Share Your Favorite Holiday Recipes

My new favorite is a chocolate chip cookie with extra goodies inside.

  The favorite holiday recipe in my family is for my mother's chocolate chip cookies. She only makes them for the holidays, handing out tins to relatives and good friends. They're so good, my sister and I still count to make sure we get an equal number of cookies. The problem is, my mom's recipe is a few twists off the Tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe. And she won't share what her twists are. I've come close to duplicating her cookies, but they still fall short. I'm anticipating seeing my mom this weekend and claiming my tin, but in the meantime I came across a great recipe for chocolate chip cookies that has it's own little twist of added toffee and hazelnut goodness. Enjoy this recipe, which I found on www.foodnetwork.com, and …

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Holiday Foods on the 'Nice' List

Enjoy these snacks during the busy holiday season.

  The following text was provided by the Dana Farber Cancer Institute: The holidays are here and so is all the festive food. Some of it is naughty but much of it can be nice. “When party planning during the holidays, it’s important to have variety,” says Stacy Kennedy, MPH, RD, CSO, LDN, a nutritionist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. “Many of the foods we enjoy around the holidays are not only delicious to eat, but they may also contain cancer-fighting nutrients.” Kennedy says it’s easy to include them in any menu when you know what to look for. Here is a list of foods and recipes from Kennedy and her colleagues that belong on anyone’s “nice list.” Ho-ho hummus Skip those holiday dips that are buried in excess fat and calories. …

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Slow Cooker Recipes for Fall

Make these tasty slow cooker recipes using your favorite fall fruits and vegetables.

  Fall is the time for warm, hearty meals—and what better way to prepare them than by using your slow cooker? Simmer these fall-ingredient (think pumpkins, apples and squash) slow cooker recipes in your pot, and you’ll stay warm into the winter. Apple Crumble Crock-Pot Recipe Ingredients: 4-5 cooking apples, peeled and sliced 1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed 1/2 cup flour  3/4 cup rolled oats 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 4 tablespoons butter, softened Directions: Lightly butter the Crock-Pot and lay the apple slices at the bottom of the pot. Combine the sugar, flour, rolled oats, nutmeg and cinnamon, and cut in the butter. Sprinkle the topping over the base of apples. Cook on low or auto for 3-5 hours. Slow Cooker …

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Thoughtful Eats

Holiday Sparkling Sangria

Put a little sparkle into your holiday celebration.

  December can be a really stressful month! There is so much going on with the holidays; shopping, decorating, wrapping presents, traveling to see family, planning for New Years, while trying to do everything else you normally do as well. Maybe you need a nice tall glass of something to unwind. I’ve got the perfect beverage for that! Try my simple Holiday Sparkling Sangria. It’s potent, festive and flavorful. The ingredient list is very simple and it doesn’t require any fancy ingredients. What makes it perfect for the season is the combination of cinnamon, pear, apple and orange! This recipe makes about 6 glasses of sparkling sangria. You can easily double, triple or quadruple this recipe if you want to serve this for the holidays, whether…

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