Monday Notes at My House
Happy Monday! Welcome to Monday Notes at My House….
Let’s just call this Monday Notes the Christmas wrap up edition.
I was so blessed to have the majority of my family in town with us for three days over Christmas…and we missed terribly the ones not here.
Our crew included seven grandchildren from ages 1-12.
I can now share with you what the favorites were for Christmas 2025 and some things I can recommend …because they are family approved.
With a warm Christmas, we were able to do many things outside and enjoy some lovely mild temperatures for the kids to play.
But now, the cold weather has returned to us in West Texas, so let’s get a cup of warmth, a cozy blanket, and go over my Monday Notes: The Christmas Wrap Up.
MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: FAVORITE GAMES
This year we played many games…including a lively Family Feud Christmas Game divided into two teams.
But, the game my daughter brought over on Christmas Eve was by far the favorite and, at first, I was appalled.
She called it the poop game and all the kids laughed so hard. It is actually called THE HASBRO GAMING DON’T STEP IN IT! BOARD GAME.
The goal is not to step in the piles of poop…which feel like squishy balls. The kids had to walk the board blindfolded, after picking which animal-walk they must copy.
They laughed and laughed and thought is was so funny. So, by far, the poop game wins the favorite! (But, I do not know if I would give this one as a gift!)
MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: FAVORITE FOODS
The fact that there were really no leftovers from the meals attest to the success of the meals.
I was so busy cooking that I barely remembered to take pictures and wish I had more of the favorites…but I do have a few.
I have selected favorites from the meals based on the fact that children and adults both loved these selections.
I do not have a picture of the salad, but it was a hit. Since I have so much to share today, I will include the salad in tomorrow’s post.
Everyone loved the beef tenderloin (Chateaubriand). Which is great because it is Super Easy!
I purchased 6 lbs, and marinated overnight in Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
It needs to sit at room temperature 90 minutes before cooking and during that time, I rubbed it down with the following:
2 minced garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of dried rosemary
1 teaspoon of dried basil
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1 teaspoon salt…whatever salt you like
1 teasppon pepper
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
I actually mixed all of these together in one bowl, and then rubbed them on the meet while it sat at room temp.
Before cooking, pour one stick of unsalted melted butter all over it.
Then place it in a pre-heated oven at 500 degrees! For medium rare, cook for 25 minutes, for medium cook 28 minutes, and well done 29.
It needs to rest about 20 minutes before serving. Delicious!
I was surprised at how everyone loved the onion gravy for the mashed potatoes….and it turned out to be a unique creation of mine!
I followed this recipe from last year’s Southern Living Christmas Cookbook.
However, I discovered the afternoon of Christmas Eve that I was out of cornstarch and the stores all closed at noon.
There is a gravy mix that I love and keep in my pantry…I guess for times like this.
So, to the onion concoction, I added a packet of PIONEER BAKING COMPANY ROASTED TURKEY GRAVY...Pioneer Baking is a business in San Antonio.
The gravy was heavenly…you kind of wanted to lick the pan…all of the mashed potatoes and gravy were completely gone! The turkey gravy mix went so well with the homemade chicken stock.
On Christmas Morning, our family ate every bit of two PIONEER WOMAN MONKEY BREADS. They love it.
The only thing I do different is to add a dash of nutmeg.
And, the adults all loved Sally’s Easy Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole….I did leave out the mushrooms. It is very good and I served it with green salsa.
Finally, a favorite of all was my German Chocolate Chocolate Sauce that I put over balls of ice cream rolled in crushed Archway Windmill Cookies and frozen individually the day before.
You can use any ice cream, but by request of a grandson, I used Blue Belle’s Christmas Cookie Ice Cream.
This was one of the desserts I did for Christmas Eve.
GERMAN CHOCOLATE SAUCE (The picture shows a double portion- makes great gifts too)
1/2 cup butter
1 4oz package of sweet German Chocolate…I use Baker’s In a green package
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 5 oz can of evaporated milk
In a small pan, over low heat, melt the butter and add the chocolate pieces to melt as well. Stir it often until all is melted.
Next stir in the sugar, vanilla, salt and milk and bring to a boil increasing the heat to medium. Cook at least five minutes and don’t stop stirring.
I store it in the refrigerator and then reheat the sauce in the microwave. before pouring over ice cream…it is so good!
MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: FAVORITE GIFT
The gift that made everyone cry out and me actually cry was this little painting.
My precious daughter-in-law married to my youngest son, took a picture of our San Antonio home and using Canva, made it look like an oil painting on canvas.
My son said that she worked very hard on it.
The picture is from the time my oldest son and his family lived there and those are three of the grandchildren on their bikes in our little nook.
This house goes on the market on January 2, and we all loved it…and have special memories there. This was an emotional gift for everyone.
May the new owner sense the love inside, and hear the laughter in the walls.
I will cherish it always.
And these two 7-year-old cousins both received football jackets for their favorite college teams.
It is a great reminder that college rivals can love each other and be in the same family…they were so cute and even wanted to sleep in the jackets.
Tomorrow, I will share with you a couple of the favorite gifts from Dillard’s.
MONDAY NOTES AT MY HOUSE: DON’T PACK IT AWAY
As you begin to put away your decorations this year, remember not to pack away your JOY.
Our deep joy is something we should maintain all year.
So, keep Joy hanging around throughout the year.
I so hope you had a precious celebration as we did and I am happy to share with you the favorites in the Monday Notes At My House.
Let me know if you have any questions…for us, Christmas 2025 is a wrap.
I hope to see you tomorrow…until then…
KEEP SMILING!
By Pamela Lutrell
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What a great idea, to share all the favorites. That onion gravy looked scrumptious, and is there any food in the world better than mashed potatoes? My favorite gift was one my son and daughter-in-law gave me: an in person color analysis and a two hour style session! I’m so excited, and she’s going with me! Of course, nothing can compare to the grands. The oldest, at two and a half, is talking a blue streak. We gave him a 50 year edition of his dad’s favorite book, Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go, and just like his father did, he loved finding the little goldbug on each page.
Looks wonderful! Tell more about the ice cream balls-how to make them, presentation; I am always looking for new things for my granddaughters.
Please share what you learn, Linda! That is such a great gift…we also had that book for our sons!
Pam, what a joyous Christmas you had! Everything is beautiful. Thank you for sharing with us. Blessings for the new year.
Hi Nyla…I do different versions of this ice cream dessert. This year I called them Christmas Cookie Snowballs. I crush the cookies in my food processor and pour the fine crumbs on a plate. Then I take the ice cream scoop and make about a tennis size ball (or smaller for the really young ones) and roll the ice cream balls in the cookies (sometimes it is coconut) wrap the balls in Saran Wrap and freeze them the day ahead of time. At serving time, I put the ice cream ball in a small dessert bowl, pour over the warm homemade chocolate sauce, and this year I put a small gingerbread man on top for garnish…some years, I have garnished with whipped cream. It is a favorite and the homemade chocolate sauce makes it! You can use any ice cream or frozen yogurt.
Thank you, Marcia. We had lots of laughter and fun.
Wonderful wrap-up and full of joy! Can’t wait to look at recipes, I used your gravy for our Beef Wellington. Delish. My grandkids would probably love that game but I just can’t bring myself to buy it. The painting is precious.
I turned up my nose at the game..but the kids loved it so much…and note that it is mostly boys…it was fun to watch them laughing really hard and enjoying each other…even if stepping in pretend poo!
It’s so special when our kids take the time to come up with a personal gift that speaks to our hearts. This year, my younger son went through all of my FB pictures of my corgi, Oliver, and had a paint-by-number set made from one of them. I got teary eyed as well! Now I hope to pull off the actual painting!
That is so sweet, Jocelyn. Thank you for sharing this with us.
So special the laughter from a silly game, but that is the wonder of it all. The picture of your home with the added features was amazing. What a wonderful wrap up so we can enjoy the time you all spent together.
Thank you. Audrey. The games made both days lots of fun.
I especially loved what you said about keeping Joy around! I tend to be a bit down after Christmas, especially when it’s time for the decorations to come down. It often seems as though people go right back to their pre-Christmas selves, forgetting the goodwill of the season. I often keep a few items up through January inside my house, particularly ones that have lights. Wishing you a very Happy New Year a bit early!
Oh my Pam, all of your recipes appear to be unique, easy and yummy. I’m going to coral my grands before they head back to university and replicate this menu. (I’m not as inspired to cook these days but this menu is worthy.)
it is delicious! And there were no leftovers…which I was looking forward to a bit. I was forced to include one box of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese…which two of the younger ones said they wanted. There were leftovers of that! I tossed it.
I hope you enjoy your meal, Suzi.
I am the same way, Robin. If I allow post Christmas blues to set in they will, but I am joyfully looking forward to this new year. We had to take down our real tree it was drying and done…but we had put it up a week early so it went a long time and looked beautiful. I also keep lights around. I have a faux olive tree with lights which now goes where the real tree was. I will keep everything else up until the end of next weekend. It is always bittersweet, but I cherish it. Savor the memories and look forward to what lies ahead.
What a joyful post, Pam! Thank you for sharing all those wonderful recipes. I am always looking for new ideas to serve my daughter, son-in-law, and 4 grands.
This year my husband and I also received a very special gift. Our granddaughter painted a stunning portrait of our dog, based on a photograph my husband took. There may have been tears when we opened it!
I understand, Cynthia. These paintings just bring the tears on. I know we are both proud to display these gifts.
We had a lovely quiet Christmas here in Colorado. We got calls and pictures on the Dad Chat text thread. The pictures of the great grandchildren kept coming all day. It was warm here as well and we enjoyed our dog walk around our neighborhood. We watched Red One, a movie about Santa being kidnapped and retrieved just in the nick of time. It was actually well done and fun! Your Christmas brings back memories of our 7 adult blended family Christmas events of past years. They all have adult children and most of my sons have grandchildren so they are creating their memories now. I love your picture of your house in San Antonio. She did a good job on it. My sons would have loved the poop game! And no mess!
Boys & sometimes girls of a certain age always find anything to do with poop to be funny, but like you, I am not a fan. I have had Blue Bell Christmas Cookie ice cream, so your grandson made an excellent choice. What a treasured memory that sweet painting will be your whole family. Thank you for sharing your Christmas with us.
We love to go to movies on Christmas Day afternoon. Last year was Red and it was enjoyed by many. This year was the animated movie called David, telling the Biblical Story of this shepherd boy. It was enjoyed by everyone including adults. Thanks for sharing Sydney…glad you had a great day.
Thank you for being here, Becky. I guess the game would not have the same enjoyment if they were stepping in pretend mud??
What a fun celebration for your family. No leftovers means everyone enjoyed all the great dishes you prepared. The picture of you San Antonio house is such a precious gift. Something your family will always treasure. I won’t begin taking down the decorations until after New Year’s Day. I will leave a few seasonal things out a little longer. Our lovey warm weather has also departed and the heavy winds are dropping the temperature quickly. It was such a treat to have a long spell of mild weather.
We are freezing today with a little sleet. I am so glad my family did not have to drive on the sleet…it was a blessing that we could be outside for most of the celebration. The kids ate at our picnic table twice. Glad you had a touch of the mild there, Kathie.
How wonderful your Christmas sounds. Thank you for sharing the recipes and the gifts. The picture of your former home was such a thoughtful gift. Kudos to the DIL who came up with that great idea. If we think of this week as something of a bridge to the hope and joy of the New Year, perhaps there is less of a let-down from Christmas. For all, I hope and pray for a joyful and happy new year.
Mary! I love the idea of thinking of this week as a bridge from one joyful time to the next. Thank you for that word picture and for focusing on what the HOPE of the new year will bring. Blessings to you!