Funny story here – I had herb savers on my Amazon Christmas list for the past 2 years. So this year I decided to buy myself a Christmas present and get the herb keepers so I could quit using a glass covered with a plastic bag.
So, a couple days ago, hubby holds up one of the new herb keepers and asks, what’s this? So I begin explaining what an herb keeper is and he’s like, “No why did you buy them?” Long story short he was getting them for me this year for Christmas.
Over the years I have made everything, and I do mean everything at one time or another to create a handmade Christmas. I’ve made rolls and rolls of butcher paper into wrapping paper, cut grocery bags into handmade tags, made enough fudge, candies and cookies to feed a small country, as well as jams, jellies, soup mixes and Snowman soup!
My award winning jams were requested one year at the Church Christmas Boutique and I ended up selling for another 10 years before we moved. Now I make just enough for gifts for neighbors and family. I started making Snowman Soup about 20 years ago for the girl scouts and it was a HUGE seller at our gift wrap days and later for the Church Boutique.
Last year I missed the big Christmas Crafts Festival at the fairgrounds because of an ice storm, but this year I made it! For the things I didn’t make myself, I at least bought from local crafters.
As for receiving, I love ANYTHING handmade. I’m a BIG believer that it’s the thought that counts and that caring action ALWAYS touches my heart though I’m partial to cotton crocheted dishcloths, my brothers photographs, my mom’s quilted totes and ANYTHING food.
This is another easy topic. The one thing I am noticing as I type each entry is that by doing this, I am remembering so many silly stories and anecdotes about aunts, uncles, cousins and such that keep bringing a smile to my face. These memories are part of what this season is all about to me.
I’d like to say that our table looked just like the one in the picture. Well Christmas day was close, but Christmas Eve was much more casual.
One of my earlier memories is of a very warm Christmas Day, a backed up sink/garbage disposal (I don’t think we ever had a holiday in that house where the garbage disposal didn’t have an issue of some sort) and having to transport all the prepared food from my parent’s house to my granparent’s house via my grandmother’s RED (kind of like a Christmas sleigh) Chevy station wagon (remember those?) while my uncle and I sat in the back keeping the food from toppling over.
CHRISTMAS EVE – Served Buffet style since this was the night we did most of the present opening and the adults didn’t want to spend all their time in the kitchen – in later years we would have it catered (so to speak – they prepared the food, we picked it up and displayed it) from Rattler’s BBQ. We also began to use “FINE CHINA” as hubs calls it aka as decorated paper.
CHRISTMAS DAY – This is where we dug out the REAL fine china and crystal as well as the silver. I loved setting the table for this meal. There were always enough people that we had a KID’S table too. I hated the kid’s table – all the good stuff was sitting at the grown-up’s table.
When we go to my SIL’s family for Christmas (or any other big family get together) we do Hor’deouvres style. The family is so big that over the years we have found that if each person brings an hor’deouvres to feed 10+ people that we can make a HUGE feast. We just serve it buffet style and mingle and play – it is ALWAYS the best time.
More entries over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom’s BLOGMAS.
Today’s category is an easy one for me. I start taping Christmas movies on Lifetime, Hallmark and INSP as soon as they air so I can watch all year long. I’m a sucker for a happy ending and let’s face it, Christmas movies have happy endings.
So this list could be reallllllllllly long, but I will just keep it to the top 5 MUST watch each and every year movies.
Christmas is the most important holiday to me and not because Santa comes, though that is pretty important to the kiddos, but more importantly, it’s a caring spirit, a sharing feeling, an attitude that I try to practice all year long. I truly feel good about giving – whether it’s the Angel trees I select gifts for or the smile from the Salvation Army bell ringer as you put your money in their red bucket and wish them Merry Christmas.
For 10 years I chaired an Angel Tree Program for FISH and I loved doing it! I prepared for it every year and I truly believe each year got better and better. The night before we distributed the gifts I would go shopping for the teenage girls. We were ALWAYS lacking in gifts for the teen girls no matter what we tried to boost things up for them. So now when I choose the angels from the trees in the community I seek out the teenage girls specifically.
Christmas means lots and lots of memories of family, some no longer with us, but always in my heart when I hang an ornament they made especially for me like my cousin Beth who we lost in October or a recipe that they always prepared like my dad’s Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing or Gram’s Christmas box full of goodies picked out just for each one of us or…
One of the things I try to practice is to make at least one homemade gift each year – nothing extravagant, but just something that says “I MADE THIS with LOVE JUST FOR YOU”.
The years that I host Christmas include a lot of family recipes. LOL coming up on the 10th I’ll share an anecdote about crazy Aunt Louise and her recipe that truly became a family favorite among us kids. They were addicting and one year she made them for me as a Christmas in July at the 4th of July pool party she hosted.
This year I’m making Tangerine Pineapple Apple Sauce to include with each person’s gift.
But most importantly, Christmas is the spirit of Love and Giving and it must be felt and shared. Christmas is a gift from above and each year as I grow older I realize more and more that Christmas is about Love, Peace, Sharing, Caring and just being together.
More entries over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom’s BLOGMAS. BLOGMAS 2014 DAY 2
Thankfully, I’m not in the bottom picture because I remember what I was wearing! But I love my brother’s plaid pants and Monica’s floral blouse. If you don’t hear from me for a few days I’m Sure it’s because one them found me LOL.
Then on Christmas Day we did Christmas morning and “Santa” with just the immediate family and then we would do a BIG turkey with all the trimmings including my dad’s stuffing and giblet gravy with all the family as well as extended family, which included crazy Aunt Louise and Uncle Herb, but I’ll tell you more about them on the 10th. I replicated dad’s stuffing recipe a few years ago (Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing) and that is now a MUST for the Christmas meal whatever the meat is and I’ll tell you more about that on the 10th as well.
As I mentioned before, I DO NOT shop Black Friday, unless it’s from the comfort of my desk chair talking to a computer. Thanksgiving weekend for us is and always has been casual. This year was no exception. With just 2 of us this year I bought a turkey breast only. So my questions is, where does the rest of the turkey go?
Our range is on the way out also – losing the heating elements one by one and the oven is now 75 degrees under temperature. I didn’t want to take a chance so I started the turkey breast in the slow cooker and then used the oven to only brown the top. Amazingly, it turned out PERFECT! I see great turkey sandwiches tomorrow! And there are plenty of leftovers until the new range is installed next week.
Our morning started out foggy and drizzly before turning to serious cold and rain. I did manage to capture this Robin hanging out in the old garden bed.
And the first opening bloom of the Christmas Cactus this season.
99.9% of my recipes are made from scratch, but every now and then I do cheat a bit. Part of Thanksgiving’s dessert, PUMPKIN PECAN BUTTER CAKE with CARAMEL SAUCE & CINNAMON PECAN was one of those small cheats and believe me I will cheat again, but next time I’ll add some fresh whipped cream. MOST of the recipe is scratch ingredients, but it called for a Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix. Instead I used a SuperMoist BUTTER PECAN cake mix and it was FABULOUS! I’ll give you the original recipe (which for the life of me I can’t remember where it came from – probably pinterest) with my changes in red.
GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
3-15 ounce cans cut green beans, drained VERY WELL!
2 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons Wondra
1 1/4 cup whole milk
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon each, paprika, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 teaspoon Savory Spice Shop Hidden Cove Lemon Garlic Blend
1 teaspoon celery flakes
2 tablespoons Riverhouse Parmesan Herb dressing **
3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup +/- French’s French fried onion rings
**If you can’t find this brand, Litehouse Parmesan Caesar is a great substitute.
CRANBERRY POMEGRANATE TANGERINE SAUCE
1 bag cranberries
1 cup pomegranate seeds
Yields: 2 cups
*You can use ALL orange juice if you prefer
PUMPKIN PECAN BUTTER CAKE with CARAMEL SAUCE & CINNAMON PECANS
CAKE BOTTOM
1 Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix (Butter Pecan)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 Egg
FILLING
8 ounces softened cream cheese
15 ounce can pumpkin
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon PURE vanilla
1/2 teaspoon orange peel
3 eggs
2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Caramel sauce (recipe follows)
Candied pecans (I used Fisher’s Cinnamon Pecans)
Kraft Caramel Balls
Smucker’s Pineapple Sauce, slightly warmed (optional)
NOTE: YOU WILL NEED LESS TIME USING A 9X13 PAN!
CARAMEL SAUCE
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter, softened
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
2+ tablespoons water
Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Microwave 20-30 seconds to soften refrigerated caramel before serving.
The Sack Lunches
I put my carry-on in the luggage compartment and sat down in my assigned seat. It was going to be a long flight. ‘I’m glad I have a good book to read. Perhaps I will get a short nap,’ I thought.
Just before take-off, a line of soldiers came down the aisle and filled all the vacant seats, totally surrounding me. I decided to start a conversation. ‘Where are you headed?’ I asked the soldier seated nearest to me. ‘Chicago – to Great Lakes Base. We’ll be there for two weeks for special training, and then we’re being deployed to Iraq ‘
After flying for about an hour, an announcement was made that sack lunches were available for five dollars. It would be several hours before we reached Chicago, and I quickly decided a lunch would help pass the time. As I reached for my wallet, I overheard soldier ask his buddy if he planned to buy lunch. ‘No, that seems like a lot of money for just a sack lunch. Probably wouldn’t be worth five bucks. I’ll wait till we get to Chicago ‘ His friend agreed.
I looked around at the other soldiers. None were buying lunch. I walked to the back of the plane and handed the flight attendant a fifty dollar bill. ‘Take a lunch to all those soldiers.’ She grabbed my arms and squeezed tightly. Her eyes wet with tears, she thanked me. ‘My son was a soldier in Iraq; it’s almost like you are doing it for him.’
Picking up ten sacks, she headed up the aisle to where the soldiers were seated.. She stopped at my seat and asked, ‘Which do you like best – beef or chicken?’ ‘Chicken,’ I replied, wondering why she asked. She turned and went to the front of plane, returning a minute later with a dinner plate from first class. ‘This is your thanks.’
After we finished eating, I went again to the back of the plane, heading for the rest room. A man stopped me. ‘I saw what you did. I want to be part of it. Here, take this.’ He handed me twenty-five dollars. Soon after I returned to my seat, I saw the Flight Captain coming down the aisle, looking at the aisle numbers as he walked, I hoped he was not looking for me, but noticed he was looking at the numbers only on my side of the plane. When he got to my row he stopped, smiled, held out his hand, an said, ‘I want to shake your hand.’ Quickly unfastening my seat belt I stood and took the Captain’s hand. With a booming voice he said, ‘I was a soldier and I was a military pilot. Once, someone bought me a lunch. It was an act of kindness I never forgot.’ I was embarrassed when applause was heard from all of the passengers.
Later I walked to the front of the plane so I could stretch my legs. A man who was seated about six rows in front of me reached out his hand, wanting to shake mine. He left another twenty-five dollars in my palm. When we landed in Chicago I gathered my belongings and started to deplane. Waiting just inside the airplane door was a man who stopped me, put something in my shirt pocket, turned, and walked away without saying a word. Another twenty-five dollars!
Upon entering the terminal, I saw the soldiers gathering for their trip to the base. I walked over to them and handed them seventy-five dollars. ‘It will take you some time to reach the base. It will be about time for a sandwich. God Bless You.’ Ten young men left that flight feeling the love and respect of their fellow travelers. As I walked briskly to my car, I whispered a prayer for their safe return. These soldiers were giving their all for our country. I could only give them a couple of meals.
It seemed so little…