Shopping for Holiday Recipes

Wow, December is getting away from me! I realized today that I need to plan my menus right now. I also need to bake cookies this week.

Due to recent vehicle repairs, we are now on a tighter budget. We want to replace that "emergency" stash of money. I also want to indulge and have a festive Christmas. After all, that is what the holiday season is about - Festivity and a little indulgence.

I went recipe shopping at "My recipes" with all of this in mind. There were so many delicious looking recipes, I am kind of grateful that I had an extra criteria in order to narrow down my choices! I didn't restrict myself to that site however...

Here is my Christmas Eve Dinner Menu:

Olive and Onion Tapenade with crusty bread
Simple Baked Ham
Scalloped Potatoes
Corn
Spinach and Cheese-Stuffed Portobello Caps
Swirled Cranberry Cheesecake

I originally planned on some little pastries with blue cheese and walnuts, but This "Olive and Onion Tapendade" looked so inviting. It has the added plus of being a little more in line with my budget. An elegant solution, I think. I hope my Sweetie forgives me for this, he loves blue cheese. Oh well, I will make it up to him with the rest of the menu.

Once a year I buy a ham. I will used the leftovers in various recipes later on. In fact, I found several while I was looking for these recipes.

We both love scalloped potatoes and this dish goes great with ham. The recipe I use (with my own modifications) is from another great cookbook "1000 Recipes From Around The World". (See photo above) I found it at my local book store "on sale". It is a very heavy tome and on every single page is a recipe with a full color photo. It was printed in China, but for a British audience I think. It does give measurements in cups, though. I have tried several recipes from it and many of those have become favorites.

For him, per his request, I will heat up some corn. He keeps thinking it is a vegetable no matter how many times I tell him it is a grain.

For a little something different, I am trying out "Spinach and Cheese-Stuffed Portobello Caps". We agreed we wanted spinach. I was not satisfied with simply heating some up. So I found this recipe. I am going to modify it, though. Of course. I can't just leave things alone sometimes. Big Grin.

And for dessert, I wanted something elegant, festive, and hopefully with cranberries. Cranberries go very well with Christmas and ham, don't you think? I found what looks like a promising candidate. It appears easy to make, within budget, and meets all the other criteria.

In addition to Christmas Eve Dinner, I will be baking cookies and per Sweetie's request, some fudge.

He brought home a recipe clipped from the newspaper! I searched and found the exact recipe online. "Egg Nog Fudge" He loves eggnog and really wants this fudge. I will indulge him.

The cookies I have chosen are "Chewy Chocolate-Cherry" for me and "Lime Zingers" for him. I am a chocoholic and he loves lemon and lime. Somehow we manage to get along.

Note: I will post recipes not linked to as I make them, so I can document the measurements. You know me, I rarely measure, but, for you, I will.

All right, I need to go make my shopping list now. Talk to you later...