Post Christmas Blues

Does anyone else get this. After Christmas, I always feel a little flat. I had grand plans of sewing up an army of lovely things to parade around and show you, but alas, I have only bonded with my couch until my butt became numb. 
I did not even realize that today is the 29th, the 29th!! Eek! How did this happen! I feel like I have to go back to work already - thankfully I do not have to go back until January 4th, but the days are slipping past me so fast.


I am super excited to get my first package from my sewing bee, Lets Bee Together. The administrator, Linda is sending out our first packages. There is a picture of the fabric on the blog, but it always looks better in real life. I am very much looking forward to working with all these different patterns and seeing what other patterns my friends are into right now. Plus I am super excited to buy more fabric for this project!!! Not that I do not have enough in my stash already for this. hee hee hee.


I thought I would share with you my Antipasto Recipe. I know there are a few you can find online, but I made this one up by combining and eliminating off of a couple of recipes I found online. I think it is pretty awesome.


ANTIPASTO
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups marinated artichoke hearts (three little jars)
1 1/2 cups roasted red bell peppers (one jar - Superstore has a jar of Sweet roasted red bell peppers that I used and it tastes so yummy!)
1 can drained sliced black olives
1 jar pearl onions
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups or one head of chopped celery
1 chopped (or more if you prefer) green pepper
2 cups vegetable oil
1 jar sweet pickle mix chopped up
1 jar of pitted green olives - sliced
1 1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. oregano
3 cloves minced garlic
1 can strained sliced mushrooms
1 tomato paste
2 cans tuna


In a large sauce pan, pour in your vegetable oil, both vinegars, the tomato paste and the oregano. Bring to a boil. Stir. Reduce heat to medium - make sure it is still boiling.
Add the carrots, boil for 10 minutes. Stir.
Add celery, green peppers and cauliflower and boil for another 7 minutes. Stir. 
Now you can put everything else into the pot, stir well and boil for another 7 minutes.
Remove from heat, put into a sterile container and refrigerate overnight. 
If you know how to can, you can do that and your antipasto will last for much longer - without canning, your antipasto is still good for a minimum of 10 days.
Enjoy!

Make sure you stir it up good to prevent sticking. All that oil and vinegar is what keeps the items tasting so good and preserves it. I try to not put too much into my jars, but make sure you do not over strain or it will be dry.

This recipe is great for gifts. Just put the finished recipe into all the jars you used to make it!

Cheers,
Carolyn