Are You Ready for Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I hope you are all staying warm, having fun with your crafts or sewing and cooking. I know I don't blog much anymore and I am sorry for that. The time involved has been tough for me to blog weekly recently. I have so many duties at this time to attend.

I have been keeping active in my Facebook page

 

Little Susie Home Maker on facebook

 I would love for you to visit me there!

I am having Thanksgiving at my house this year. I been going through my vintage linens and dishes. Many of these will be in use this year. I am so excited to use them. Do you ever use vintage dishes or family heirlooms?

Hall's Jewel Tea Autumn Leaf

 I will be making the turkey and doing a lot of the cooking. Thankfully my family is pitching in with the help and even bringing some of their own delicious side dishes. My favorite dishes are all the traditional foods: turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, veggie, cranberries with a few changes to flair things up a bit. 

For dessert my Favorite Pumpkin Pie recipe is sure to be served, because I don't feel like it is Thanksgiving without it! I still am thinking on what other pies to make. Maybe pecan or apple? Both? Haha!! Lets face it, Thanksgiving is also about the food! What a wonderful time to enjoy our bounty that God has blessed us with!

 I know you will all be busy this week as well, so enjoy yourselves and feel the warmth of your loved ones whether they are near or far. Know that you are in my thoughts.

Blessings,

Little Susie Home Maker

Psalm 95:2
Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.

Afternoon Lunchean Tea Party & Food Trays

Having a tea party is so much fun!

Plenty of varieties of tea and even honey!

 Being able to spend time with good friends and family
 is such a wonderful thing.

Fresh cut mandarin oranges and grapes are so refreshing.

We recently had a fun tea party with some of my dear family and friends !

Home made cucumber dill chips in red wine vinegar.

My momma and I put together these fun foods to honor
one of my sisters for her birthday.

Who doesn't love Chocolate Covered Strawberries?

 I am not sure which is more fun...

preparing the tea party , or partaking of the tea party!!

Lettuce and whole wheat turkey and ham wraps.

My sister was really happy with her party.

Beautiful dish of Momma's Best Deviled Eggs.

Good healthy snacks even for gluten intolerance and no-sugar diets.

Pretty store bought cookies and some sugar-free, too!

Our kids thought it was the most fun ever! 

 We had everyone dress up and wear a hat, any hat, even a silly hat!!

I think this will be our new party theme for us sisters and my mom, and I know a few fellas and kids that thought it was great, too!!

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures from our tea party. 

Maybe a little inspiration on the foods! We kept it simple and had lots of fun.

Bless you!!

Little Susie Home Maker

Christmas Treats Table Decorated

Hello everybody! I am so glad you have stopped by to visit. To all my new followers, I am just so pleased that you have decided to hop on board. It is about one week until Christmas and things are a bustle around here!

Today I wanted to share with you my new little white tree that I decorated for the top of my goodies table. Yes, I have a goodies table and it it set up from Thanksgiving for all the pies and desserts, etc. Then I change the theme over to Christmas. I just fell in love with my moms little table top fiber optic tree, so I went and picked up a white one! I decided it would be so fun to get out some fresh cranberries and string them up on a nice heavy embroidery string. I used an upholstery needle and they just slid on effortlessly!

Then I had to add candy canes! And yes they are for decoration, but feel free to take one off and eat it, or use it to stir your coffee or tea! Yumm!!

Then to help with my pretty red and white theme, I had to add my pretty little handmade felt birds that I love to make. I also added a few others that I have purchased and some stuffed little animals. A fox, lion, puppy, owl, and a pony!!! Doesn't it just look so happy!

Do you see the pretty rake hanger with the hearts just above and behind it? That was from my sweet friend Cindy at Old Time Farmhouse. 

She made it so pretty with the hearts. I had to adorn it with a few more ornaments and my copper choo-choo-train cookie cutters.

To add to the cookie theme, I have these pretty assortment of Christmas cookie cutters both new and vintage that I added to my big pickle jar. 

Also, the pretty cupcake liners that I am addicted to buying displayed in another pretty jar.

So you get the idea.. Stacks of Christmas plates and mugs, add in some cookies that are being eaten at a pretty rapid pace by my hubby with a sweet tooth, and my kids and me. When people stop by they know that they can dig in to the peanut brittle and enjoy!

My daughter has turned out to be such a good baker and is baking constantly! Seriously, her father and her brother and her uncle are in heaven with the treats. I am thinking I better keep the fruit bowl full! Come January, this Mrs. Claus needs to work on reducing her middle! LOL!

But for now, the lights are lit, and the treat table is wishing all a very Merry Christmas! I am so thankful for all my family and friends, and all the wonderful people that I have made through blogging.

Christmas Blessings to all,

Little Susie Home Maker

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 Creating Christmas Party 2012 

Kelly's Hearty Kraut Burgers

Guest Post from Kelly!

Today I am happy to share with you my sister, Kelly. She has been making great meals since she was a teenager. Today she is going to share one of her recipes that she has added her personal twist. I can tell you, "It Rocks!" ..  Kelly's Hearty Kraut Burgers! 

 Kelly will be taking the role of guest blog author today! 

Thank you, Kelly!

Hi everyone! I enjoy creating fun dishes that I love to share with family and friends. I also, live a very busy life and love to take short cuts when I can. You will find a few in this recipe that are great time savers.

After trying other versions of Kraut Burgers, I decided it was time to create a burger that was to my own tastes and improve upon what I found out there. This is the first time I tried this recipe. I will admit adding the potatoes were my idea to make it heartier.

I also used the red cabbage because that is what we like. I didn't get it cut small enough before cooking so had to cut it down a little after it cooked. The cooked red cabbage is very prominent in the meat mixture. We liked it better because it is a sweeter taste.

I also added the dill pickle juice and mustard because I don't enjoy the fairly bland flavor of the typical kraut burgers that I have tried. I love the flavor of dill pickles and mustard in rouladen, so this is where I got my flavor inspiration.

 Kelly's Hearty Kraut Burgers

• 12 frozen yeast dinner rolls (I used Rhodes brand)
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 medium onion halved and sliced thin
• 1/2 head cabbage, sliced thin*
• 1 can diced potatoes or about 1 1/2 c. fresh potatoes, diced small
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 cup dill pickle juice

Let dough thaw and rise.

Preheat oven to *350 F

Brown beef, drain and add onions and dash of salt and pepper. Let onions cook until translucent. 

Add sliced cabbage, and pickle juice, cook until cabbage is tender. (*note.. Make sure cabbage is cut small enough to not be "BIG" bites) 

Add potatoes and mustard. Lower heat and simmer 5 minutes.

 Let filling cool and transfer to bowl to cool in refrigerator until able to handle.
Place dough on floured board and roll out to 6" circles. Can also be stretched like pizza dough. 

Place about 1/4 cup of meat mixture in the center of the circle.

 

Bring edges to close at top, pinch edges together. 

Place gathered side down on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes. 

Can be served with a spicy mustard or brown gravy. 

To make ahead, wrap baked burgers in plastic and refrigerate, they can be microwaved 45 seconds for an awesome meal.

I hope you enjoy making and serving these pretty baked burgers as much as I do!

Enjoy,

Kelly

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