Tag: BLOG 365

BLOGMAS 2025 ~ days 21, 22 and 23 ~ CHRISTMAS MENUS, PARTY FOODS & FAVORITE RECIPES ~ BLOG 365.352B

WOW this is a HUGE category!  I HAVE SO MANY FAVORITES! BUT, this really is a SUPER easy topic and category for someone who loves to cook and bake.

Because of our growing family branches with plenty of munchkins being born and in-laws to accommodate, one of hubby’s sister’s family traditions is to celebrate the weekend before as a LARGE group and then be at each respective home for Christmas itself or with their in-laws.

As the family has grown, Christmas dinner even on the weekend before became a larger and larger production. Eventually instead of a “dinner” it became a “cocktail” party with each person bringing an appetizer type dish for 20. AND then it became 2 weekends before, but whatever works! So, in essence Christmas dinner became a HUGE HAPPY HOUR and it has worked out fantastic over the years. Everyone pretty much has a “signature” dish so we end up with a WIDE variety of everything from homemade Egg Nog to Salads and Chicken Skewers on the BBQ with plenty of tasty fudges and baked goodies too.

A few years back some friends took us to lunch at Jack Allen’s Kitchen when we were visiting in Round Rock, Texas and the food was SOOOOOOOOO good that I bought the cook book and have been experimenting ever since with his recipes.

One of our favorite recipes from the book is for pimiento cheese made from scratch. I now also make it into bite sized balls so you don’t have to mess with a knife and and all the cracker crumbs.

A few other ideas that we often have for “party” nights are:

These days with the popularity of charcuterie boards they have been added to the greatest meal category on a busy holiday eve. A charcuterie board to graze on while you work is a truly wonderful thing. 😃

This time of year can be stressful and super busy so to make things easier we have gone to making charcuterie boards on the “eve” nights of holidays. The word charcuterie sounds a bit intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be.

Charcuterie Boards are suddenly all the rage, but the culinary art of preparing charcuterie boards dates back to the 15th century. The person who prepares the charcuterie board is a charcutier which literally means “Pork Butcher” in French. The original process/meaning was intended as a way to preserve meat before the invention of refrigeration, especially pork products.

The revived comeback of the charcuterie board brings it front and center to our tables and has been born out of the necessity of our busy lives as well as our love for farm to table and deli style meals that are also quick and easy.

Since the original meaning dealt with preserved meats, adding fermented, farm to table, home canned and prepared foods just falls into place along side the meats.

One of the best things about serving a charcuterie board at your own party is that there are NO RULES! It’s yours for the making – make it as simple or as sophisticated as YOU like. One of the greatest aspects of a charcuterie board is that you can mix it all up to fit EVERYONE’S taste.

I did a “DESSERT” charcuterie board for last year’s New Year’s Eve party that we went to and it was a HUGE hit. You can make these as simple or as sophisticated as YOU like. For us it is ALL about favorites and yummy satisfying and filling “bites” of food. Below is a list of some suggestions for building your own charcuterie board for your next party.

  • Breads & Crackers – Crostini with toppings, Artisan Breads, Crackers, Fruitcake
  • Spreads – Jams, Chutneys, Dips, Flavored Mustards, Sauces, Dressings, Flavored Honeys, Flavored Horseradishes
  • Fermented/Pickled – Stuffed Olives, Pickles, Green Olives, Giardiniera, Peperoncinis, Pickled Carrots, Baby Corn
  • Cheeses – Cheddar, Havarti, Brie, Baby Swiss, Gouda, Pimiento Cheese, Manchego, Bleu Cheese
  • Meats – Salami, Roast Beef, Pancetta, Prosciutto, Pepperoni, Ham
  • Nuts & Seeds – Pistachios, Walnuts, Pecans, Macadamias, Sunflower seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Almonds, Chocolate covered raisins
  • Dried fruits – Dates, Prunes, Apricots, Golden Raisins
  • Fresh fruits – Grapes, Oranges, Berries, Apple slices, Pears, Grape tomatoes, Kiwi, Starfruit
  • Decorations – sprigs of Rosemary, Thyme or Basil

COOKING THURSDAY ~ ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE with CRANBERRY COULIS ~ BLOG 365.352

Butternut squash is the star of this creamy, earthy soup and is brightened up with the addition of a sweet, tart cranberry coulis.

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE with CRANBERRY COULIS

COULIS
1 bag cranberries
12 ounces pomegranate juice
+/- 1/2 cup sugar
Zest of 1 LARGE orange

  • Place the cranberries, juice and sugar into a saucepan over medium heat. 
  • Bring to a SLOW boil and cook, stirring occasionally until the cranberries burst and the mixture starts to thicken. 
  • Run through the fine sieve of a food mill placed over a bowl, discarding the solids or puree in a food processor and then press the mixture through a fine sieve to remove any solids. 
  • Set aside.

SOUP
1 LARGE (2-3 pounds) butternut squash
4 + 2 tablespoons butter
1 small bag baby carrots
3 tablespoons avocado oil
1 LARGE onion, small chopped
3 garlic cloves, FINELY minced
4 cups homemade chicken broth
1 tablespoon PURE maple syrup
+/- 1 cup brown sugar
FRESH ground nutmeg, to taste
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste

  • Preheat oven to 425°.
  • Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly spray with non-stick spray.
  • Prick squash several times with a fork and place in the center of the baking sheet.
  • Melt 4 tablespoons butter in 8×8 baking dish.
  • Add carrots and season with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Roast squash and carrots for 1-1 1/2 hours until tender.
  • Remove from oven and cool ALMOST completely enough to handle, then peel away skin from the squash and discard.
  • In a large saute’ pan melt 2 tablespoons butter and avocado oil together.
  • Saute’ onions and garlic 5-7 minutes until softened.
  • Add squash pieces, carrots and chicken broth.
  • Use an immersion blender to puree until creamy and blended. Add more broth if necessary to get to desired consistency.
  • Bring to a simmer and cook 10-15 minutes until desired consistency is reached.
  • Stir in brown sugar, maple syrup and nutmeg.
  • Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • Add a sprinkle of brown sugar.
  • Add a drizzle of the cranberry puree. Use a knife or chopstick to swirl a bit.

CHICKEN LEMONAISE ~ BLOG 365.350

CHICKEN LEMONAISE

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or tenders
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup FINE bread crumbs
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
3+2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 tablespoons WONDRA flour
1 cup hot water
1/2 cup homemade chicken stock
3 teaspoons better than bouillon paste
1/4 cup chopped parsley
Juice of 1 LARGE lemon (3 tablespoons)

  • Generously season chicken pieces with FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper.
  • Rub chicken with 1/4 cup mayonnaise and dredge in bread crumbs.
  • Heat 3 tablespoons butter in skillet over medium heat.
  • Saute’ chicken pieces 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked through. Keep warm.
  • Add remaining butter to skillet.
  • Add onion and sauté until tender.
  • Sprinkle with flour, stirring until blended.
  • Gradually stir in water until smooth.
  • Add remaining ingredients, cooking and stirring to a SLOW boil.
  • Stir in remaining mayonnaise and stir until smooth.
  • Serve chicken over mashed potatoes.
  • Ladle gravy over chicken.

NOTE:

  • Original recipe called for margarine, but I don’t use it – so your choice.
  • I also use WONDRA exclusively for sauces and gravies, but the original recipe called for plain AP flour.
  • Recipe also called for 3 chicken bouillon cubes and I substituted to my preferred ingredient of better than bouillon paste.

BLOGMAS 2025 ~ days 18, 19 and 20 ~ WINTER WONDERLAND, LIGHTS & PARADES, CHRISTMAS MARKETS & FAIRS, WINTER MUST HAVES & TAGS ~ BLOG 365.349B

We were going to go to a new HOLIDAY LIGHTS at Azalea Park further south on the Oregon coast with 3 million lights this year, but the atmospheric river we are beginning to experience has changed our minds 🙂 So no new lights this year!

Several years we would go to HOLIDAY LIGHTS at Shore Acres on the Oregon coast. It doesn’t change in layout so it’s NOT an EVERY year thing. At least this particular year it didn’t rain but, that made it bitterly cold! ALL of our travel is “AROUND” Christmas and never ON Christmas. The first time we went we arrived fairly early, just before dusk so we could walk through and get the lay of the land before walking through a second time after dark. The displays are animated and themed.

Shore Acres is literally perched on a cliff above the Pacific Ocean and began as a private estate for Louis J. Simpson, a shipbuilder. Simpson developed the 3 story mansion complete with an indoor heated pool and ballroom as his “summer home”. The surrounding grounds included 5 acres of formal gardens full of shrubs , trees and flowering plants brought from around the world by himself and various lumbermen. There is even a 100 foot lily pond and caretaker’s cottage. The cottage still stands and was really decorated cute! I’d live there. I really wish I had seen the original mansion, but it has since been torn down after a fire in 1921 and the rebuild was never finished because of the depression and fell into disrepair. Oregon bought the property in 1942 for use as a public park. The gardens, lily pond and caretakers cottage were restored while the mansion was razed.

Shore Acres Holiday Lights is by decorated sponsors and volunteers. This is an Annual event, (but they did miss a couple of years during COVID) and is famous for its beautiful 7 acre botanical gardens and Japanese lily pond on the Oregon coast among the trees. It has over 350,000 lights, animated displays, Santa, choirs… A beautiful holiday tradition for the whole family.

Even on the years we travel to SIL’s party, we are home by Christmas itself. I love having our tree and decorations with a relaxed Christmas Day schedule. We do try and take 1 trip to see some sort of “City Sidewalks” type event.

These are a few of my favorite pictures from our trip to Holiday Lights at Shore Acres on the coast. We took some time to play in a couple of the small towns and stayed over so we didn’t have to drive the windy roads late at night in the rain. We were fortunate to be able to have lunch with an old friend to catch up the next day before we drove home. It’s a walking tour and it is generally COLD as all get out, but, ALSO really beautiful.

2013 was the year of the “white” one 😀 and was the first truly white Christmas we had here. I had HIGH hopes for this year, but the storm moving in appears to be much warmer so it will be a WET one instead of a WHITE one 🙁 After growing up in southern California where it wasn’t unheard of to be beach weather for Christmas, I really enjoy the cold and especially the white Christmases.
Hubby made this for me to wake up to in the back yard before the snow got too bad that year. The house across the street that usually looked horrible back then, but NOT when it was under a beautiful blanket of snow. Fortunately, these days we have great neighbors there and it looks beautiful all the time!
Unfortunately, being in a cul-de-sac, delivery tracks leave MANY tire tracks at this time of year to mar the beautiful snow cover.
Even Rudolph was shivering that year! He has since been donated to charity 😀
The first day after he storm was absolutely gorgeous though!
The duck pond behind the neighborhood was truly a work of art.
Obviously we hadn’t gone anywhere – no tire tracks in the driveway! And the fish ladder on the river was like glass with the cold and ice.

The following pictures are from 2014 and one of my favorite picture years. The Festival of Lights is now over 30 years old and a great way to kick off the holiday season. It’s an ALL Volunteer and NON-Profit. It began as a fundraiser sponsored by the Rotary Club to help get the city out of debt and then took on a life of its own and now helps with scholarships and special projects. The festival runs every night from Thanksgiving to New Years. So if you have company in town for Thanksgiving it’s a great way to jump start to your holidays. You can drive your own car or take a horse drawn carriage ride through the displays. They have also coordinated a local radio station to listen to as you view the displays. The night we went through the fog was moving in early so a few of the pictures look a bit “smoky”.They have the world’s tallest (41 feet, 16,000 pounds with a working jaw) nutcracker built by a local company, 500,00 lights, 90 animated displays, 3D displays, horse drawn carriage rides through the displays and a Holiday Village with Santa, hot cider with a bake sale and a synchronized light show in the courtyard. The displays depict fairy tales, the military, patriotism, the local logging industry, local vineyards, local fishing and the traditional Christmas songs and scenes. People come from all over to see it. Unfortunately for locals, it doesn’t change much, but is still fun every few years.

MANY years ago three of my favorite munchkins were coincidentally there the same night we were so I had to snap a few pictures of their discussions with Santa. They have grown SOOOOOOOO much since then! The two oldest now tower over me!
Even the lights with errors turned out cute.  It was difficult to get great pictures or continuous pictures of the animated scenes since there were so many cars behind us.
Every year we also (or usually) go to the Tinsel Town Timber Parade here locally and the last couple of years the Eagles have had a float entered, but a couple years ago it started from our garage. The past couple years have been REALLY cold, but last year added fog making it REALLY eerie. The first set of pictures is from 4 years ago and the last 3 are from year before last. We are talking about maybe NOT going this year and enjoying an evening alone for the first time in weeks because it is supposed to be pouring down rain!

The fire truck below is the same one as above, but a bit later in the parade, which really shows the fog difference!

I’ve been to the local annual Christmas fair at the fairgrounds, the senior center, 7 Feather’s Casino, the Grange and Timber Town Christmas Market. Last couple of years had been repetitive and disappointing, but this year was a bit better.

Most of my shopping this year has revolved around shopping for my Eagles group who has again adopted some local foster kids. I’m chairwoman again this year and I’m afraid a few of the ladies are probably not as happy with me because I told the coordinator we would help with the teenagers again. The teenagers hold a special place in my heart because they are the most forgotten in programs like these. I am also making them each stockings to add in some fun items that aren’t on their needs lists. I’m also including things like toothbrushes and hand lotions, etc…

CNN.com has a great article about the 17 BEST Christmas Markets around the world.

If only I could travel to them all, but that just isn’t in the cards for me so I watch them be featured in Hallmark Christmas movies and dream. I would LOVE to travel to those markets and fairs that have all of the town interactive, but the closest I come to that here is running into everyone I know at the local ones as well as the parade that is coming up on the 21st.

I do try and participate, as well as shop at the markets and fairs locally around me. And by around me I mean within 100 miles or so for the most part.

A girlfriend and I traveled 225 miles a couple years ago for the best one we had been to in awhile. It was held at a large Fairgrounds and was in 3 separate buildings with vendor trailers peppered in between the buildings. We were fortunate that day that it was also beautiful weather. It was so fruitful that we made a couple trips back to the car to unload ourselves of bags. We tried it again last year, but it just wasn’t the same. Unfortunately, it had become so much like our local one so we didn’t even try this year.

I certainly do my part to shop local and not have everything delivered by Amazon or buy from discount stores. Unfortunately, many of the things I was hoping to purchase as gifts just weren’t available this year from the same vendors or the vendors I was hoping for have closed up shop so I did have to resort to SOME Amazon shopping..

What I CANNOT live without in the winter is many, many things, but these are my top items! Then again, SNOWMAGGEDDON 2019 proved there are things I CAN live without, but choose not to. 😀

The one thing I am absolutely sure of is that if I have a sore throat, dry skin, cold feet or hands, cold food or catch a cold I am NOT a happy camper so I go out of my way to prevent that. I like to try and not go out unless the temperature reaches AT LEAST 40°, but I don’t hibernate well either so that is just a pipe dream of a rule.

I try and drink a cup of green tea every night and try to make very balanced comfort food meals to warm up my family from the inside out. Though I openly admit that comfort food wins every now and then when it’s bitterly cold and wet.

I also have a newer and occasional favorite hot toddy, a Lemon Aval Pota Hot Toddy courtesy of McMenamins one of our local favorite resort chains.

LEMON AVAL POTA HOT TODDY

2 ounces Aval Pota Whiskey
2 bar spoons QUALITY honey
Juice of 1 small FRESH squeezed lemon

  • Pour ingredients into a coffee glass or mug and top with hot water.
  • Garnish with a lemon zest twist.

Here are the links to a few of our favorite soups and stews for you.

✨Top 2 Winter Beauty Essentials?

  • A NICE HOT SHOWER to relax and clean out the pores.
  • A super moisturizer to keep away dry skin!

✨Top 2 Winter Fashion Essentials?

  • I wait ALL year for it to be cold enough to bring out the boots & UGGS!
  • Turtlenecks and flannel layers!
  • Scarves and gloves.  I have color combos to match anything AND everything.

✨ Favorite Winter Accessory?

  • HATS, GLOVES & SCARVES of course!!!!

✨ Favorite Winter Nail Polish?

  • Red for Christmas with glitter of course, but normally a pinky, purplish mauve. I just have too much red in my complexion to wear red all the time.

✨ Hot Cocoa or Apple Cider?

  • Homemade hot cocoa and MUST have marshmallows and or whipped cream!
  • Apple Cider if it is made into a AVAL POTA TODDY!

✨ Favorite Winter Candle?

  • Apple and Cinnamon, though that seems to be waning for me and I’m liking more mellow marshmallowy scents.

✨ Does it snow where you live?

  • Yes, but after the SNOWMAGEDDON of 2019 with a week long power outage that left us freezing or the SNOW/ICE storm of 2013 that left the cul-de-sac as an ice skating rink, we hope for more moderate levels of snow this year.

✨Have you ever made a snowman? Snow Angels?

  • Absolutely! And a snow woman and snow kids!

✨What is Your Favorite Holiday Movie?

  • IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE tops the list! Home Alone, Miracle on 34th Street and they never get old either. And a Hallmark sucker every year for their new movies each year. And yes, Die Hard is a Christmas Movie 😀

✨What’s your favorite holiday drink? 

  • Coffee
  • Hot Tea
  • Hot Cocoa
  • Hot toddies – never been an eggnog fan

✨Candy cane or Gingerbread men?

  • I like the chalk style peppermint, but I’m not real keen on actual candy canes and I like soft gingerbread men and sugar cookies.

✨What’s your favorite holiday/Christmas song?

✨What is most important to you about the Christmas holidays? 

  • That it is genuine and homemade for the most part. Christmas is not a commercial holiday for me. I believe in trying to remember the real reason for the season and keep the Christmas spirit in my heart and life ALL year long. I LOVE hosting little get togethers and dinners with friends and family. A favorite girlfriend came for dinner last night and the table looked absolutely gorgeous and then I served bacon cheeseburger balls with mac and cheese 😀 so it’s not about fancy food just time together to enjoy each other’s company.

HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY with RECIPE LINKS & MENUS week 50 of 2025 ~ BLOG 365.349

Be sure to join Happy Homemaker Monday with our host, Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom

LAST WEEK RECAPPED

I’m getting into crunch time on the Eagle’s charity project. The first batch of gifts was originally supposed to be delivered by the 19th, but the social worker changed the date last minute (last Friday) to the 15th. Unfortunately for her, our group couldn’t get together before today. We’ll be meeting this afternoon to wrap and then pack my car for delivery first thing tomorrow, the 16th.

I wrapped all the gifts for the family of 8, the 2 veterans and 4 elderly ladies (WHEW 46 gifts) that hubby and I adopted for what seemed like ALL weekend, but it was only about 8 hours total. Then I wrapped gifts for all our local family and friends as well as hubby’s gifts. All the shipped gifts have been sent except one that I’ll do this week and fortunately it’s small enough to go first class USPS so no long lines to wait in at UPS. I’ll deliver the veteran gifts and the elderly gifts tomorrow morning after social services gifts.

The grocery shopping for the family I’m doing personally later this week and it won’t be delivered until next Monday so that the food for Christmas dinner will all be fresh. I’m hoping to do the food shopping for them as well as our Christmas dinner groceries on Thursday or Friday, but that will depend on the “atmospheric river’s” path. It started last night and as of now Thursday is slated to be the worst day with potential flooding, not that any of them will be great as we’ve seen the last of the sun until after Christmas according to the forecast.

Now all of that said, with only 10 days until Christmas, I am for the first time in a VERY long time AHEAD of schedule 🙂 and loving every minute of it!!!!!

BLOGMAS is in full swing with these completed posts: 

  • BLOGMAS #1 days 1,2 and 3 ~ Holiday Schedule, Christmas Cards, Elf on the Shelf/NISSE & Wrapping Ideas
  • BLOGMAS #2 days 4 and 5 ~ Christmas Music and Movies
  • BLOGMAS #3 days 6, 7 and 8 ~ Real Tree vs. Artificial, Decorating & Favorite Ornaments
  • BLOGMAS #4 days 9, 10 and 11 ~ Advent Calendars, Presents, PJ’S, Books, Last Minute and Homemade Gifts
  • BLOGMAS #5 days 12, 13 and 14 Presents, WISH Lists and Stocking Stuffers
  • BLOGMAS #6 days 15, 16 and 17 Quiet Christmas or BIG Get Together, Favorite Family Traditions and Christmas Memories

Coming up this week will be:

  • BLOGMAS #7 days 18, 19 and 20 Winter Wonderland, Lights and Parades, Christmas Markets and Fairs, Winter MUST Haves and TAGS
  • BLOGMAS #8 days 21, 22 and 23 Christmas Menus, Party Foods and Favorite Recipes
  • BLOGMAS #9 days 24, 25 and 26 12 Days of Christmas, Meaning of Christmas, Merry VS. Happy, Inspirations and Stories

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

THE WEATHER OUTSIDE

WET, WET and more wet as the atmospheric river is reaching us for the next 10 days or so. The temperatures have also returned to a more ‘normal” level of cold. Highs this weeks in the 40’s and lows in the 30’s so the best description is bone chilling! LAYERS, LAYERS and more LAYERS of turtlenecks and hoodies with heavy socks.

THIS WEEK’S TO DO LIST, THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY, WHAT’S ON MY MIND, PROJECTS, APPOINTMENTS & DVR/TV
  • TO DO: LAUNDRY & CLEANING While I was doing all the wrapping yesterday I was able to get 4 loads of laundry done! Having done a crock pot dinner freed up a ton of time. I also got the laundry room deep cleaned 🙂
  • TO DO: GROCERIES & ERRANDS Wednesday will be a BIG Eagle’s shopping day. I told them I would NOT shop on Christmas Eve nor New Year’s Eve so we’re all putting our thinking caps on to get it all this week. Then, like I said I will do our shopping and the family of 8’s shopping on Thursday or Friday.
  • RECIPE RESEARCH & MENU PLANNING I had a plan in mind, but I’m staying flexible on this as you never know what’s coming along at this time of year to change it all up.
  • DVR/TV Just a few cooking shows and Hallmark Christmas movies to catch up on!
  • THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

READING TIME

Book club isn’t going to meet until January. We took a break for the holiday chaos time. We’re reading GONE BEFORE GOODBYE by Reese Witherspoon and Harlan Coben.

FUNNIES

Penny trying to understand Sheldon’s ornament placement tool 🙂

MENU PLANS

BREAKFAST is always a work in progress for me – it will generally be hot water and a fruit yogurt 😀
12/15 MONDAY
12/16 TUESDAY
12/17 WEDNESDAY
12/18 THURSDAY
12/19 FRIDAY
12/20 SATURDAY
12/21 SUNDAY
DINNER
CORN/YOYO
clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own 
 CHICKEN PEANUT STEW & BISCUITS
CORN/YOYO
clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own 
 HAM & CHEESE QUICHE & SALAD
CORN/YOYO
clean out refrigerator night or you’re on your own 

 
 OUT MAYBE
 MEATLOAF, MASHED POTATOES & GRAVYwith GREEN BEANS
DESSERT
 
BROWNED BUTTER TOASTED COCONUT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES 
 

FAVORITE PHOTOS FROM THE CAMERA

The sunset last Monday was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!!

I love seeing the wrapped packages, it just shows so much productivity.

INSPIRATIONS

LIFE TIP

HOMEMAKING / COOKING TIP

RECIPES COMING UP THIS WEEK

  • CHICKEN LEMONAISE
  • ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE with CRANBERRY COULIS

RECIPE LINKS FROM LAST WEEK

WEEKLY FEATURED PARTY LINKS

This is usually a favorite thing for me to do, but to relieve a lot of stress on myself this year I’ve decided to forego doing these link parties until 2026.

 

CARAMELIZED ONION & APPLE MAC & CHEESE ~ BLOG 365.347B

New twists for an epic combo on an old classic makes the whole family happy. Imagine a classy French onion soup meeting the classic Mac and cheese with an apple twist for a new take on an ooey, gooey, creamy side dish with a crispy topping.

CARAMELIZED ONION & APPLE MAC & CHEESE

½ cup butter + 2 tablespoons for the Panko topping
3 Vidalia onions, thinly sliced
3 COSMIC Crisp apples, peeled, cored, and medium diced
5 tablespoons WONDRA flour
3½ cups WHOLE milk
1 teaspoon FRESH thyme, chopped
4 cups smoked Gouda, grated
3 cups Muenster cheese, grated and divided
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 pound pasta, favorite shape, cooked and cooled
1 cup Panko crumbs to top the dish with

  • Preheat the oven to 350°.
  • In a large stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat.
  • Add the onions and cook 20-30 minutes until golden brown and caramelized.
  • Add the apples and sauté 1–2 minutes.
  • Stir in the flour until combined and turning golden.
  • Slowly pour in the milk, stirring continuously. Let it come up to a simmer with the milk beginning to thicken.
  • Remove from the heat and add the fresh thyme, Gouda cheese, 1 cup Muenster, salt, pepper, mustard and paprika, stirring until the cheese has fully melted and the mixture is smooth.
  • Fold in the pasta and pour the mixture into a prepared 13 x 9 baking dish or into individual ramekins.
  • Melt the 2 tablespoons butter in a small bowl and whisk into Panko crumbs until thoroughly combined.
  • Top with the remaining Muenster cheese and Panko crumb mixture.
  • Bake 45 minutes or until bubbly and the top is golden brown.

NOTE:

  • Mild white cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese would work fine as a substitute for the Muenster.
  • Adding rotisserie chicken pieces makes this a wonderful one dish meal.

BLOGMAS 2025 ~ days 15, 16 and 17 ~ QUIET CHRISTMAS or BIG GET TOGETHER, FAVORITE FAMILY TRADITIONS and CHRISTMAS MEMORIES ~ BLOG 365.346B

Do you have a quiet Christmas or do a BIG gathering with family and friends planned or are you traveling over the holiday to somewhere special this year? Has they way you celebrate changed over the past few years?

Yet AGAIN this year as an immunocompromised person I fear a COVID or the FLU outbreak 🙁 so I still avoid large groups.

We’ve always been pretty much homebodies during the holidays. Then again we have always lived fairly close to family so traveling was only day trips or short distances. Personally, I cannot fathom traveling through an airport or train station with BIG crowds even before the pandemic. The one time we did travel over the holidays, we made a BIG trip out of it leaving well before the holiday and going home long after it.

When I was a kid one of my favorite traditions was that we did a BIG family get together with a buffet of food and opening our family presents on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, after my dad passed, much of this tradition fell by the wayside.

Then on Christmas Day we did Christmas morning at our respective homes with “Santa” gifts and just the immediate family. Then we would do a BIG turkey with all the trimmings including my dad’s old fashioned stuffing and giblet gravy with the entire family as well as extended family and friends, which included crazy Aunt Louise and Uncle Herb. At my brother’s request I replicated dad’s stuffing recipe a several years back (Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing) and that is now a MUST TRADITION for the Christmas meal no matter what the protein is.

Christmases for us now are MUCH MUCH smaller and our newest tradition in the last several years is watching our favorite traditional Christmas movies like It’s a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th Street as well as Hallmark Christmas movies and dreaming about moving to every small town depicted in them, kind of like Stars Hollow from the Gilmore Girls. We loved that show!

This year again we will be having a quiet Christmas. There are several Christmas events leading up to Christmas we will be participating in though. We have no plans for New Years short of jammies and relaxing.

So what are your plans this year?

This has always been a really hard category for me.  I LOVE Christmas!  There is nothing about this season I don’t like short of maybe crowds of rude people and Black Friday which I don’t participate in, at least not in the physical presence. My extent of Black Friday shopping is a bit of Amazon shopping from the couch.

Sometimes seeing things through someone else’s eyes can give the same old traditions new meaning and in the long run that can also make the favorite traditions and the memories mean that much more.

If I had to pick just one tradition though, it would be putting up the tree as a family while eating leftover turkey (from Thanksgiving) sandwiches. When I was a kid we usually put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving and would leave it until at least Kings Day, the Epiphany on January 6th.

Hubby and I USUALLY still do that and for that reason we like to go cut our own tree so it’s fresh and lasts the entire time. I use an apple cider/sugar mix that keeps the sap from forming on the cut area and keeps the water cool and full. Last year we were going to have a live tree, but we broke with tradition because of a fire at our local tree farm and so we used the artificial tree 🙁 Fortunately, the tree farm was able to open again for trees only, but the timing didn’t line up for us. This year we stayed with the artificial tree because it’s just a great tree.

When I was a kid we did a BIG family get together with a HUGE buffet of fun food and we opened our family presents on Christmas Eve. My cousins and I were recently reminiscing about some of those holidays and LOL how horrible our wardrobes were back then. Thankfully, I’m not in the top 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 after seeing that I posted this old picture LOL 😀😀FORTUNATELY, My mom retired that tablecloth finally, unfortunately it was only a couple years ago! I never did like it, so that made me very happy!

Hubby reminded me recently that a fun tradition we did when our youngest was still at home was have birthday cake for Christmas morning breakfast. LOL I didn’t really consider this a “Christmas” tradition so have never really talked about it. Eric’s birthday is Christmas Day. My cousin’s is on Christmas Eve and I grew up watching her feel slighted because so many people would round her birthday and Christmas into one big ball. After we grew up I would send her birthday present wrapped in bright colorful paper in October 😀 She always knew she could open it early and it made her feel better. In that same tradition I would make Eric a birthday cake for breakfast that didn’t resemble Christmas in any way and we would start Christmas morning with birthday and then transition into Christmas around the tree.

WOW there are so many! One of my earliest favorites was when I was 5 and I got my tea table and chairs – my uncle sure looked silly sitting at that table drinking tea with me 😀 I LOVED that table and planned to keep it forever eventually passing it down to my daughter, but when I was in college my dad gave it to my aunt who said it had only been on loan from her all those years 🙁 

But wait, that is not my favorite memory. It turns out that my favorite memory is of trying to stump my dad each and EVERY year with his gift – it became a mission of sorts to be the first person to stump him. I swear the man was like Carnac when it came to knowing what was inside a box. We tried EVERY year to stump him and I don’t remember ever being able to actually do it. We tried adding bricks, taping a silver dollar with duct tape to the bottom so it would flip back and forth to make noise when you shook it, the box inside a box trick, adding a pair of old shoes… but he ALWAYS guessed!  I still don’t know how he did it. Sadly 🙁 this will be the 31st Christmas without him. He died so young, but I have so many wonderful memories of him and Christmas from when I was young.

There of course have been many memories since, but for some reason the childhood ones are the most memorable at times. In more recent years the memories are not about things, but more about times. There was an arctic storm a few years back that blew in and all of a sudden everything turned white. This was our first snowstorm of the season and just before Christmas.

Hubby made this for me to wake up to in the back yard before the snow got too bad. The house across the street usually looked horrible, but NOT when it was under a blanket of snow.Unfortunately, being in a cul-de-sac, delivery trucks leave MANY tire tracks at this time of year to mar the beautiful snow cover.
The first day after he storm was absolutely gorgeous though!
The duck pond behind the neighborhood was truly a work of art.
Obviously we hadn’t gone anywhere – no tire tracks!
The fish ladder was like glass with the cold and ice.

COOKING THURSDAY ~ POOR MAN’S BEEF WELLINGTON aka MEATLOAF WELLINGTON ~ BLOG 365.345B

POOR MAN’S BEEF WELLINGTON aka MEATLOAF WELLINGTON (1973) serves 4-6

10 1/2 ounce jar or can of beef gravy
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 cup FINE bread crumbs
1 LARGE egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup minced onion
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper, to taste
1 sheet puff pastry
8 ounces sliced mushrooms, optional
2 tablespoons butter

  • Preheat oven 375°.
  • Combine 1/4 cup gravy with ground beef, bread crumbs, egg, onion, salt and pepper, mixing thoroughly.
  • Shape into 3×7 inch loaf.
  • Place in shallow baking pan.
  • Bake 45 minutes.
  • Increase heat to 400°.
  • Melt butter in a large skillet.
  • Add mushrooms to skillet and sauté to caramelize well.
  • Drain off grease from mushrooms as well as the meatloaf.
  • Roll out puff pastry.
  • Lay mushrooms out along a long edge.
  • Place loaf over mushrooms if using and roll to cover. Fold in edges to seal.
  • Bake 15 minutes more.
  • While the Wellington is baking the last time, heat the remaining gravy to serve with it and mashed potatoes.

NOTE:

  • The original recipe had you draping 5 crescent rolls over the baked loaf. I adapted it to be more like a true Wellington.
  • I also added the mushrooms to be more Wellington like.
  • If I’m serving this to company, I make my Browned Potato Loaf to make it more elegant.