Holiday Recipes!

On the following pages you’ll find great Holiday recipes – for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and more. You’ll also find dishes, decorations, and everything you need to celebrate and embrace the season.

THE Perfect Gift for Mothers who Love Chocolate and Diamonds?

Azature Fine Chocolates: Diamond-Shaped Chocolates, of Course!

by Joi

Azature Black Diamond Chocolates

Consider my little chocolate-loving brain cells officially popped. They say that diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but when THIS girl hears or reads the word “diamond,” I think of a baseball diamond and spending the evening with my husband and cat Alexa watching baseball on television.

Now, thanks to Azature Fine Chocolates, the word diamond will also conjure up chocolate perfection: Diamond-shaped chocolate candy! FINE chocolate, even.

If your mother is as big a chocoholic as I am, you simply have to get her diamonds this Mother’s Day… chocolate diamonds, that is.

From AZATURE Chocolates.com:

The origins of AZATURE chocolates developed from the sentiment of gratitude and appreciation. It was from the first box created as a thank you to AZATURE jewelry clients that AZATURE fine chocolates were born. Approaching the gift from the same philosophy of innovation and unique design, AZATURE created the first collection inspired from the precious gems that are featured in his fine AZATURE jewelry collections.

Now available in eight different flavor formulations, the chocolates have much in common with his signature AZATURE black-diamond pieces. Take the “Black Diamond – Wild Treasure Cocoa” for example, like its black diamond counterpart, it is inspired by its exclusivity. The chocolate begins with the rare “Wild Treasure” cocoa bean that grows in the Amazon basin of Bolivia to create a luxurious chocolate base for all of the confections. The infused flavors and delicate recipes are applied with care and creativity to create fresh taste all while applying the signature AZATURE gem design. Like fine jewelry, these pralines are a luxurious indulgence that we hope you will take the time to truly savor. From AZATURE and the chocolatier team, thank you as we are incredibly proud to share these handcrafted confections with you.

Visit Azature Fine Chocolate‘s website and make this Mother’s Day a day she’ll never forget. Trust me, she’ll be bragging about her chocolate diamonds all year long!

Azature Black Diamond Chocolates

YUM! Virginia Cocktail Toffee Peanuts

Delicious Choice for Gift Baskets and Care Packages

by Joi

Virginia Cocktail Toffee Peanuts Virginia Cocktail Toffee Peanuts: Too Good to Believe

I love what I do… whatever it is that I do.  You know, the thing that allows me to do food reviews, such as the forthcoming one for Virginia Cocktail Peanuts.  I was sent a adorable little tin of Toffee Virginia Peanuts to review and, I have to tell you, it was one of the most delicious things ever delivered to my door.  I’d love to be able to say that I’m enjoying them right now as I’m writing this review, but alas, they aren’t just gone, they’re long gone.

I can, however, say that I’m fondly recalling the flavor as I’m typing the words.  That’s something, right?

After one bite, the first thing I thought of – besides, “Mmmmmm… so good… mmmmm” – was how perfect these peanuts would be for sticking in a gift basket or gift bag.

  • Mother’s Day
  • Father’s Day
  • Birthdays
  • Christmas
  • Graduation
  • Weddings
  • Easter
  • Valentine’s Day
  • Boss’ Day
  • Secretary’s Day
  • Etc…

If you’re like me, you love to give people cool, original things they probably haven’t seen before.  If there were a point system for gift giving, being unique would rack up more points than anything else. When someone looks at me wide-eyed and says, “Where’d you find this????,” I do a little happy dance inside – as the chorus of Yay, Me! plays over and over.

They’d also be a MOST welcome surprise tucked into a care package for that very special someone across the miles. They’d think of you with each crunch.

Virginia Cocktail Peanuts come in a fun variety of flavors (Sea Salt, Toffee, Jalapeno, Milk Chocolate, Cajun, Unsalted), so you’ll find something to suit everyone you know.  A word of warning, though: You’ll most definitely want to order some for yourself.  Trust me, these are impossibly delicious peanuts.  If I hadn’t scarfed mine down so quickly, I could have done something really clever like tossing them into a bowl of popcorn or eating them with yogurt.  You know, something creative we foodies are supposed to do – something worthy of our title.

But, nooooo. I simply enjoyed them right out of the tin. One after the other.

The sad thing is, I’d do it again. Would not change a thing.  I’d pop one sweet and crunchy little toffee peanut into my mouth, make that face we all make (while hoping no one sees us making it), suck my teeth a little bit, then go back for another.

Click through for more information about Virginia Cocktail Peanuts.  I know you’ll want to order some for Mother’s Day.  If you need me, I’ll be in the corner crying because my tin’s empty.

Virginia Cocktail Toffee PeanutsAwww, the memories…

Easter Candy Cookies: Beautiful and Delicious

Who Could Ask for More from a Cookie?

by Joi

Easter Candy Cookies

Easter Cookies Recipe

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 egg
1 tbsp. vanilla
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
2 cups small chocolate Easter candies or coarsely chopped candy bars (Editor’s note: We used Hershey’s Solid Milk Chocolate Eggs)
36 jelly beans, if desired

  1. Heat oven to 375⁰F.  Beat butter, egg and vanilla in large bowl until well mixed. Mix in both sugars.
  2. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt until smooth. Stir or knead in chocolate candies (Target Tip: To make it easy for kids to chop larger pieces of hard candy, place candy in sealed plastic bag and let kids pound with a rolling pin or large wooden spoon.)
  3. Drop mixture onto cookie sheets using a tablespoon.
  4. Bake 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown around edges. Press a jellybean into each cookie.  Let cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet.  Cool completely.

Yield: 3 Dozen Beautiful Cookies

Photo and Recipe Credit: A Bullseye view!

Adorable Easter Decoration

This One's a Must Have

by Joi

Easter DecorationA couple of my daughters and I were taking inventory a few days ago, and we have more Easter Decorations than just about any other holiday (except for Christmas).  I’m not surprised, it’s one of my personal holidays. The REASON for Easter is the most important thing, of course, but I also love the fact that this holiday ushers in beautiful weather. Everything’s blooming, gardeners can play in the dirt again, and all seems right with the world.

No matter how you look at it, Easter is a colorful, beautiful, and fun holiday. I guess this explains (along with a love of rabbits!) all our Easter decor.

The adorable Nifty Easter Egg Carousel, White, shown here, is available on Amazon just in time for Easter (April 8th). Best of all, it’s less than $10!

Product Features

  • Holds up to 24 extra large easter eggs
  • Lazy susan base rotates 360-degree
  • White powder-coat finish
  • Used both while drying and decorating eggs and as a decorative center piece
  • Dimensions – 12-inch height by 7-1/2-inch diameter

Click through the image or link for a closer look.

Healthier Cabbage for St. Patrick’s Day

With the T-Fal ActiFry Low Fat Multi-Cooker

by Joi

T-Fal ActiFry Low Fat Multi-CookerThe sweet, sassy, and sexy number above is the T-Fal FZ700251 Actifry Low-Fat Multi-Cooker, Black. I have not, personally, used this particular T-Fal creation, but I am more than familiar with just about everything else carrying the T-Fal name.  Suffice to say, I’ll familiarize myself with the ActiFry Multi-Cooker soon. Very, very soon.

Product Features

  • 2.2 -pound-capacity electric low-fat multi-cooker.
  • Cook a variety of full meals easily and quickly using little-to-no oil for meats, seafood, risotto, vegetables and many other dishes.
  • Easy 2 button operation: on/off switch and digital countdown timer with buzzer.
  • Easy to clean – dishwasher-safe lid, pan, paddle and filter; color recipe book (38 recipes) and measuring spoon included.
  • Measures 16.7 by 13.6 by 9.4 inches; weight: 8.9 lbs. power: 1400w; 1-year limited warranty

Product Description

The T-fal ActiFry is a low fat cooker that enables you to cook tasty dishes while reducing the amount of fat you are having. The ActiFry is engineered to minimize the use of oil while cooking. This revolutionary appliance allows you to enjoy great tasting a wide array of dishes but at the same time stay healthy and feel good about what you are eating.With ActiFry you can enjoy cripsy, great tasting fries that are low in fat! By using just one tablespoon of oil you can make 2 pounds of fresh French fries, enough to feed a family of four. That one spoonful is over 200 times less than a traditional 3 liter deep fat fryer, which not only means that your food is substantially more healthy, but it is also more economical. The French fries have only 3% fat per serving.Moreover, ActiFry is a versatile cooking appliance and can be use to create a variety of helathy, low-fat dishes with minimal effort. ActiFry is not just for French fries, it enables you to cook full meals such as chili, risotto, gumbos, vegetable, or meat stir frys, seafood, and even yummy desserts. ActiFry enables you to create your favorite dishes that are not only delicious but nutritious. Each recipe requires from 0 to 2 tablespoons of oil for four servings.

Below is a very healthy-sounding recipe that’s ideal for the T-Fal ActiFry Multi-Cooker, but it CAN be made in any frying pan.  I’m wild about cabbage recipes, so I can’t wait to give this one a try.

Healthy Cabbage Recipe for St. Patrick's DayHealthy Cabbage Recipe for St. Patrick’s Day

Stir-fry Cabbage with Mustard and Chives

6 cups cabbage, cut into approximately 1 inch squares (about 1/2 head)
1/4 cup water
1/2 ActiFry spoon extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 teaspoons chives, minced

Whisk together the water, olive oil, mustard, sugar and salt. Place the cabbage in the ActiFry and drizzle the sauce on top. Cook for 15 minutes or until tender-crisp. Top with minced chives.

T-Fal Pans and Cookware:

Pull Apart Football Cupcakes

Just In TIme for your Superbowl Party

by Joi

Did your team make it all the way to the Superbowl? Mine (Broncos) didn’t, but there’s always next year, right?!

In the cooking tutorial video above, you’ll see how you can easily make a Superbowl Dessert everyone will rave about – whether their team’s playing or not.

If you’ll notice, I did indeed mark this post as a “Holiday” recipe. You see, with the football fanatics in our family, any day NFL is on tv, it’s a holiday. Same with baseball and college basketball. We pretty much have holidays every day in this house. :)

Delicious! Holiday Beverage Recipe from Lipton

Dazzling Creamy Dessert Drink

by Joi

Holiday beverage recipe from Lipton Tea!Holiday Beverage Recipe from Lipton Tea!

When it comes to beverages, you can never, ever go wrong with tea.  Well, as long as you don’t dump 23 pounds of sugar in your cup!  You won’t need to when you use the wonderful tea recipes Lipton keeps coming up with – or when you drink their bottles of deliciousness.  I love Lipton, could you tell?

Here’s a beautiful and delicious holiday drink – perfect for Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year’s or today.  Oooooh, today sounds good to me, how about you?  Check out my daughter’s tea review blog for more gorgeous holiday beverage recipes with tea.

DAZZLING CREAMY DESSERT DRINK

5 servings | Prep time: 5 minutes | Stand time: 10 minutes
2 sprigs mint, large
1 bottle 100% Natural Lipton® Iced Tea with Pomegranate Blueberry
1-1/2 cups light cream or half and half*
3 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger

Crush mint with wooden spoon against side of medium pitcher to bruise. Stir in remaining ingredients.  Let stand 10 minutes; remove mint sprigs. Pour into ice-filled glasses and garnish, if desired, with additional mint leaves.

*Use fat-free half and half to make this dessert drink lower in saturated fat and calories.

For more wintertime recipes, visit Lipton Iced Tea’s Facebook page!

Turtle Cheesecake Tartlets

From Pillsbury Christmas 2011

by Joi

Pillsbury Christmas 2011

Here’s a fast and easy Christmas/Holiday (or anytime!) dessert recipe that’s simple to whip up, but looks and tastes like you labored for days. This is from a wonderful cookbook, Pillsbury Christmas 2011. I collect Christmas cookbooks (as well as ALL cookbooks!) and this is my newest addition.

Funny thing about great Christmas and holiday cookbooks, they can be used all-year long. Mine are never stored away – I honestly use them throughout the year.

This particular Christmas cookbook is one of the best. The recipe below is just one of the countless outstanding recipes inside.

Turtle Cheesecake Tartlets

Servings: 24 Tartlets

1 box Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts, softened as directed on box
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons caramel topping
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 Tablespoons finely chopped pecans

  1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Remove1 crust from pouch; unroll on work surface.  Roll lightly with rolling pin. Cut 12 rounds from crust with 2-1/2 to 2-3/4 inch cookie cutter.  Press rounds in bottom and up sides of 12 mini muffin cups, with edges extending above cups about 1/8 inch.  Repeat with remaining pie crust. Place about 5 of the chocolate chips in each crust.  Bake 6 minutes. Leave crusts in pan.  Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
  2. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, beat cream cheese, brown sugar, caramel topping, and egg with electric mixer on medium speed until creamy.  Spoon evenly over chocolate chips, about 1-1/2 teaspoons for each tartlet.
  3. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheesecake is set.  Cool in pan on cooling rack 10 minutes; remove from pan.
  4. In a small custard cup or other small microwavable bowl, place remaining chocolate chips and the oil.  Microwave uncovered on High 30 seconds; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until melted; stir. Drizzle over each cheesecake; immediately sprinkle with pecans.  Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.  Cover and refrigerate any remaining tartlets.

Take a closer look at Pillsbury Christmas 2011 by clicking the link. This one’s outstanding.

Easiest Holiday Dish You’ll Ever Serve

Colorful Relish Tray Salad

by Joi

Relish Tray Salad

A holiday tradition in my kitchen (whether it’s Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, or the first day of baseball season… a holiday in our house) is based on a recipe I saw Emeril do years ago on Emeril Live. He made a Relish Tray Salad and I tried my own version the very next day.

The beautiful thing about making a relish tray salad is that you can pretty much add or take away anything your little heart desires.  And easy? Trust me, nothing’s easier.

Basically, you buy jars of your favorite relish tray delicacies such as:

  • Baby Dill Pickles
  • Gherkins
  • Pickled cocktail onions
  • Blanched baby carrots
  • Blanched green beans
  • Cauliflower
  • Olives
  • Pickled Cherry Peppers
  • Pickled Okra

Place everything into a large glass bowl (or any bowl for that matter, glass simply looks spectacular).  For extra flavor, add a little olive oil.  The colors are beautiful, the flavors are Heavenly, and everyone has a lot of fun finding their favorites lovelies.

You could even add some red pepper flakes if you wanted to make it pop.

Heavenly Chocolate Chunk Cookies

With Toasted Walnut Halves, Have Mercy!

by Joi

Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookbook

Okay, before we get to these delicious cookies (cookies that all walnut lovers will die for), let me tell you how much you need to zip over to Amazon right now and order a copy of the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookbook. Amazon has paperback copies available for less than $5.00 (new) and even less for used ones. But, seriously, for less than $5.00, I’d go with new.

This Christmas cookbook is filled with wonderful, festive, beautiful, and delicious recipes that’ll quickly become family favorites – at Christmas as well as throughout the year.  I keep my copy on the hutch in my kitchen year round with my other frequently-used cookbooks.  Trust me, this one’s filled with recipes you’ll use again and again. I am blown away that you can get a copy for less than I just paid for a Chai Tea Latte at Starbucks!

Some of the recipes you’ll find in this cookbook:

  • Eggnog Tea Bread
  • Cheddar Scones
  • Buttery Dinner Rolls
  • Amish Orange Rolls
  • Winter Salad
  • Christmas Eve Salad
  • Strawberry Holiday Trifle
  • Chocolate Truffle Cheesecake
  • Poinsettia Punch
  • White Bean Chili
  • Lasagna with Colorful Peppers
  • Chewy Chunky Chocolate-Walnut Cookies
  • Rich Seafood Casserole
  • Cornbread Dressing
  • Holiday Yams
  • Cranberry Applesauce
  • Double Chocolate Christmas Praline-Fudge Cake
  • Baked Sausage and Eggs
  • Mediterranean Coffee
  • Gingerbread Scones
  • Peppermint Candy Ice Cream Pie
  • Beef and Three Cheese Tetrazzini
  • Party Rosemary Pork
  • Layered Cheese Torta
  • Millionaires
  • Eggnog Cookies
  • Nutcracker Cookies
  • Spiced Pecans
  • Mocha Punch
  • Florentine Artichoke Dip
  • Yuletide Crab Puffs
  • Many, many, many more wonderful recipes!

Heavenly Chocolate Chunk Cookies Recipe

2 cups plus 2 Tbs. all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup butter or margarine
2 Tbs instant coffee granules
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
11-1/2 oz package semi-sweet double chocolate mega-chips or 12 oz package semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup walnut halves, toasted

Combine first three ingredients; stir well.

Combine butter and coffee granules in a small saucepan or skillet. Cook over medium low heat until butter melts and coffee granules dissolve, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (don’t let butter resolidify).

Combine butter mixture, sugars, egg, and egg yolk in a large bowl. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed just until blended. Stir in mega-chips and walnuts.

Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls 2 inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes. Let cool slightly on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. Makes 20 cookies.

Heavenly. Delicious. Incredible. Make them tonight!

Be sure to check out the Gooseberry Patch Christmas Cookbook on Amazon. This is a great collection of outstanding recipes and is worth a lot more than you’ll have to pay.

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