Hi Cooking Moms, Dads & Friends,

Happy Friday! I hope you had a great week! I’m super excited to have my daughter Ireland home from college for the holidays! I picked her up at the University of Minnesota yesterday! It worked out perfectly because I was on TV in the Twin Cities cooking some of my holiday party recipes on The Jason Show yesterday. Click Holiday Faves to watch me make the best ever Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip and my super easy slow cooker Cranberry Meatballs. They are always a huge hit!

This morning I’m on TV in Milwaukee cooking up some more of my holiday go-to recipes like my baked Apple Walnut Brie. It looks so fancy but trust me it takes less than 5 minutes to whip up! I Also keep a wheel of brie on hand to make this and my 3-ingredient Cranberry Crostinis. They are a great way to use leftover cranberry sauce! Click Appetizers for more of my favorite holiday dips and appetizer recipes.

I’m starting to put together my holiday brunch menu. The kids will love my Tater Tot Breakfast Casserole. Come on, who doesn’t love tater tots? I sure do. Not to mention tots are on trend right now. So, be trendy and make this for the holidays. The casserole's the perfect Christmas morning breakfast. It’s all in there - bacon, cheese, eggs, and potatoes. No need to serve much else with it. Plus, you can make it the night before. LOVE THAT! Trust me on this. It will be a huge hit!

When I host a brunch I keep it easy breezy. I don’t want to be stuck in the kitchen the whole morning! I toss together a big beautiful fruit salad like my gorgeous new Winter Fruit Salad with apples, pears, kiwi, oranges and pomegranates in a light orange honey poppy seed dressing. How pretty is this salad?

Then, you gotta serve something sweet like my Sticky Bun Coffee Cake. This is AMAZING! You can’t believe how easy it is. You put it all together the night before and bake it in the morning. It’s my holiday go-to!

There you are. Brunch time! You will look like a total rock star and nobody needs to know how easy it really was to pull this together. Click Breakfast and Brunch for more amazing recipes.

I think it’s fun to set up a beverage bar at your holiday parties. For breakfast and brunch make my homemade Chai Latte Mix and Homemade Hot Cocoa Mix. Just add some of the mix and hot water and you’ve got a delicious drink to warm you up on a cold holiday morning. Set out a tray filled with holiday mugs, cinnamon sticks, whipped cream, cinnamon and crushed candy canes, and everybody can sprinkle on their favorite toppings. What fun! Click Drinks for more festive, fun holiday drink recipes, like my Hot Mulled Apple Cranberry Cider.

By the way both my Hot Cocoa and Chai Latte mixes also make great holiday gifts. I love giving gifts from my kitchen! Click here to read my blog Gift Mixes in a Jar with all sorts of ideas and recipes to make and put in a jar this season.

Sometimes you gotta splurge a bit during the holidays. My Bacon 'n Cheese Stuffed Beef Tenderloin is a family fave! I serve it with my Easy Twice Baked Potatoes and a pretty salad like my Wonderful Wedge Salad with my Best Bleu Cheese Dressing. Now that’s one delicious dinner! Click Dinner, Salads, Slow Cooker and Sides for more recipes perfect for your holidays.

For dessert, I always keep things easy breezy. My Death by Chocolate Cake is my son Riley’s favorite. He takes after his mom when it comes to chocolate! LOL! No time to bake? No worries. Use crushed candy canes to make my Chocolate Peppermint Trifle. You can make mini trifles too. How cute are these? Click Desserts for more scrumptious dessert recipes.

My Cookbooks Make Great Holiday Gifts!

If you like my recipes, I think you'll love my cookbooks! They make a great holiday gifts! Both cookbooks are filled with nearly 200 unique recipes. They're available on Amazon. Click Amy's Books on Amazon to order.

Gotta run. My TV spot on Fox 6 Wakeup in Milwaukee is coming up soon. This weekend I’ll be on TV in Chicago too making more of my best holiday recipes. Hope you’ll watch!

For Christmas we are headed to Arizona. My mom has been in the hospital so I can’t wait to give her a great big hug! You can always see what I’m up to on Facebook and Instagram. Follow me!

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a wonderful weekend. If you are traveling, be safe! Cook up some memories!

Take care,
Amy, The Cooking Mom

Death by Chocolate Cake

Chocolate Peppermint Trifle