Hosting the Holidays

The holidays are crazy, there’s no doubt. Especially if your house hosts the family for a big meal. There’s so much to prepare, from decorations to place settings to the meal itself, if we don’t lose our marbles at least once it’s not been a success.

To cut through the clutter this season, we’ve assembled our favorite list of ideas and festive recipes that will be sure to get your mind buzzing before the big day.

Photo Cred: flickr.com

Table Settings

1.     Dip (or spray) pinecones in silver or gold paint and tie a nametag to each. Fold a napkin and place the napkin on top of the plate and the pinecone will just rest on top! Easy and elegant.

2.     Grab some extra cinnamon sticks from the store, cut to a size you desire, and tie a festive ribbon around the sticks to harness a nametag. The cinnamon will add a festive fragrance to the dinner table, and your guest will leave with a small parting gift!

3.     Extra ornaments lying around after decorating the tree? Place a couple on each plate! Keep it monochromatic for a classic look, or spice things up with colorful bulbs.

Centerpieces

1.     If you cut your own tree this year, snag a few branches from the back of the tree and lay them down along the center of the table. Add some candles and ornaments for a little extra color. If you don’t have a real tree, a faux garland will do!

2.     Pick up a big silver or glass bowl from the Christmas Tree Store or dollar store and load it up with your favorite ornaments. Pile them high for drama, or mix in pinecones and tiny wrapped presents to keep it fun.

3.     Tall styrofoam cones can be painted any color, so pick your favorite and decorate them and place them along the table. Varying sizes will bring a different look to the table. Stick with silver, gold and white for a classic look, or opt for green, red, blue, or even purple for a warmer look.

Perfect Cocktails

1.     No table is complete without a delicious holiday drink to share. Prep pumpkin pie martinis for the adults and have them ready to toast for dinner. Mix pumpkin spice liqueur, butterscotch schnapps, Kahlua, and half-and-half. Crumble graham crackers and tip the rims before you fill!

2.     Mix up your normal glass of champagne by trying this yummy spiced pear sangria. You can make it the night before so it’s a quick pour and serve when dinner is ready.

3.     After dinner drinks are always appropriate. Make the kids some hot chocolate, and for the adults: add some raspberry liqueur and crème de cacao and top the glass with fresh whipped cream. Yum.

Easy Holiday Cookie Recipes

Do your cookies always seem to turn out burnt, lacking flavor, or just… blah? Perhaps you don’t even bother with holiday baking because you feel it’s too time consuming. Never fear. We’ve collected a couple easy recipes that will have your guests thinking you bought a platter at Wegmans this year.

Photo Cred: fanpop.com

Classic Sugar Cookies

With just six ingredients, we promise this one’s super easy.

·      3 cups all purpose flour

·      1 cup unsalted butter, softened

·      1 cup, plus 2 tbsp granulated sugar

·      1 egg

·      1 tsp vanilla extract

·      a pinch of salt

1.     mix butter and sugar together until just incorporated

2.     add egg and vanilla extract on low speed

3.     in a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt, then add butter and egg mixture on low speed

4.     as the dough clumps around the mixing paddle, remedy crumbles with ice cold water 1 tbsp at a time until all dough is combined

5.     line two baking sheets with parchment paper

6.     turn dough out on wax paper, place another sheet of wax paper on top of the dough ball and roll to a one quarter to half-inch thickness

7.     refrigerate rolled dough for one hour, then remove and cut out desired shapes

8.     refrigerate cut outs for 30 minutes to help cookies stay crisp while baking

9.     bake cookies at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes

10. cool after baking, and frost as desired!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

·      2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temp

·      ½ cup powdered sugar, plus more for coating baked cookies

·      2 tsp vanilla extract

·      2 cups flour

·      1 cup toasted pecans, finely chopped

1.     preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.     beat butter until light and fluffy

3.     add ½ cup powdered sugar and vanilla, blend well

4.     turn mixer to a low setting, add flour

5.     fold in chopped pecans with spatula

6.     divide dough in half and wrap in plastic

7.     chill in refrigerator until cold

8.     working with one half at a time, use floured hands to roll a tbsp.-sized piece of dough into a ball

9.     arrange balls on parchment-lined backing sheet ½ inches apart from one another

10. bake until golden brown on bottom and pale golden on top (15-18 minutes)

11. cool on baking sheet and then roll in additional confectioners’ sugar to coat

Little Gift List

Your coworkers, boss, kid’s teachers, distant relatives. Not getting them something for the holidays is out of the question, but what do you get them? Never fear. We’ve compiled a list of some easy-to-make food gift recipes so you can jar up some holiday spirit and check off those little gift list members.

Brownies. Easy and delicious. Crumble up a few dozen candy canes and drizzle the pieces on top of the pan of brownies about 10 minutes before they’re done baking. It will infuse some of the peppermint flavor and look totally festive when they’re done. 

Photo Cred: firstlookthencook.com

Grab some cute little cardboard boxes, stuff the bottom with festive tissue paper or burlap, toss some cinnamon sticks in for scent, and bake some cinnamon biscuits. It’s an easy breakfast for an on-the-go mom or busy worker. Add a little jar of hot chocolate mix in there and they’ll be hugging you before 9:00 a.m.

Make your own hot cocoa this season and can up the mix in little mason jars. Use festive fabric and layer it over the seal before screwing the lid on and you have a cute little hot chocolate to-go gift that anyone can enjoy.

Speaking of canning things, marmalade is easy to make and lasts for many months, making it a great little gift idea. Here’s a recipe for a tangy citrus blend that is delicious on toast, croissants, and scones.

Fudge? How could we not add fudge to the list. This recipe uses only five ingredients and is very easy to make. Toss half a dozen bars in a holiday cellophane bag and we have no doubt friends and family will be asking for more next year.

Chocolate dipped anything. Pretzels, peanuts, popcorn. Grab a couple bags of melting chocolate and a few of your favorite snacks and go to town. Divvy up by type or mix it all together for a chocolaty trail mix perfect for snacking.

Did we miss one of your favorites? Comment your go-to food gift recipes here!

Cleaning Couches

Right now is a great time to get those pesky stains out of your couch, especially with the holiday season so near. Wouldn’t want your mother-in-law making snide comments, would you?

As a good first step, vacuum off cushions or use a brush to dislodge dirt.

For red wine spills, grab a bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Blot up as much as you possibly can with a paper towel and then mix in a teaspoon of your favorite dish soap with another cup of hydrogen peroxide. Blot the mix, then blot again with a dry towel. This method also works wonders on carpet, clothing and other fabrics as well. Wine-o’s rejoice!

For coffee stains, mix an egg yolk with luke-warm water and rub on the spot. Pat dry and vacuum the rest away.

For other stains caused by life (i.e. children, cats, dogs, husbands, etc.), make your own whipped detergent. Create a froth using half dish detergent, half water, and then use a whisk to mix it all together. Using a rag, rub the froth into the spot and then rinse away with water.

You can also use shampoo to wash away stains and yucky scents from upholstery. Still can’t get the stain out? Try steam cleaning the spot first to help lift stains before treating with detergents.

Do you have any other stain removing tips to share?

Best Winter Houseplants

Don’t feel like tending to outdoor winter plants this season? No worries. There’s plenty of flowering plants that do well in your home. Here are some of our favorites.

Lavender. A famous plant and go-to herb for aromatherapy, soaps and other yummy things, lavender is one of the best indoor plants to grow in the winter. Lavender will grow from a seed if you wish to start from scratch, or you can pick up a young plant. Clearly, the benefit of a young plant is that you get to instantly enjoy the fragrance and pretty purple-blue flowers. You’ll want to place your lavender plant in your home’s sunniest window.

Jasmine. Originating in Asia, jasmine is very simple to care for if you keep your home’s temperature in the high 60’s to low 70’s. Make sure to place this starry-flowering plant in an east or south-facing window and don’t let the soil dry out. Also, jasmine will climb a trellis, so stake one in the pot if you’d like!

Citrus. Yes – really! You don’t need to live in Florida to enjoy citrus fruits such as grapefruit, lemon, or oranges. All you need is a very bright spot in your house, and follow these easy directions from HGTV on how to properly care for your citrus plants.

Geraniums. Are you a fan of lemon, lime, rose, ginger, or even chocolate? Who isn’t? Geraniums are available in all of these fragrances, but did you know the fragrance comes not from flowers but from their hairy leaves? Your local nursery can tell you which they have in stock and which would work best for your home.

What’s your favorite indoor plant for the winter?

Composting 101

Composting isn’t just for farmers and country-dwellers. Here’s a list of ways you can compost in your backyard and do your part to contribute to our environment.

First off: what is compost? Compost is a mix of decaying vegetables, grass clippings, leaves and other organic matter. If you’re a gardener, compost is a fabulous fertilizer for your beds because it’s rich in yeast, fungi, and bacteria, and best of all – it’s free!

Photo cred: howtocompost.org

So let’s get started. Compost is just a mixture of brown matter and green matter. Shredded leaves, straw and twigs make up the brown matter, and grass clippings, veggies, fruit scraps, and even coffee grounds make up green matter. Mix it all together and add a little water and soil. That’s it.

Every week or two, rotate the pile and keep adding materials until the pile reaches three to five feet. Your pile will be good to use around six months – so get started now!

The biggest question we see is: what do I put compost in? You don’t have to buy one of those fancy compost bins (unless you want to!). You can grab a big compost bin at Lowe’s or Home Depot – they’ll be the ones with a sealed lid and little door to add materials.

Don’t forget: everything you put in your bin should be organic, so absolutely no herbicide treated grasses or plants. If you want to add manure, feel free, but be sure the animal it’s coming from was not fed meet (that also means no meat off your table should enter the bin as well).

Are you an experienced composter and have a tip to share? Do so below in the comments!

Winter Garage Checklist

It’s so easy to let your garage get out of control. After all, you went through the whole thing during spring cleaning (right?), so why tackle it again before next spring? Here’s just a few things we recommend taking care of now.

Store summer vehicles like sports cars, ATVs, and motorcycles (even the kid’s mini RVs – don’t you wish you had one when you were little? Anyway…). Now is also a great time to have them serviced—then they’ll be ready for you to take them out on the road when the weather is nice again.

Pull out the winter equipment, as much as it may pain you. Make sure your snow blowers are serviced and working properly, and grab some tanks of gasoline so you’re ready. Rochester weather is unpredictable, so be prepared.  Make sure shovels are useable, too. Loose handles might need some glue, or replaced entirely.

Have a generator? Test it out now before you need it. Did we mention buying extra gasoline?

Organize. Organize. Organize. You’ll thank yourself later. Clean off spring yard tools and box up toys before the cold comes. Storing yard tools in a big bucket of sand will help eliminate rust (and the need to replace them when spring comes).