I'm going to make bread pudding tomorrow.

I am expected to make everyone's favorite cookie. Thankfully many share the same favorites but it's till a bunch of batches which I spread over days. I'll make baklava as soon as I get off my butt, then dark chocolate chip pistachio cookies, white chocolate cranberry macadamia nut cookies, earl grey cookies and shortbread. I'll likely make crusty rye bread for Christmas breakfast.

In the "not baking" category, I'll also be making macadamia nut toffee and I'd be in big trouble if I didnt make multiple batches of these atrocious holly cookies. We've made them since we were kids and now the next generation begs for them!

Spinach lasagna is almost done...DH made the pasta for me ! DD is here and we have an olive focaccia ready to go in the oven !! I will take pics :) Vino to accompany all.

Thank you oakley for ALL that you add to this forum. You are a special friend and on this day I want to say how much I appreciate you . c

yes trail- I agree, and oakley's posts are so much fun-- oakley, you do have a great sense of humor and I can tell you are a caring person.

Pics !!

and dessert...DD and DH ...

Shortbread is done, chocolate is bought.

My kids aren't eaters of sweets and are both sensitive to chocolate (allergic?) but they like my loaves. So I will make a banana/blueberry loaf and a cranberry/nut loaf for them.

Man that spinach lasagna looks so good! And your daughter is so pretty. Merry Christmas everyone!

DH wanted to take zucchini bread for a few people so I made that tonight. The other week I made a batch of what my family calls hunky cookies and they were gone the next day. There's nothing hunky about them though as they're a dense cookie with a little jelly on top.

I enjoy baking around this time of the year but probably won't make anymore since we don't need to eat them.

I'm making baked mac and cheese for our two Christmas dinners we're attending.

The above food looks wonderful!

Funky - What's all in the green stuff? :)

C-Your daughter is lovely!

I have been making some sweets for gifts, and had a large crop of Meyer lemons on my tree this year, so using those. I have also made things for several potlucks. Sweets I have made so far: white/dark chocolate peppermint bark, several loaves of lemon bread, lemon curd (I freeze it to use later), two lemon chess pies, fudge, and orange balls.

This weekend I am going to make one more batch of bark, rosemary walnuts, and some more lemon curd. Everything for Christmas will be made on Monday and Tuesday.

One of my neighbors brought us a jar of homemade pickles today, and I can't wait to taste them. I love pickles, and it's a nice change from sweets.

I didn't get my usual holiday baking done this year, but I did make up a batch of homemade hot cocoa mix with assorted add in's for co-worker gifts. I also made up a batch of dog treats for all the doggies I am fortunate to have in my life.

Tomorrow I'm making a couple batches of Oreo truffles for the kids. Last time I made them, the sons-in-law ate almost all of them and the girls didn't get any-so this year there will be two packages for each couple. I'm also going to make up a batch of pasta sauce from the tomatoes I grew this summer. The kids will love it-and I'll include the recipe, and each one will get a container.

texan...thank you !! she is our baby and just turned 30 !! How do you make your lemon curd ? I have some Meyer lemons and want to make some. Also what do you do with the extra whites ? Thank you !! Great thread ...c

What a sweet picture of your family, Trail, and the food looks so delicious!

Luckily I don't have a sweet tooth so baking cookies etc doesnt bother or tempt me. Bread is not nearly as safe in my house-- yeast breads and quick breads.

Shee, I am embarrassed to tell you about the holly cookies lol. They are surely not a recipe I take pride in.. but I am the oldest and expected to carry on the traditions. It's basically a rice krispy treat -- but made with cornflakes and green food coloring. The teaberry candies are a little hard to find these days but a few years ago someone here turned me onto Nuts.com (was it Bumblebeez?). I've been buying ALL my nuts, dried fruit and seeds from them ever since.

Trail.. that spinach dish looks amazing! I've just been consigned to make a vegetarian dish for new years eve.. that looks like a winner!

Yes, oakleyok, you are a peach! And c, your family and food are gorgeous.

I was going to have dd take a fab pic of the goodies on the silver platter for dh's work, but our kiddo (who is never without her camera) came home for Christmas without it. Trust me it's pretty!

Just for fun, a baking joke....

What did the baker do when his store got caught on fire?

He got his buns outta there.

I too have a good crop of Meyers so I am making lemon curd and a self saucing dessert that is one of my most favorites and is so special made with Meyer lemons.

thank you bee and funky !! If you want I can email you the recipe for the lasagna. It was the best I have made and I will be doing it again it was that good!!

dee,,,haha...cute !!

The cannibal's cookbook titled 'How to Better Serve your Fellow Man' was written by a guy who had a wife and ate kids.

Here is a link that might be useful: more cooking jokes !!

I'd love the recipe, Trail! I make 2 different spinach lasagna recipes but mine are tomato based. Yours looks great!

Aww, you guys are too kind! But it made my day! lol.

Carolyn, you put me to shame I tell ya! What beautiful food and a beautiful daughter and a handsome hubby!

JT, two weeks ago I decided to make chocolate chip cookies. When I finally found the "vanilla" I poured it in the batter thinking "gosh this stuff is thick." I put my glasses on and what I did was accidentally pour in browning sauce for meat! In the trash it went. lol.

Funky, I made those Holly cookies when the boys were little, and they're great.

Barefoot Contessa's Brisket with carrots and onions. Back by popular request.Yummmmmm!

thank you oak...they are sweet !!

funky ...here is the recipe. It is from a blog Chef in You but I changed some things . It is the best white sauce I have ever tasted. If you make it in a 13x9 pan you will have to double or triple the sauce, likewise if you use store bought lasagna noodles you will need to thin the sauce a bit and use more. They soak it up more than the homemade. It is worth it to use homemade since they can be rolled very thin and then use a lot of layers...very delicate.

Ingredients
For the Bechamel (White) Sauce
2 tbsp Butter
1/2 cup finely chopped Onion
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp All Purpose Flour
1-3/4 - 2 c cup whole Milk
1/4 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Salt ( to taste)
1 Bay leaf
Ground Pepper to taste
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese grated
melt butter and saute garlic and onion. Add the flour and let it cook so no raw taste to sauce. Stir constantly. Add milk and stir as you add. Add salt/pepper and bay leaf. When slightly thickened add grated parmesan and stir well. Set aside. If you are using store bought pasta sheets you will want the sauce to be doubled and somewhat thinner as the store bought sheets are a lot heavier. Add the cooked /drained spinach from below to the white sauce. Stir well .

For the Pasta and Layering
15 homemade thin Lasagna Sheets cut to fit 8x8 pan( I used 3 homemade per layer and did 5 layers)
5 oz Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese and dash of salt-beat till smooth and set aside
4 oz fresh Mozzarella Cheese, crumbled and set aside
1 c parmesan grated and set aside

For the Spinach :
12 oz bag frozen spinach cooked and drained well ( press with a spoon in sieve)
1/2 tbsp Salt
Simmer frozen spinach till done and drain well. You can save some of the liquid and add back to white sauce if it is too thick.

For the mushrooms:

1/2 c finely chopped onions
5 oz sliced baby bellas...can use button mushrooms
saute onion and mushrooms in butter till tender. Set aside.

Now to layer : put very thin layer of sauce in bottom of greased 8x8 pan. Lay 3 sheets of lasagna on top. Spread very small amount of sauce over noodles and then sprinkle with small amount grated parmesan. 3 more noodles and some sauce and all of ricotta spread thinly. 3 more noodles and sauce and 1/2 of mozzarella. 3 more noodles and sauce and parmesan. Last noodles , last of sauce, last of mozzarella and last of parmesan. You can see these are all very thin layers. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 350 for 45 min. Remove foil and let it brown on top for about 15 min. Should be bubbling. If edges of pasta brown it is OK. Homemade ones taste great when they brown and are not tough llike the store bought ones. Enjoy !!! Makes 9 squares.

Everyone's goodies look so yummy! We always make 3 or 4 different cookies/goodies for friends and neighbors. Although we change it up a bit from year to year, two of the 'must have's' are recipes I found in a Family Circle Holiday issue at least ten years ago. The first is a Caribbean Christmas cookie and has just eggwhites, coconut and lime zest -indescribably good. The other one is a nonbake goodie, which has raisens, rice krispies, melted chocolate, marshmallow and nuts, all mixed up, then refrigerated until hard. Reminds me of a Chunky candy bar when done. This year a friend brought me some amazing lemons from her tree, so I'll definitely be adding a lemon goodie to the mix. And I've also decided to try lamingtons this year. They're a bite-sized little sponge cake goodie that has been dipped in chocolate and then rolled in desicated coconut. They look so good, I'm hoping they come out well. We'll see....

Last night we had a gathering here, and one of the dishes I made was BBQ Cranberry meatballs in the crockpot -they were delicious! I just used meatballs from the frozen section, and then to that you add 1 cup of cranberry jelly and 1 cup of bbq sauce. I doubled it and it was just so yummy!

Here is a link that might be useful: Lamingtons

C-Here's the lemon curd recipe I use now. It uses the whole egg, not just the yolk. I've tried many, but this one is foolproof. It doesn't make very much, 2 small containers. I've never tried to double it.

Lemon Curd

1 c. sugar
3 large eggs
Zest of one lemon
3/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Zest lemon into non-reactive, medium bowl. Whisk the first 3 ingredients into that bowl. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (double boiler). Whisk constantly until instant-read thermometer inserted into mixture registers 160 degrees, about 10 minutes. Do not cook too quickly or eggs will curdle. Remove bowl from water. Add butter and whisk until melted. Cool, pour into containers, and press plastic wrap directly on surface of curd. Refrigerate (or freeze for longer storage).

All my kids are home, and nothing makes me happier!

So far, my daughters and I have made some truffles and candy.
Today I'm going to make my mother's recipe for sugar cookies, and we'll decorate them.
We're going to make a German chocolate cake, a chocolate pie, a coconut pie, and we might make a pecan pie, too. (We won't eat it all; we plan to share.)

AND I'm going to the grocery store to get the ingredients for spinach lasagna - I think my family will love that!

c - hahahaha! That joke reminds me of a favorite Twilight Zone episode, To Serve Man. They were not visiting our planet to help, but to use us as the main ingredient!

I copied the recipe too. Thanks!

*snort* The gingerbread man thought he couldn't be caught, until he met his baker.

I am definitely making that lasagna over my vacation! Thanks for the recipe, trail.

Will also copy the lemon curd recipe and may actually try my hand at those holly cookies-whatever they taste like, they sure are fun to look at, funky!

We eat whatever we want starting at Thanksgiving until January. It's when we get to feast on all the stuff we don't touch for the rest of the year. Is there weight gain? Why, yes there is! But by January we are both so enthusiastic to get back to healthy eating. DH, asked if we can have hot dogs for dinner . . .

I make about 30 to 40 dozen cookies and treats to give as gifts to friends, family and neighbors. I swear, every year I ask myself why put myself through that but I guess I forget and just do it again. Kind of like child birth I suppose! This year I made: English toffee, cranberry bliss bars, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal crisps, peanut butter blossoms, Austrian Raspberry Shortbread, Mexican wedding cookies, orange ginger rounds and pistachio & white chocolate cookies. Whew!

This weekend I'm making more English toffee, a cherry pie and a roasted butternut squash lasagna to take to Mom's house for Christmas. Christmas Eve, DH and I are on our own so I made reservations for an early dinner at a local steakhouse. We'll come home and watch movies by the fire (if it's cool enough - might have to turn on the AC!) and have dessert - I think I'll make a sorbet.

We'll have a New Year's Eve dinner party and I'm making a beef tenderloin roast, lobster mac n cheese (think I'll make and freeze this weekend), roasted Brussels sprouts w/ pancetta, brioche rolls & tamales (traditional).

That was a long answer to a simple question!

If you have a place that has uncut sheets of fresh pasta substitute that in your lasagna for the usual dried in a box. You simply won't believe how light and wonderful this dish is...makes a whole new kind of lasagna..you will have room for dessert :) c

Everything sounds so delicious! DD and I are baking Grandma Kay's coffee cakes, which take two days total to make. My other grandmother's Russian Teaballs, and our delicious New Mexican biscochito cookies. That's all for the baking portion. We've already made the red chile sauce for the tamales. Still need to make the green chile and cream cheese roll-ups. I think everything else is made now and either frozen or in the garage fridge awaiting our Christmas Eve family dinner or our big Christmas Day dinner party. DS arrives home today and we have a big party to go to this evening. What a wonderful time this is! Merry Christmas to you all!!!

I have a confession to make, but I also need to brag. The pound cake I made came from a mix from The Old Mill. For some Christmas gifts I bought various specialty mixes. So I ordered a poundcake (and dip mix, yum!) for myself. Link below.

I've been making pound cake all my life. From my mom's Virginia Pound Cake and others. The sides are always dry and blah unless I bake them in mini tin loaf pans.

This one? It came out of the oven with the sides looking dry and I was very disappointed. Until I ate it. The sides are just as good as the top!

I added 3 sticks of butter, 6 eggs and cream cheese to the mix, so I did do a bit of work. It was a heavy batter. :)

I used a LOT of Pam in the pan. No flour as was suggested. That makes a difference, IMO, to keep it moist.

Two thumb's up!

Here is a link that might be useful: Pound Cake

I baked Christmas cookies today. I will bake a pound cake to go with the brandied cherries I canned in August. I also will bake a two toned cheesecake( sour cream topping). the bread machine will be making bread every day.

texan...thank you I am making it tomorrow..to go on scones ! c

I taught my youngest sister to make spinach lasagna today-- she's developed into quite a good cook but had never made lasagna. Today's version was traditional lasagna--not Trail's awesome looking recipe.. and boxed noodles rather than homemade but still it was awesome.

Oakley, I just found out today that the original Holly Cookies recipe came from my grandmother when she was in OK (my grandparents lived in Ok City for most of my childhood). Cyn, I can't tell you that they are the best cookie ever-- but they represent our childhood Christmases and now the nieces/nephews/grandchildren love them too. I'd love to be remembered for any of my other things I bake or cook.. but Christmas isnt Christmas without the holly cookies!

My middle sister took control over Christmas Eve dinner a few yrs ago. Until then, I always cooked the meal. This year she's making ham-- which I don't eat. I'll take a baked shrimp scampi to add to her offerings.

I'm trying the Pecan Pie Cake recipe that I am seeing all over Pinterest. My DD "ordered" it for our menu! Sounds like a whole day job tomorrow.

It is an old Southern Living recipe. Wish me luck.
Check out the time I am working on my menu grocery list- 1:15 AM Sunday morning! Just got back from a Hospice unit sitting with my dear sister-in-law who is terminally ill

Made Kentucky Jam Cake today and Peanut Butter Fudge. The family enjoyed the fudge at the at the hospital.

Tuesday

I grew up with pies being my only sweet tooth outlet The most wonderful crust ever, my mother did not use a recipe and her pies died with her. Her pies were my only weakness.

No sweet tooth here ( carbaholic alert). Here, sweets generally go bad and are tossed out. Sad for my life.

Today I'll be doing some cut out sugar cookies. It's a tradition in our family to frost and decorate them. When the girls were young I would make dozens and dozens and invite their friends for holiday cookie decorating parties. Lots of fun but so much mess and work. Little girls and colored sugar sprinkles are are a volatile combination.

I always make fudge and this year I am going to try some jazzed up Rice Krispie treats with chocolate.

I will be baking spinach lasagna tomorrow. 19 yo DD has become a vegan so meal planning this holiday has been a bit of a challenge. It's a health/taste issue, not a moral one, so she's thankfully trying to be flexible. I asked my Dad if he would mind Christmas Eve lasagna made with tofu! We could all be eating lots of bread and salad and cookies tomorrow night.

Funkyart, that's amazing! My son brought home the recipe when he was in grade school, many moons ago. I guess his teacher made them. The recipe didn't look good to me but I ended up making them. They were delicious!

When I was at my son's house the other day to watch the grands, I ate a homemade gingerbread man. All decked out. I told my DIL she did a really good job. She said my son made them! Wow!

potato sourdough...made 3 loaves and we are having it as an appetizer with a lovely French Full cream cheese...yum !

Two types of cookies so far...Russian tea cakes (aka Mexican wedding cakes) and oatmeal orange raisin cookies. I might do another one tomorrow.

Just got up in the middle of the night to do another batch of cranberry white chocolate macadamia nut cookies (the fav of 4 of the kids). I am pretty well ahead of the game .. though our big celebration is at 5pm tonight. I may do a hungarian shortcake with jam too. Depends on how I feel. I also have to clean and prepare 6lb of baked shrimp scampi. After all that shellfish and garlic, I may call it done.

Merry baking everyone!

I want to make some sugar free granola as a gift to my diabetic step dad. Anybody have a good recipe?

Hey Kelly the problem isn't the sugar as much as it is the carb content and fats. Diabetics have to watch their fat content . Here is a recipe that uses applesauce as the main sweetner. I have done this and it is very tasty depending on the applesauce. I used my homemade applesauce that had a lot of spices so it was flavorful. The sugars and fats are what cause the granola to brown well so it may not be as crispy as you would like.

Tiny servings will be the only way to have a diabetic eat any granola recipe but at least he will have some :) Hope that this works for you. c

Here is a link that might be useful: sugar free granola

Hey Trail, I have what I need to make a small batch of applesauce. Do you have a favorite recipe to share? I want to spice it up but the only recipes I'm finding just use cinnamon and allspice. Thanks!

Hey kelly..no I just cook the apples with a small amount of water...depends on how juicy they are...you can always add more or use a small amount of unsweetened apple juice in the applesauce as it makes it richer tasting w/o added sugar. Also make sure and use a small pinch of salt...folks always forget that fruit needs some salt so it doesn't taste flat , a bit of lemon juice after it is done cooking will also brighten the taste. I think that your spices will be enough...lets the apples speak for themselves:) Good Luck and please let me know how it comes out and also post pics ! c

Just took this Dutch specialty out of the oven...Appel gebak !!

Trail, that pie looks fantastic!

So the granola came out only so-so. I put lots of healthy, hippie type stuff in it so my SD will love it all the same.

On the flip side, the applesauce is to die for! I'm not a fan of applesauce but this stuff I could eat all the time. I'm dreaming of pork chops and applesauce!

Decided to give my SD the applesauce:

Along with the granola:

Also made a whiskey pecan tart & a chocolate tart:

Made some Cardamom Coconut rice pudding as well. I think I'm calling it a day. I made the cherry pie filling today (like to let the flavors meld overnight) then I'll put it in the pie crust and bake in the morning.

Oh, almost forgot that I wanted to share my new spice drawer. I sized the bottles to fit the height of the drawer. Having everything so organized has made a huge difference in the enjoying of my cooking and baking.

Geez Caroline, do you have to put us ALL to shame? lol. Is that Apple thingy a pie or a bread? It sure looks good though.

Today I made Chocolate Chip Cookies, DH made a Pumpkin Pie, pumpkins from garden (canned), Beef Enchiladas, (2 pans) homemade Refried Beans, and a Mexican Pasta casserole.

Did I say we have a big ham in the fridge? lol.

Latest weather report is for us to get 12" of snow tomorrow, in white-out conditions. We plan to eat. :)

And Caroline, our local weather said your area will have a tornado outbreak. Yikes!

wow Kelly ! That all looks wonderful and such pretty packaging ! I bet the granola tastes great. You can put it on top of a bowl of the applesauce. That is how I eat it. Or on yogurt . He will love love it. And I want both of those tarts !!!

Oakley..it is a recipe from Holland, we lived there. Here is a link to Martha Stewart's version which is almost the same. I want all YOUR Mexican food. And yes we are due tornadoes tomorrow. Have church tonight and it is clear so all good so far. c

Here is a link that might be useful: appel taart

Cherry pie fresh out of the oven!

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Everything on this thread looks soooooo good! *groan*!!!

No pics, but I baked eight (6") chocolate cheesecakes over the past week (gave away 6 of 'em), and made my bff's mom's homemade eggnog (gave away most of that, too!)..

Even with all of the giving away, I somehow ended up with a counter full of sweets!!! A cookie tin filled with Kourabiedes (Greek cookies) from our next-door-neighbor, a banana-choc chip mini-loaf from my other bff's sister, and a loaf of date and nut bread from a friend of the first-named bff's MIL!

I can feel my waistline expanding as I type...! LOL