In the Kitchen with Linda & Dinner Menu

*In the Kitchen with Linda contains affiliate links

Hello! this week I have a ton of pictures to share! So lets get started!

I need an easy dinner one night leading up to Christmas. Freezer Turkey Tetrazzini made from the Thanksgiving turkey to the rescue! And it’s good, too!

Making easy meals leading up to a big holiday should be the law, or something. lol I made Slow Cooker Chicken and Spinach Stroganoff. It was so good!

My anthropologist daughter has a birthday right before Christmas. This year I surprised her with skeleton cupcakes. They came out kind of cute. lol Even if I didn’t get the heads shaped right.

I made lasagna one night. One pan for us, and a pan to take to a friend that needed a meal. I prep lasagna noodles the easy way. lol

My husband and I teamed up to compete in a Gingerbread House building contest at church. I couldn’t decide which kit to buy when I was in the store, so I got the big “estate” house. lol It was basically a mansion. Then I found out after that we only had 1 hour to build and decorate the house. Yikes!

It actually came out kinda cute. And we won the contest! The prize is basically bragging rights. lol We did win a trophy “belt” that we bring back next year. We will be the judges for next years competition, and pass on the belt then.

I’m sorry to say that our gingerbread mansion didn’t make it home. About half way home, this happened. lol Oh well it was fun anyway!!

This year, I made chocolate cupcakes, with chocolate frosting, to pass out to a few people along with their Christmas card.

I used these boxes.

Everyone seemed to like them. So I guess it was a good idea. lol

I haven’t made Cranberry Bread for a couple of years. I forgot how time consuming it is to chop little cranberries. lol The bread is worth it, though!

I made Cranberry Bread, Banana Bread, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Spritz Cookies to send to work with my husband. My husband said everything was basically gone by lunch time, so I guess it was a hit. lol

Oh yes, they got some cupcakes, too!

The breads sliced and ready to go! They didn’t get all the bread! I have one of each in my freezer!

I had tried this once before, and it seemed to work. But it did not work this time! I put a bowl of water right next to the cutting board while I cut a couple of cups of onions for the stuffing/dressing.

The water is supposed to draw the onion “fumes” away from your eyes. It didn’t work this time! I guess these onions were just too potent! lol

Have you ever tried this? Did it work for you??

Homemade Cinnamon Rolls have been a Christmas morning breakfast tradition for years. A couple of years I substituted store bought canned cinnamon rolls. This year I didn’t buy any. And I spent Christmas Eve with the family instead of in the kitchen by myself. So while awake during the night, I realized that I did not want to get up at 5 and make the yeast dough for the cinnamon rolls. So I did a search on my phone, and found this recipe for no yeast, no rise time, cinnamon rolls. I just could not keep the rolls together, the dough was so soft. So they weren’t the prettiest. lol

They were pretty good, though. Here’s the Quick Cinnamon Rolls Recipe I used. And yes, I used paper plates for breakfast! And dinner, too!!

Before we ate our Christmas Dinner, we packed up food for a family, and dropped it off to them. Then we ate. I had a stash of food containers from take out, so I used those to pack up all the food.

Here’s the Pumpkin pie, the Apple Pie, and a container of whipped cream. There was also chocolate pie, but it didn’t make it in the picture.

Mashed potatoes, stuffing/dressing, ham, turkey, corn, green, beans, and sweet potatoes.

Everything boxed up. A cold box, with the pies, whipped cream, and a container with cranberry sauce, and a stick of butter, on the left. The hot box with everything above, and some dinner rolls on the right.

If you have never taken a meal to someone that needs one, sickness, etc., I highly recommend you try it. Whether it’s lasagna, Christmas Dinner, or anything in between. Both of you will benefit from it!