However, my fondest memory of Christmas isn’t really the chocolates or dollar bills, instead it’s the sumptuous Christmas dinners my Mom painstakingly prepared for the whole family.

Mom always made sure that her Christmas dinner was the year’s crème de la crème.  As I watched her prepare the family’s Christmas dinners for over the past 24 years, before I moved out and started my own family, I realized that my Mom had no special recipe, but each Christmas dinner turned out special because she mixed her love into it.

My Mom’s Christmas Dinners:

Poultry.  There’s no cooking etiquette against serving Turkey twice in a year’s time, is there?  Thanksgiving turkey is different from a Christmas turkey, although they can taste the same.  Mom always insisted on a turkey because of the size of our family however, if your own family objects, chicken or duck can make a tasty substitute.  You can try some garlic hot sauce with it.

Quick Tip:  To cook meat faster, use meat tenderizing marinade.

Bread and Pastries.  Cookies, cakes, and all those yummy treats that children love were on Mom’s table and should be on your Christmas dinner table, too.

Ham.  Cooked or sweet ham is an ideal Christmas dinner treat; in fact, Christmas is never complete without it.

Fruit.  Mom is half-Asian, and as most Asians believe, fruit on the dinner table during Christmas, especially on New Year’s Eve, ushers in good luck.  We never challenged her beliefs because fruit and salads are perfect for any occasion anyway.

Christmas Dishes From Around the World

For countries celebrating Christmas, Christmas dinners are never complete without a dish or two of the following:

Australia = roast turkey, grilled chicken in barbeque salsa, ham; cake, pudding, gingerbread, salads

Canada = roast turkey, fruitcake, gingerbread, candy canes

Finland = ham, mustard, casserole (vegetables, liver)

France = smoked salmon, oysters, roasted chicken

Germany = potato salad, ham (smoked or corned), sausages, baked apples

Hungary = roast goose, roast duck or turkey, stuffed cabbage

Jamaica = ham, chicken, goat in curry sauce, fruit cake, rice, peas

Philippines = roasted pig or chicken, pasta, fruits, salads

UK = roasted turkey, potatoes, brussel sprouts, pudding pie.

Italy = preferably fish (Most Italians abstain from eating red meat on Christmas).

So what will be on your table this Christmas?  Regardless of the menu you’ll whip up, just make sure you have enough love and food to go around. Happy Holidays.

First, decide how you are going to tenderize the meat.  I used to tenderize meat using my Mom’s kitchen tips, but I now rely solely on my handy kitchen mate, a Jaccard Supertendermatic knife to cut not just the meat, but also the prepping time.  However, I still recommend that you learn traditional methods on how to make meat tender, in case you misplace your tenderizing knife.

1. Marinating meat in vinegar, pineapple juice, lemon or lime juice for at least 4 to 6 hours before cooking or grilling is one of the most common traditional methods to tenderize meat.  Minced garlic and dabs of salt add to the flavor.  Salt, by itself, is also a natural tenderizer. Wine may also be used as a marinade, albeit a bit of a costly marinade.
2. Salt does not only add flavor; it is also nature’s meat tenderizer – if used properly.  To use salt as a tenderizer, use it as a coating on meat, with few dabs of lemon juice to heighten flavor.  You may also rub on crushed garlic before you coat the meat with salt.
3. Commercially-available meat tenderizer in powder form may also be used.  Just sprinkling powdered tenderizer on both sides of the meat may take a while to make it tender. You should pierce meat with a fork or a small knife and sprinkle powdered tenderizer through the inside portions of the meat, to speed up the tenderizing process.
4. Crude materials, such as a piece of wood or metal may also be used to break down tough connective tissues in the meat, however I don’t approve of this practice.  It’s messy, and splatters of meat pieces, as well as blood residue on the meat, add up to your cleaning chores. 

With my tenderizing knife, I save time, effort and money.  I don’t wait hours or overnight for meat to become tender before I grill it, or make a sumptuous burger.  It requires no pounding on the meat that distorts its form, and no need to re-stock my cupboard, like I used to with other methods of tenderizing meat.  Its sharp edges cut through the meat allowing seasonings to penetrate deep into the mea, which is the secret of the juiciest BBQ, steaks and burgers.

However, there is more to freezing foods than just lumping things inside the freezer. In fact, freezing can reduce the quality of food if you fail to follow some sensible guidelines of proper food storage.

Here are three practical tips on how you can freeze, and later thaw-out food all in less time, without losing any quality or flavor.

01. How to wrap food.  “Moisture out freshness in,” this is the rule of thumb when wrapping food for freezing.  Food should be tightly sealed or wrapped up well, so as to eliminate “freezer burns” that will diminish the taste and quality of foods, especially for meat and fish.

02.  Zip lock bags or vacuum sealers?  Some Moms still insist on using foil wrappers, while others give their thumb of approval to zip lock bags.  Lately however, more and more Moms are shifting gears to vacuum sealers or to vacuum containers for longer freezing time duration, and fewer incidences of freezer burn.

Read More:  Five Reasons Why Vacuum Sealers are Better than Zip Lock Bags

03. First In First Out.  Freezing food will not halt its inevitable decay. It can help you ascertain which foods should be consumed first if you indicate dates on every container you have inside the freezer, including its contents.  This will speed up the whole process of deciding what to cook and when.  

A Tip on Thawing Food

As important as learning how to freeze food is, knowing how to thaw them properly is just as important. Food poisoning often results from the mishandling of frozen foods, especially meat, during the thawing process.

Ideally, you should not freeze, thaw, and then re-freeze food.  Each time you thaw food, you expose it to bacteria that may cause food contamination.  It is therefore sensible to plan your menu ahead of time and apportion food accordingly before you wrap or seal them.  When it’s time to cook, only take out and thaw the portions of meat you need for the meal.

So How can you make food in the fridge last at least until the next paycheck arrives?  While I stretched my family’s budget like a rubber band, I found that zip lock bags are very useful.  However, since my husband brought home a vacuum sealer, I have had a change of heart, and here are my five reasons why

1. Extend freezer life.  Foods wrapped in plastic and vacuum-sealed, last longer in the freezer than those simply stored inside zip lock bags.  Unlike zip lock bags that can still hold air that carries food contaminants, vacuum sealers suck out air to ensure that food stays fresh longer.

2. Flexible Uses.  Not just for food, you may also use your vacuum sealer for other items you want to wrap in plastic, such as clothing and first aid kits which are better protected from moisture, insects, and corrosion when they are vacuum-sealed. When I travel light I vacuum seal my clothing, especially the bulkier items to greatly increase space in my luggage.

3. Prevents Freezer-Burn.  Get rid of those unsightly marks on meat and fish by using vacuum sealers, instead of storing them inside zip-lock bags.

“Freezer burn” happens to meat or fish that is stored in containers that retain moisture or are not sealed tight.  Meat or fish that has freezer-burns looks dry and, although not dangerous to eat, it may no longer contain as many nutrients as when it was first stored.

To avoid freezer-burns, it is advised that meat or fish be stored in moisture-free and tightly-sealed containers.  This is precisely the reason I prefer vacuum sealers over zip-lock bags.

4. More Value for Your Money.  These vacuum sealers are perfect for those who prefer to buy foods in bulk and allocate them to last for several weeks.

More Saving Tip: Save Money, Energy, And Appreciate Fresh Food- Crock pot Cooking

Buying foods in bulk is cheaper than buying in smaller quantities, however when they are not frozen well, you might end up losing more money. If you are seriously considering saving money by buying foods in bulk, you should definitely invest in a vacuum sealer.

5. Saves Time and Effort.  For Moms, like me, who personally manage their kitchens with what little time they still have left after their 9 to 5 job, buying food in bulk is a great option. With my vacuum sealer, I can save trips to the market or to the grocery store. I also enjoy cutbacks on costs, since bulk purchases are always cheaper than regular items.  I also noticed that vacuum sealing saves me time in food preparation.

Related Tip:  Food Processors: Reasons Why Every Kitchen Must Have One

I have to prepare quick meals everyday and to do this I slice tomatoes, onions, garlic and vegetables in advance and put them inside individual plastic wrappers vacuum-sealed for freshness. I also manage my budget effectively by deciding weekly menus. I then divide portions of meat or fish, according to my menu. My vacuum sealer is a handy kitchen tool that makes motherhood truly a breeze.

Marinating chicken, fish or meat has never been any easier with a vacuum sealer.  Vacuum sealing cuts back hours that I usually have to wait for meat or fish to absorb my favorite marinade.  My friend explained to me that as air is sucked out of the plastic wrapper when I vacuum seal, this causes the meat to expand and absorb the marinade better.

With a vacuum sealer, I save time away from the kitchen to focus on more heart-warming activities like playing video games with my kids after they have worked on their school projects, and more time to be with my husband, stargazing, using his newly-bought telescope.

Life is really just what you make it. I’m glad I got a little help from a simple, yet very useful gadget.

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of corn syrup

2 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

1 cup of white, refined sugar

Pinch of rock salt

5-6 tablespoons of vegan margarine

Vial of red and yellow food coloring

1/3 cup of powdered soy milk

1teaspoon of vanilla extracts

Also, prepare a saucepan or frying pan, mixing bowl and disposable plastic gloves.

Instructions:

1. First things first, set aside all ingredients except for the corn syrup, sugar, and vegan margarine. Prepare a large frying pan or saucepan and heat for about 5 minutes over low heat. Gradually drop the corn syrup, sugar and vegan margarine into the saucepan to melt. Stir slowly with a cooking spatula and gradually add vanilla and bring to a boil.
2. Turn the heat up a notch and continue stirring. Give it another 5 minutes under this temperature before removing.
3. Next, set aside the following ingredients: powdered sugar, powdered soy milk and salt. Sift these three ingredients in a dry bowl. Mix the contents of the bowl before adding into the saucepan along with the ingredients melted earlier.
4. Stir well then let it stand for about 20 minutes.
5. Once cool, you may divide the mixture into 3 pieces, one piece for every color of the candy corn.
6. Now here comes the fun part: adding color to the dough. Take the two bottles of food coloring, red and yellow as well as two cut pieces of the dough.
7. First, you need to make an orange mixture out of the red and yellow food coloring. On a small container, mix a few drops of red food coloring with the yellow food coloring until you get the an orange hue.
8. Once you have your orange food coloring mixture prepared, take one cut piece of the dough and add a few drops of orange color to it. After doing so, spend the next 15 to 20 minutes kneading the dough.
9. Afterwards, move on to the second cut piece of the dough a little color. You may do this by adding drops of yellow food coloring into the dough and kneading it for the next 15-20 minutes.
10. Take note that there are only three colors on classic candy corn: orange, white and yellow. Therefore, you need not add color to the third cut piece.
11. Now, take all the pieces of the kneaded dough and roll each cut into a long rope. Make sure that all pieces are the same length and width.
12. Now, take all three colored ropes and merge them into a rectangle. This may be done with the help of a rolling pin.
13. 13. Once flattened, take a sharp knife and cut the long ropes into small triangles. One technique to do this faster is to cut the rope in a criss-cross manner.
14. Place the candy corn in Halloween-themed containers or in a Halloween pumpkin container.
15. Finally, don’t forget to share and these delicious vegan treats with trick n’ treaters!

Happy Halloween!