Mike and Peggy know how to do Christmas.
When I married into the Nelson family, my first Christmas up at the farm was magical. I loved all of their fun traditions, many of them involving the most delicious food and deserts. Many of my friends are just now starting their families and forming traditions of their owns. I thought it would be a fun idea to share some of the Nelson's family meal traditions for those that are looking to start up some new ones of their own.
FUN MEAL IDEAS FOR THE HOLIDAYS:
Fondue. Gather round a pot of boiling cheese. It's special, interactive, fun, and tasty.
Crab Dinner. Wrap your table in newspaper and throw out some crab claw crackers. Pair this with Peggy's famous leek and potato soup, and you have a meal for the record books.
Christmas Poppers. These traditionally european crackers are filled with toys, jokes, and special paper crowns to be worn during the meal. So much fun.
Buch De Noel. A gorgeous chocolate Christmas cake that looks like a log sitting in the forest. Its just as fun to make as it is to eat!
Raclette. A tabletop grill for individual meats and cheeses. It feels special and festive, and is a lot of fun.
What are your special meals during the holidays? We've love to hear!
HOW TO MAKE CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS THAT STICK
1. Have an Advent Calendar
- Little kids get excited for Christmas. Having a visual for them of how many days there are left until Christmas helps add to the excitment and anticipation. We love doing a Christmas Book Advent Calendar where we unwrap a new Christmas book to read each day in December until Christmas arrives. There are tons of beautiful ideas for creative advents on Pinterest. We are also doing a very easy one where we add a cottonball to santa's beard each day, and when his beard is full - it's Christmas!
2. Ornaments
- When we got married, my husband and I started a tradition that we would have an ornament making competition each year. These handmade ornaments are beautiful and meaningful, and besides being a treasure, they are very fun to make! This year we are also doing the 25 Days of Christ Centered Crafts. Its such a fun thing for the kids to look forward to each day, and they also get to learn about Christ while getting hands on. Our final tradition with ornaments is buying each kid one special ornament that symbolizes something about them that year. We label them and when they move away at 18, they will have a box of personalized ornaments just for them that they can take with them!
3. Live Nativity
Wherever you are, search out a live nativity. They are a great way to remember the true reason for the season. Outdoor ones are particularly moving because they usually have live animals and you can bundle up and snuggle with your loved ones while sipping hot cocoa and learning about the Lord.
4. See The Lights
- There are so many ways to go see Christmas lights. Grab some hot cocoa and get out there! Your city probably has a fun tree lighting event (guaranteed that Santa will be there too!), google where the good Christmas light neighborhoods are and sing Christmas carols as you go. There are even all these new drive up light shows popping up all over the country so you can just park, turn on your radio, and watch lights dance to the music. So fun.
5. Give Service
- There are so many ways to give service at this time of year. Nothing really can teach your kids more about Jesus than giving. Easy ways to serve with kids include going caroling or handing out Christmas cards nursing homes, going to sort food at a food banks, or if you have the funds available you can adopt an angel family from the Salvation Army. Serving is such a good lesson and actually so much fun!
6. Christmas Events
- There are so many fun events this time of year! They can feel very magical and become yearly traditions. We love German Christnkindlmarkts, The Festival of Trees, Lantern Events, Christmas Trains, Zoo Lights, Mall Santa Wonderlands, and don't forget Christmas Library Story Times!
7. Home centered traditions
- Make your home a magical place! Place a tree in your kids rooms, have christmas movie nights, open a gift on christmas eve, hang mistletoe, special menus, bake sugar cookies, have a back to bethlehem dinner on the floor, bake a birthday cake for jesus, hang cards from friends, have a gift wrapping party. The options are endless here!
8. Throw a party
- Nothing says Christmas like a big old festive party. Attend your church's Christmas Party. Go to extended family parties. We always host a raclette party with our friends every year. Make them fun by having a white elephant gift exchange, an ugly sweater theme, or anything fun and festive. Getting together with loved ones always feels magical this time of year.
Whenever we have new customers get hooked on our lavender products, they are always asking me what my favorites are. Its so hard to pick! Well luckily I was able to narrow it down to my top ten, okay okay, I couldn't narrow it down to JUST ten, so here are my top fifteen favorite products by The Lavender Apple. With so many great choices, you will be sure to find the perfect gift for that hard to buy for person on your list. (All products available online at www.lavenderapple.com)
Lavender Jellies
Lavender Herbs De Provence, Lavender Salt, Lavender Lemon Pepper, and Culinary Lavender
Lavender Bath Salts
Lavender Dryer Bags
Lavender Eye Pillows
Dried Lavender Bundles
Mulling Spices
Lavender Honey
Lavender Goats Milk Soap
Lavender Body Oil
Lavender Sugar Scrub
Lavender Salt
Lavender Water
Lavender Sugar
Lavender Sachets
Lavender Carpet Refresher
Well there you have it. Now you have NO excuse not to have all of your Christmas Shopping complete. Link to Shop: www.lavenderapple.com
You can elevate any desert recipe to holiday proportions by simply adding peppermint oil to your recipe. That trick is never better when used in a dark chocolately brownie. These brownies are rich thick perfection with just a hint of mint to make them merry.
1 stick butter at room temp
1 cup flour
1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa
1 1/4 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp peppermint oil
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 cup chocolate chips
8 ounces dark baking chocolate
2 tbsp powdered sugar for dusting
Directions:
Melt your chocolate and butter together in either a double boiler or microwave. Add sugar when mixture is hot and stir to combie. Add eggs, flour, cocoa, baking powder, chocolate chips, and salt. Mix until just combined. Bake at 350 degrees in a 9 inch greased pan for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Dust with powdered sugar for a snow effect.
May all of your recipes be spiked with something wintery and wonderful this month. Enjoy!
Not all of us have large families, so cooking a large turkey or ham for a holiday meal is not only labor intensive, but it's impractical. When you don't live near family, or if you have a small family, a wonderful alternative for a festive meal is making a turkey roast. Turkey Roast's are much smaller and more affordable than regular turkeys, and also much easier to make. They are the perfect size for a small family, and still leave enough for leftovers the next day.
Ingredients:
3 pound turkey roast
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
Salt & Pepper
Place your turkey in a large baking dish. In the bottom of the dish, pour your wine and broth. Coat your turkey roast with your butter, then sprinkle liberally with your thyme, sage, and salt and pepper. Bake at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours or until your roast reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
This recipe is easy and delicious and will leave you with a moist and flavorful way to enjoy turkey that doesn't require any stress. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3 pound turkey roast
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried sage
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
Salt & Pepper
Place your turkey in a large baking dish. In the bottom of the dish, pour your wine and broth. Coat your turkey roast with your butter, then sprinkle liberally with your thyme, sage, and salt and pepper. Bake at 325 degrees for 2-3 hours or until your roast reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
This recipe is easy and delicious and will leave you with a moist and flavorful way to enjoy turkey that doesn't require any stress. Enjoy!
I discovered a new dish that I cannot wait to make again. It's a creamy and satisfying polenta. It tastes buttery and rich, but is surprisingly low fat. And then you send this dish over the moon balsamic glazed mushrooms. It's seriously so so good. And the best part? It's super simple! The whole dish comes together in about 10 minutes.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
16 oz mushrooms (I had white which was great, but baby bella or cremini would be wonderful)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
18 ounces instant polenta (we LOVE the organic trader joes brand)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf italian parsley
salt and pepper
Directions:
De-stem and cut your mushrooms in half or quarters depending on the size of the mushroom. You want them to be small bite sized pieces. Remember they will shrink down during cooking. Heat your olive oil in a skillet, add your mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are golden brown and cooked through (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, melt your butter and cut open your polenta. Spread the polenta evenly across the pan and warm until cooked through. Top with half of the cheese. Once your mushrooms are done, add them to the top of the polenta. Top with your parsley and the other half of your cheese. Season again with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
For a 10 minute, meat free, inexpensive and healthy meal, this is one that you will want to make over and over. In fact, I'm going to go make some more right now.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
16 oz mushrooms (I had white which was great, but baby bella or cremini would be wonderful)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon butter
18 ounces instant polenta (we LOVE the organic trader joes brand)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf italian parsley
salt and pepper
Directions:
De-stem and cut your mushrooms in half or quarters depending on the size of the mushroom. You want them to be small bite sized pieces. Remember they will shrink down during cooking. Heat your olive oil in a skillet, add your mushrooms, balsamic vinegar, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat until the mushrooms are golden brown and cooked through (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, in a separate skillet, melt your butter and cut open your polenta. Spread the polenta evenly across the pan and warm until cooked through. Top with half of the cheese. Once your mushrooms are done, add them to the top of the polenta. Top with your parsley and the other half of your cheese. Season again with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
For a 10 minute, meat free, inexpensive and healthy meal, this is one that you will want to make over and over. In fact, I'm going to go make some more right now.