December 13, 2025

WEEKLY MENU 12.14.25

Time for the important stuff on the Weekly Menu 12.14.25 ~ Christmas Cookies!

We’re not making ALL the cookies during the Weekly Menu 12.14.25, but we are getting a start! I’m a little bit of a cookie monster at the holidays. I love Christmas Cookies.

And I make a ton of them.

The secret is not making them all at the same time, and being judicious with quantities. Growing up, my Mom always insisted on a quadruple batch of sugar cookies. You read that right. A quadruple batch. Then I had to wrangle the littles into rolling and cutting them out. The kiddos never lasted much past the first batch, the little stinkers. And the cookies they made usually sucked – because I didn’t know about using confectioners’ sugar instead of flour. Rolling cookies in flour makes them very tough. And prone to overcooking.

So now we make one batch of sugar cookies. (Otherwise we’d miss out on the anatomically correct snowman and his missus.) We subbed in Baklava Bites for the huge honking recipe for Baklava – which used to be sitting around the kitchen until May.

I’ve tried to cut down the list.

But the whining!! Everyone has a favorite, and honestly, it’s just not Christmas without them. Of course, I make up a written list. Then I decide which to make when. I usually make the White Trash early on – it makes a great snack to put out if someone stops over to visit. I make the Seven Layer Bars first almost every year, and I’m not sure why. They ARE one of Bert’s favorites, but they’re also super easy. And they use half of the bag of butterscotch chips, so I can make more if we eat them all too fast. (I put them on the menu for dessert on Sunday, which will force me to make them ASAP.)

The Rum Balls are usually next – they’re better the longer they get to marinate. Hick. They’re never a big seller, and I make them mostly for the nostalgia, so I’m holding off this year. One of the last things I make is the Sugared Cranberries. They don’t last as long as some of the other sweets, but they are spectacular on a platter or with a Cranberry Margarita. They’re nature’s answer to Sweetarts. (Affiliate links follow – see Disclaimer Page for Details.)

2025 Favorites

SEVEN LAYER BARS

BAKLAVA BITES

OREO TRUFFLES

BISCOTTI

WHITE TRASH

RUM BALLS

SUGARED CRANBERRIES

I might make a batch of cookies in the afternoon, or on a Saturday. Whatever time I can find. I get burned out if I bake too many things at once. (Nice pun, huh?) Remember though, it’s not supposed to be a huge chore – it is supposed to be something you enjoy. If you hate baking cookies – buy them! The possibilities out there are endless.

Now is a great time to set up an easy Holiday Open House too – a platter of cookies makes a most excellent dessert tray.

HOW TO HOST AN EPIC HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

Of course, we still need dinner. We have to cut all the sweet with something!

Weekly Menu 12.14.25

We’re going simple with the Weekly Menu 12.14.25, which is more important now than any other time of the year. Chicken Pot Pie may or may not become turkey pot pie – I made an extra turkey breast at Thanksgiving and froze it because we didn’t use it.

My “recipe” such as it is uses cooked chicken (or turkey), a pea and carrot veggie combo (frozen or canned), canned potatoes (don’t knock them until you’ve tried them), and a super simple gravy that is equal parts melted butter and flour cooked together for a few minutes before mixing in chicken broth to the desired consistency. I put them in big ramekins and sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese on top. Then I top the ramekins with either store-bought pie dough or go super fancy and use puff pastry.

Tuesday is fish tacos using frozen fish sticks. Don’t tell anyone. I’ll probably cook up a couple of chicken nuggies for D, who is NOT a fish fan. Mango salsa will be mostly based on frozen mango hanging out in the freezer.

I’ve been jonesing for Meatloaf, but not enough to say “No” when I got a surprise dinner invite last week. I can confidently say I’m up for dinner out anytime. So the meatloaf is back on the menu, since we have all the fixins in house already. Now I just have to remember to take the ground beef out of the freezer.