I swear it was just Thanksgiving.  It happens every year, I get really ahead of the game right after Thanksgiving and get overconfident.  You know the feeling-you get a bunch done and it clouds your judgement about what you have left to do. But for proof that I can get things done ahead of time, check out the photo below (the kids were stuffing the Christmas cards the day after Thanskgiving).  The weeks peel by and then I realize Christmas is in days, I’m frantically planning menus, shopping and zipping off the last of the Christmas cards (in all honesty, the last of the cards went out in the mail on December 30).

In the past few years I’ve tried to get things ready right after Thanksgiving so I can actually enjoy the holiday with my kids-you know read our Christmas books, open the Advent calendar and even sip a hot chocolate spilling over with marshmallows.  Savor the moments, take it slow, actually remember the reason for the season-that’s always the mission isn’t it?

Then life starts to speed up around the holidays- you are shuffling to parties, every tupperware is filled with cookies, the kids are overtired and you can’t even finish your cocktail at night because you are so darn tired.  That was us.  Then the stomach flu hit the house.  Sometimes your foot is forced off the gas pedal and you must slow down.

While I won’t try and glamorize stomach flu, it did slow ALL of us down.  We snuggled and put our feet up.  Look at those beautiful baby toes.  My toes? Wearing the United Hospital issued booties from when I gave birth to Wes!

But we rested and things got better.  I put my foot back on the gas pedal but I appraoched the rest of the month like I was driving on Summit Avenue instead of 94.  I took things slow and savored what mattered.  I made sure to drink hot chocolate, read the Christmas books and you know what? I finished my cocktail(s) at night (there were usually a couple).  But you came here for food right?  Here’s what the Seufferts were dining on during the Christmas holiday:

Homemade Pizza: A favorite dish to make with the kids, we made some fresh mozzarella and tomato pizza the weekend before Christmas.  The kids like to stand on the step stool and put on the toppings. Their favorite thing lately? Watching food cook while the oven light is on.

Minnesota Wild Rice Soup: This is one of my tried and true recipes.  It is a perfect recipe to make for out-of-town guests visiting Minnesota.  Stella and I put this together while Wes took a nap and we prepared for my Aunt Judy from North Carolina to arrive.  Stella loves operating the food chopper.  Click here for my Minnesota Wild Rice Soup Recipe. 

Sausage and Kale Quiche with Pesto Gouda: I made this up the morning of Christmas Eve. It was -12 with a “feels like temp” of -26.  What’s that? You are crazy for living in Minnesota, you say? Yes, I’m well aware.  For the crust I use the basic pie dough recipe for two crusts that my friend, JML taught me: 2.5 cups Flour, 1/2 tsp Salt, 2 TB Sugar (I add 3), 1 stick Salted Butter, 1/2 cup Pork Lard or Butter Crisco and 4-5 TB ice water (I add 6).  For this quiche, I browned 1 lb breakfast sausage with 1 cup frozen chopped Kale and 1 tsp salt.  Mixed up 10 eggs with 1 cup of Half and Half, added sausage mix and poured it into my pie crust. Topped it with Pesto Gouda (Trader Joes)  I baked it at 375 for 45 minutes.

Feast of Seven Fishes: Every Christmas Eve I put on a multi course dinner with at least seven types of seafood for my family.  I never get photos of everything but here’s three from the night: Cold Scallop Salad with Fennel and Grapefruit, Open-Faced Lobster Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Tomato Soup and No Name Tilapia with Black Bean Pasta with a Chorizo and Black Bean Sauce.  The other dishes: my mom made crab cakes, my brother-in-law made Mussels, I also made Salmon over pureed roasted cauliflower with capers and kalmata olives and finally, a deconstructed Shrimp Boil served over a polenta cake.

Monkey Bread with Eggnog Glaze: Stella and I put this together on Christmas morning.  We used the Pillsbury Monkey Bread Recipe minus the walnuts and raisins and I used Cardamom and Pumpkin Pie Spice in place of the Cinnamon. For the Eggnog Glaze we used Lauren’s Latest recipe (1 cup powdered sugar and 2 TB egg nog).

For Christmas Day dinner I took the night off of cooking and Will made his famous ribs! I did oversee Stella’s tablesetting (yes, we had Dora napkins) and for the record I helped with the dishes (something that well, rarely happens).

Gingerbread House: The holidays wouldn’t be complete without a Gingerbread House.  We started this tradition and well, it’s Stella’s favorite thing.  I can’t imagine why, I’m actually surprised any candy made it on that house!  I save up all the candy from the year-Valentine’s, Easter and Halloween and Stella uses it ALL. I’m loving the orange slices.

I hope you had a great holiday and that it was filled with yummy food and good times with your family and friends!