Dec. 22 – Grilled Cheese & Pickles!

If you find yourself desperately searching for something last-minute, consider giving your family a new holiday tradition.  Bake Cookies…but wait - that’s difficult, super messy, takes all day (unless you have 16 ovens), and the mom or grandma is usually left alone to finish baking and cleaning the kitchen. So, maybe a pizza night instead.  For the crusts – you could make from scratch, or you can buy pre-made.  Two of my favorite pre-mades are the dough balls from Trader Joe’s (refrigerator section), or Vicolo corn meal pizza crusts (freezer section) in fancy grocery stores. Although I have a friend (Jim) that makes his own sour dough crust - OMG – there’s just no comparison!!!  Next - create a ‘topping’ bar.  Creating a new tradition doesn’t have to be food related though.  You could go hiking, have a game/puzzle night (Mary), take a walk through a neighborhood decorated with lights, or host an ugly Christmas sweater party complete with a White-Elephant winner gift. Just think of an activity that your whole crew could get excited about. It's way of doing something together without the pressure of purchasing something material. Oh, I forgot to tell you about the grilled cheese and pickles.  That is something my extended family did every year for Christmas day lunch. Potato chips too!