Happy Thanksgiving

I just saw a link to this sweet blog - The Thanksgiving Project - and thought it would be fun to have our own Thanksgiving post. So add a comment...what are you thankful for this year?

Hospitality

We had a wonderful guest speaker at our last meeting, Juliette Watson, with lots of great ideas for creating an inviting home that encourages others to "linger." I loved her idea for studying the names of God and writing them on Christmas ornaments to display in your home...it's always nice to have more ideas for keeping the focus where it needs to be at Christmas! Juliette has a few more holiday recipes to share that didn't quite copy right, so I'll include them here.

Sweet Braided Bread (from Super Suppers)
1 loaf frozen bread dough, thawed
sweet filling: 8 oz cream cheese beaten with 1/3 cup sugar
fruit filling: solo brand fruit pastry filling (available with pie fillings at grocery store) or jam
egg glaze: 1 egg, beaten together with 1 tablespoon water

Preheat oven to 350. Line cookie sheet with parchment paper or spray lightly with non-stick spray. On a lightly-floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the thawed bread dough into a large rectangle, about 8"x15." Place filling down center of rectangle, going the long way, leaving a 1-inch border around the edges. Use a pastry scraper to make 1/2-in cuts along the edge of the dough on either side of the filling. Starting at one side, criss-cross the cut strips over the filling. Pinch ends together to keep in the filling. Place roll on prepared pan and brush top of roll with egg wash. Bake 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

White Chocolate Bark
1 pounds white chocolate
2 cups pretzels
2 cups salted peanuts
Melt chocolate slowly in microwave, then stir in nuts and pretzels. Spread thinly on wax paper to cool. Break into random sized pieces and wrap clusters in clear cellophane. Tie with a festive bow for a quick, easy, and delicious holiday gift.

Christmas Cranberry Vinaigrette
1/4 up oil
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup vinegar
3 T Mrs. Dash
3 T sugar
Mix in blender, then drizzle on top of salad greens with purple onion, crumble blue cheese and toasted pecans. A sure family favorite that is perfect for Christmas!

Stay tuned...I'll add a few more later!


And for those of you who didn't have time to make one of our lovely napkin rings (like me), not to worry - you'll have another opportunity at the end of the year to make some of the crafts you missed!