GINGERBREAD HOUSES

It’s finally the Christmas season. I will admit I’m one of those that gets excited when the stores start putting Christmas out even though it isn't’ even Halloween. I bought Trudi some ornaments I found the first of Oct. They were perfect for her tree so I had to do it. Then every time I go to a store I go through the Christmas isles again and again. As I cleaned house on the Mon. before Thanksgiving I figured I might as well put fall away and Christmas out as I took things off to dust. I LOVE Christmas!!!!

One of our family traditions is making gingerbread houses. I am going to make them with the grandkids this year. But since they all live a ways apart we will be doing it multiple times. I’m so excited, it will be so much fun.

Christmas Ribbon Table Runner

Now that Thanksgiving is over, well except for the pies :), it's time for Christmas.  I love Christmas!

A couple of years ago I found a lot of great ribbon for really cheap after Christmas.  It's always nice to have some on hand for wrapping.  A few days ago as I was working on another project, I came across the ribbon again and had a light bulb go off in my head.  Why not weave them together to create a table runner.  So here it is, my Christmas ribbon table runner.  I love how it turned out.

Thanksgiving Day

We had a great Thanksgiving and hope all of you did to. There are so many things to be thankful for this year. We were only missing one family this year. This is one of the first years we didn’t have more than just our family. But we had a great day. We thought we would share our dinner with you. Everyone has food assignment that we choose about a month ahead. 

Some items we make ahead and some get made that morning at the home we have it at.

 

 

 

 

 

Appetizers are ready!

Cheese Ball and crackers, Spinach Dip and Sour Dough Bread, Veggie Tray and Ranch Dip, Mini Rolls with Assorted Spreads (Lemon Dill Butter, Cream Cheese Pesto, Roasted Red Pepper Humus).

 

Everyone was chilling’ and watching movies or playing games or munching on appetizers while the main course finished cooking.

 

 

The table is set and the food is ready. We were in Carrie’s new condo and used the counter as our buffet table. As with lots going on that morning the extra chairs were forgot so we sat some at the table and some sat on the sofa in the living room. The little girls loved having their own table.

This year the menu was: Brined Turkey, Cornbread and Regular Dressing, Sweet Potato Casserole, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Cranberry Relish and Jellied Cranberries, Frog Eye Salad, Brussel Sprouts, Homemade Rolls.

We finish up with an assortment of homemade pies, which has been a family tradition for generations. This year we had enough pie for each person to have half a pie each. We had 2 Pumpkin, Cherry, Pecan, Coconut Cream with a caramel nut bottom, Dutch Apple, Key Lime, and Lemon Meringue.  There is no such thing as too much pie.

We hope everyone else had a great Thanksgiving Day with family and friends, but I will be honest I can’t wait till Christmas.

Cranberry Relish

Cranberries are a must at Thanksgiving and this recipe was shared with me from my Mother-in-law who received it from her Grandmother.  I love recipes that have been in families forever.  I can only make this recipe when I have others to share it with or before I know it, I have eaten it all.  I guess it is okay since it is healthy!

Thank You!

Just a quick great big THANK YOU! to all of our current followers.  I can't believe we already have 75.  Also, for those that just haven't clicked the "Follow" button, but like to check in regularly, we are planning our first giveaway at 100 followers!  So, if you haven't yet, become a follower so you can enter to win.

Turkey Napkin Rings

I will be the only sister not joining the rest of the family for Thanksgiving this year.  So I have to make my own decor and fun.  I'm not a super entertainer (especially when it's just going to be our family plus one), but I wanted to have a little something to spice up the table.  So I came up with some cute little turkeys (well, in addition to the 3 I take care of every day) to hold our napkins.

Fall Leaf Chargers

This year I have been very inspired by the beautiful leaves around my house turning into all shades of fabulous this fall.  The idea of the leaves changing just screams fall to me, so what better way to decorate your Thanksgiving table then with these beautiful fall leaf chargers.  I love the look of natural wood and thought it would be a beautiful accent to the reds and yellows of the leaves.

They took a little bit of time (mostly waiting for each layer to dry), but they are fantastic and make my formal Thanksgiving table look perfect!  I am so excited to share this tutorial...

Cheese Ball

Every Thanksgiving for as long as I can remember, my family has had a cheese ball for an appetizer.  I have introduced it to my in-laws as well because to me Thanksgiving just isn’t the same without a cheese ball!  I have seen many recipes for cheese balls before but none of them are the same as ours.  I don’t know where my mom got the recipe but where ever it was, we like it!  (Picture doesn’t look very appealing but believe me, it is good!)

Apples, Apples and More Apples

A couple weeks ago my favorite grocery store had all types of apples on sale for real cheap.  With the crisp morning air bringing in the feeling of fall, I went crazy and bought LOTS of apples.  We have been happily eating them but I have noticed that a few of them are starting to get soft so I decided to do some baking!

Citrus Enfused Turkey (or Chicken)

This is a little twist on the traditional Thanksgiving turkey that I learned from one of my favorite professors in school.  He was as Italian as you could get and brilliant in the kitchen. 

Typically I would have placed the turkey (chicken) on a platter and dressed it all up nice, but well, I had a houseful of hungry people and I was one of them.  So we went ahead and ate it right out of the baking dish :)

Spinach Dip

My favorite part of Thanksgiving is the appetizers and my favorite is spinach dip. We make it every thanksgiving and it is always the first thing i go for.

Crab Dip

Yesterday, I spent hours upon hours (well at least one) mixing up Royal Icing and making Batman emblems for my 3 year olds birthday this morning.  I was out of wax paper, no big deal, I just pulled out freezer paper and made them on those instead.  I woke up this morning to peel them off, and they failed miserably.  My guess is the freezer paper doesn't breath and they never fully dried out, but in all honesty, I only say that to sound smart, I have no idea what I did wrong.  So, before 10 am I frantically made up a Batman logo pick and stuck those in the top instead.  Even though I was super stressed with getting it all done, I will admit, I almost think they turned out cuter.  So, if you are ever in a bind and want a SVG file to cut out Batman picks with your Cricut (or Sillouette, I think), let me know, I'd be happy to shoot one over.  Heck, I'll even send it to you if you aren't in a bind ;).

Now you may be asking yourself, what does this have to do with crab dip.  Nothing, I just thought I'd share a piece of my morning with you.  Now onto the crab dip.  We first tried this recipe last Thanksgiving and everyone LOVED it.  I found the recipe in a Taste of Home cookbook.  When I made it again for dinner last night, we ate it first, and almost didn't care about dinner.  The best part is, it's super easy too.

Turkey Place Card Holders

I am always looking for a fun craft that I can do with my 3 and a half year old.  She loves to spend time with mom, being creative.  I’ve inherited a box full of random wood pieces and thought it might provide a bit of inspiration.  This time it proved to be quite successful!

Thanksgiving at Houseful of Handmade

We thought we'd share a typical Thanksgiving Day dinner we enjoy each year. You first have to know that as the Mom I dislike cooking, therefore I came up with the idea that if I taught my girls to cook and made it fun then I wouldn't have to do it. It worked! Most of them really enjoy it but a couple like it as much as I do. So when the family gets together there seems to be lots of food.

Our Thanksgiving Dinner starts at noon with appetizers consisting of a Cheese Ball and Crackers, Veggies and Dip, Spinach Dip with variety of Breads, Something made with Little Smokies, and anything else someone found that sounded good so they make it.

Then at 2 we have the main course.  Traditional Turkey, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy, Homemade Stuffing, Sweet Potato Casserole, Cranberries, Salad (which changes), Hot Rolls, and of course Brussel Sprouts.

Of course we are to full for dessert so we play games, watch movies or sleep it off till around 4 or 5 when the pies are served. Pumpkin, Coconut Cream, Cherry, Dutch Apple, Lemon Meringue, Berry, Key Lime, Pecan and any other new one someone wants to try. We seem to have at least 7 or 8 pies which is way more than we need but we LOVE pie.

We will be sharing some of our recipes during the month as everyone is getting ready for Thanksgiving. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lemon Meringue Pie

I grew up with pies as a main dessert when the family got together. My grandfather loved cherry pie so we were all taught how to make pies. That is where I get my love for pies. I am picky though when it comes to the crust. I love homemade crust. Our recipe for that is included today.

This is one of the easiest pies to make if you do the lemon filling in the microwave. It is also my favorite, I never get tired of it.