A Christmas Morning Tradition

For the last 10 years I've made it a

Christmas morning tradition to bake

cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

I used to use those pre-made rolls

that come in the cans with the

cream cheese frosting.

That all changed a few years ago

when I came across a recipe for

homemade Cinnamon rolls from

https://thestayathomechef.com/best-homemade-cinnamon-rolls-ever

that I could make ahead of time

and bake on Christmas morning.

Hubby loves these homemade

cinnamon rolls so much that

I will never buy the canned

cinnamon rolls again.

Not that there is anything wrong

with the canned rolls, but nothing

compares to the taste of fresh

warm homemade cinnamon rolls.

Nothing!

Hubby says these homemade cinnamon rolls

remind him of those Cinnabon rolls

that you used to be able to buy in the Malls.

I absolutely agree with him on that.

Oh my, these are so delicious

and smell heavenly baking.

Let's make some homemade cinnamon rolls.

Mix your dough and let rise for 1 hour.

After an hour, roll your dough out into a 12 x 18 rectangle shape.

Melt the butter and spread onto the dough.

I use a pastry brush to spread the butter all the way

out to the outer edges.

Add the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

The secret to these tasting so good is

to use brown sugar instead of white granulated sugar.

Roll into a long log.

Cut into 1 inch slices.

Instead of using a knife to cut into slices,

which I think tends to flatten the slices,

I learned this trick a few years ago.

Use unflavored dental floss to slice the dough.

Simply grab a long piece of dental floss and

place under the roll, pull the dental floss up

and around the roll and pull in opposite directions

to slice through the dough. The dental floss will

not stick to the dough.

Perfectly uniform slices.

It is the coolest thing.

Place the slices into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

At this point, you can cover the dish with plastic

wrap and place into the refrigerator to bake the next day.

Since I was going to bake these the same day,

I covered them with a towel to let raise again for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, place into the oven.

Bake until the top is a nice golden brown.

While the rolls are starting to cool,

mix up the cream cheese frosting

and frost the rolls while still warm

in the baking dish.

Serve while still warm.

Of course Hubby and I had to eat one right away.

How could we not?

Hopefully, the remaining rolls will last until

Christmas morning to enjoy warmed up.

Do you have a Christmas morning tradition?

From our home to yours,

Have a Very Merry Christmas.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

A Charcuterie Board

This year we will be celebrating our

family Christmas on December 21st.

I will make our usual big Christmas

feast which we will eat around 1:00 p.m.

There is no way the grandchildren

are going to wait to open presents

until after we eat dinner.

So we shall open presents first.

Since we will be eating our big

feast early in the day everyone

is going to be hungry again later

in the evening.

That's where it's nice to put

together a Charcuterie board

ahead of time to have ready

to snack on when the urge to

eat strikes again.

A what board?

Charcuterie, or as I like to call it,

a Nibble board.

Pronounced SHAHR-KOO-TUH-REE.

Charcuterie is a French word for the preparation

of smoked, dry-cured or cooked meats.

Not only are they gorgeous to look at,

they offer a combination of flavors to savor.

If you are hosting a party and need

a no-fuss, quick and easy snack tray

to put together, charcuterie boards are

the way to go.

Once your guest spot this spread

I guarantee they will hover over this

board and devour it until everything is gone.

Not that I'm guilty of doing that,

I'm just saying.

I put one together and took step-by step

photos to show you how easy it is to

create a Charcuterie board.

First up, you will need a vessel to place

all your nibbles on to.
It can be a large platter, plate, baking tray,
cutting boards or whatever you have on
hand to corral all your nibbles on, plus
it can be any shape you want it to be.
Let your imagination run wild.

I'm using this large cutting board.

Step 1.

Add a few bowls or jars for condiments.

Step 2.

Add a variety of cheeses, cut into different shapes.

Step 3.

Add a variety of cooked and cured meats.

There is no rhyme or reason on how I place

everything on the board. Don't be afraid to

re-arrange, or add to the board as you go along.

You want to fill that vessel up.

Step 4.

Add a variety of breads or crackers,

or the combination of both.

I used crackers and pretzel crisps for this board.

Step 5.

Add a mixture of fruits.

Step 6.

Add a mixture of nuts, pickles, relish, olives, or dips.

To add a little pop of color, I added a few cherry tomatoes.

Step 7.

Add garnish in the form of fresh herbs and lettuces, such as,

Rosemary, Arugula, or red or green leaf lettuces.

Don't forget to add the garnish.

These are what make your boards come to life.

All four sides are gorgeous and draw you in for a few nibbles.

Don't you want to just dig into this Charcuterie board?

The only prepping I had to do was

cut the cheese (no pun intended)

and the summer sausage,

and wash the fruits and cherry tomatoes.

Super simple.

There is no right or wrong way of putting these boards together.

Here is a list of what I placed on my board.

Cheeses:

Smoked Gouda

Sharp Cheddar

Pepperjack

Vermont Seriously Sharp Cheddar

Meats:

Pepperoni

Genoa Salami

Smoked Turkey Breast

Summer Sausage

Crackers:

Breton Multigrain

Club Original Buttery Flavor

Garlic Parmesan Pretzel Crisps

Ritz crackers

Fruits:

Red Grapes

Blueberries

Vegetables:

Super Sweet Cherry Tomatoes

Condiments:

Spanish Queen Olives

Sweet Gherkins

Mixed Nuts

Garnish:

Fresh Rosemary

I hope you enjoyed my little step-by-step

tutorial to see how easy these showstopper

boards are to put together.

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica

Warm and Cozy Potted Poinsettia

As I was decking the halls
for Christmas Hubby surprised
me by bringing home a
potted poinsettia from the
grocery store. We haven't
been able to have a real poinsettia
for quite a few years due to having
a cat in the house. Now that we are
a pet free house it's nice to have a
real poinsettia this time of year.
Although I loved the poinsettia
I wasn't crazy about the paper that
they wrap around the pot, but if I
removed the paper I was left with
an ugly green plastic pot.
Not the look I was going for.
I forgot to take a picture of our
potted poinsettia but this image
gives you an idea of what I am talking about.

I dug through my decorative ceramic pots
but just didn't have one big enough to transplant
the poinsettia into, and I didn't want to have to
buy a new one.

Now what was I going to do?

I started thinking about what I have that I could use
to cover the ugly green plastic pot with.

It finally came to me.

I always have a stash of yarn sitting around.
I would knit a warm and cozy sleeve
to slip over the ugly green pot.

It was the perfect solution.

It fits right in with everything else in the display.

Our warm and cozy festive kitchen display is now complete.

That's it for this week.
Until Next Time,
Veronica

Our Christmas Tree Tour

I finally got around to taking

pictures of our Christmas tree.

The presents are wrapped,

and bows have been tied.

Each year everyone gets a new ornament which I

attach to one of their presents.

It feels so good to have the tree and presents done.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.

How about you?

Are you ready for Christmas?

That's it for this week.

Until Next Time,

Veronica