This Christmas... I cut out some Christmas cookies...

Betty Crocker's Sugar Cookies

Yes, that's right, I may not have had the proper board or a rolling pin, but what is it that they say, that your hands are the best tool when cooking or baking! Je suis d'accord! (I agree to that).
And they were tasty sweet!

Um, I think this cut-out is a dancing Christmas bear, I still am not sure. So, if any one has any idea as to what the mystery red one is, leave a comment below, merci!

Green sprinkles and peppermint-flavored sprinkles. Surprisingly, the peppermint ones had a strange taste that I really didn't like, but it was still all good!

Don't forget the Christmas eggnog.  Of course, I added some cinnamon to mine :)

This Christmas... The ladies of the house know how to make a Christmas feast

Joyeux Noël et Merry Christmas tout le monde!

The ladies of the house know how to cook and always make a fantastic Christmas feast!

:Potato salad, green bean casserole, deviled egg, cornbread stuffing, turkey, baked macaroni and cheese, sweet potato soufflé, cranberry sauce, kale: 

Since I've stopped eating pork (yay!), I've had to make some adjustments to my holiday feasts. This Thanksgiving and Christmas, my family used turkey sausage crumbles from Jimmy Dean instead of our usual Jimmy Dean Hot Sausage. The hot sausage really made the stuffing so delicious and spicy, but, of course, I don't use that anymore. The turkey crumbles was not the same, but the stuffing still tasted good. This Christmas, I added chopped green apple and cranberries. Cooked with the peppers and onions in the meat was a nice touch and oh so good!

And oh, if anyone could give me a suggestion of some really good, hot and spicy turkey sausage like Jimmy Dean's pork Hot Sausage, please let me know in a comment below. I'd appreciate it!

Now, doesn't that look golden good!

This Thanksgiving, I thought of the idea of cooking the turkey in the crock pot so we could use the oven for the other delectable dishes. The crock pot turned out a success then and again for Christmas! We don't eat a lot of turkey so we just had a turkey breast, and oh my goodness, it tasted soo good cooked in the crock pot with wine, parsley, gravy.. So, if you're rushing around Christmas, next time, plop the turkey in the crock pot overnight and wake up Christmas morning with a wonderful aroma!

We had collard greens for Thanksgiving and I made kale for Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Apple Cider Snowman!
After Thanksgiving, I start rolling out all the Christmas bowls, cups, and mugs, and make it my mission for everyone to use only the "Christmas" decorated kitchen ware, or whatever you call it! ;)

Christmas Salad

Joyeux Noël et Merry Christmas tout le monde!

I pray everyone's Christmas and Holidays were a joy and brought a warmth of comfort, peace, unity, and good health : )

Before the traditional, main course, I made myself a very nice salad. This salad was the best I had in a while. You know why? Because I made it! Yes, I made it and I knew exactly what was going in it, for the most part, and knew that everything was clean! yummy
For the past few months, I've been mainly using just oil and vinegar for my salad. It's not only healthier, but very tasty too and fresh-tasting, not excessive if used right. But for this salad, I wanted to try the new Caesar dressing we got and it was really good. Caesar dressing is one of my favorite 'dressings'.
:Spinach leaves, cucumber, red and orange plum tomatoes, shrimp, croutons, clementine orange, salad seasoning: 
Cranberries, walnuts, and black olives would be a nice addition to this kind of salad too.

Banana Chocolate Buckwheat Pancakes

 Sliced Banana and Milk Chocolate Chips

I made these this past summer. It looks like this year’s summer was the time to make a lot of new things. Actually, these would be even better in the winter - fill you up inside in the colder months.

These buckwheat pancakes were thick, not only in size, but it tasted thick too and hearty, more than your average pancake. That’s why it’s Buckwheat.

I enjoy cooking and baking, when I have the time, and the only time I am able to is when I come home from college. When I live on campus, I eat the food there and the only thing I make myself is few and small  - not enough money and with only a microwave to cook. So, the microwave has seen a lot of tea and mugs in its day. When I come home, I have to make a lot of food. . . and it tastes better too. I enjoy cooking, but it’s nice to get a break too. Perhaps it kind of evens itself out? 3 months of making every meal, then about 10 months free with little breaks in between. mmmm

Maybe. 

At least I am practicing and creating my own recipes and trying out new recipes and learning a lot about cooking from the great family chef :)

Spicier Zatarain's

Zatarain's New Orleans Style Red Beans and Rice.
A little blurry here . . .

WITH

and WITH 1 sliced Beef Hot Sausage Link

Delicious for when there's chill in the air..