My first recipe for the New Year!!

Okay Prims, I promised that I will be posting new recipes and I am. Also, why I love doing this is because I am making a family cookbook for my sons and our future DIL'S, so they will always have their favorites and it can be carried on to our grandchildren. With that said, when I make a new recipe for the first time, I ask everyone at the table if it is a keeper or not. Believe me, I have had a few that were not keeper's!!!

I made this for the second time and wanted to share it with you all, it is nice when it is cold outside, comfort food, for sure!

Pork & Cider Stew:



2 med. sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into pieces
3 sm. carrots, peeled and sliced thin
1 cup chopped onion
1 boneless pork shoulder
(about 2lbs., cut into 1 in. cubes)
1 lg. granny smith apple, peeled and chopped
1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 cup apple cider

Layer sweet potatoes,carrots,onion,porkand apples in a 31/2 qt. pan or slow cooker
Stir flour,salt and pepper in a small bowl to combine.
Add apple cider,stir unitl smooth, pour over meat and vegetables.

Cover and cook on low (slow simmer) for 7 to 9 hours until pork falls apart

You will love this stew. The first time I made it was the this past autumn so
I hope you all enjoy this recipe for next fall, but
I just made it tonight (and so can you all), with corn bread. It was a hit!!!

Here is a picture, Let me know if you are going to try it,and if you do, let me know
how it came out!!!



Till next time my prim friends
~~~~God Bless~~~
Tricia

This 2010 new recipes and crafts to share

Hi, my prims, I want you to know that I will be doing alot of recipes ,cooking and baking and alot more craft,like bowls fillers for Valentine's day and St, Patrick's Day and Easter. I plan on making this a very fun blog for all of you!!!!!

Baking and cooking are very dear to my heart,and I will make it and take a picture of the food I make and post it with the recipe  Also, doing alot of different crafts which I can't wait to start!!
So, I just wanted to let you prims know what I am doing for 2010!!!!!!!
I also will be doing some woodworking and the wood blocks, Mr. Hillcrest will cut out the wood and I will do the rest and will be taking orders. The first one I will be making is my sign Hillcrest Home Prims.
Then I will post it and if anyone that is interested in one just let me know and it can say anything you wish and  I will make it!!!!
So, with all that said I hope that this is going to be the best year ever!

Till next time my Prims,
~~~~~Blessings and Hugs~~~~~~
Tricia

Happy New Year 2010

This is what we do on Decemeber 31st to ring in the New Year!! For years people have Chinese food for good luck for the New Year coming up, so we do it even though we don't believe that, we find it a fun tradition to do with our sons!

We always go to our favorite restautant in Milford called the Manderin, great food as you can see from my plate


Here are my three men and ready to eat,


Here is our oldest son Steven that will be graduating this June(2010)

Mr. Hillcrest and I can't believe that it went so fast. Steven was accepted to Bunker Hill College and will be taking engineering and working part time in construction. We are so proud of him and Matthew started 9th grade (2009) and he is on the honor roll and already is looking into colleges to be a vet, so 2009 was a great year for us here at Hillcrest Home.

Here is Matthew saying No more pictures Dad,


Here is Mr. Hillcrest and I
which I love him more everyday!


And here I am
 
Mr. Hillcrest wanted to take a picture of me, I really don't like my picture taken but my family does it for me so I can't complain!!!!!

In the evening we always stay home and I make a nice spread of goodies, dip, wheat chips,cheese, crackers,
pepperoni and wings

We do try to stay up but just can't, that's okay because  we wake up to a New Year!  For dinner we are having a spoon roast, which melts in your mouth with potatoes, carrots, gravy and homemade busicuts~~(happy family)!!!

So, my prims, I want to wish all my Prim friends a Happy New Year (2010). Thank you for supporting my blog and your comments mean so much to me!
This will be the best year for all of us!
I want to leave you with this saying that I love:

The best and most beautiful things in the
world cannot be seen or even touched
they must be felt by the heart!

With that I say, "till next time prims",
Blessings to all,
God Bless friends,
Tricia

It's A Wonderful Life!

We had such a wonderful Christmas with our sons.  Here I am with both of them on Christmas morning, aren't they handsome?  Don't mind me in my jammies.. LOL . 
 
Even though our sons are older, they are kids at heart.  To see them open their gifts and their eyes light up, that is a gift from Mr. Hillcrest and I, that is dear to our heart.
 

 

Before we open gifts, we ather in our bedroom and say a prayer and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus, because it is important to Mr. Hillcrest and I to instill these values in our sons that this is the true meaning of Christmas.  We have been doing this since they first could talk, and they can take this tradition and instill these values in their children,  (our future Grandchildren).  Here are some pictures of our sons on this magical day. 






 I am a truly lucky woman to have such a wonderful family.  We are truly blessed.  I felt it was a Norman Rockwell picture, with the fire going, the tree lit, the presents perfectly under the tree ready to be opened.  Bing Crosby singing in the backround, and having my family around.  Could you ask for anything more?

For dinner, we had a spiral ham with all the fixings, and lots of homemade desserts.  Now I am enjoying having my boys home on school vacation and looking forward to ring in the New Year with my family.  I wish all my Prim Friends a very healthy, happy New Year.  Till next time, see you next year, 
God Bless Prims, Tricia

A Holiday treat, in more than one way.

Here we are at LaSalette.  We had  such a wonderful time although the weather was very chilly!  The lights were absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed every second of it.



Over two million Christmas lights to enjoy.  Tis the season!!!



Here I am with our oldest son Steven,  one of my three favorite guys,  besides my honey and Matthew.   I can't believe he just turned 18, and he towers over me. 



More lights to enjoy, aren't the colors beautiful?



When we got home, we enjoyed "Monkey Bread".  The recipe that Grammy Linda        http://behindmyreddoor.blogspot.com/     had on her blog.  It looked so good that I had to try out her recipe, and now it is one of our favorites.  So please go to Linda's blog and tell her that Tricia sent you.  You will find this great recipe there.  Thank you so much Linda for sharing this delicious treat.

The Sights and Tastes of Christmas!!

  Christmas is a time when we transform our surroundings in a migical way. We decorate inside of our home and decorate outside of our home. What a gift to offer our family and friends to make our home a festive haven. Surrounded by treasured keepsakes and charming new creations we make. This is a great joy in our Christmas celebration.

  One thing that we do every year, Mr.Hillcrest and I pile the boys in the car and listen and sing Christmas music on the way to North Attleboro,(please don't let the boys know I said this ,lol because our oldest Steven just urned 18 and Matthew is going to be 15 Dec 19th but they still love going and hanging out with their parent, pretty cool) it is La Salette,which I went to when I was a child each year with my parents and I kept that tradition with my family, which means alot to Mr. Hillcrest and I.

  La Salette is a magical place with over 2million Christmas lights, it is a shrine and we listen to the Christmas music they play throughout the whole place and then we buy a candle and light it and say a prayer for the loved ones that have gone home with the Lord before us.Then when we are done we go out for a big dinner and then Mr.Hillcrest, the best husband in the whole world he takes all back roads home for us to enjoy the Christmas lights and decorations people have put up!!!These are memories that we are making for our family and of course most of you Prims know that I scrapbook so I have alot of pictures throughout the years of La Salette, the boys are so used to me taking pictures that they know when I take out the camrea they ask,where do you want us to stand Mom, and they don't complain. Mr. Hillcrest and I are truly lucky to have great kids like we do!!!

  We love the old cozy country Christmas in our home. We had our 1st true snowfall of the year, we got about 10 inches so I made beef stew and corn muffins and then we all snuggled in the livingroom with the fire going and the candles on and Christmas tree lights on and watched "Santa Clause is Coming to Town"
          You can't ask for more than to have your family with you!!



                  The Tastes of Christmas

Christmas time for me is to be in the kitchen baking Christmas cookies, for family, friends and teachers. I love to make delicious holiday cookies that have been past down from my great,great grandmother, to great grandmother to my grandmother to my mother to me. This is a true gift that I can give to my family and I am making a cookbook for my two sons so when they get married my future DIL'S can have these delicious reciepes that they can make their famlies!!!


My next post I will have a reciepe for you Prims that you just might enjoy!!
Until next time Prims
God Bless,
Tricia

Chrismas decorating at Hillcrest Home Prims

I am sorry prims for not posting sooner, but as you know, life can become busy around the holidays.  We have three birthdays, both our sons, and my honey, and our anniversary, and Christmas, all in one month, which happens to be December.  There are alot of beautiful pictures of our home, grab a cup of hot Chocolate or tea, you will be here for a little while, and enjoy our home as much as we do.  I hope you get some ideas from our pictures.




My first time making our prim stockings for Christmas, can you believe I did it, I am so proud of these.




I made this from a magazine photo and painted the frame, alot of fun!




One of our favorite corners


Here is our tree, every year each of our son receives an ornament from us until they leave home, there will be colored lights with their ornaments, then when they leave, my honey and I will be getting a huge twig tree, and putting all white light with the many prim ornaments that are already waiting for it.






Our beautiful manger means so much to us


In the kitchen


The scale my honey bought me, full of festive pinecones.


Our great room has some elvish company


Over the kitchen sink looking through to the flower box full of greens


Another view


Our Christmas village gets new additions each year, many pieces are very old


This was my Mother in law's tree, we still have it with us.


In the bathroom

I hope you enjoyed you time here at Hillcrest Home Prims.
Until next time prims.

God Bless you all,

Tricia