Day 25 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Good morning! 

Please visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup,  

co-host for The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas, 

for today's ideas... and enjoy! 

Come back here tomorrow for Day 24.

Reversible, Reusable, Ruffled Grocery Bags: Day 26 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Today's feature for our Christmas countdown series makes me want to learn to sew... I love these Reversible, Reusable, Ruffled Grocery Bags:

Photo used with permission; Credit: Sandra, Sawdust and Paper Scraps

These were made by Sandra of Sawdust and Paper Scraps.... stop by over there for the tutorial!

Our gift idea for today centers around hamburgers.  I suppose there are other foods that rival the burger as "America's Favorite Food," but I can't really think of any food more "American"!  A survey was even done that named America's favorite burger.  I'm really not that surprised about the result... The Chef had been raving about their burgers for some time, when not long ago, I finally decided to try one.  I have no clue why I did not try one sooner, but to be honest, I really was not impressed.  Now, it's not often that I do not agree with The Chef's ideas about food, but I've definitely had burgers from other restaurants that I liked a lot better.

It was interesting to see the selection of books available about this favorite American food.  Is there a burger lover in your life who might enjoy one of these?

Disclosure:  For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase.  We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation.  We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.

Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord.  Add yours!

Thanks for joining the party today!  

 Click here for a complete list of the features from previous days and a list of giveaway winners so far.  

Have a great day!

*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event.  (Find out how you can do the same here).  Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:

 

For Such a Time As This, Cup of Delight, The Freshman Cook, This Little Light of Mine, Everyday Mom's Meals, Simply Sweet Home, Angel Food's Kitchen, Happier Than a Pig in Mud, Sweet Nothings, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive 365, Pat's Pink Apron, Bloggerette Sorority, Ms. enPlace  *Be the next one*

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Day 27 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Good morning! 

Please visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup,  

co-host for The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas, 

for today's ideas... and enjoy! 

Come back here tomorrow for Day 26.

Crock Pot Stuffing: Day 28 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

With Christmas just a month away (!!), we thought a great crock pot recipe would be ideal, something you can plan to have ready for your Christmas meal with limited time and effort.  Erin, of EKat's Kitchen, brings us her Crock Pot Stuffing, in 5 Reasons You Should Make Crock Pot Stuffing This Year:

I was not a big fan of stuffing growing up, but when The Chef developed a new stuffing recipe, with apple and sausage, one year for Thanksgiving, I was a little skeptical taking that first bite.  After all, stuffing is still stuffing, right?  Wrong!  I loved this version!  So now I'm more willing to venture out and try stuffing if it's on the menu or in a dish.

I know most people probably love the stuff and figured I'd see if there were any stuffing cookbooks.  Of course there are!  How could I have questioned that?  There must be a cookbook for every type of recipe known to man.  I don't think our cookbook shelf is big enough for our every growing list of cookbooks we'd like to own.  And the other problem?  The time to spend looking through them all.

Some cookbooks I found with stuffing recipes: 

Disclosure:  For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase.  We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation.  We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.

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Celebrating "The Reason for the Season"...

One of the things I enjoy about decorating for Christmas is placing out our nativity sets.  I thought a few of the nativity sets seen here, in The 24 Most Creative Nativity Scenes, were neat, such as the smallest ever and the DIY lego scene.  A few of the others I definitely could have done without seeing.  As someone commented to the article, I personally found them odd, to put it nicely!  I did find the information about the history of nativity scenes interesting, and I think this year, we'll do it the "traditional" way, leaving Jesus out until Christmas day.  What a great idea.

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Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord.  Add yours!

Thanks for joining the party today!  

 Click here for a complete list of the features from previous days and a list of giveaway winners so far.  

Have a great day!

*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event.  (Find out how you can do the same here).  Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:

 

For Such a Time As This, Cup of Delight, The Freshman Cook, This Little Light of Mine, Everyday Mom's Meals, Simply Sweet Home, Angel Food's Kitchen, Happier Than a Pig in Mud, Sweet Nothings, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive 365, Pat's Pink Apron, Bloggerette Sorority, Ms. enPlace  *Be the next one*

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Find more great recipes at: Tip Me Tuesday

Fruit Salad with Cool Whip and Cottage Cheese Recipe {Thanksgiving}

This Saturday evening's fruit salad recipe, made with cool whip and cottage cheese, has become a regular part of our Thanksgiving menu the past few years.  The Lucky Wife adapted the recipe from a cookbook a good friend of ours published years ago.  Our Thanksgiving menu this year included just a couple of what would be considered traditional Thanksgiving dishes:

Starting with the turkey and moving clockwise, we had deep fried turkey breast, Roasted Carrots and Mushrooms with Thyme from Kalyn's Kitchen, Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta from Skinnytaste, Italian Cheese, Mushroom and Walnut Risotto, which also has become a regular part of our Thanksgiving meal, whole-cranberry sauce, dinner rolls (more on these to come in a future post...!), and fruit salad (recipe below).  With two young children, what works best for us now is keeping things very simple, so no elaborate table decor for us.  The Lucky Wife loves well-decorated tables like this one:

Source: tatertotsandjello.com via TheChef/TheLuckyWife on Pinterest

She looks forward to doing more of that kind of decorating for the holiday in the future!  For now... our motto seems to be, "Less is more."  :)

Fruit Salad with Cool Whip and Cottage Cheese

 

Ingredients:

• 1 can Mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 can crushed pineapple, drained
• 1 can pineapple chunks, drained
• 2 Granny Smith apples, diced
• 1 jar maraschino cherries, drained and cut up
• 1 bag walnuts (we left out for the baby this time)
• 1 small container Cool Whip
• 1 small container cottage cheese

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together and chill.

How much easier can it get?

NEED ANY OF THE TOOLS USED?

Rating scale

1 star - Feed it to the dog
2 stars - Surprise your neighbor

3 stars - Definite keeper

4 stars - Looking forward to leftovers

5 stars - Clean plate and nap time! Are there enough ingredients left to make it again soon?

The Chef - 3 Stars

The Lucky Wife - 4 Stars

The Well-Fed Son (4 years old) - 4 Stars
The Well-Fed Daughter (14 months old) - 3 Stars

*Rate it yourself in the comments!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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Find more great recipes at: Tip Me Tuesday

Day 29 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Good morning! 

Please visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup,  

co-host for The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas, 

for today's ideas... and enjoy! 

Come back here tomorrow for Day 28.

Creamy Salsa Dip: Day 30 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Today's recipe is one of those that you love to have for parties or even at home when you're in the middle of a busy week and need something quick and easy, Creamy Salsa Dip.

Photo used with permission; Jerri, Simply Sweet Home

You can get the recipe for this salsa dip here at Simply Sweet Home.  We've featured several of Jerri's other recipes previously in the series already, but if you have not had a chance to check out her blog yet or are new to the series, I know you will love the great ideas she has over at Simply Sweet Home.


And if you're buying a gift for someone this year who loves to entertain or go to social events, what about a nice piece of serve ware they could show off their favorite recipe in at a great party? There are a variety of different pieces and styles to suit anyone's needs and taste:

Disclosure:  For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase.  We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation.  We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.

Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord.  Add yours!

Thanks for joining the party today!  

 Click here for a complete list of the features from previous days and a list of giveaway winners so far.  

Have a great day!

*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event.  (Find out how you can do the same here).  Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:

 

For Such a Time As This, Cup of Delight, The Freshman Cook, This Little Light of Mine, Everyday Mom's Meals, Simply Sweet Home, Angel Food's Kitchen, Happier Than a Pig in Mud, Sweet Nothings, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive 365, Pat's Pink Apron, Bloggerette Sorority, Ms. enPlace  *Be the next one*

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Day 31 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving! 

Please visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup,  

co-host for The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas, 

for today's ideas... and enjoy! 

Come back here tomorrow for Day 30.

Enjoy your turkey and time of thanksgiving.

Peppermint Sticks Recipe: Day 32 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Ever have an over-abundance of candy canes after the Christmas holidays?  Well... today's recipe will give you a delicious solution for that problem, Peppermint Sticks:

Photo used with permission; Credit: Michelle, Ms. enplace

These come to us today from Michelle at Ms. enplace.  Stop by her blog for the peppermint sticks recipe!


When I was growing up, I always looked forward to vising my Great Aunt Helen at Christmas time.  She had a candy dish full of lemon drops that I loved eating while we were at her house, and every year, she gave me and my sisters a $5 booklet of McDonald's gift certificates.  Aren't gift certificates a great gift?  You get to choose whatever you want and enjoy the gift after the holiday has already passed.  I had no idea until now that you can order these online!

Perhaps your little foodie isn't a big McDonald's fan.  Do they have a favorite place to eat out?  What about a gift certificate to their favorite place to get ice cream or donuts?



Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord.  Add yours!

Thanks for joining the party today!  

 Click here for a complete list of the features from previous days and a list of giveaway winners so far.  

Have a great day!

*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event.  (Find out how you can do the same here).  Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:

 

For Such a Time As This, Cup of Delight, The Freshman Cook, This Little Light of Mine, Everyday Mom's Meals, Simply Sweet Home, Angel Food's Kitchen, Happier Than a Pig in Mud, Sweet Nothings, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive 365, Pat's Pink Apron, Bloggerette Sorority, Ms. enPlace  *Be the next one*

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Find more great recipes at: Tip Me Tuesday

Day 33 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Good morning! 

Please visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup,  

co-host for The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas, 

for today's ideas... and enjoy! 

Come back here tomorrow for Day 32.

A Non-Traditional Christmas Family Celebration: Day 34 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

All families that travel long distances for holiday celebrations will appreciate today's feature.  It's definitely not your traditional celebration, but what a neat idea to celebrate on another day that also holds significance in the Christan faith: Boxing Day.  I'd never heard of this day before reading about it on Pattie's blog, Olla-Podrida.  What a beautiful table she set for the occasion:

Photo used with permission; Credit: Pattie, Olla-Podrida

Visit Pattie's blog for more about her Boxing Day celebration, including more pictures, what was served, and all about that cute little house-shaped box she used as place cards that doubled as a favor with a special treat inside.  Love it.


Today's gift idea I love for friends or family members that perhaps live so far away that you rarely get to see them.  Wouldn't it be neat for them to receive a Christmas gift that continued giving after Christmas had long been over?  How about a "Gift" of the Month Club membership:

For fruit lovers:

For chocolate lovers:

For coffee lovers (ground or whole bean options):

Even for pizza lovers:

Disclosure:  For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase.  We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation.  We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.

Something for every taste and variety of price points for differing budgets.  This would also make a great idea for the hard-to-shop-for people on your gift list.  I know with the economy so challenging, even the lower price points might make it a less viable option.  For us, if we have a gift idea in mind for someone in our family and the price point e our Christmas budget, we have asked other family members if they'd like to share the cost and give the gift together.


Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord.  Add yours!

Thanks for joining the party today!  

 Click here for a complete list of the features from previous days and a list of giveaway winners so far.  

Have a great day!

*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event.  (Find out how you can do the same here).  Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:

 

For Such a Time As This, Cup of Delight, The Freshman Cook, This Little Light of Mine, Everyday Mom's Meals, Simply Sweet Home, Angel Food's Kitchen, Happier Than a Pig in Mud, Sweet Nothings, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive 365, Pat's Pink Apron, Bloggerette Sorority, Ms. enPlace  *Be the next one*

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Day 35 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Good morning! 

Please visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup,  

co-host for The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas, 

for today's ideas... and enjoy! 

Come back here tomorrow for Day 34.

Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic Recipe {Thanksgiving}

This Saturday evening's Thanksgiving recipe, Gourmet Sweet Potato Classic, is one we discovered on AllRecipes.com last year.  It's delicious and is really more like a dessert than a side, because of all the sugar in it.

We actually leave out the white sugar, since it already has brown sugar in it, and it is sweet enough for us.  Due to a dairy sensitivity, we also substitute rice milk for the regular milk.

I peel and boil the sweet potatoes instead of baking them.  The recipe calls for 5 sweet potatoes, but this really depends on the size of the sweet potato.  I use 3 large or 5 medium sweet potatoes.

Enjoy.


Rating scale

1 star - Feed it to the dog
2 stars - Surprise your neighbor

3 stars - Definite keeper

4 stars - Looking forward to leftovers

5 stars - Clean plate and nap time! Are there enough ingredients left to make it again soon?

The Chef - 4 Stars

The Lucky Wife - 5 Stars

The Well-Fed Son (4 years old) - 5 Stars
The Well-Fed Daughter (15 months old) - 5 Stars

*Rate it yourself in the comments!

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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Freezer Cranapple Jelly (and a gift crate): Day 36 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

We've never made jelly before, but after the recipes we've had during this series, I'm thinking it's going on the soon-to-do list!  They sound delicious.  Today's is Freezer Cranapple Jelly, from Patti of Pandora's Box:

Photo used with permission; Credit: Patti, Pandora's Box

Take a look at how she made this cranapple jelly and the pretty crate full of goodies she put together over at her blog.


Today's gift idea is something The Chef says is a "must-have" for every kitchen!  Along with recipes, it has lots of wonderful tips.

Disclosure:  For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase.  We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation.  We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.

(Yes, we own it... just in case you were wondering.)  :)

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Celebrating "The Reason for the Season"...

I've heard before in the Christian circles I've been involved in about making a birthday cake for Jesus at Christmas, but what about throwing a birthday party for Jesus?! Get some great ideas here from one family's birthday party for Jesus, including a neat cake with symbolic colored layers and other symbolism from the candles and color of frosting and decorations used.

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Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord.  Add yours!

Thanks for joining the party today!  

 Click here for a complete list of the features from previous days and a list of giveaway winners so far.  

Have a great day!

*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event.  (Find out how you can do the same here).  Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:

 

For Such a Time As This, Cup of Delight, The Freshman Cook, This Little Light of Mine, Everyday Mom's Meals, Simply Sweet Home, Angel Food's Kitchen, Happier Than a Pig in Mud, Sweet Nothings, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive 365, Pat's Pink Apron, Bloggerette Sorority, Ms. enPlace  *Be the next one*

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Day 37 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Good morning! 

Please visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup,  

co-host for The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas, 

for today's ideas... and enjoy! 

Come back here tomorrow for Day 36.

Gingerbread Cookie Gift Tags and Ornaments: Day 38 of The 100-Day Countdown to Christmas

Check out these cute gingerbread gift tags and ornaments!

Photo used with permission; Credit: Pattie, Olla-Podrida

Photo used with permission; Credit: Pattie, Olla-Podrida

Aren't those lovely?!  They come to us from Pattie at Olla-Podrida.  Head over to Olla-Podrida for more about these tags and ornaments, including a recipe for Spicy Gingerbread Cookies and Royal Icing (for decorating).



Have you ever considered a food gift for some of the hard-to-buy-for people on your Christmas gift giving list?  If it is someone who loves seafood, we would recommend considering Chesapeake Bay Gourmet Lump Crab Cakes:

Disclosure:  For your shopping convenience, we are including a link when possible for each gift idea so that you can purchase if you know someone who'd enjoy it. These are affiliate links, through which we are paid a commission percentage from each purchase.  We are donating 100% of the profits from the Christmas event through our blog to The Spoon Foundation.  We are passionate about helping provide good nutrition to children struggling with malnourishment. Read more about our family's experience with the problem of malnourishment here.

They are delicious!



Before you leave the party, don't forget to check out the ideas from the Christmas Smorgasbord.  Add yours!

Thanks for joining the party today!  

 Click here for a complete list of the features from previous days and a list of giveaway winners so far.  

Have a great day!

*We thank the following Participating Blogs for helping us spread the word about the event.  (Find out how you can do the same here).  Please visit any of them that are of interest to you:

 

For Such a Time As This, Cup of Delight, The Freshman Cook, This Little Light of Mine, Everyday Mom's Meals, Simply Sweet Home, Angel Food's Kitchen, Happier Than a Pig in Mud, Sweet Nothings, Keeping the Christmas Spirit Alive 365, Pat's Pink Apron, Bloggerette Sorority, Ms. enPlace  *Be the next one*

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a stranger!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

Find more great recipes at: Tip Me Tuesday

Top Features from 2nd Month of Christmas Countdown

Good evening!  Can you believe we are already over halfway through the countdown?!  It seems crazy how quickly this time of year flies by.  I always enjoy seeing what have been the most popular ideas we've shared with you.  Click here to see what was most popular during the first 30 days, and you can see what was most popular over at Recipe Roundup by clicking here.  And now.... drum roll, please.... our top posts during the 2nd 30 days were:


Homemade Limoncello {Guest post}
Christmas Holiday Soup
Totes Made from Recycled Grocery Bags
Christmas Brownie Bites
DIY Recipe Book


You will notice that the Limoncello was also the top post for the first 30 days.  It has been so popular, we featured a Limoncello Recipe Collection this week with over 20 recipes that use Limoncello as an ingredient.

Check out the series index for a list of all our previous features if you missed any or would like to revisit a few.  There have been lots of great ideas, and we hope you are finding some to incorporate into your Christmas celebration this year.  Be sure to visit Tricia at Recipe Roundup to see what's been most popular from her features during the past month.

*If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment (don't be a strange r!), subscribing (it's free!) to receive e-mail updates of future recipes, or sharing it with your family/friends:

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