Is anybody getting into the holiday spirit yet?
I feel like 2020 has gone on forever. So much of this year has been filled with sadness, fear, confusion, uncertainty, despair and hopelessness. Wow! When I put it that way… 😂 I give myself and anybody else that needs it, permission. Permission to start planning for the happiest season of all, Christmas!
I have already started my planning! I feel like because this year is going to be so different, without Christmas concerts, craft markets, and a visit to Santa, I have to do something to make it special for the Girls. I thought of maybe the same type of thing we do during the summer, a calendar filled with bucket list activities except this time festive fun activities for the holiday!
That’s why this year we are planning on having 2 Christmas trees! I have always wanted to adventure into a snowy forest to cut down our very own tree! Of course I will make sure we head to an area where cutting down trees is allowed! Then I thought, we need decorations to decorate our real tree! As we are already having to buy brand new bulbs and Christmas decorations for our new home, buying more seemed ridiculous so I found some adorable craft ideas and thought we could string some popcorn and make it a real homemade Christmas tree! I also added learning about other holiday traditions, donating to the Food Bank, donating toys to the Toy Drive, having a bonfire on the beach, a game day, making hot chocolate, watching Christmas movies, building a gingerbread house, baking, and of course family selfies!
Planning for a month of holiday fun takes a little bit of work but I think in the long run despite having our regular holiday activities being canceled, this one will be very memorable!
I have some fun blog posts coming up! Little sneak peek into the next few weeks, I will have a post of just soups! 23 of my favourite soup recipes all in one post! We have both of the Girl’s birthdays coming up and I will have a post about how we are celebrating birthdays during Covid! I will also have a post of all of our Christmas tree ornament crafts and a post on all of our favourite Christmas baking! Of course I will end the year by looking back on 2020 and discussing my hopes and dreams for 2021! I’m really excited to share these posts with you soooo don’t forget to subscribe to HoneyBears and SydneyBeans so you never miss a post and share share share! ❤️
Pineapple Brown Sugar Baked Ham
Adapted from Simply Recipes
6 pound bone-in ham
12 cloves
1 can of pineapple rings in juice
Remove the roasting rack in your roaster. Place 3-4 pineapple rings on the bottom of the roasting pan.
Remove the ham from its packaging and place the ham in the roasting pan. Massage the brown sugar all over the ham, including the cut side. It will turn into a paste as you rub it. If some sugar drops into the roasting pan, scoop it up, and keep rubbing it into the meat.
When finished, set the ham cut side down onto the pineapple rings.
Score the ham 1/4-inch deep in a diamond pattern. Return it to the roasting pan, putting the cut side down onto the pineapple rings.
Pour the juice from the can of pineapple into the bottom of the pan. Don’t pour the juice over the ham because it will wash off the brown sugar.
Cover the ham with aluminum foil, secure it around the roaster, and put it in the fridge overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
Remove the ham from the refrigerator. Open the foil and spoon pan juices over the ham. Lay pineapple rings across the ham so they touch each other, and secure them with wooden toothpicks if necessary. Push the cloves into the corners of the diamonds all over the ham.
Cover with foil. Make sure to seal the foil tightly around the edges of the roasting pan. Bake at 325°F for 15 to 18 minutes per pound of meat. (Roughly 1 1/2 hours for a 6-pound ham.)
Rest the ham before serving: Let the ham rest, covered, for 15 minutes before slicing.
Melting Potatoes
Adapted from The Midnight Baker
3-4 large russet potatoes (I used small russets)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Kosher salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat (I used a 12-inch cast iron skillet).
Peel the potatoes; cut off the round ends. Slice potatoes into 1-inch thick slices. Pat potatoes dry with a paper towel.
Add the oil and 4 tbs of the butter to the hot skillet. Sprinkle potatoes with a pinch of kosher salt and some coarse pepper.
Place the potatoes in the skillet and sear for about 4 minutes, or until they are a nice golden brown. Turn the potatoes and remove from the heat.
Cut the remaining butter into cubes; set aside.
Pour in the chicken stock in the pan. Add the thyme and the garlic. Top the potatoes with the cubed butter.
Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender. Spoon sauce over potatoes.
Adapted from Natasha’s Kitchen
2 1/2 cups flour plus more to dust
1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup
6-7 tablespoons ice water
Place flour, sugar and salt into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to combine.
Add cold diced butter and pulse the mixture until coarse crumbs form with some pea-sized pieces then stop mixing. Mixture should remain dry and powdery.
Add 6 tablespoons ice water and pulse just until moist clumps or small balls form. Press a piece of dough between your finger tips and if the dough sticks together, you have added enough water. If not, add more water a teaspoon full at a time. Be careful not to add too much water or the dough will be sticky and difficult to roll out.
Transfer dough to a clean work surface, and gather dough together into a ball (it should not be smooth and DO NOT knead the dough). Divide dough in half and flatten to form 2 disks. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour before using in recipes that call for pie crust.
Apple Pie
1 recipe for double pie crust
6-7 Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored (7 cups thinly sliced)
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Make the pie crust recipe and chill per instructions while preparing the filling. Preheat oven to 425˚F.
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour then simmer for 1 minute, whisking constantly. Whisk in water and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and continue simmering 3 minutes, whisking frequently then remove from heat.
Peel, remove cores and thinly slice 7 cups of apples and place them in a large bowl. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and toss to combine. Pour the sauce over the apples and stir to coat the apple slices.
Sprinkle your work surface with flour and roll out bottom pie crust to a 12″ diameter circle. Wrap it around your rolling pin to transfer it to the 9″ pie plate. Add apple mixture, mounding slightly in the center and being careful not to get the filling on the edges which would make it difficult to seal.
Roll second crust into an 11″ round and cut into 10 even thickness strips using a pizza cutter. Arrange strips in a woven lattice pattern over the top. Beat together 1 egg and 1 tablespoon water and brush the top with egg mixture. (the Girls used the extra dough to cut out cute little flowers)
Bake at 425˚F for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350˚F and continue baking another 45 minutes or until apples are soft and filling is bubbling through the vents. (If browning too much, tent tin foil and place on top of pie) Rest at room temp 1 hour before serving.
