https://cookingperfected.com/air-fryer-baked-apples/
Here’s the third recipe, Baked Apples. It’s simple and delicious. Best of all you coukd use this for a breakfast recipe.
Now I have shared three recipes with y’all. I hope if you get an air fryer you will put Pinterest to use. Be adventurous with. Also a lot of companies are beinging to put air fryer directions on their packaging.
At this point your next post will be Christmas brunch. Hope y’all have a wonderful holiday.
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/leftover-ham-recipes/
I just realized that I didn’t schedule a post for today. I am glad I didn’t. This post is perfect timing. It’s recipes to use ham leftovers. Let’s face it not everyone eats turkey, or lamb for Christmas. Some eat prime rib. Some folks have ham for Christmas. I never understood why people say they are Christian yet they eat pork to celebrate the birth of Christ.
Anyway, if you do have ham this post has 70 recipes to use the leftovers. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner is covered. Ham cheddar pockets a favorite? Got it. Pasta based meal or rice, covered.
Here’s the good news, you could use these recipes with any leftover protein.
By now you are two days from Christmas Eve. How’s the bathroom everyone will use? Perhaps a quick cleaning is called for. Don’t forget fresh towels if you’re having overnight guests. How many days will Grandma and Grandpa be here? (Or any other guests) make sure your home is in tip top shape for their visit. Make them feel like they are at a resort especially if it is your grandparents. I miss mine dearly.
Now the kitchen. Who is going to cook the main protein? What will they need? Put everything out where it’s easily accessible for that person. It saves time come Christmas morning.
Grocery shopping time. By now you have all of your non-perishable items. So by today you have only veggies to get, and paper products left. Extra box of garbage bags should be at the top of that list. Of course, I am sure you have been securing the holiday items needed. Like the platter we discussed back at week two. Without fail Aunt Hilda will come through for you. But pick up something just in case. Walmart has some really nice platters by Pioneer Woman Rhee Drummond and Better Homes & Gardens. Personally, I would check out thrift stores first. Yeah! Never know what you find there.
https://www.thekitchn.com/spaghetti-recipe-23256140
Spaghetti with meat sauce and/or meatballs. What do you think of?
Yeah! The scene in Lady and Tramp. You know that scene where they fall in love over a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. I always think of that scene when I hear spaghetti and meatballs or meat sauce.
This particular version has a splash of balsamic vinegar. I personally never thought about adding balsamic vinegar, but this lady swears by it. Also, I noticed it has directions for freezing. Yep!
What to serve with it? Salad with Olive Garden’s dressing comes to mind. You could serve a veggie tray or a cheese board. Hands down garlic bread. Check out Pinterest for a copycat recipe for these delicious bread sticks from Olive Garden. How after the meal? DESSERT! How good where your kids? Copycat recipe for their favorite dessert can be found on Pinterest of course.
Once we have children our lives pretty much revolve around them. While it’s nice to get together with adult members of your family, kids can get into everything…. Y’all know what I am talking about. I covered this back in my pre-Thanksgiving post about activities for kids. Here are some fresh links for activities for kids to do on their own and with adults.
Our first activity which will require adult supervision is a Spinning Christmas Tree. This looks like it would be fun for the science freak in your family to do with kids. Beth does have printables as well.
Beth Gorden
https://www.123homeschool4me.com/dancing-science-project_4/
Paper snowflakes! This is always a favorite. I used to do this in elementary school. I am sure a lot of people did. Here is a site that gives directions and patterns you can print off.
Paper Snowflakes
https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/cut-snowflake-video-tutorial-free-templates.html
Here’s one last link. While most teens will keep themselves entertained this will help you littles keep out of trouble.
Michelle and Kira
https://www.sunshineandhurricanes.com/printable-christmas-bingo/
Here’s one last activity you can do with your kids, let them help. Yeah! Kids love to help their parents. Make them Coat Checker which is a fancy word for hanging coats up. Let them make little holiday-themed number tickets. This would be a great job for the 8 to 11 age. Also, another job for this age group would be Bell Hop. Fancy for the carrier of luggage. For the 4 to 7 you could let them be the Matre D. Again fancy word for the greeter. They can show guests into the living room. For your 11 to 12 we have Guest Assistant. Fancy for a waiter. The 4 to 8 is a great age to show them how to set a table for dinner. Also how to Stage a room. Use the word Stage instead of decorating. It will make them feel important.
(I had to do the links as plain text because I couldn’t connect with one of them but their ideas were spot on.)
https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/71231/5-must-have-german-dishes
Here are some wonderful one pot meals for winter. Right now it is 30° outside. Yeah! When I left the laundry mat I saw snow flurries. Instantly thought about a ine pot meal like chicken and dumplings.
These one pot meals are from Germany. You got Beef Stew with veggies like carrots and peas with potatoes. A thick hearty delicous meal. Honestly, if you live in the north like we do, you could use you oven like a slow cooker. Just set it between 150° and 250° the highest. Then let any slow cooker meal go for the usual time. Just make sure someone’s home because you are using you oven. I did pasta sauce like that yesterday. Beautiful! Just like the sliw cooker.
Knuckle of pork and fries (okay potato wedges). Make it pulled pork and I am on it. Stuffed cabbage. Okay I am not a big fan. I don’t know why. If you are, here is a version for you. There are many German one pot meals that would be great for a northern winter.
If you have a great one pot meal perfect for winter, feel free to share it.
https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/?s=Holidays
This recipe is delightful. Chicken with cheese is a great start.
I looked around Karen’s site and more wonderful recipes. Need to build up slow cooker recipes. Covered. The majority of Karen’s are simply and can be made in one pot.
Here we go y’all. Countdown to Christmas. Each week we will look at what we can be doing to prepare our homes for Christmas then New Year’s Day. Yeah! We are going to cover both. We are going to cover everything just like Thanksgiving.
Cleaning and Extra Preparations
One week out from Christmas here’s what we can do. Time to tackle the guest rooms if you will be having guests. And don’t forget your living room, kitchen, and public bathroom.
Meal Planning and Christmas Eve
Now is the time to decide what you will do for Christmas Eve. Will you cook a full meal or will you do what most people will? Order out because you are going to be busy on Christmas day. If eating a catered meal is your plan, great. I’m sure if you order now you could get a great deal. Don’t forget coupons.
Of course, you could take this weekend to meal prep. Yep! Through planning ahead you could get a lot of your cooking done. If you’re in charge of side dishes and place to stay while Grandma cooks and everyone else does their specialty, then this is the weekend to make your specialty and freeze it. Either make it up to the point of baking. Or you could set yourself up by putting together the items you need. Example: if Green Bean Casserole is your specialty, place everything you need in a basket together. This way when you go to make your famous casserole, you have everything at hand. No scrambling for anything.
Now let’s talk about Christmas Morning. How about a pancake bar? Have your spouse or other relative that’s great at flipping pancakes on the griddle. Have everything they need at hand so they can whip up a damn good pancake. This is something you could plan ahead for.
Here’s a link for some ideas. Link: https://www.homestoriesatoz.com/recipes/23-christmas-brunch-recipe-ideas.html
https://noblepig.com/2018/02/perfect-air-fryer-salmon/
Here’s recipe number two. Salmon!
I usually put salmon on a grill plate for my Cuisinart. Yes! They have an Air Fryer to. Moving one to the fish. In this recipe the Noble Pig recommends Avocado or Olive oil. I disagree. Salmon is such a luxurious fish so I go light on the seasonings and use a light oil if I fry it at all.
To me Salmon, Tuna, Mahi and Swordfish are the most luxurious fish in the sea so why take away from their flavor. Rather add to it. Can chicken, pork, and beef be cooked in the air fryer? Why yes. Check out Pinterest for so many recipes free.
https://www.dailydot.com/irl/whole-foods-dumpster-dive-tiktok/
Get ready to make your head explode. Whole Foods would rather throw out 330,00 pounds of food instead of giving it to employees, food banks, or soup kitchens.
This is stupid! Has humanity lost its collective mind? Yes! I know I used ‘collective’ in Communist terms. The idea that corporations would rather throw away edible food instead of donating it is beyond stupid.
The greed of our society has hit a low that’s disgusting. There’s about 13.8 MILLION families in this country who are food insecure. There’s over 61,000 food pantries. Soup kitchens, however, I couldn’t find an exact number on. So I guessing too many to count. Makes me wonder what would it hurt to donate food ten days before best use date? Nothing!
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