Just Under 6 Weeks to Christmas!

For as long as 2020 has felt, it is so crazy to think that Christmas is less than 6 weeks away. I think I am ready to start getting out Christmas decorations and adding a little extra cheer. There are already a handful of houses where I have seen Christmas lights and other decorations and it makes me smile.

I expect the holidays will feel different this year. We don't often travel for Thanksgiving, so it will probably be similar for us, with the exception of no plans for Black Friday shopping. Sales have started early this year, which I guess has been nice. When my mixer that had served me well for 25 years stopped working a few weeks ago, I was able to take advantage of a Black Friday deal at Target to pick one up without even going in the store. In fact, I imagine a lot more of my shopping will be online this year. I have been doing a majority of my shopping online with shipping or curbside services since March. I have always been a look and see shopper, so this was quite an adjustment for me. I have returned to buying produce in person because the items I was getting through pick up services were not to my liking.

The gatherings that normally fill my schedule for Christmas will look a lot different this year. The normal outings with girlfriends and friends, I assume will fall to the wayside this year, especially if our governor decides to close restaurants for 4-6 weeks as is currently being speculated. There won't be carry ins or outings for work. I assume that the extended family, for the first time in my life, will not be planning a family get together with family, food, and gifts. It is always a great time, a chance to see cousins that I don't get to see through out the year. With over 100 people though, it just isn't likely. Assuming that it makes sense, we do hope to see my family over the holidays for a family dinner after the holidays.

I think that gifts might be a little different this year. In part, the difference will be driven by shopping online. Plus, as the kids get older, their lists of wants and needs seems to be getting smaller. I have turned back on my Gift Guide link on the side bar. It will lead you to not only new posts from this year but ideas that I have shared over the years. I continue to stand by my approach of Foster Imagination, Stimulate Creativity, Challenge Their Problem Solving and Stretch Their Minds. I am a big fan of experiences, over things but that might be harder this year with concerts, plays, musicals, escape rooms, laser tag, and other like things being postponed/closed.

How do you shop? How will your plans change this year?

Easter Traditions

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

It is so hard for me to believe that it is already Easter. I have always associated Easter with the start of spring. The start of new life (and renewed life). The weather here is finally turning and I am hoping that the warmer weather is here to stay.

Holidays seem to be a time of tradition for me. When I was a kid, I can remember my grandparents taking us to an Easter egg hunt. Of course, coloring Easter eggs is a fun activity that is typically reserved to Easter. I can remember getting a new spring dress and shoes for Easter, and even on a few occasions a new hat too. Easter menus include ham and scalloped potatoes (although, I don't eat those, so I'm not sure why I would associate that) and of course, colored eggs. Easter morning always included the hunt for the Easter basket and the yummy chocolates and chocolate eggs.

We colored our Easter eggs just yesterday. The son has gotten 'too big' to color eggs, but my daughter still enjoys it. Of course, she wants to color a lot of eggs, but I am the only one that eats the hard boiled eggs, so we have to balance the desire to color with how many eggs I can eat! We enjoy using a white crayon to write a message that magically appears when the egg is colored.

The menu for Easter has evolved over the years. This year it is just the four of us at home. Of course, I can't go without ham, but since, as with eggs, I'm the only one in the house that generally eats it, I go with a small one. Fortunately for me, there is a quarter ham version of the Hormel Cure 81 Brown Sugar Boneless Ham. I place it in a covered dish with a bit of soda (instead of water) and warm it in a low oven while I prepare dinner for the family.

Here are a few tips for you that Hormel previously shared with me when it comes to ham:

Know your Numbers: When purchasing ham for a large crowd, such as Easter dinner, count the number of guests scheduled to attend. It's a good idea to get about a pound of ham for every 3-4 people. Don't forget to estimate a little extra for unexpected guests, and everyone's favorite - leftovers!"
As Simple as Heat & Serve: Hams are typically sold as a fully cooked product, so when preparing, all you need to do is heat it until the ham is hot throughout. A good gauge is when the ham reaches about 140-145 degrees. It's a simple protein solution when you are pressed for time.
A Ham for Every Occasion: In recent years, various cuts and flavors of ham have been introduced, making it a great option for entertaining or a weeknight family dinner. Hormel Cure 81 ham items are available pre-diced or pre-cubed for an easy addition to your morning omelet, or in ham steaks that are great to throw on the grill.

How do you celebrate Easter? Are there recipes that you make every spring?

Have leftovers from your Easter celebration? There are some great recipes that you can try on the Hormel Cure 81 page.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day has always been a 'fun' holiday. How can it not be? There are parades, rivers are turned green, there is food, there is beverage, there are Irish jigs.

When I was a child, I went to St. Patrick's Elementary School - I had a connection from a young age. I remember wearing green and people having buttons and shirts that said "Kiss Me I'm Irish".

There are some traditions that many consider to be part of St. Patrick's Day.

• You always wear green on St. Patrick's Day.

• You always have green beer on St. Patrick's Day.

• There's always a parade on St. Patrick's Day.

• You always have corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day.

I never was a fan of beer, let alone green beer, so that is one tradition that hasn't stayed with me (although I gave it the old college try, back in my college days).

I have limited green clothes in my closet, but I make an effort to wear green.

I don't live in a community with a parade and aside from getting stuck in some parade traffic in a nearby community last year, usually don't head out to see one.

I do usually make an effort to get some Corned Beef on St. Patrick's Day. I really enjoy Corned Beef Hash and Reubens or straight-up Corned Beef sandwiches. I prefer my Corned Beef Hashed crispy, like my bacon. I think it really pulls out the flavor.

Unfortunately, I'm the only one in my family that really enjoys Corned Beef, so I am generally on my own. I've never made homemade Corned Beef Hash, but have found that the HORMEL® MARY KITCHEN® Corned Beef Hash is a great way to enjoy it at home. You can enjoy it prepared as is, by simply frying it up in a skillet, or check out one of the recipes featured on their website - Sunshine Hash or Cheesy Corned Beef both sound good to me.

Do you have St. Patrick's Day traditions? Is there a family favorite Irish dish you enjoy on St. Patrick's Day?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Easter Traditions

It is so hard for me to believe that Easter is just around the corner. Maybe the challenge is the snow day that the kids had on Monday. I have always associated Easter with the start of spring. The start of new life (and renewed life).

Holidays seem to be a time of tradition for me. When I was a kid, I can remember my grandparents taking us to an Easter egg hunt. Of course, coloring Easter eggs is a fun activity that is typically reserved to Easter. I can remember getting a new spring dress and shoes for Easter, and even on a few occasions a new hat too. Easter menus include ham and scalloped potatoes (although, I don't eat those, so I'm not sure whey I would associate that) and of course, colored eggs. Easter morning always included the hunt for the Easter basket and the yummy chocolates and chocolate eggs.

Most years, we have taken the kids to an Easter egg hunt, although some years cold weather and schedules seem to make this hard to do. I've chosen a new dress and sandals for my daughter to wear for Easter, my son isn't into the clothes, so he'll make do with something he has. We colored our Easter eggs last week. The kids always want to color a lot of eggs, but I am the only one that eats the hard boiled eggs, so we have to balance their desire to color with how many eggs I can eat! We enjoy using a white crayon to write a message that magically appears when the egg is colored.

The menu for Easter has evolved over the years. We generally go to one of my aunt's houses for the holiday and everyone brings a dish to share so the selection will vary, but the constant of course is the ham.

Brian Hendrickson, Curemaster for Hormel Cure 81 ham brand, has a few tips for you when it comes to ham:

Know your Numbers: When purchasing ham for a large crowd, such as Easter dinner, count the number of guests scheduled to attend. It's a good idea to get about a pound of ham for every 3-4 people. Don't forget to estimate a little extra for unexpected guests, and everyone's favorite - leftovers!"
As Simple as Heat & Serve: Hams are typically sold as a fully cooked product, so when preparing, all you need to do is heat it until the ham is hot throughout. A good gauge is when the ham reaches about 140-145 degrees. It's a simple protein solution when you are pressed for time.
A Ham for Every Occasion: In recent years, various cuts and flavors of ham have been introduced, making it a great option for entertaining or a weeknight family dinner. Hormel Cure 81 ham items are available pre-diced or pre-cubed for an easy addition to your morning omelet, or in ham steaks that are great to throw on the grill.

My husband doesn't like ham though, so I also will sometimes bring an alternate entree with us to the meal - usually a pasta dish (he is Italian, afterall!)

How do you celebrate Easter? Are there recipes that you make every spring? Does your family participate in any charitable programs?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Patrick's Day has always been a 'fun' holiday. How can it not be? There are parades, rivers are turned green, there is food, there is beverage, there are Irish jigs.

When I was a child, I went to St. Patrick's Elementary School - I had a connection from a young age. I remember wearing green and people having buttons and shirts that said "Kiss Me I'm Irish". When I headed off to college, St. Patrick's Day was a day marked by Green Beer and lots of community parties.

I really don't recall St. Patrick's Day being associated with a particular type of food until my fourth year of college. I was dating a man that lived in another state and I had headed over to visit for Spring Break - the aforementioned college traditions led to us having a spring break after my sophomore year that was conveniently scheduled over St. Patrick's Day each year. We went to one of his friend's houses for dinner and she made a great dish of corned beef and cabbage. It was delicious. I had enjoyed both corned beef (with noodles) and cabbage (in cabbage rolls) as a child, so they weren't new to me, but having them together for St. Patrick's Day was new.

Now, as an adult, I can't really say that I have any St. Patrick's Day traditions of my own, unless you count wearing green and up until last year bringing something to daycare for the green buffet - frequently, cut out Shamrock Cookies or Finger Jello. I am however, a big fan of corned beef, so this year, I am going to make up some corned beef hash and fried eggs for breakfast or lunch. (I'm thinking lunch, only because I don't normally eat that much food at breakfast - plus Sunday is the only day that I have a bowl of cereal and I enjoy it while reading the paper.) I will likely be enjoying it alone - although, I might convince my son to give it a try, he is more adventurous and likes easy over eggs.

Do you have St. Patrick's Day traditions? Do you eat any St. Patrick's Day themed foods?

If you are in need of some ideas, Hormel Foods has put together a full menu of St. Patrick's Day themed dishes for every meal of day.

Breakfast:
Green Eggs and Ham Breakfast Sandwiches - they make theirs green with spinach, not like the green eggs that my kids and I enjoyed a few years back. I think that sounds more appealing to me.
Cheesy Hash - add bacon and cheese to Hormel Mary Kitchen corned beef hash for a restaurant-like breakfast dish.

Lunch:
Sausage and Pepper Pasta - this delicious sounding dish uses Hormel Natural Choice spinach asiago chicken sausage (I have to look for that, it sounds delicious and would be great on the grill).
California Confetti Pizza - this vegetable pizza adds green with the addition of Wholly Guacamole.

Dinner:
Ultimate Roast Beef Sandwich - this recipe takes a bowl of stew and turns it into a sandwich.
Harvest Pork Roast - a classic meat and potato dish.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post.

New Year's Traditions

I like having traditions. I feel like we had a lot of traditions when I was growing up. So, now that I have a family, I am doing my best to establish traditions for us.

When I was a kid, I seem to recall that one of your New Year's Eve traditions was to go to dinner at whatever fast food location we wanted. We would use up the miscellaneous free coupons that we had gotten at Halloween, summer reading club and what not, as well as discount coupons. Then, I can remember babysitters who would have us go out on the front porch with pots and pans to clank together at midnight.

When we were dating and first married, my husband and I spent New Year's Eve at our friend's house. We would all gather to play games and celebrate and then, responsibly, we would all stay there. Despite our conversations about how fun it would be when we all had kids and still got together for New Year's, the annual gatherings essentially fizzled upon the birth of the first baby in the group. There was one last gathering at another friend's place, but it was smaller and didn't repeat the next year.

Now that we have kids, we have started our own traditions (although, they mostly occur before the hour of 8 pm). Every New Year's Eve for the past three or more years, we have gone to lunch at the local Mexican place (our favorite) and then went bowling as a family. In some years, we have friends join us and in other years it is just us. Then, we come home and hang out.

Our dinner on New Year's Eve is a collection of appetizers and finger foods. Many years, I make some Crab Cakes and have cocktail shrimp, as well as Bagel Bite, Pizza Rolls, Chicken Nuggets and other kid favorites. We have mini desserts too. Again, these festivities are sometimes joined by friends and other times it is just the four of us.

Then, at 7:29 pm, we start our own countdown to 7:30 pm to celebrate the new year and toast some sparkling fruit juice (in fancy glasses). After that, the kids head off to bed.

This year, my son, who is 8, is giving his first go at staying up to midnight. I'm not sure he will make it, but if he stays busy, he just might.

The other tradition at my house, is one from my childhood, and that is Pork Roast and Sauerkraut for dinner on New Year's Day. My understanding is that it is supposed to bring prosperity in the new year or good luck and good fortune for the new year. With my husband not being a fan of pork roast or sauerkraut, I have had to modify and prepare pork chops and mashed potatoes with a side of sauerkraut. I still get the pork and sauerkraut and only have to make one meal that way.

What are your New Year's traditions?

Holiday Traditions - Breakfast Casserole

I am not sure when the tradition was started, but one year, after we visited the family of one of our neighbors, we started having Breakfast Casserole every Christmas morning for breakfast. It was a perfect breakfast for Christmas morning. The casserole is prepped the night before and then, Christmas morning, it is placed in the oven to bake. Allowing us to enjoy a hot breakfast with eggs and bacon without spending time in the kitchen prepping food on Christmas morning. My mom always made the dish using bacon, but I think it would be great to change it up and make it with Hormel Cure 81 Ham. In fact, if you have the Ham for dinner on Christmas Eve, you could simply use the leftovers. If not, you could buy the Sliced or Diced variety for easy preparation.

Breakfast Casserole
1 lb Ham (or Bacon/Sausage), cooked
6 eggs
2 c milk
1 tsp dry mustard
6 slices bread
1 c grated cheddar cheese

Line bottom of buttered 9x13 pan with bread. Spread the diced ham over the bread. Cover with cheddar cheese. In a bowl, beat 6 eggs with milk, salt and dry mustard. Pour over bread, meat and cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered at 350 for 45 minutes.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some of the information for this post.

DIY - Gingerbread House

Last year, we got a Gingerbread House Kit as a gift in a gift exchange. It was the first time that we had decorated a Gingerbread House. The kids really enjoyed decorating it and enjoyed eating it. Unfortunately, to me, the Gingerbread was dry and too crisp.

Wanting to recreate the experience in a more edible fashion this year, I undertook a new adventure. I made my own!

I started with a boxed kit for Gingerbread. I followed the recipe for making the cut-out cookies on the box. I rolled out the dough and cut the sides and roof pieces at 4" x 6". Then, I cut two ends. I'm sure there is a fanciful mathematical name for the figure I cut, but it is not coming to me right now - it was a rectangle with a triangle on top. I cut the sides at 4" and the angles of the triangle at 4". The base was about 5", that was what it worked out to be.

I placed them on the cookie sheet and baked. I had extra dough, so I made a few Gingerbread Men to go with the house. I also cut out two rectangles for doors and a circle for a window.

After baking them and cooling them, I used a tub of frosting and assembled my house. I started by placing some frosting on the pan I was using to hold the bottom of the walls. I built the four sides first and let them sit for a while before adding my roof. I "mortared" the corners on the inside to make them stronger. I added the roof pieces and let the Gingerbread House rest overnight uncovered so that the frosting could dry.
Then, today, I pulled out the candy that I had gotten near free on recent deals at the drugstores and gave them to the kids with some more frosting. The kids decorated the house and had a great time. They thought it was cool that they also had Gingerbread Men to decorate and eat as well.
We each had a decorated Gingerbread Man for a dessert this evening and they were good - not like the kit last year, they were so flavorful and not dry or overly crisp.

Those kits like we made last year, seem to retail around $10. By making our Gingerbread House on our own, we were able to have a better experience (there were Gingerbread Men! and they were more edible in my opinion) and at less of a cost (a couple of bucks for the mix and frosting and near free candy for accents).

This post shared at Frugal Friday.