Video: 3 Things to Do with Holiday Leftovers

 

Recipes:

・Biscuit Board

・Jalapeno Cranberry Relish

・Turkey Salad Sandwiches

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I you live in an EasyBins delivery area, shop the ingredients:

・Turkey Salad

・Jalapeno Cranberry Relish

・Biscuit Board

・Use code MARLA5 at checkout for $5 off your EasyBins order.

・Get $10 off your first order with this link: http://easybins.refr.cc/marlastanton

Turkey Salad Sandwiches

I recently discovered turkey salad when a friend brought me some as a gift. Isn’t food always a great gift? It might be exaggerating to say it was life-changing, but I’ll say it anyway. It was life changing. If you find turkey bland and boring but still find it necessary to serve for the holidays, turkey salad is the answer to your leftover woes. We’re going to add white and dark meat to a food processor and pulse until it becomes finely shredded. Then we’ll stir in boiled eggs, mayonnaise, dill pickle relish, garlic powder, and salt. Spread it on whatever leftover bread or rolls you have or serve it as a dip with crackers. Top it with jalapeño cranberry relish if you want to punch up the flavor. And I won’t judge if you go hide in your room to eat it so you don’t have to share it with anyone else. It’ll be our little secret.

Turkey Salad Ingredients

Croissants

Butter Crackers (Ritz, Club, or Townhouse)

Butter Lettuce or Living Lettuce, optional

Turkey

Mayo

Dill Pickle Relish

Liquid Smoke

Eggs

Garlic Powder

Turkey Salad Recipe

4 Cups of Turkey

1 cup of Mayonnaise 

9 Tablespoons of Dill Pickle Relish

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder

Liquid Smoke to taste (* see recipe notes, optional)

1. Shred 4 cups of turkey. A food processor works great for this. I recommend blending to a pate consistency, but blend/chop to your desired consistency.
2. Chop 2 hard boiled eggs.
3. Combine 1 cup of mayo, 9 tablespoons of dill pickle relish, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of garlic powder, and liquid smoke to taste* (optional, see note).
4. Add the relish mixture to the turkey and eggs and stir until the turkey is evenly coated.
5. You can serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.
6. Spread on bread with lettuce, or serve as a dip with butter crackers.

*Note: If your turkey was smoked, you don’t need to add liquid smoke. If your turkey was roasted or fried, you may want to add the liquid smoke to amp up the flavor. How your turkey is cooked will affect how your turkey salad tastes. Each method of brining, seasoning, and cooking will give a unique flavor! I like using both dark and white meat to get the most flavor.

Biscuit Board

Maybe you have guests staying over for the holidays, and you need to have breakfast planned. Grab the leftover ham and turkey and make an eye-catching biscuit board. There’s almost nothing better than homemade biscuits, but we’re using frozen biscuits. Who wants to do more complicated cooking the day after a big feast? No one. Bring out sweet and savory toppings like butter, honey, cream cheese, cheese slices, whatever sounds like the perfect breakfast sandwich to you. You can add fruit and nuts to add visual interest and to snack on as you assemble your biscuit sandwiches. This is the time to pull out that charcuterie board and let everyone gather around and graze. If you don’t have a board, use plates or even a cookie sheet. But don’t stress about presentation. It’s all about how the food tastes anyway. 

Ingredients You May Want to Grab

Pillsbury Frozen Biscuits

Cheese Tray (Cracker Barrel or Great Value)

Cream Cheese Spread

Honey

Butter

Fruit (pears, grapes, bananas, apples)

Mixed Nuts

Turkey

Ham

Jalapeno Cranberry Relish

Note: I originally posted this recipe a few years ago, but the recipe was "a little of this" and "a little of that." I've finally taken the time to measure out what I do so that you can exactly replicate how I make it!

Every year I make a jalapeño cranberry relish for our holiday meals, but it’s really the star of the show when it comes to leftovers. It’s so easy to make, but it makes a big flavor punch. Slice a croissant and butter and toast it. Top it with turkey or ham and a dollop of jalapeño cranberry relish. Add cream cheese, toasted brie, or your favorite cheese slice, and you’ve just made a bistro-worthy sandwich. The relish also makes a great appetizer when served on top of room temperature cream cheese or toasted brie.

Ingredients

12 oz. of Cranberries (about 4 cups)

1 Jalapeño, seeds removed

2 cups of Fresh Cilantro 

1/2 Cup of Sugar (*see recipe note)

3 Teaspoons of Lime Juice (could also use lemon juice or a combination of the two)

1/2 Teaspoon of Salt

1. Wash and dry the cranberries, jalapeño, and cilantro.
2. Cut open your jalapeño and remove the stem and seeds. If you want to have less spice, use only half of the jalapeño. Leave the seeds if you want a really spicy relish.
3. Remove the cilantro leaves from the stems. Discard the stems.
4. Put 4 cups of cranberries, one jalapeño, 2 cups of cilantro, 1/2 cup of sugar*, 3 teaspoons of lime juice, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a food processor. Pulse until you get your desired consistency.
5. Pour the relish into a bowl, and stir to evenly combine all the ingredients.
6. Cover and store it in the refrigerator overnight to let the flavors blend and develop.
7. Serve as a side or use it to dress sandwiches. You can also pour it on top of a block of cream cheese or on top of warm brie to serve as an appetizer.

*Note: This is a tart relish that is meant to complement sweet ham, creamy cheeses, and savory turkey or steak. If you want a sweeter relish, use 1 cup of sugar.

How the Lineage of Jesus Applies to You

If you see a genealogy list in the Bible and think, “I can just skip over this”— DON’T!

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The first chapter of Matthew starts with the genealogy of Jesus. Boring way to start, right? Wrong!

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We first see that Jesus is from the line of David and Abraham— just as the Old Testament prophets foretold.

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We close the genealogy by seeing the importance of Joseph being his earthy father. That’s how Jesus comes from the promised line.

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We see men throughout this genealogy, godly men and evil men. God uses even the evil to complete his plan.

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Let’s talk about the women, though. This is some real shouting ground for not only women but all mankind for how we can be used by God.

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We read about Tamar in Genesis 38. Tamar’s story is one of heartbreak, full of evil, deceit, and broken promises. None of those things can thwart God’s plan. Through everything that happened to Tamar and even the deceit she committed, God showed grace and continued the line through her.

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Rahab’s story is told in Joshua 2. She was a prostitute who came to have faith in God. God can use anyone, no matter their past or current situation.

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Ruth gets her own book of the Bible! Despite being a widow, living in poverty, and going to a distant land, she has faith and is greatly blessed because of it. She is the great-grandmother of King David.

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Who is Uriah’s wife that we see in the genealogy? That’s Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12). Even in the genealogy list we’re reminded of the sin of David, the adultery and murder. Bathsheba becomes his wife, but she’s listed as her first husband’s wife in the list. God forgave David and later blessed him and Bathsheba with a son that would become king.

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Bathsheba is the only one of the women above that was Jewish. Tamar, Rahab, and Ruth were from other nations, nations that practiced idolatry. God can use you no matter your background. Don’t use your background as an excuse to keep from being faithful to God.

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God sees women. God uses women. God gives us grace beyond anything we deserve or can imagine.

Christmas Sugar Cookie Recipe

→→→ SUGAR COOKIE RECIPE ←←←

I have made this exact recipe over and over.  It's the best!  Here's what I did wrong this time around, though-- I used margarine.  Always use butter!  I only had a little butter left and needed to save it for cooking dinner.  I had just the right amount of margarine, so I thought it would be an even swap.  Nope.  These cookies are still good, but they're not the same.  They're not as dense or chewy and didn't hold their shape quite as well.

You definitely need to make these cookies-- just please use butter!

I used Wilton sprinkles and Betty Crocker cookie icing.  Easy!  If you're looking for intricate frosting designs like all those Facebook videos, you'll have to look elsewhere.  I wish I had the talent.  All that matters is taste, right? 😉

 

The dark brown cookies on the top rack are a Paleo experiment.

I'm still working on perfecting the recipe/ingredient swaps. 😄

Sugar cookies are a fun holiday tradition.  Harlow decorated some later that night...when she wasn't busy eating the icing off the spoon.

I hope you and your family have a Merry Christmas!

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Embroidered Burlap Pillows for Christmas & Winter

Winter is on the way, and Christmas is coming!  I embroidered burlap, and my mom made them into pillows for us to sell at a local store.  Yay for burlap year-round!

Links to the embroidery designs are below.

Nativity from Lynnie Pinnie (adapted a bit)

Tree from the files folder Lynnie Pinnie's Facebook group

Mason Jar from Daily Embroidery

I can't remember where I got this snowflake file...sorry!

Embroidered Christmas Ornament

I know, I know.  Christmas is over.  We won't discuss whether or not I still have a tree up.  Here's a little Christmas craft that fell in between the blogging cracks.

One thing Colin and I do each year is buy an ornament to celebrate one more Christmas together.  We find an ornament we both like and write the year on it.

This year I made our yearly ornament with my embroidery machine.

The nativity design is from Lynne Pinnie.  I embroidered it on muslin.  Then I embroidered Christmas 2015 on another piece of muslin.  I left the tear-away backing on each piece to keep it stiff. I cut the pieces into an oval and stitched them together on my sewing machine, sewing in a piece of yarn to hang it.

Thanks for excusing my late Christmas craft.  Maybe it will give someone an idea for next year. :)

Delicious, Simple Sugar Cookies

What is it about Christmas that makes you want to make sugar cookies?  Is it the icing or fun cookie cutters?  When did the sugar cookie become THE cookie for Christmas?

I may never have the answer to that life question, but I'm fine with it!  Maybe because sugar cookies are fun to decorate and beg for children to get involved.  Or maybe Santa sent out a memo declaring it as his favorite cookie.  Who knows?  Who cares?  Let's get on with the cookies...

I found the perfect sugar cookie recipe from Life, Love & Sugar.  Make this cookie exactly as the woman tells you.  You won't regret it.  It's slightly soft, slightly sweet, and holds it shape.

I used a moose cookie cutter (because all other Christmas cutters were hiding) and got 16 moose cookies and one round cookie. [You'll notice in a later picture there is one less moose cookie.  It needed to be consumed for quality control.]

My childhood nickname was Marla Moose, so I collected moose items from childhood through teenage years.  This moose cookie cutter was a gift and has been around for awhile.  I use it as a tree ornament, so I just had to grab it off the tree and wash it off to start making my cookies.

I used store bought chocolate icing and homemade strawberry icing.  Then added some sprinkles!

I only put a dab of chocolate icing on most of the cookies, because the cookie itself is really the star of the show.  It has such a great shape and great taste, and I didn't want the chocolate icing to overpower the cookie.

After I took a bite of the strawberry iced cookie, I decided that was the real winner.  The super sweet strawberry icing with the sugar cookie is a perfect combination.  I may have to dip the moose antlers in strawberry icing.  And their legs.  And their tails.  And my finger.

 

I'm putting some aside for my neighbor and for my family that's coming for Christmas, but Santa will have to find cookies at another house.  Sorry, Santa!

Christmas Gift Name Tag Ideas

If you have some last minutes gift wrapping to do and need ideas for unique name tags, here are two ideas to try out!

Let's start with the easiest first...

PHOTOS!

Everyone loves getting photos.  Pick one or two (or more!) photos of the gift recipient, and stick it on the gift.  No need to even write his/her name!

I ordered these square prints from Parabo (***$5 credit at the end of the blog post!), but since you don't have a lot of time to order photos, I suggest printing them out on cardstock at home or ordering one hour photos from Walgreens, Target, etc.  You could even order cardstock prints from Staples or another office supply store.  These are just fun little pictures to stick on the fridge or a bulletin board.

Second idea:

ORNAMENTS!

I made these ornaments on my embroidery machine, but you could make ornaments out of ANYTHING!  Decorate glass ornaments, have your kids watercolor on paper and then cut snowflake shapes, make cookies for each person and stick it in a plastic bag with their name on in it...the possibilities are endless!

How I did it: I embroidered on felt and used a tear-away backing.  I left the backing on and cut around the designs.  The backing helped maintain some stiffness and shape.  I glued ribbon on the back to make a hoop to hang the designs as ornaments.

I think there's something fun about personalizing gift wrapping for each person.  It doesn't have to be complicated or expensive.  Get creative!

***For $5 off your Parabo order, use code RIOYDB

Embroidered Christmas Outfits for Harlow

We're busy enjoying December over here!  Our Christmas shopping is done, but presents still need to be wrapped.  The house is decorated, and Harlow has some outfits to celebrate the season!

We found this Christmas elf at Lowe's the other night.  She was quite taken with the nutcracker inflatable...and every other inflatable we had to walk up to and visit.

I embroidered two Christmas shirts for her from lynniepinnie.com.  I love the designs from that site, and they have great sales!

If you've ever read any of my other embroidery posts, then you know I like to embroider the designs not directly on the onesie.  Since these are for my daughter and she won't fit in these onesies next year, I like to have the ability to use a seam ripper to remove the design and sew it onto another shirt.  And that means I can reuse the onesie if we ever have another kid.  Frugality for the win!

After embroidering the pattern, I hand stitched them onto a piece of fabric and then used my sewing machine to sew that fabric on the onesie.

When I took these pics, the shirts hadn't been washed since being embroidered.  I like that when they are washed, the plaid frays a bit around the edges.  I stitch them so it will leave room for some fraying.  I'm wild like that.

It was hard for me to only make two shirts for her.  There are so many cute Christmas designs!

You can find the designs here:

Happy Reindeer with Lights

Reindeer Slippers

Christmas Ornament Necklaces

Yes, I realize that I'm talking about Christmas ornaments in May.  I really should have blogged about this in January when Christmas ornaments were on clearance.  But I didn't.  So I slap myself on the hand.  Ok, done and moving on...

I bought some really neat heart (Christmas) ornaments at the beginning of the year when a store was clearing out its holiday merchandise.  The ornaments were so pretty and had a great vintage feel.  They were too great to enjoy for only one month out of the year.  So they became necklaces!  I put them on a chain and voila!

While it's probably difficult to find Christmas ornaments right now, maybe you can easily access some you already have that would make great jewelry!

My Christmas Tree(s) & Mantle

Later today I'll announce the final giveaway of the week.  I'm having to wrap up a few things before the reveal.  Until then, go enter the other giveaways and take a peek into my home :).

Day 1 Giveaway

Day 2 Giveaway

Day 3 Giveaway

Day 4 Giveaway

Welcome to Christmas at my house!

I have a new Christmas doormat now that's much cleaner and cuter than that old one.  I got it at Hancock Fabrics.  Mesh ribbon is from Hobby Lobby.  Set of trees (left) from Walmart.  Snowman from Big Lots.  Lighted porch tree from Ace Hardware.  Reindeer wreath hanger from Big Lots.  Lighted garland from Walmart.  Wreath from Target (last year).

Wreath from Michael's.  Ribbon from Walmart.  Hanging on 3M strips.

Mr. Snowman from Hobby Lobby.  I have a Christmas flag with our last initial on it on the other side of the steps (it wasn't up yet when I took these pictures!).

There's all kinds of stuff going on here from all kinds of places from several years!

This is the ornament Colin used to propose to me two years ago!

Easy Christmas decorating: put balls in glass containers you use year round.  As I was writing this blog, I saw these all over the Today Show set!  The elf candlestick holder is from CB2.

Our college alum colors are purple and gray.  So, we had to get this tree!  Everything on it is purple and white.  And there are some football ornaments mixed in.  The big purple light bulb is from Target, and the glittery stuff coming out the top of the tree is from Walmart.  I used a college blanket for a tree skirt.  We even strung purple and silver lights on it.

This is our new 9 ft tree!  It's actually passed down from Colin's uncle, but it looks brand new, and we love it!  We have 12 ft ceilings, so we needed a tall tree, but I needed it to be slim.  Ignore that ladder in the corner...we needed it to get to the top of the tree!  This tree has ornaments we have collected since we got engaged (3 Christmases together!) and fun ones we've picked up along the way.

This was my first tree as an "adult".  I had it in my first house as a single gal.  I didn't have a lot of room for a tree, so I got this one, and it sat up on a piano bench.  Now it's our snowman tree.  It has adorable "kiddy" ornaments on it.

My mom gave me her gingerbread house village when I had my first house.

You have to drink egg nog when you're decorating!  I found this Holiday Nog which is actually 2% milk flavored like egg nog.  So it's a little less guilty, but I promise you can't taste the difference!  The problem is it doesn't stay on the shelves.  I got this at Target, and it was the last one.  It's that good!

Have you posted pictures of your Christmas decor?  Leave a comment to the link so I can see!