can sort of strategize in really silly ways.
Dad and Lynley at the bitter end…the crazy camera work only lasts for a few seconds.
I guess I don’t have to tell you who lost the second round…
Stay tuned for more hearty eaters holiday fun!