Clearly a traditional turkey feast is in order for Thanksgiving but Christmas is more open for interpretation. I usually do our big celebratory meal on Christmas Eve and then relax and enjoy leftovers while my kids enjoy their slice of new toy heaven.

We usually serve pork tenderloin (one of my grandma’s recipes), but I’m always on the lookout for other ideas. (See below for Grandma’s recipe.)

I’ve heard of others doing prime rib or tri-tip, but we’re not huge beef eaters. We’ve done cranberry-glazed chicken and even gone out to eat some years. No one is a big fan of ham in our house, so we usually only serve that on Easter.

Question: What do you serve for Christmas?

Gram’s Pork Tenderloin
Pork tenderloin strips (trimmed from fat)
Italian style bread crumbs
eggs
flour
vegetable oil

Cut meat into 1-inch thick slices and then pound down until it’s 1/2 inch thick or thinner. Once the meat is pounded out and excess fat is trimmed off, dip the meat into the flour. Shake off excess flour and dip into egg mixture until coated, then place meat slice into bread crumbs. Shake off excess bread crumbs and then brown in skillet with oil. Brown on each side and then place on a cookie sheet and put in oven for an extra 20 minutes on 375 degrees to make sure the meat is cooked all the way through.

One of my favorite ”Friends” moments is when quirky Pheobe tries to help Monica de-code her grandmother’s secret Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe. Monica makes endless batches before Pheobe remembers the name of her European ancestor who created the recipe named, “Nessleh Tulhous.” Monica then says, “Do you mean, “Nestle Tollhouse?” It reminds me that some of the best recipes for goodies and treats are those from the back of the box or the condensed milk label.

Here’s one of my favorite “secret” recipes for holiday yumminess that isn’t really a secret at all but has everyone fooled (until now) about its origin. No weird ingredients. No complicated Martha Stewart tricks. Just simple and perfect.

The Classic Sugar Cookie

·         1 cup Crisco® Butter Shortening

·         OR 1 stick Crisco® Butter Shortening Sticks

·         1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

·         1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

·         2 tablespoons milk

·         3 large eggs, lightly beaten

·         1 teaspoon vanilla extract

·         4 cups Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour

·         1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

·         1 1/2 teaspoons cream of tartar

·         1 teaspoon salt

·         Colored sugar and decors (optional)

·        

·         BUTTERY CREAM FROSTING

·         4 cups powdered sugar

·         1/3 cup Crisco® Butter Shortening

·         OR 1/3 stick Crisco® Butter Shortening Sticks

·         1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

·         6 to 7 tablespoons milk

·         Food coloring (optional)

1.COMBINE shortening, granulated sugar and brown sugar in large bowl; beat at medium speed until well blended. Add milk. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla.

2. COMBINE flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt in separate large bowl. Mix into shortening mixture until well blended. Chill 1 hour.

3. HEAT oven to 350°F.

4. ROLL out 1⁄3 of dough at a time to about 1⁄4-inch thickness on floured surface. Cut out with cookie cutters. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugars and decors or leave plain and frost when cooled.

5. BAKE 6 to 8 minutes or until edges of cookies are slightly golden. Remove immediately to cooling rack.

BUTTERY CREAM FROSTING

1.     COMBINE powdered sugar, shortening and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer; slowly blend in milk to reach desired consistency.

2.     BEAT on high speed for 5 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Tint frosting with food coloring, if desired.

TIP: Spread a thin layer of frosting on cookies and decorate with sparkling sugars or sprinkles while frosting is still wet to ensure the decorations stay in place. If you’re planning to pipe on frosting decorations, make sure to allow the base coat of frosting, and then each addition layer, to dry completely before adding another.

Potato prices are lower now than I have seen them in years, and they can provide a great supplement to your family meals. I bought a 10-pound bag of Idaho Russets for 99 cents recently. Not only do potatoes contain plenty of fiber, they are also used in lots of recipes. You really can’t go wrong stocking up on potatoes.

Looking for a healthier alternative? Try Yukon Gold varities or go for sweet potatoes or yams. They offer even more nutrients.

Here are a few ways to use potatoes before, during, and after Thanksgiving and stretch your food budget.

·         Mashed potatoes (endless varieties)

·         Scalloped potatoes

·         Baked potato bar (endless varieties)

·         Twice-baked potatoes

·         Potato skins

·         Hash browns

·         Hash brown casserole

·         Potato soup

·         Roasted rosemary and garlic cubed potatoes

·         Oven fries

·         Homemade French fries

·         Potato salad

·         Au gratin

Also….

·         In a casserole

·         In the crockpot with a roast

·         In pancakes

I think the slow cooker is my best friend in the Fall. Between soccer, school activities, and seasonal stress we seem to run at a pretty harried pace until after the holidays. We’d probably eat cereal for dinner or hit the drive-thru if it wasn’t for the slow cooker.

It’s an easy and economical way to cook. You can throw things in first thing in the morning and then enjoy them for dinner just minutes after getting home in the evening. There are endless recipes (meatless and meaty) that work best by simmering slowly over an extended period of time.

You can also buy cheaper grades of meat, too. Crockpots tenderize the meat because they cook over such a long period of time. This saves you money but your stomach won’t feel cheated at all. The meat turns out soft, tender, and juicy in a way you can’t replicate in the oven.

I’ve also become a big fan of cooking with dry beans. I have a friend who showed me how her family prepared and cooked beans in Mexico and I’ve taken off from there. My memory of “homemade” beans as a child is pretty unpleasant – hard, crunchy and tasteless. But she’s opened by eyes to a world of cheap and easy slowcooking recipes from refried beans to homemade chili. Again, this is an extremely economical and healthy way to cook and eat.

I recently upgraded to a large crockpot with a fancy timer. You can program it to start and stop at certain times or to change the temperature level on the pot at different intervals. It even has a meat thermometer you can attach. It’s pretty handy, but it’s also large enough for me to put several roasts in at once. I’ll cook up more than we can eat and then freeze the other half for another meal in a month or two.

Besides the fact that it saves both time and money, there’s nothing better than coming home after a long day to a homecooked meal that is ready and waiting for you. The smell knocks you over when you walk in the door and no matter how tired or hungry you are you know you’re only minutes away from relaxing together as a family over a great meal.

Question: What is your favorite crockpot meal?

With school back in session I’ve noticed I’m back to eating lunch on the run.

By 4 p.m. one day I realized the only meals I had eaten all day were either out of a straw or were consumed behind the wheel while carting my kids around town. I don’t think the food I ate that day really qualified as a meal, but it was better than not eating at all.

Who can be that busy – really?

Any mom will tell you it’s all too possible to be that busy. C’mon–us moms are the same folks who can spend hours in the bathroom trying to potty-train a child but then postpone our pottying needs for hours because we’re busy caring for a sick child or a cranky baby. I’m sure most every mom on the planet will agree that they’ve sacrificed good hygiene on occasion because they’re too busy caring for everyone else. So, it’s no surprise to most moms that choosing a healthy lunch sinks to the bottom of the list more often than we’d probably admit or even realize.

I hate to compromise good eating and healthy habits using the excuse that I’m too busy. It’s part of that whole, “Put on your own oxygen mask first” theory that we all know but have a hard time living by. So in my efforts to stay healthy and put myself back on the list, I’ve tried to come up with some ideas of cheap and easy lunch ideas so I can still eat in a hurry without grabbing junk food or hitting the drive thru.

Some of my favorites are:

Turkey sandwich on whole wheat pita. I dice up an avocado and tomato and I can eat it on the go.

Trader Joes Organic Tomato Soup in the pint-sized carton. I don’t even like tomato soup but this is delicious. Even my kids love it. (No TJs near you? Try Emeril’s version from the grocery store.)

Bag-O-Salad from the store. I only use half of the lettuce and half of all of the mix-ins (including the low-fat dressing) at a time. I spread it out over two lunches or invite a friend over to have lunch. If the dressing isn’t low-fat I’ll substitute in another dressing from the store. (If you have a Fresh n Easy market in your area they have an amazing Cilantro dressing that only has 70 calories per two tablespoons.)

Baked potato with light sour cream and a sprinkle of cheese. I bet this borders on unhealthy depending on how you view carbs, but it’s fast and it’s comfort food. The cheese and sour cream offer some protein to tide you over. Besides, a medium potato has about 5 grams of fiber. Sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and you’re set. If you skip the butter you’ll save lots of fat and calories.

Pita bread pizza. Using one small whole wheat pita as the crust, I coat the crust with low-fat Ranch dressing (or jarred spaghetti sauce) and then I pile on veggies, or ham and pineapple, or leftover chicken with veggies, and top with a little cheese. I pop it into the toaster oven and in about 7 minutes my lunch is ready.

Question: What do you like to eat for lunch that is quick and healthy?

They say that an apple a day will keep the doctor away. I believe it. Apples are full of all kinds of fiber and nutrients and they make a perfect on-the-go snack. They’re also incredibly cheap and in great abundance this time of year, so they’re great for your budget and your waistline.

For years, I thought I didn’t like apples. Growing up I had only tasted the waxy, Red Delicious variety (which are mushy and gross) and the really tart Granny Smiths. Today, I still think both types are awful. But in college, my friend gave me a bunch of apples picked fresh from her grandmother’s tree and I was hooked. I had no idea how delicious an apple could taste – both sweet and crunchy. It’s a good thing I was willing to try them again as an adult or I’d never know what I’d been missing out on.

Recently we raided a friend’s overflowing apple tree and I decided to conquer my fears and make something homemade. I am not the kind of gal who has spent hours canning fruit, growing my own veggies, or meticulously stitching a quilt. I commend all of those who do, but every time I try to find my inner homemade guru side I seem to fall on my face. In fact, my husband (who enjoys cafeteria food and any mystery casserole covered in cheese—or in other words, he has non-discriminate taste buds) took two bites of my homemade bread and said, “This is inedible.” I don’t think he’d ever uttered those words in all the years I’d ever known him.

So, when I went off to make applesauce I was thrilled to see how well it turned out despite the many unforeseen twists and turns in the cooking process. (There were too many twists, turns, and substitutions for me to publish the recipe.) Even better, my children loved it despite the fact that there’s no added sugar and I left the peels on. I caught one of my children finishing off a jar in front of the TV recently and she confessed it was her second jar. Wow! Needless to say, I was impressed with myself.

In the spirit of apple season I thought I’d share my own experiences of triumph and pass on a listing of lots of apple recipes. Try one out and enjoy the flavors of fall.

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/family/specialfeature/apples_sf/

Question: What’s your favorite way to cook with apples?