Thanksgiving Memories

Can you believe half of December is nearly gone? It seemed like just yesterday it was Thanksgiving. That was a wonderful holiday weekend filled with friends and family and--yes--lots of food. But that was already weeks ago.

Jake looked a little grumpy when we all sat down to eat, maybe it was being woken up to eat an early dinner or maybe it was driving up to the zoo - at the break of dawn to pick us up from the turkey trot that morning - when we'd already hopped on MAX and headed home. Oops! Poor communication on my part.

A 23,000 calorie SALAD...?

So, I had a "salad" my husband made me for lunch. Of course there was no lettuce in this salad, not even little itty-bitty shreds that you had to scan through the ingredients to find. There was, however, about one pound of hamburger, sour cream, cheddar cheese, guacamole, salsa and some other random tidbits.

I don't want to complain because he packed my lunch for me to take to work, which was really nice--I think.

I only ate about 1/4 of what he sent with me and I still have some left in the refrigerator...waiting.

But, it was so full of grease, I got an upset stomach. I didn't want to tell him because this was one of very few lunches he's made for me over the years. Usually, I get up and make us breakfast, then I'm the one who packs our lunches...but this salad felt like a 23,000 calorie salad and it sat with me all week. Now, I'm wondering if just maybe he likes me chubby--after all I have been working hard to drop some extra poundage.

I don't know what do you think?

Anyway, my husband's salad reminded me of this commercial:

Waisalling

This is my homemade Wassail recipe

I take a big jug of red wine and put it on low heat adding in one container of frozen orange juice and two cans of frozen apple juice. I chop up a couple of apples, oranges and throw in a stick or two of cinnamon. You can add cloves and nuts - but I usually don't. The aroma is wonderful and the sweet taste is divine.

I add a candy cane to stir the drink and it's festive, pretty and perfect for any party, even a party of two
My husband likes to drink his on the couch while reading a good book.

Homemade Caramel Popcorn

It's so EZ anyone can do it - oh but the sugar is HOT - so maybe not little kids unless they are very careful and working with supervision

All it takes is sugar, butter and popcorn

I airpop a big bowl of popcorn

Then I sprinkle it with salt...yes, salt and caramel are tasty together like peanut butter and jelly, or coffee and cream or...well, you get the idea.

Just melt a couple cups of sugar over low heat.

And then CAREFULLY add in a stick of chopped up butter. When your caramel is golden and the sugar is dissolved (175 to 180 degrees-measured with a candy thermometer-but I just eyeball it) pour it over the popcorn and mix it up with a wooden or metal spoon (don't use plastic-it will melt). YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMilicious!!!

This can make a perfect present with plenty of Taste. Simply put your caramel corn in a big bowl, cover it with foil and deliver it to neighbors, coworkers, friends or family for a foodtastic gift. This is an inexpensive way to "treat" your loved ones at the holidays.

Play with Your Food - Yes, I said PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD

Don't you wish we could create our own perfect Little Men?

Well here's the real secret to PMS---Perfect Men Snacking.

And, these guys are always wonderfully delicious. Still, baking can take time, energy and crafting skills that some of us just don't have. But not to worry. With a few of my handy-dandy tips and tricks, I guarantee you, you'll be on your way to Homemaking Heaven.

I've figured out some EZ-smeazy ways to make yummilicious goodies without all the expense of buying fancy food gadgets and gizmos galore.

I've always liked playing with my food and I never really grew up so I simply used a little bit of that kid-like resourcefulness and pulled out my kid's Playdoh craft center.

Yep! You heard me...um, read me, right. Playdoh Play Center.

It was over the Thanksgiving weekend that I had my eating epiphany.

My daughter, me and one of her friends spent a few hours eating and playing with our food. We made lots of cookies and ate more than we should. But, sugar cookies are always fun at Christmas. . .right?

It's not like I don't have any tools for cutting and cooking "special" occasion cookies and cakes but they are EXPENSIVE and I only have a few. So instead of running out and buying more of those things, we simply used our old playdoh tools (of course I washed them really well first), utensils and cutters to make fancy shapes and strange little tidbits. It was like being a kid again. We squeezed and squished out our aggressions and even shaped some strange cookies for our eating-time pleasure.

It was a lot of fun and OH-SO foodtastic! And, if you look close, I bet you'll see the ice cream container on the side. Sugar Cookies and Ice Cream...what could be better? So, don't just play with your food, eat it too ;) And, if you want to look for some more great blogs, hop over here.

No wonder I need to run!

EZ Smeazy Decorating on a Budget

I love decorating for the holidays - all of them - but I don't have a lot of money to blow in my budget. So, I look for simple ways to decorate without spending much (or any) money.

This is one way to make centerpieces without spending any money at all.

I walk around the neighborhood picking up pinecones and interesting pods and pieces that I can spraypaint.

Then I arrange them in a clear bowl with some beads and ornaments I have laying around the house.

It's so pretty, simple and (best of all) it doesn't cost a penny.

Sew-EZ Stockings to Hang by the Chimney With Care

I love stockings filled with candy and fruit. Nowadays we add little nick-knacks and goodies galore. I've made lots of them over the years. This is the one I made for Lars our first year together - because in the Danish tradition - he never had one.


Then when we had our first child, I wanted something for him. I always loved Mary Engelbriet's patterns, "sew" I made a stocking for Jacob.

side two:

I took each of the kids to the fabric store and let them pick out fabric to make pillow cases for each other. And, Luke always loved animals 'sew' this is the fabric Jake picked for his brother and I decided to make a stocking too - since there was left over material.


Kara wanted a store-bought stocking (not pictured here because it would put my handiwork to shame) - but I made a couple more just in case she ever changed her mind:




It was my Mom who taught me to make stockings (and she never used a pattern-sew way should I?). It was a year (and there were probably lots of them) when she didn't have much money to buy presents (9 kids-no surprise they didn't have much money to spend on gifts) 'sew' she decided to make them. She pulled out the felt, and sequins and started sewing. She was up until three in the morning putting little handcrafted cutouts on the socks. If you look close you'll see the blue jingle bell hanging on the toe.

I still have that stocking she made for me, more than forty years ago. And I hang it up every year (using a little more of that care than with these newby socks that I've made).

I didn't always find much inside that stocking, sometimes only a piece of fruit and hard candy (but there was always a candy cane). By today's standards, our Christmas presents were meager but I've always loved that stocking and especially the memories it brings back every year.


(If you want to make a stocking, just sketch out the look of what you want on newspaper, cut it out and use it as your "pattern" - it's sew EZ.)