[Spontaneo]

While growing up with my loved ones, our holiday feasts were always homemade and a bit non-traditional.

Would you like to know what we had? I now use Mid's spaghetti sauce as is the closest sauce that I can find like my mother Rose's homemade!)

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Homemade spaghetti, salad, Italian bread, and a dessert consisting of raspberry squares.

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Since moving out and living on my own with a roommate, I kept the non-traditional theme. Every year, I prepare Crock-Pot lasagna.

I had to teach myself how to cook. My mother Rose never taught myself. Ok, once, she taught myself how to prepare pasta salad.

So, this holiday season, I am going to have pasta salad!

However, if I had a husband, there are meals that I would love to prepare for a family. Here I go…

Any pasta
Lunch meat sandwiches on good Italian bread

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I love, love, love pepperoni and salami!

No-bake desserts
For example, peanut butter and jelly balls.

Soup
I really love pepperoni soup and have not prepared such soup in a good while! Thank you for reminding myself! Easy as 1-2-3 in a Crock-Pot!

Salad
For dressing, I like ranch. But when really watching the calories, I mix distilled white vinegar with lemon juice which when combined has 0 calories!

Instant mashed potatoes
Instant kind-of has high sodium. So, I allow myself 2 cups with beef gravy.

Canned vegetables
Are you tired of green beans yet?

Stir-fry
A zillion to choose from, prepare either egg, vegetable, chicken, tuna, shrimp, etc. with rice.

Canned fruits

Fresh fruit can be expensive. Canned is just as good!

Mocktails
Alcohol is expensive these days. Mocktails (virgin cocktails) taste just he same as the real thing and costs extremely less. You can barely taste the difference either! For example, mix Mountain Dew with Root Beer and voila! Tastes the same! Kid-friendly!

Flavored coffee
Around the holidays, there is an array of flavored coffee on the grocery store shelves! A few years ago, I was Christmas shopping for a flavored coffee to give to a friend. All of the flavored coffees were selling like hot cakes! First come first serve. There was one that I wanted to buy and it was the only one left on the shelf! My friend loved the flavored coffee and wanted to know where I got it as she wanted to buy more. I told her where and that it was the only one left. We were both disappointed!

In conclusion, I hope that this list of holiday meal planning is liked by you! Personally, I think my future husband would really like it. (if I even get a chance at a future husband).

[cmoneyspinner]

When it came to Thanksgiving and Christmas my holiday meals were very traditional. But now I leave everything up to my kids. If they want to go traditional, I'm fine. If they don't, I'm fine. Just feed me!

I grew up in Florida. When I got to Texas I found out that chili and tamales were part of the holiday tradition. I easily adapted.

[Spontaneo]

When it came to Thanksgiving and Christmas my holiday meals were very traditional. But now I leave everything up to my kids. If they want to go traditional, I'm fine. If they don't, I'm fine. Just feed me!

I grew up in Florida. When I got to Texas I found out that chili and tamales were part of the holiday tradition. I easily adapted.

I love chili! I love to have some pepperoni in my chili. I have not had any chili in a while. Thank you for the reminder!

[cmoneyspinner]

I love chili! I love to have some pepperoni in my chili. I have not had any chili in a while. Thank you for the reminder!

In high school, my daughter was in the choir and I always went to their Christmas programs. The choir was singing a Christmas song about chili con carne. Believe me when I say the Texans are all about their chili!

[Spontaneo]

I love chili! I love to have some pepperoni in my chili. I have not had any chili in a while. Thank you for the reminder!

In high school, my daughter was in the choir and I always went to their Christmas programs. The choir was singing a Christmas song about chili con carne. Believe me when I say the Texans are all about their chili!

I prepare chili in the Crock-Pot. I like mozzarella on chili! You are making myself hungry! I only have 1 can of black beans!

[eldavis]

During holidays like the Christmas and new year, it's a common tradition to cook but we do not have a specific food we cook during this period.

[Spontaneo]

During holidays like the Christmas and new year, it's a common tradition to cook but we do not have a specific food we cook during this period.

If you would like to cook something traditional, what would you like to cook? Personally, I dislike the traditional ham and turkey.

[cmoneyspinner]

I prepare chili in the Crock-Pot.

A crock pot is an easy way to cook dried beans without soaking them. I tried it once with pinto beans. It took the whole 8 hours just to cook them. But then after that, I added onions, garlic, and other seasonings, along with smoked turkey ham pieces. Cooked it for another 5 hours. It came out really good.

[Spontaneo]

I prepare chili in the Crock-Pot.

A crock pot is an easy way to cook dried beans without soaking them. I tried it once with pinto beans. It took the whole 8 hours just to cook them. But then after that, I added onions, garlic, and other seasonings, along with smoked turkey ham pieces. Cooked it for another 5 hours. It came out really good.

I simply toss in a few cans of black beans. I am not very good with dry beans.

[Jem Smith]

In Australia traditional Christmas lunch either involves roast (chicken or ham) or seafood. My immediate family and I are all vegetarian so we don't do that. For the last couple of years we've had a mushroom Wellington (like a beef Wellington, traditional British dish, but vegetarian) with roast veggies. We do have a traditional Christmas pudding though.

A lot of families have Pavlova as dessert for Christmas, but I'm not a fan, personally.

[Spontaneo]

In Australia traditional Christmas lunch either involves roast (chicken or ham) or seafood. My immediate family and I are all vegetarian so we don't do that. For the last couple of years we've had a mushroom Wellington (like a beef Wellington, traditional British dish, but vegetarian) with roast veggies. We do have a traditional Christmas pudding though.

A lot of families have Pavlova as dessert for Christmas, but I'm not a fan, personally.

With all of your vegetarian cooking, are you slim? Just curious. I would like to be a vegetarian but just can't do it. I do consider myself a flexitarian though. I do like to participate in Meatless Mondays also.

[cmoneyspinner]

I simply toss in a few cans of black beans. I am not very good with dry beans.

I get that. Neither am I. But what happened was somebody gave us a huge bag of pinto beans one time and I didn't want to waste them. We were low on money and I thought: 'If this is away to feed my kinds, I'll learn how to cook them.'

[Jem Smith]

With all of your vegetarian cooking, are you slim? Just curious. I would like to be a vegetarian but just can't do it. I do consider myself a flexitarian though. I do like to participate in Meatless Mondays also.

It's funny, I think last time you posted about your weight saying you were unhappy with it and that you were obese I did the conversion from pounds to kg and worked out that you weighed about the same as me (about 70kg). I don't consider myself overweight at all though. I'm a healthy weight for my height and age, and a fair portion of it is muscle these days.

Vegetarian food does seem to help some people lose weight, but it doesn't necessarily (and that's not why I do it). I don't count calories, or try to cut out sugar completely or anything like that. I do try to eat a fair bit pit of protein though, since otherwise I get hungry too quickly, and I need it to build muscle. And I don't eat dairy, couldn't if I wanted to, so that at least keeps me from eating tonnes of cheese like I used to when I was younger, so that in itself probably does stop me putting more weight on.

[Spontaneo]

I simply toss in a few cans of black beans. I am not very good with dry beans.

I get that. Neither am I. But what happened was somebody gave us a huge bag of pinto beans one time and I didn't want to waste them. We were low on money and I thought: 'If this is away to feed my kinds, I'll learn how to cook them.'

I understand completely. When I was last given dried beans, I paid it forward to my church's food box. My roommate does not like beans period. So, I just buy cans at Dollar Tree.

[Jem Smith]

I simply toss in a few cans of black beans. I am not very good with dry beans.

I get that. Neither am I. But what happened was somebody gave us a huge bag of pinto beans one time and I didn't want to waste them. We were low on money and I thought: 'If this is away to feed my kinds, I'll learn how to cook them.'

I understand completely. When I was last given dried beans, I paid it forward to my church's food box. My roommate does not like beans period. So, I just buy cans at Dollar Tree.

I eat beans all the time, but even though they are cheaper dried beans are a pain. If you don't soak them right they can be toxic, so I tend to use more tinned beans to avoid the hassle. They're still pretty cheap.

Lentils are easier though. You don't even really need to soak them, just rinse them.

[Spontaneo]

I have never eaten lentils. Do you have the lentils for breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.?

[Jem Smith]

I have never eaten lentils. Do you have the lentils for breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.?

Not usually for breakfast, and not every lunch and dinner. I like some variety.

[Spontaneo]

I have never eaten lentils. Do you have the lentils for breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.?

Not usually for breakfast, and not every lunch and dinner. I like some variety.

Are they good for stir fry?

[Jem Smith]

I have never eaten lentils. Do you have the lentils for breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc.?

Not usually for breakfast, and not every lunch and dinner. I like some variety.

Are they good for stir fry?

I've never used them in a stir fry. I suppose you could.

[Spontaneo]

I cannot wait for Thanksgiving so that I may prepare pasta salad! I have a new bottle of McCormick's Salad Supreme ready to be used! My mother's trick to her pasta salad has always been McCormick's Salad Supreme.

I would like to prepare a mocktail too. Due to personal reasons, I cannot serve alcohol. A major bummer, I know. I cannot decide on what mocktail!

This past week, I prepared a mocktail and was very disappointed. The drink is called Hibiscus Grape Iced Tea. Obviously, the recipe calls for hibiscus tea bags and grape juice. Unfortunately, the store was out of grape juice so I had to buy cranberry grape juice. Totally yuck.

So, I doubt if I am going to prepare such a mocktail for a while.

I just might prepare virgin whiskey. This mocktail really does taste like the real thing. Mix root beer with Mountain Dew. Voila!

Oh, yeah, I had yet another whoops. Yesterday morning, I prepared eggnog. I opened a new bottle of peppermint extract. Too much extract poured out accidentally. ugh

Do any of you like mocktails? What is your favorite?