Gooseberry Patch Quick & Easy Christmas – Review & Giveaway

 Christmas, cookbook, easy recipes, Giveaways, gooseberry patch, quick recipes, Recipes, Reviews  5 Responses »
Oct 262011
 
I received my first Gooseberry Patch book from my grandmother when I was in high school.  It was about planning and decorating for Christmas, recipes and gift ideas and the style it was written in was very engaging.  Combining a number of my favorite things made it a sure-fire hit with me and from that day on I was hooked.

Gooseberry Patch was started back in 1984 by Delaware, Ohio, neighbors Vickie and Jo Ann.  They both had young kids and were looking for a way to do something they loved that allowed them to stay home with the kids and as they both shared a love of home cooking and making memories they created the idea of Gooseberry Patch.  What started as a catalog turned into their first cookbook in 1992 and they haven’t stopped  since.

One of their newest cookbooks is Quick & Easy Christmas.  It has over 220 “Christmas-y” recipes, most of which are in 30 minutes or less.  A feature of the recipes that I love is that they’re all submitted by Gooseberry Patch fans and readers so you are getting many time-tested, family-approved dishes to try.

The book also contains simple decorating and gift ideas, tips and tricks, and holiday quotes.  There is one at the bottom of nearly every page; at 218 pages that’s a lot of bonuses!  I also adore the country Christmas sketches and images that adorn most pages.  It really gets you into the Christmas spirit!  The last neat feature is a US to Canadian measurement conversion in the back of the book which I’m guessing could be quite handy!

For more information on Gooseberry Patch – and notices about fund-raising opportunities, sales, contests, free recipes and more – you can find them on Facebook, watch them on YouTube and follow them on Twitter.

You can purchase a copy of Quick & Easy Christmas for yourself on Amazon for $11.41 (or $9.99 on the Kindle) – or you can win one below!  Just enter on the Rafflecopter form with as many or as few options as you would like.  Reminder: Rafflecopter sometimes takes a moment to load; if it hasn’t loaded after a minute, please try refreshing your browser.

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I received a copy of the cookbook for purposes of facilitating the review. All opinions are 100% that of myself and my family.

Christmas Recipes: 4 Tasty Desserts

 Christmas, Recipes  2 Responses »
Dec 142010
 

Christmas Recipes: Treats to Give or Keep

Christmas Recipes: Chocolate-Dipped Coconut Macaroons

My grandmother is a world-class baker and chef.  At least that’s what all her family and friends think!  She loves to cook and bake and loves to share it with others even more.  Every weekend when I was growing up, she would bake bread and then drive around delivering loaves and rolls to neighbors, family, friends and others.  At Christmastime, she always baked a huge variety of Christmas cookies, and then put together a “sampler” of each and took them around to everyone.  It’s a tradition I loved (and also looked forward to – her candy cane cookies are awesome!).

So last year I decided now that I live in Kentucky, to continue the tradition myself with our friends and family that live around here.  This past Friday and over the weekend, I did my baking, and then we made deliveries.  I chose to make Peanut Butter Buckeye Balls, Chocolate Pecan Fudge, Coconut Macaroons, Hello Dolly Bars (also called Magic Bars), and Chocolate Pudding Cookies with White Chocolate Chips and my grandmother’s Candy Cane Cookies.  Here are some of  the recipes that I used – you might decide to make a few yourself this year!

Chocolate Pecan Fudge

1 1/2 C sugar
2/3 C evaporated milk
2 T butter
1/4 tsp. salt
2 C mini marshmallows
1 1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate bits
1/2 C chopped pecans
1 tsp. vanilla extract

  1. Line 8″ square baking pan with foil.
  2. Combine sugar, evaporated milk, butter and salt in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
  3. Stir in marshmallows, morsels, nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until marshmallows are melted. Pour into prepared baking pan; refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into pieces.

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