An Elegant Christmas Dinner (Bonus: How to Cook the Perfect Roast)

Source: southernliving.com via Donna on Pinterest

It's four days until Christmas. Have you got your Christmas dinner planned and purchased? I'm so glad my daughter 'encouraged' me to get out in the fray and get our grocery shopping done. It's hard to get around in so much traffic.

Every year, I've done a very simple, and frugal Christmas dinner with time-tested favorite dishes that our family loves. If you are short on time and energy or are on a tight budget...click here for the perfect Christmas dinner for you.

However, due to the fact that we started so early on our Christmas prep, I'm done!! Yippee!  So I want to cook a very SPECIAL Christmas dinner. An elegant one in fact.  I spent a lot of time hunting for the BEST recipes from the most trusted sources to put together our Christmas dinner this year.

Source: google.com via Donna on Pinterest

Who Do I Trust? Cooks Illustrated, Southern Living, and Martha Stewart. They aren't the only ones, but these are some I've come to depend on. Still, you do have to subscribe to get much out of Cooks Illustrated (they block you out after hunting for two or three recipes)...and for my birthday, that's just what I'm doing.

Our Christmas Dinner Menu 

Slow Cooked Roast Beef with Horseradish Sauce

Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust

 Green bean Casserole (for the boys)

Greek Salad

Spinach Dip with Blue Cheese and Bacon 

on Crusty Frenchbread Slices

and

Grasshopper Pie

Source: simplyrecipes.com via Donna on Pinterest

Slow Cooked Roast Beef with Horseradish sauce

I love Cook's Illustrated because the TEST every recipe. They are the 'Consumer Reports Group' for foodies.  Their article on how to properly roast a cheap cut of beef was fabulous!

Thanks to them, my roasts are defrosting as we speak and will be aging in the fridge for the suggested four days. (You don't have to age it. Their recipe will make your roast taste great without doing that.)

I got the horseradish sauce recipe from Martha Stewart's website because she always using quality ingredients. Yes, they cost more...but they also taste heavenly. If we are going to splurge on delicious recipes..Christmas is surely the time to do that. :o)

Potato Gratin with Rosemary Crust
Southern Living has great holiday recipes including Top 5 Main Dishes for Christmas. They also had holiday side dishes and that's where I got this recipe from. We are going to put it on a cake stand too.  It includes both white potatoes and sweet potatoes plus a special cheese and other goodies. It should taste FABulous!

Source: marthastewart.com via Donna on Pinterest

Green Bean Casserole and Greek Salad
For veges, we will make a traditional green bean casserole. It's the only time of year my boys get 'doctored up' vegetables...and I don't want to disappoint them.   But Rebekah and I are trying to control the damage to our waistlines by adding a lighter side dish.

Hubby and I once went to Ya Ya Mia's on a business trip and devoured their Greek salad. We had never tasted anything so good! So I'm trying a recipe from Martha Stewart. Tim will be so surprised and pleased. He loves Greek food.

Source: marthastewart.com via Donna on Pinterest

Spinach Dip with Blue Cheese and Bacon

I wanted to make creamed spinach and bacon, but Rebekah begged, "Please let us have spinach dip. It's Soooo yummy...and I'll make the crusty bread!" So I gave in. :o)  We're making Spinach Dip with Blue Cheese and Bacon from Cooks Illustrated. If you get locked out then try Martha Stewart's website. She has that one too.

Source: google.com via Donna on Pinterest

Grasshopper Pie...Hubby's Favorite
It's embarrassing to think that Hubby's been 'hinting' for 25 years that I ought to make this. It's his favorite pie and I don't think he's eaten any anywhere in all this time. Poor hubby!

Why the delay? Well the recipe calls for Creme de' Menthe which is expensive and has to be purchased at a liquor store. For years, I've been too embarrassed to go get it. Now I'm not so squeamish..so I picked up a bottle last week. It should make a LOT of pies! LOL!

At any rate, this will be my first time to make grasshopper pie. Pioneer Woman has a munch simpler recipe, but if I make it..I want to make it extra special, so I'm trying Martha's which calls for better quality ingredients.

Either way, I'm looking forward to tasting this.  Chocolate and Mint...How can we go wrong? :o)

So that's our Christmas dinner in a nut shell.  If you are looking for more ideas, be sure to check out Southern Living's Top 5 Main Dishes for Christmas. They have some great suggestions!

Happy Homemaking... 

Donna

Make a Fabulous Online Photo Album with a 'Scrapbook' Feel

Can you believe that it's almost Christmas! I do hope you have most of your shopping and wrapping done!  We bought our Christmas dinner last night and the stuff for the kids stockings.(Hope I can share the menu with you tomorrow! Yummy!)

Today, I'm doing my very last two things on the list...addressing some Christmas cards for local friends and arranging the dropping off of an Angel Tree Gift to a young teenager whose mother is in prison. That was the main way that our church ministered to others this Christmas. :o)

Gift Idea: Online Photo Album

Before I get to work though, I thought I'd share one last gift idea--an online photo album. I mentioned this on my Christmas list in November. Every year we make a photo album for my hubby's parents who live in Washington DC.

If you would like to try this, there is still time at Shutterfly to make one and get a huge discount. The deal is over today though. Still..this would be a great gift--deal or no deal.

Easy Option

If you are in a hurry, try the 'easy' mode. But be forewarned. You can't customize the size or shape of the boxes (which is bothersome if you have a photo with low resolution in that particular shape). And you can't add more than four photos per page. Still-- it is quick!

Custom Option

The other option is the custom one. You can add as many photos as you like and change just about everything, which is why it took me so long to make my album. LOL!

 I spent a LOT of hours on this..but it's our annual family year book, so it's worth it to me. 

I love being able to get that 'scrapbook' feel without actually doing the scrapbooking! No fuss or muss!

Tips

• Yellow Triangles - The little warning marks don't show up when the book publishes of course. These tell you there are typos or that the photo is too close to the edge or may be blurry when printed.
• Be careful to make sure none of your photos are too low of resolution. You will regret it when you get the book. The picture WILL be blurry.
• Save often!  It has auto save..but my java plug in crashed a couple of times and I lost a lot of work.

• Don't change the cover or style midway through if you have done a lot of arranging you don't want to lose. It will mess the whole thing up!  Play with it a while before you start doing a lot of detail writing or embellishing.

• Try to gather as many photos as possible from your various folders. It's a lot easier than hunting mid-way through.
• Make an outline of events you want to include. 

• If you have the option, don't pre-fill...instead choose to put your uploaded photos in a photo bar.  Just drag photos to a page for each event without doing any detailing (text or embellishments). Keep sorting and dragging till all of your photos from the bar are gone. Now each page has all the relevant photos grouped for that event and you can go back and fuss with them or even add a page if necessary.

Have fun this holiday season with a heart-warming photo album. It's a great way to end the year!

Happy Homemaking...

Donna

Comin' Home's Top Ten Picks for Christmas Gifts $20.00 or Less

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The Christmas countdown has begun..hasn't it? It's only ten more days till Christmas! If you didn't start my 'Get Ready for Christmas in Seven Days plan', you may be a little stressed out right now.

Don't worry though, there's still plenty of time to get your list finished.  If it's been 'one of those years' where life has thrown a few monkey wrenches into your holiday preparations, perhaps this list of my favorite gifts (either ones I purchased or received) will help alleviate some pressure.

Gardening in the Winter

I know...for many of you there won't be any gardening for awhile. But in Houston, the growing season is almost ALL YEAR. In fact, if you check the back of the seed packets, planting starts in January!

Having gardened north of Dallas most of my childhood, my internal gardening clock is set to their schedule...April for planting and possibly later. So I always feel so BEHIND.

But Houston is a gardener's dream.  My sweet friend Laurie, who is an avid gardener and doesn't live far from me,  is still serving tomatoes out of her garden!

Christmas Store for Class Motivation (quick update)

Hmm...what should I buy with these hard earned tickets?   This was the question my girls were pondering over as they shopped at my 'Christmas store'.

You may recall that I talked about holding this store of goodies, purchased on clearance and even while on vacation, for the girls in my writing class at my son's homeschool co-op.

Our Trees... Ablaze with Vibrant Color

A miracle of color happened at our house this year....

In all the time we have been living here...only one of our trees ever turned a truly vivid color. In fact, the trees here in Texas..especially near Houston, just don't do that, at least not like they do further north.

Please Pray for My Blogging Friend Kerrie and Her Husband, Bill

Dear Friends,

I don't often do this, but after reading Kerrie's update on her husband Bill's website at Caring Bridge .org http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/billmarquart, I thought today it was time to start.

You see..Kerrie's husband Bill has cancer. You can read more about his journey and hers on her profile at Two Happy.

How Clean is Clean Enough for Company? A Reader Writes...

Dear Donna....
I found your blog a few weeks ago and I have sooo enjoyed it.I did the DEEP clean the first of Nov. We had a big get together here the week before Thanksgiving. 

My husband told me he hates having people over because I go crazy getting everything spic and span. I told him all this needed to be done anyway and having people over is a good excuse to get it done. He tells me I'm too clean--that there was no reason to deep clean before people come over.I should just clean after they leave because it is going to be dirty then with all the kids running in and out.       
 Source: organizedhome.com via Penny on Pinterest

Has 'Just for Now' become 'Forever'?

Source: attackofthecute.com via Becca on Pinterest

Isn't it amazing the things you notice about your home the day before company arrives? Sometimes I wish I had a pair of 'company's coming' glasses that I could don on cleaning day. :o)

We have company right now! On Thursday, we're also having a small party, so I'm definitely seeing our home through 'new eyes'....

Making Fabric Crib Wall Art: The Story of Samantha's Flowers

Once upon a time there was born a very special baby girl...  She had a cherry red bumper and a deep pink and orange bedside lamp but as yet, nothing adorned the wall above her crib.

So her fairy grandmother waved her magic wand...and blew some of the bright little flowers off of her dress...and onto the wall....   with a kiss.

Well... no... that's not exactly how it happened. (Tee-hee!)  

Gourmet Cookie Mix in a Jar Recipe-Yum!

"If I don't LOVE it...I don't EAT it." So said the food critic in the enchanting movie, "Ratatouille" which was all about the art of cooking.

 My skinny friends have this same motto..hence their constant quest for the 'perfect' cookie recipe.

I think I've finally found one they won't be able to resist!

Why don't you try one of them and see what you think?

I simply couldn't send you off into the holiday season without a few choice recipes for holiday baking. It's one of the things I listed on our Get Ready for Christmas in Seven Days post. This was not hard to do and it didn't take a lot of time.

Talk about a super easy project and great fun to do with the kids!

I love having a simple gift to give friends and neighbors that is thoughtful but doesn't break the bank. This year that gift is 'cookie mixes in a jar'. I got the recipe that we chose from a great book,  Gifts From a Jar - Cookies, Brownies, and Bars - Goodies to Mix and Bake

 

We did one variation on the recipe by switching from dark chocolate chips to white. They both tasted fantastic!  I picked this recipe because I knew it would have lots of goodies and look fantastic in a jar. (Appearance counts for a lot with this gift. It looks so homey on the counter. :o)

Whole Grain Chippers

(Assembly Instructions)

Makes 1 Jar 

1 cup uncooked old-fashioned oats

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

pinch of salt

1. Layer ingredients attractively in any order into 1-quart food storage jar with tight-fitting lid. Pack ingredients down slightly before adding another layer.

2. Cover top of jar with fabric; attach gift tag with raffia or ribbon.

We bought a box of jars from Wal-mart, a small bag each of flours, sugars, a big box of oats, 3 bags of chocolate chips, 2 bags of sunflower seeds and that was pretty much enough to do all twelve jars. The average cost was $3.00 per jar. Not bad for a nice gift!

Here's the instructions to print out for the gift tag:

(White chocolate chip variation pictured here.) 

Whole Grain Chippers

 (Recipe Tag)

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg

1/2 t. vanilla

1 jar Whole Grain Chippers Mix

1. Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease cookie sheets.

2. Beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla until blended. (Mixture may appear curdled.)

3. Add cookie mix to butter mixture; stir until well blended. (Dough will be stiff.)

4. Shape rounded tablespoonfuls of dough into balls; place 2 inches apart on prepared cookie sheets.

5. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until completely firm. DO NOT OVERBAKE.  Let cookies stand on cookie sheets 2 minutes. Remove cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes 2 dozen cookies.

Note: This recipe with pecans (rather than sunflower seeds) is pictured at the top of the post.)

These were absolutely the most delectable...and heavenly taste sensations ever!  I can recommend this recipe with total confidence. I have to please the most discerning palates ever--my skinny friends who refuse to eat a bite unless it's a little taste of 'heaven'. (Hence the reason they are skinny. We could learn some lessons from them!)  

Since the kitchen, my apron and I were already covered with flour, I figured I might as well try out a Southern Living recipe too. I'd planned to use this one for a friendly cookie swap, but the date didn't work out for us. (We're having company this weekend- my daughter's friend, Kayleen. We're so glad you're almost here!)

It was Soooo good that my calorie conscious daughter ate six the first day..and a regular dose every day since. She is my official 'food critic' and if it passes her inspection..then you are going to love it!

I'll be making the cranberry-white chocolate cookies and freezing them in advance to take to get togethers over the holidays.

 (Meet Apollo...our newest 'rescue' and Rebekah's 21st birthday gift.- photo by Rebekah)

Let me know how the baking goes! We'll be doing some more baking this weekend ourselves. It's one of the the things 'the girls' like to do when they get together. 

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