The Freshman Cook: It's That Time of Year!!

I know. I should hang my head in shame. To even bring up the fact of the holidays coming up in a few months is horrible. To admit that I have honestly put some thought into them. Well. I should live in the moment and all that stuff.  But,I can’t. I am a planner. I have to know what I am doing. I am not a fly by the seat of your pants type of person. I have tried this. I does not work for me. It has had very, very bad results.  So, here I am. Planning, (just a little) for the holidays. Here’s what I do: During the holidays, (by which I mean Halloween through New Years) I bake a lot. I seem to become possessed by the spirit, and everyone I know must have something baked by me! I can’t explain. Then there is my husband. He doesn’t admit anything like this, but I can not count how many times he has said to me, “Can you make up a basket of cookies for (insert the many names here)?” This is usually done with little to no notice.( Meaning he is walking out the door in the next three minutes, and wants the goodies with him) He is not a planner. But the last few years I have wised up. I start stockpiling baskets, tins, trays, plates, ribbons, boxes, cello paper and anything else that is cute and holidayish(yes, it’s a word, it’s just new). I only pick up things that I think are a good deal, or when I have a coupon, like at Michaels or Hobby Lobby. So anyway, this is what I have so far this year. It’s not much yet. But I will let you know when I find a good deal I think you might be interested in.

 These colors are perfect for fall. They were at Walmart

discounted to 75 cents. A tray of cookies will look 

great on these.

This black tray and the black bowl and orange trays

are perfect for Halloween parties or gifts. The tray and the 

bowl were a little high ($1.99 each at Target) but I think they

are probably more usable for party service than gifts.

I seem to have a hard time finding black when I need it,

so I scooped it up. But, a bunch of Halloween pumpkin 

cookies would look great on the black tray! I can see the 

orange tray being used for black cauldron cookies,

or maybe green frankensteins.

 I also bought some red and green trays for Christmas

when I was at Walmart. I wanted more, but they were out.

I bought this pack of 4 plates at Walmart for 75 cents.

These will make great bases for smaller Christmas

plates of cookies or breads.

I love these 2 buckets I got at the Dollar store.

They are light weight and will be perfect for little gift baskets.

Although I love baskets, I mail a lot of things, and the handle 

on the baskets just makes it too difficult for mailing.

Isn’t this tray cute? I got this at Big Lots for $5.00.

Last year for the SuperBowl, I made an entire tray of

chocolate covered strawberries decorated like footballs.

This would have been the perfect way to display them.

So there you have it.

I will let you know when I have more deals that you can get.

See you later for our Menu and grocery list for next week.

Thanks for joining me.