cinnamon & ginger

ahh, the smell of Christmas! 

Yes, it's nearly here, only 10 more sleeps until Jesus' birthday!  I love cinnamon and ginger, baking cakes, cookies, gingerbread... filling the home with their beautiful warm fragrance... ahhh... yes, I have just baked some mini carrot cakes.  It the church's leaders & volunteers end of year function tonight, bring your own dessert is the "theme" lol.  And although I'm not attending, Big M is, so I've baked some gorgeous carrot cakes, and will ice them with cream cheese frosting, so yummy.

Thinking of food, how crazy can we get this time of year?  Christmas Day ends up becoming one looooooooong feast, eating with this family, eating with that family, over this house to see those friends etc.  And how expensive is it?!  We love our family, and we want to put on the absolute best meal for them, but why does it end up costing so much?  We always over eat, then feel "eaters remorse" afterwards.  Solution?  A budget friendly, tummy blessing meal!  Although I am blessed enough this year to not have to cook for the whole family, I do have a few little recipes up my sleeve which I'm happy to share with you all, if it should help stretch that dollar further this Christmas.

Entrees?  H'ors doeuvres?  Is that even how to spell them?  Honestly, we're not in France, we're Aussies... if we can't spell it, we don't need it!  More often than not, our Christmas day Down Under is hot hot hot!  For pre-dinner/lunch nibblies I usually serve a bowl of nuts, a bowl of soy crisps (or you can get them in the same bag at Coles - their lime ones are so good!) and a bowl of Christmas m&m's (this keeps the kids happy lol).   Ok, I'm not too fancy, sorry, I'd love to have amazingly beautiful foods spread across the table, but in reality we don't need it, and it all costs $$$.  So yes, nuts, soy crisps and a little something sweet to tide us over until the meal is finally cooked.

The main event?  Well a few years ago I had a budget shortage, and in the end, totally loved everything I made on the day... plus I felt good after eating it!  We had: roast lamb (about 1.5kg off the bone - obviously the most expensive part of the meal), chipolatas wrapped in bacon, roasted garlic potatoes, honey mustard roasted parsnips, bacon blessed brussel sprouts, bread rolls and gravy (made from pan juices of course!).  This managed to feed 7 adults and 2 toddlers, all for around $70 (including pre dinner snacks).

Blissful endings... I can't actually remember what we had for dessert that year... sometimes I make Nigella's  Black Forest Trifle, it's absolutely divine, and looks amazing.  Sometimes my mother in law will just serve meringues with fruit & whipped cream and then later on have the steamed pudding with custard... *drools*... lets face it, we all want something super yummy for dessert, but if you just have a little, you'll feel great & still enjoy the decadence of the day.  It's the overloading of the bowl we need to watch out for!

Looking for a special drink idea, something a little fancy, not too much fuss, and non alcoholic?  I love getting two long carafes (1.5L each) and pouring in each 500ml cranberry juice, 630ml sparkling water (cheapo brand of course), 2 Tbs caster sugar and adding sliced lime & ice cubes (crushed would be better, but we don't have one of those fancy schmancy fridges)... it's delish!  So refreshing, the kids think they're having a super treat, and you know what's actually gone in it!

I think the most important thing we need to consider when catering for Christmas is think of our family and what they really need.  Don't go over the top with loads of rich, buttery, oily foods.  Make your meal with love, time and purpose.  They're the most memorable... especially the meals where you've made them with a little too much love & time and they come out a little dry or charcoalled lol, they're the meals that'll be remembered!