A Week in the Kitchen with Carol

Merry Christmas, everyone! I’m hosting Christmas this year and I am so excited! I am counting the days until my kids are home to celebrate with us this year. I’ve been cooking and planning for a month. We’re having turkey with my husband’s famous stuffing, a spiral sliced ham, Sweet Potato Soufflé with Brown Sugar Crumbles, green bean casserole, green salad, Crispy Cheesy Potatoes (from the Members area), and rolls.

Everyone in the family is bringing two dozen of their favorite cookies to share with the family. My husband and I had a marathon baking day making several different kind of cookies. Our choices for this year were Deb’s Reese’s® Peanut Butter Cookies, Double Chocolate Chip Cookies (with 2/3 cup white chocolate chips, 2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and 2/3 cup dark chocolate chips – YUM!), Pecan Pie Bars, Peanut Butter Toffee Cookies, and a new recipe, Mint Snowballs.

Are you looking for great cookie recipes to make for the holiday? Here are some of my favorite 30 Day Gourmet recipes.

• Carolyn’s Chocolate Chip Cookies
• Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls
• Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies (from the Big Book of Freezer Cooking)
• Malted Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• No Bake Cookies (members can access online)
• Oatmeal Cookies (members can access online)
• Oreo Truffles (from the Big Book of Freezer Cooking)
• Seven Layer Bars
• Snickerdoodles
• Sugar Cookies
• Toffee Pecan Bars
• White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies

I am also going to surprise my kids with one of their favorite desserts, Brownie Trifle. To make a Brownie Trifle, you layer crumbled fudge brownies, whipped topping, chocolate mousse, and crushed English toffee bars. The secret is to let it sit for a couple of hours in the refrigerator before serving. The toffee bars soften and flavor the whipped topping layers. It’s wonderful!

This is also a great time to stock up on some of the seasonal grocery items that go on sale. I always stock up on fresh cranberries, canned cranberry sauce and canned pumpkin. Fresh cranberries can be frozen for almost a year. I tested some cranberry recipes this month. Try these yourself. I think you’ll be surprised!

Cranberry Meatloaf

I love meatloaf and this is one of the best meatloaf recipes that I have ever tasted! This mix of spices pairs very nicely with the cranberry sauce on top. It also makes a very good meatloaf sandwich. After testing this recipe I went ahead and made two more for the freezer. I’m looking forward to adding this recipe to my winter menu.

Cranberry Cheesecake Tart

I made this cheesecake with a cookie crust and homemade cranberry sauce. The tart sauce tastes great over the sweet cheesecake. This is a nice indulgence or a special occasion cheesecake.

Closing Comments from Carol

Enjoy the recipes! I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone!

Do you have any recipes that you would like to share? I’d love to try and share them with everyone. You can post your recipes on the 30 Day Gourmet Facebook® fan page or click here to send me an email. Or do you have any other topics that you would like me to cover? Click here to send me an email. I enjoy hearing from you!

Have fun in your kitchen!

Carol