Kitchen Fun With Carol

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had three different meals with friends and family. We enjoyed hosting this year. Every recipe came out great! One new recipe we tried was the Sweet Potato Soufflé with Brown Sugar Crumbles. It is one of the sample recipes from the Holiday Freezer Cooking ebook. It was a wonderful! It’s more like a dessert than a side dish. We really enjoyed it. It was great to spend time with our extended families and catch up with everyone.

After all the time together, I had to figure out what to do with that left over turkey! If you follow us on the 30 Day Gourmet Facebook® fan page, you know that I had a mini cooking day to use up the turkey. I had over 14 cups of chopped turkey after taking some home from my brother’s feast. On my mini cooking day, I ended up making Bowtie Soup (from the Freezer Lunches to Go ebook), Turkey and Noodles (a third edition recipe from the members area) and Mexican Meat Filling (for quesadillas, enchiladas, etc.). YUM!

I hope you are all enjoying this special time of the year. Cooking is such a part of the season and for me it brings back a lot of holiday memories. It is so much fun to host cookie exchanges, make gifts from the kitchen for friends and neighbors, or even participate in a progressive dinner with your friends.

It’s also a wonderful opportunity to get your kids involved in cooking. When my children were younger, we would dedicate a Saturday afternoon every December to making cut out cookies together (try the Sugar Cookies with Icing recipe!). They really enjoyed icing and decorating the cookies. We also had sprinkles and colored sugar on hand to add that extra special touch. Afterwards, we would take plates of the cookies to the neighbors and grandparents as a Christmas gift. It was a wonderful tradition!

Bonus Recipes

As we get closer to Christmas, it’s always good to have some great “gift in a jar” recipes in your personal recipe collection that can be used as last minute gifts for teachers, coaches, or even your mail delivery person. These are some of our favorite gift recipes. Enjoy!

Double Chocolate Brownies Gift Jar

This is one of my favorite recipes for homemade brownies. They are dense and fudgy and will satisfy your craving for chocolate. One recipe will make a 8×8 pan. A double recipe will make a 9×13 pan. You just need to bake it a little longer – 40 to 50 minutes instead of 25 to 30 minutes for the 8×8 pan. Package this mix with an 8×8 pan and an ice cream scoop.

Serve it with peppermint ice cream as a special holiday treat!

Oven Fried Chicken Gift Jar

This is a great recipe to have on hand. If you have a craving for fried chicken, this will do the trick without all the grease! This recipe is one of our new family favorites!

Package this mix with a pair of tongs and a baking sheet.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Gift Jar

We love serving hot cocoa especially after working outside shoveling snow or spending hours sledding with the kids. The peppermint in this mix makes the recipe extra special.

Package this mix with a mug and some chocolate covered spoons.

Closing Comments From Carol

I hope you enjoyed my holiday gift jar recipes! I would love to hear about your tips, suggestions, favorite holiday recipes and gift ideas. I would also like to hear about your cooking plans for the new year.

Post your stories and recipes 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