It turned sharply colder here today. Time for the first fire of the season! Our big Christmas decorating blitz will be this upcoming weekend. I have a pretty ambitious project going on that I hope to show you next Monday. In the meantime, our fireplace and my mother’s fireplace (she has a mantle, I don’t).

I love the lights in the darkening room with the warm fire.

Decorated with ribons and bulbs and sparkling white lights.

Of course, it is going to warm back up tomorrow, but for today, a fire in the fireplace and festive decorations were just the ticket!

Now on to Mama’s.

Mama's Christmas Mantel

Pretty, tradtional colors

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

I know that the color pink is not something you usually associate with a turkey!

However, according to birding.com, the quick way to identify the wild turkey is:

Dark, iridescent body bare head is pink and blue Male has red skin patch on throat.

How do you love that?

Gobble, gobble, gobble!!!!

Happy Pink Saturday! Don’t forget to check out How Sweet the Sound with Beverly to see a lot of pink fun!

Today’s Lagniappe: Turkey x 3
A couple of Thanksgiving cocktails made with, what else, Wild Turkey and a crockpot turkey recipe.

Thanksgiving Cocktail

* 1 1/2 oz Wild Turkey
* 1/2 oz Applejack
* 1 tsp Rose’s sweetened lime juice
* 4 oz Cranberry juice

Mixing instructions:

Fill Collins glass one-half full of ice, add ingredients and stir. Garnish with a lime wedge, if desired.

Turkey Trot

* 2 cups Cranberry juice
* 2 cups 7-Up
* 1 cup Wild Turkey

Mixing instructions:

Mix with a stirrer in a pitcher then pour over ice into glasses.

Crockpot Turkey with Garlic

* 1 1/2 pounds boneless turkey thighs, skin removed
* salt and pepper or lemon pepper to taste
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 6 cloves garlic, left whole
* 1/2 cup dry white wine
* 1/2 cup chicken broth
* 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Season turkey with salt and pepper or lemon pepper. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Add turkey thighs; brown for about 10 minutes.

Place turkey in slow cooker; add remaining ingredients. Cook on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours, or until turkey thighs are cooked through. Remove garlic cloves from pot. Mash a few and return to the slow cooker, if desired. Serve turkey with juices.

Thanks again to everyone who entered the Cool Whip give-away provided by Kraft Foods. The lucky winner of this wonderful gift basket is . . .

Kat

Congratulations Kat!!!! I notified Kat of her win and I hope she really enjoys this fun give-away!

Thanks to everyone who entered the gift basket give-away! Check back here in the morning to see the winner! In the meantime, I’m wondering what everyone’s plans are for Thanksgiving. Are you staying home, going to family, having the family coming to you? We are going to my sister’s house for Thanksgiving this year. I’ll be sure to take pictures.

Last year, we had Thanksgiving at our house. Here are some of the pictures of my Thanksgiving table.

Happy Tablescape Thursday!

with Between Naps on the Porch

Time is running out! Don’t miss out on your chance to win a great goody basket for holiday baking provided by Kraft Food.

Just leave a comment on either of these posts:

Southern Stir-Ins

Southern Holiday Surprise

I will put all of the entries together and draw randomly. The winner will be announced Thursday morning. For a second chance to win, post about the give-away on your Facebook and leave a comment on either of the posts listed above to let me know that you posted. Good luck!

Please note: Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me. This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by A Southern Life.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Caramel Apple Dessert
Another great recipe from Kraft Foods

MIX wafer crumbs and butter; press onto bottom of 13×9-inch pan. Beat cream cheese, sugar and 1/4 cup milk with mixer until well blended. Stir in 1 cup COOL WHIP; spread over crust.

BEAT pudding mixes and remaining milk with whisk 2 min. Stir in 1/4 cup caramel topping. Spoon over cream cheese layer; top with remaining COOL WHIP.

REFRIGERATE 5 hours or until firm. Top with apples, nuts and remaining caramel topping just before serving

The give-away is still going on. Holiday baking and cooking is just so much fun.

The folks at Cool Whip and kraft foods have pitched in too make it that much more fun this year!

They sent me this wonderful basket of goodies to help me get started on my holiday baking.

What is even more fun is that they will send one of you a basket of goodies too! Just leave a comment here for a chance to win. Post a link to the give-away on your Facebook page and then leave me a comment telling me about your link and you have another chance to win. You can enter every day between now and Wednesday, November 18th. I’ll announce the winner on Thursday morning! Good luck to everyone!!!!

Please note:  Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me. This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by A Southern Life.

Okay, I’ve already made that delicious double layer pumpkin pie (see yesterday’s post). Now for some topping ideas.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Topping Stir-Ins
From Cool Whip, stir ins for a pumpkin pie.

You need:
One prepared pie
1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip
Your favorite stir-ins

Some stir-ins for pumpkin pie:

1 tsp pumpkin spice

1-1/2 tsp. maple

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. cinnamon

Choose your favorite or combine some of them!

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More

Special Holiday Give-Away Post!

Don’t you just love cooking for the holidays? So many of our good holiday memories revolve around that delicious roast turkey that we remember from our childhood. And, what can beat mom’s pumpkin pie?

The folks at Cool Whip and kraft foods have pitched in too make it that much more fun this year!

They sent me this wonderful basket of goodies to help me get started on my holiday baking.

What is even more fun is that they will send one of you a basket of goodies too! Just leave a comment here for a chance to win. Post a link to the give-away on your Facebook page and then leave me a comment telling me about your link and you have another chance to win. You can enter every day between now and Wednesday, November 18th. I’ll announce the winner on Thursday morning! Good luck to everyone!!!!

Please note:  Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me. This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by A Southern Life.

As you can see, there are LOTS of possibilities here:

I’ll be posting different recipes throughout the week up til the drawing. These ingredients can easily metamorphosize into something really delicious. The first recipe I made was Double Layer Pumpkin Pie.

prep time

20 min

total time

4 hr 20 min

makes

10 servings

photo by: kraft

BEAT cream cheese, 1 Tbsp. milk and sugar in large bowl with whisk until blended. Stir in half the COOL WHIP. Spread into crust.

WHISK remaining milk, pumpkin, dry pudding mixes and spices 2 min. (Mixture will be thick.) Spread over cream cheese layer.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until firm. Serve topped with remaining COOL WHIP.

Looks yummy. It is in the fridge now, awaiting consumption!

A fun metamorphosis for the holidays and for

Metamorphosis Monday with Between Naps on the Porch

Today’s Lagniappe: Some Ideas

I made the Double Layer Pumpkin Pie with sugar free Cool Whip and sugar free Kraft Instant Pudding Mix. I also substituted Splenda for the sugar. If I had a sugar free graham cracker crust, this recipe would have been completely sugar free! By the way, it was delicious without the sugar so I can have a second helping without so much guilt 🙂

By the way, the recipe says prep time is 20 minutes. I did it in less than 10 (and 2 of those were stirring!).

One of my favorite holiday foods is a delicious ham. Ham is really good for most any holiday, from Christmas to the 4th of July, just change up the sides and you have yourself a celebration!

The pretty pink color of the beautifully baked ham makes a great centerpiece for any table or buffet. So, how would you go about cooking this perfect ham? I like this recipe that uses orange marmalade.

A 6 to 7 pound cooked ham with the bone in
1/2 cup of orange marmalade
2 tablespoons of honey mustard
Whole cloves

*Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
*Line a 13 by 9 inch pan with foil and put in a small rack.
*Cut away the tough rind on the ham leaving at least 1/4 inch of the fat  (This helps keep the meat from drying out as it cooks).
*Score the top and the sides in a diamond pattern (Alton Brown suggest using a utility knife to do this job. A paring knife will work as well.)
*Add a clove in the center area of each diamond
*Place ham in the dish with the diamond cut side up
*Stir together the marmalade and honey mustard in a small bowel
*Brush the ham with 1/2 of the glaze

*Bake for 1 hour and then brush with the rest of the glazeCook for 30 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer registers 140 degrees
*Place ham on a cutting board or serving platter and allow it to rest 20 minutes before carving

I’ll have to say, the marmalade treatment really makes me think of Winter and Spring holidays more than the Summer-y ones. What is your favorite way to bake a ham?

Be sure to join me on Monday to join a great give-away for the holidays!

Happy Pink Saturday!

Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound

Wednesday, November 10th is the 235th birthday of the United States Marine Corp! Thursday, November, 11th is Veteran’s Day! What a great time for celebration!! So it is a beautiful Fall day here. Think it is a good time to set something up outside.

Just a little red, white and blue to salute our Veterans and The Few, The Proud, The Marines! Happy TT with Susan at Between Naps on the Porch

Be sure to check out A Southern Life early next week. We will be having a fun give-away for your holiday baking!

It’s also that time of year again for the Soldier’s Angels Valour IT project. Please check it out and give as generously as you can.

Today’s Lagniappe:  Corn and Butternut Squash Soup

* 12 bacon strips, diced
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 celery rib, chopped
* 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces)  chicken broth
* 6 cups  cooked butternut squash, mashed
* 2 cans (8-3/4 ounces each) cream-style corn
* 2 cups half-and-half cream
* 1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
* 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
* 1/2 teaspoon pepper
* Sour cream
In a large saucepan, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Remove to paper towels; drain, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings. In the drippings, saute onion and celery until tender. Stir in flour until blended. Gradually stir in broth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Reduce heat to medium. Stir in the squash, corn, cream, parsley, salt, pepper and bacon. Cook and stir until heated through. Garnish with sour cream . Yield: 8 servings.

Oh, it is good to be back. Can’t tell you all how much I have missed blog-land while our business has been soooo busy. It is really good to have a busy business, but I really like it when we are busy and I still have time to spend with my blog friends!

One of our friends and neighbors recently passed away. I’ll tell you more about he and his wife soon. Anyway, as you know, in the South, the requirement when someone dies is to BRING FOOD!!!

Somehow, there is great comfort in the rituals of celebration, whether they be birth, wedding or funeral. It’s good to fall back on tradition to get through all of these times. I know our neighbor’s wife will have some tough times ahead, please keep her in your prayers.

In the meantime, my contribution to the celebration of life was an Autumn Fruit Salad.

To make the salad, I took a few liberties with the recipe that I found at All Recipes. Here is my recipe:

* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup flour
*1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
*1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1 1/2 cups apple cider
* 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 cups cubed unpeeled apples
* 2 cups halved seedless red grapes
*1 small can mandarin orange slices
* 1 cup walnut halves

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and flour. Stir in water; bring to a boil. Cook and boil until mixture thickens. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, combine apples, grapes, orange slices and walnuts. Add the dressing and toss gently. Refrigerate until serving.

Keep an eye on that dressing. It thickens quickly. I would have added raisins if I had them. Of course, you can add whatever (3 or more) fruits you like. See the original recipe in today’s lagniappe.

What is your tradition to get you through life’s rough patches?

Today’s Lagniappe: Autumn Salad (the original recipe)

* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups water
* 1 teaspoon butter or margarine
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 6 cups cubed unpeeled apples
* 2 cups halved seedless red grapes
* 1 cup diced celery
* 1 cup walnut halves

Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and flour. Stir in water; bring to a boil. Cook and boil until mixture thickens. Remove from the heat; stir in butter and vanilla. Cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, combine apples, grapes, celery and walnuts. Add the dressing and toss gently. Refrigerate until serving.

Balancing Beauty and Bedlam’s Tasty Tuesday

Blessed with Grace’s Tempt My Tummy Tuesday

The Gypsy’s Corner’s Three or More

You know the old saying . . .

Red sky at night, sailor’s delight

We have had plenty of red evening skies around here. I love the warm fall days with the bright blue skies and sunshine. However, we really could use some rain.

Maybe a nice rain where we could bring out some snazzy pink rain boots!

Actually, what would be perfect is for the rain to start after it gets dark and then have a good steady rain all night long and then all of the clouds clear out in the morning. Hey, I may as well want it all, huh?

Happy Pink Saturday!

Pink Saturday with Beverly at How Sweet the Sound