I love to entertain and decorate for any occasion or holiday! Well, really, I don’t need a reason to decorate…I just love to do it. It is my therapy…my stress relief! Tablescapes are a great way to add a whole new look and style to any table; they beautify and enhance the room they are set in. They can be simple and homey or sophisticated and elegant. Your design style and personal preferences will determine the look and feel of your tablescape creation.

The inspiration to create a tablescape can come from a variety of spots: magazines, napkins or tablecloths, stores, pictures, a favorite memory, floral design stores, home décor stores or even as simple as a favorite candle holder or place mat. Look around your home for items of inspiration that you want to give center stage to. Try to incorporate some items you already have on hand. I am a big repurposer. I take accent elements from around the house and repurpose them to another shelve, counter, room or tablescape.

A tablescape is a collection of items put together on a table to create a cohesive design statement beyond the tradition centerpiece. Tablescapes may or may not include dishes. Often these are used in place of a center piece on a buffet table. You may create your center design for a buffet and after the event, just leave it up for a special meal where you would use your dishes.

Before you can begin your design, you have a few key design elements to consider; these design elements will greatly influence your end results: color, size of items, height of items, shape, texture and quantity of items on hand. Including a wide range of design elements will ensure a uniquely gorgeous tablescape that you can stand back and admire!

The #1 consideration, and the place to begin, is color. Decide what color or color combinations you would like to use and begin to look for those colors in items you already have around your house. Think about your color scheme, there are many to choose from. For example, you could choose to go monochromatic, meaning one color. With this tablescape, it is important to include a variety of varying textures and shapes. Be sure to include an accent color for the pop factor and visual appeal with the monochromatic color scheme. You can go to www.worqx.com/color/color_wheel.htm and learn more about color combinations if you are not comfortable matching colors.

Another one of my favorite things to do during the holidays is create theme Christmas trees. You follow the same design considerations as for tablescapes. With theme trees, another design element that adds a lot of flair and interest is feathers and ribbons. Start by deciding if you want a green tree, flocked tree, or the new tinsel trees. Again you need to consider a variety of texture elements. Add your lights and you are off to designing a theme tree. Enjoy and have fun this holiday season!!

Peanut Blossom Cookies

I have been making these delightful treats for years!! They are an extremely easy crowd pleaser. When I need a quick treat to take to a party and I want my treat to have pizzazz these guys are on my top 5 list to choose from. I love Sandra lee from Semi Homemade on the Food Network. Her style I like to roll, little time to do anything but yet I want it to look and taste fabulous.

Use any packaged peanut butter cookie mix and make according to instructions. Roll the dough into small balls and then coat (roll) in granulated sugar. Place on cookie sheet and bake according to package instructions.

While the cookies are in the oven unwrap your chocolate kisses.

As soon as the cookies come out of the oven place a kiss on top of cookie and slightly press down.

Let them cool and enjoy!!

Day 4:

The facing is going on the cabinets the island has the lazy Susans in. We are beginning to see our kitchen take form. Oh and we just picked up the new convection oven….!

Cabinets continue to be built. We have to decide on countertops… Corian… Granite… laminate… Silestone… Tile? Well, we have several women in the office and, of course we all have an opinion about why we think we should or shouldn’t use this material or that material. Granite is heat resistant and the hottest trend in show kitchens…. Corian, you can sand out light stains and burns, but holds bacteria…. Laminate isn’t deserving of our test kitchen and is sooo boring (snore, snore) but comes in boat loads of colors…. Silestone is limited and doesn’t have a good color to go with our kitchen and it can’t be repaired if you break it but it is very heat resistance…. Good gracious girls let’s just decide!

We are so excited here at Simplicity Gourmet!!! This week started the building of our gourmet test kitchen (FINALLY!!!) and let me tell ya, it will rival any gourmet kitchen out there. This has been a longtime goal of SGI and to see it come to pass has the entire staff so excited!!! We all feel as if we are getting a giant Christmas present.

We had an extremely small kitchen before that was not designed for show at all. We taught cooking classes once a month. We were very limited in space. Our new kitchen will provide us the opportunity to develop new recipes and a whole slew of new classes that will range from beginner to advanced and we will be able to hold several a month.

We thought it would be fun for you to see the step by step progress and walk down this path with us. So, each day, we will give you a play by play of how we are progressing and our bloopers. Enjoy the process and check back often to see the test kitchen unfold

Day 1:

All the cabinets arrived and had to be built. We used IKEA for our cabinets and Nashville Cabinet Company to build and install them. W LOVE Andy the owner of Nashville Cabinet! He has had several ideas that have made the IKEA cabinets stronger and through installation sturdier.

I want to share with you the easiest Christmas treat ever! They are so quick and fun to make! This is one you can get the kids involved in! I got this from my mom who got it from a neighbor. I am not sure I like the name, matter of fact, I think they made it up….

If you have any good ideas, let me know and we will rename this yummy, fun holiday treat! As fast as I make these, they disappear!! I hope your family & friends enjoy them!.

INGREDIENTS: 1 bag of small pretzels, 2 bags of Rollo candies, 2 bags pecan halves

DIRECTIONS: Pre heat oven to 250. Take a large cookie sheet and cover it with foil or non stick spray. Lay out the pretzels & top with a Rollo. Bake for 4 minutes. Remove from oven, (note: the Rollo will not melt, they get soft but don’t melt) place 1 pecan half on the Rollo and push down into the pretzel. Let cool on the counter and then place in refrigerator for 10 min. This will help them to set. I like to let them set out at room temperature after that to let them get a little softer and chewy before I serve them.

This is the new favorite treat in our house this season. Let me hear from you!

Family, friends, football, turkey, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, rolls and pumpkin pie are the beginnings of a great Thanksgiving. Can’t you smell the wonderful aromas? This holiday season, take some time to enjoy your family and guests. Create new memories that you and your guests can reflect back on. Don’t spend the entire day in your kitchen only to have that fantastic meal devoured in 20 minutes, leaving you with a gray blur of the day and how exhausted you are. Take time to reflect on the abundance in your life. Take time to enjoy your guests and get out of the kitchen. Here are a few fun suggestions:

Turn off the football and break out the home movies, have extended family and friends bring their’s and enjoy laughing and sharing.

Set out board game and make sure to include some of the old favorites: Monopoly, Clue, Yahtzee, Scrabble and Dominoes.

Have guests bring shoes or coats and donate them to such projects as “Souls for Souls” or “Charity Coats” for kids.

Ask guests to bring a few canned or boxed goods and donate them to your local food bank.

Have someone tell the Thanksgiving story or why we pull the wish bone or other harvest traditions from around the world. Make it fun and ask questions and those that answer right might be the ones to pull apart the wishbone or they are exempt from clearing the table or doing dishes or any other fun reward you can think of. This one could become the all time family favorite that creates memories for a long time to come!

Set out markers and colorful fall leaves you have cut from construction paper. Ask your guests to write what they are thankful for and then share them at the thanksgiving feast. A twist on this might be to have everyone write why they are thankful for their family. You then can take these colorful leaves and string them together to begin making a “gratitude garland.” You can add leaves to it each year and your garland will become a treasured part of your fall decorations.

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Festive Fun Treat

Here is a fun treat to make ahead and have on hand for entertaining. Print up the “Harvest Blessing” and put it beside the mix on a table in a pretty fall bowl or attach it to a bag with some colorful ribbon to give as a fun treat to teachers, friends or someone who needs a little lift. The sweet and salty flavors are such a yummy combination together!

Harvest Blessing

The Bugles are a symbol of the Cornucopia, a horn of plenty.

The Pretzels represent arms folded in thanks and prayer.

The Candy Corn reminds us that during the first winter, the pilgrims were allowed only five kernels of corn per day because food was so scarce.

The Fruit is a reminder that Thanksgiving is the celebration of the harvest.

The Peanuts represent seeds, the potential of the bounteous harvest for the next season if they are planted and well-tended.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and remember the daily blessings that are all around you!

Every year I decorate my front porch for Fall. I start with some basic components the first of October, Pumpkins of many varieties, scarecrows, and mums. In mid-October, I throw in a couple of Halloween items and carve a pumpkin or two. When the first of November rolls around, I take out the carved pumpkins and the other Halloween accents and add my “pumpkin pics” to turn my pumpkin into a turkey. It is so stinking cute!!!! I also add my giant turkey flag to my flag post hanger. I always try to repurpose items because it saves me time and money.

I love the fall…cooler days and nights, beautiful fall color in the trees. It’s the time of year that I enjoying cooking warm, hearty meals. I need my meals to be quick and tasty because I get home later from work and the last thing I want to do is stand another hour over the stove cooking. This meal is a Fall favorite of my husband’s. I have shared this recipe with many friends and they love the simplicity and ease of preparation and it’s just sooooo good for you! I call this my “dump & go” soup!

Taco Soup & Buttermilk Cornbread

1 32 OZ box of chicken stock, 1 28 OZ can tomato sauce, 1 15 OZ can black beans, 1 15 OZ can corn, ¾ cup uncooked rice, 1 LB ground chicken, 1 package dry taco seasonings – If you want a Spicer soup add 2 pkgs, 1 package dry ranch dressing, Cornbread: 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix, 1 egg, 1/3 cup milk or buttermilk, Cooking Spray

INSTRUCTIONS: Fill the 3 qt saucepan with about 2″ of water. Place the colander in the pan and the chicken in the colander. Cover, whistle open, and cook on medium heat. When the whistle sounds, give it a stir and replace the lid. Close the vent and cook for 10-12 more minutes or until cooked through. In the 6 quart, open and dump in the remaining ingredients, do not drain the veggies. When the chicken is done, add to the rest of the soup, place the lid on, vent open (you don’t close the vent for this.) You will cook this on medium low heat until it whistles then turn down to low. Cook on low for an additional 20 -25 minutes. You will want to stir this a few times. The rice tends to sink to the bottom, so, it just needs to have a good stir every so often.

Once you have the soup cooking, prepare your cornbread. Follow directions on the box. I like Jiffy, 1 egg, 1/3 cup milk…I use buttermilk - I like the texture and the flavor better. The thing I adore about this is that I can cook my cornbread on top of the stove. This saves on my electric bill not turning on the oven plus I don’t overheat b/c my kitchen doesn’t get unbearably hot! Spray a small skillet generously with cooking spray so your cornbread will come out easy. Pour the cornbread mixture into your skillet, put lid on with vent closed on medium  heat, between 3 and 5 on most stoves. Cook 10 -12 minutes. When you stick a knife in the middle and it comes out clean you know it’s done!

This makes a wonderfully delicious Fall meal and the left overs are even better the next day. This will easily feed 4 people with hearty appetites! Enjoy and let me know what you think of this dish!