Holiday Decorations and Cooking

Cherry Kelly · Post by **Cherry Kelly** » 12-01-2011 02:48 PM

With the holidays drawing near - here's a place to share some of your decorating ideas and favorite recipes from cookies to cakes to meals!

Whether you purchase outside decorations or make them yourself, decorate windows or just add a few decorations indoors, what are YOUR favorites?

Here's a starter for your bathroom (if you have a guest bathroom or just one.):

With company coming for the holidays, one thing I do is put up Holiday theme towels in the guest bathroom. I also add a plastic poinsettia in a holiday vase.

Outdoors:

I have some purchased holiday candy-canes (that light up). (purchased after the holidays on close outs). I also have a Mr/Mrs Santa statues that go on the front door step area. Also a wreath that is either hung on the door or under the outdoor light. (we get a bit windy so this has to be carefully attached)

bobbo · Post by **bobbo** » 12-02-2011 12:15 AM

I hate seeing orphan threads. So in the Spirit of Xmas:

Every year I get out my 6 inch tall 8 LED Light wire frame Xmas Tree and attach it to an AAA battery and place it on top of my TV. Make the whole place very festive.

Then I buy 3-4 Turkeys when as cheap as possible ((.42 cents a pound at FoodMaxx last week, hoping for the same just Before Xmas)) and cook two up now, process meat into ground, sliced, and pureed and save two more for later in the year.

Cheap protein and make the whole place very festive.

Festive? - - - Festivus? Then I set a trap gun for any Fat Guy coming into my house uninvited and settle down with Holiday Eggnog.

Life doesn't get any better.

Cherry Kelly · Post by **Cherry Kelly** » 12-02-2011 10:48 AM

hehehe - just started this one and hope to have people sharing some ideas with holidays approaching.

Some of the little extras are great. Little Mint snowmen a recipe from a very old Taste of Homes magazine will add to are holiday meal.

Right now its locating the decorations boxes (got moved when we were doing remodel work).

Cherry Kelly · Post by **Cherry Kelly** » 12-16-2011 05:37 PM

Standard peanut brittle recipes on line, make great extras for gifts.

One thing I do for family members is to create a large number wall type Calendar. I use either MS Word program MS publisher. Create large single table for putting the month and year, then your standard 7 table where you will put days in top boxes and fill in numbers in the remaining table. I make five lower tables with bold large numbers, with smaller numbers used on those odd months where a sixth row might be needed.
Be sure to leave a smaller space at the bottom of your family calendar to put dates and family birthdays for the month. (AND you can add holidays, moon signs - whatever you desire.)
When done you can usually see the numbers from across a room. Comes in handy!

voguy · Post by **voguy** » 12-16-2011 07:49 PM

I'm a sucker for French Silk chocolate pie at Christmas.

Cherry Kelly · Post by **Cherry Kelly** » 12-20-2011 03:44 PM

Traditional Peanut Brittle

2 cups sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 1 cup water 2 cups raw Spanish peanuts 1/2 tsp. salt 2 Tbsp. butter 2 tsp. baking soda

Heat and stir sugar, syrup and water in a heavy 3-quart saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Add salt. Cook over medium heat to soft ball stage (234 degrees). Add peanuts at 250 degrees. Cook to hard crack stage (290 degrees), stirring often. Remove from heat.

Quickly, stir in butter and soda. Beat to a froth for a few seconds. Pour at once onto 2 well-buttered 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch pans, spreading with spatula. If desired, cool slightly and pull with forks to stretch thin. Break up when cold.
ALMOND Brittle- add 1/2tsp almond flavoring -- 1/2-3/4 cup almonds
coconut - follow peanut, add 3/4 cup flaked coconut just before removing from heat.

Yield: About 1-1/2 pounds of peanut brittle.

megman · Post by **megman** » 12-20-2011 03:57 PM

You should try Bacon Brittle. Its to die for.......

cherry · Post by **cherry** » 01-03-2012 05:23 PM

I like Whitman's Samplers ....

Diogenes · Post by **Diogenes** » 01-04-2012 12:35 PM

Did anyone make soup out of the turkey carcass????

Always curious as I have yet to do that.

Diogenes · Post by **Diogenes** » 01-04-2012 12:36 PM

cherry wrote: I like Whitman's Samplers ....

Now you are aging yourself;)

I love the descriptions on the inside of the box - a map of the individual candies.

Cherry Kelly · Post by **Cherry Kelly** » 01-04-2012 02:53 PM

diogenes - you can make turkey noodle (same as chicken noodle) or a veggie soup -- works well! You might even consider removing smaller pieces of meat and turning it into a casserole dish, for making enchiladas or flour tortilla with some other ingredients of course! Even been known to take some of the meat and make a stir-fry!

Diogenes · Post by **Diogenes** » 01-04-2012 05:08 PM

Cherry Kelly wrote: diogenes - you can make turkey noodle (same as chicken noodle) or a veggie soup -- works well! You might even consider removing smaller pieces of meat and turning it into a casserole dish, for making enchiladas or flour tortilla with some other ingredients of course! Even been known to take some of the meat and make a stir-fry!

All good ideas - have you made Turkey Tetrazzini with the leftovers?

Of course anything with noodles and cheese - how can you go wrong with that.

Just bought a huge vintage Revere Ware stock pot for just such purposes as the turkey carcass and will do next time.

joan roberts · Post by **joan roberts** » 01-04-2012 08:21 PM

I always use a whole bottle of sherry to baste the turkey

the gravy is superb and making soup even carries over

the taste, sandwiches delicious and white meat very

tender and moist......have been doing that for more years

than I care to mention