Category: holidays
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Monday, November 21, 2022
Week 759 Menu + Thanksgiving!
You know what is amazing about having family live nearby, something we’ve never had until two years ago? Thanksgiving cooking help! Not only do I not have to cook everything, but we get even more food. It’s a dream.
MONDAY – WEDNESDAY:
- NO IDEA. We are painting our kitchen, which has to get done before our floors start getting ripped out on Saturday, plus, you know, Thanksgiving. Our cupboards are currently bare and I have no idea when we’ll get to the store. Good luck, Maynard children!
2022 THANKSGIVING FEAST
- Turkey (dry brined, spatchcocked and roasted + smoked)
- Gravy
- Stuffing + GF Vegetarian Stuffing
- Mashed potatoes
- Cheese board
- Brussels sprouts gratin
- Green beans
- Sausage rolls
- Marshmallow fruit salad
- Sweet potato souffle
- Homemade crescent rolls + GF almond millet rolls from a local bakery
- Cranberry sauce
- Cranberry slush (traditional family drink)
- Pumpkin pie
- Apple pie
- French silk pie
- Bread pudding
THURSDAY – SUNDAY:
- Leftovers + floors getting ripped out kicking off a week of pure insanity…but no more cream-colored carpet! Woohoo!
Share your menus for the week! And definitely share your Thanksgiving plans along with links to recipes if you have them. Can’t wait to see what everyone has cooking!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:16 am 9 Comments
Categories: thanksgiving prep, weekly menus Tags: dinner ideas, MEAL PLANNING, thanksgiving, thanksgiving menu, thanksgiving prep, weekly menu |
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Sunday, December 19, 2021
Week 732 Weekly Menu
Happy Holidays! I have survived the busiest two weeks of the year for our family…and now it’s time to relax. No work for the next week, just eating, puzzling, and enjoying Christmas. Figured I may as well finally sit down and plan a menu for the week!
MONDAY:
TUESDAY:
- Chicken Verde Enchiladas (modifying this recipe)
WEDNESDAY:
THURSDAY:
- Leftovers
FRIDAY:
- Christmas Eve lunch: Swedish feast at my parents’
- Christmas Eve dinner: Chinese Takeout
SATURDAY:
- Swedish Meatballs with boiled potatoes
- Swedish cardamom bread (braided loaves and buns)
- Swedish Limpa Bread
SUNDAY:
- Leftovers
Your turn! Please share your menu for the week below! Happy holidays to all!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:24 pm 3 Comments
Categories: holidays, weekly menus Tags: christmas, dinner ideas, MEAL PLANNING, weekly menu |
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Sunday, November 21, 2021
2021 Thanksgiving Menu + Week 730 Menu
Happy Thanksgiving Week! Today’s post is all about the Thanksgiving menu. If you care about the rest of our dinner plans for this week, it’s Hello Fresh meal kits Monday – Wednesday, then leftovers after Thursday. Pretty simple!
Okay, here is this year’s plan for Thanksgiving. I will be combining forces with my family this year, which means way less work than usual. Yippee for me!
2021 THANKSGIVING FEAST
- Turkey (dry brined, spatchcocked and roasted + a few smoked turkey breasts from Nate and my brother)
- Gravy
- Stuffing
- Mashed potatoes
- Charred greens
- Salad
- Marshmallow fruit salad
- Brown butter squash and sweet potatoes
- Homemade crescent rolls
- Squash rolls
- Cranberry sauce
- Cranberry slush (traditional family drink)
- Pumpkin pie
- Apple pie
- French silk pie
- Bread pudding
OTHER WINNING THANKSGIVING RECIPES
We aren’t cooking these recipes this year but not because we don’t love them. In fact, we love them so much it’s hard to strike them from the list! But there is already so much food on our plates, so what are ya gonna do?
Your turn! Share your weekly menu plans and/or Thanksgiving menu! Have the most delicious week!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 2:44 pm 7 Comments
Categories: holidays, thanksgiving prep, weekly menus Tags: dinner ideas, MEAL PLANNING, thanksgiving, thanksgiving prep, thanksgiving recipes, weekly menu |
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Sunday, November 22, 2020
Week 701 Weekly Menu
THANKSGIVING IS THIS WEEK HOW IS THIS SO?!?!? Miraculously I graduated from the hard splint from my hand surgery, so while my thumb doesn’t work yet and I still have to be careful, I will be able to help cook Thanksgiving dinner! The girls and Nate are ready to help with the cooking this year. While I’m sad we won’t be with extended family (COVID!), I think it will be a special year, all of us cooking together in the kitchen. I did make a few store-bought modifications to our menu to simplify cooking, but for the most part we are still cooking up our usual feast!
MONDAY:
- Beef Bulgogi Meatballs (HelloFresh)
TUESDAY:
- Pork Tostadas Supremo (HelloFresh)
WEDNESDAY:
- Pineapple Pork Meatballs (HelloFresh)
THURSDAY | Thanksgiving 2020!
- Turkey (for real this is the BEST technique for cooking turkey, be sure to click through and check it out!)
- Classic Mashed Potatoes
- Classic Stuffing (full disclosure we are using Trader Joe’s stuffing mixes – cornbread and gluten-free – because of my darn hand)
- Gravy
- Crescent Rolls
- Cranberry Slush (my great-grandmother’s recipe that we have EVERY YEAR NO MATTER WHAT)
- Cranberry Sauce
- Sweet Potato Souffle
- Butternut Squash
- Charcuterie Board
- Dessert: Pumpkin Pie, Crumble Apple Pie, Chocolate Mousse (we actually bought the pumpkin pie and apple pie this year because I just can’t do pie crust with my hand, but we will for sure make the chocolate mousse from scratch!)
FRIDAY:
- Leftovers
SATURDAY:
- Leftovers
SUNDAY:
- Leftovers
Please share your weekly menu in the comments, including your Thanksgiving menu plans! Have a happy and delicious Thanksgiving and please stay safe!!!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 10:21 am 10 Comments
Categories: thanksgiving prep, weekly menus Tags: dinner ideas, thanksgiving menu, thanksgiving recipes, weekly menu |
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Sunday, November 24, 2019
2019 Thanksgiving Menu + Week 651 Weekly Menu
Happy Thanksgiving Week! Below you will find out plan for the whole week as well as our Thanksgiving menu. Please share your regular weekly dinner menu, your Thanksgiving menu or both in the comments!
Click here or on the banner above to see all of my Thanksgiving-related content here on the blog.
MONDAY:
– Safari ParkTUESDAY:
– Moroccan Chicken SkewersWEDNESDAY:
– LeftoversTHURSDAY: Thanksgiving 2018!
- Turkey (for real this is the BEST technique for cooking turkey, be sure to click through and check it out!)
- Classic Mashed Potatoes
- Classic Stuffing
- Gravy
- Crescent Rolls
- Cranberry Slush (my great-grandmother’s recipe that we have EVERY YEAR NO MATTER WHAT)
- Cranberry Sauce (as per Jess’s request, there will also be canned jellied cranberry sauce)
- Sweet Potato Souffle
- Green Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries
- Green Bean Casserole
- Dessert: Pumpkin Pie, Crumble Apple Pie, Chocolate Mousse
FRIDAY:
– LeftoversSATURDAY:
– LeftoversSUNDAY:
– Turkey Soup with Rice
– Homemade Bread (my Grandma’s recipe that is not published anywhere…saving that for the book I may never write ;))Can’t wait to see what you all have cooking this week! Thank you in advance for sharing, either weekly menus, Thanksgiving plans or both!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 8:05 pm 19 Comments
Categories: holidays, thanksgiving prep, weekly menus Tags: dinner ideas, thanksgiving, thanksgiving menu, thanksgiving prep, weekly menu |
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Saturday, December 29, 2018
Kardemummabullar | Swedish Cardamom Buns
“I want bulle.”
Those words have come out of my 7-year-old’s mouth no less than 1,000 times over the last week. Bulle is our family’s word for Swedish cardamom bread, whether in bun or braided loaf form. Bulle technically means “bun” in Swedish, so the cardamom version is actually called kardemummabullar (bullar is sort of like the plural version of the word for bulle…my dad explained it to me and it was weird Swedish grammar stuff that I cannot re-explain, so we’ll just leave it at that). I’ve had the recipe for vetebröd (braided Swedish sweet bread, in our case flavored with cardamom) on my site for years. I even shared a bun version of that recipe, the way my grandmother always made it. When Nate and I went to Sweden with my family this summer we had kardemummabullar like we’ve never made it here at home. Obviously the first thing we did when we were all together post-trip was try to replicate that Swedish goodness. My sister-in-law Cora and I took a first crack, then she and my mom have since perfected the recipe and technique. Cora graciously wrote a post and recipe for us, which I am sharing below. These cardamom buns are magic.
Kardemummabullar
By Cora Wallin
You’re welcome.
Sorry, wait. That’s supposed to come at the end, isn’t it? But seriously… you’re going to be so grateful to me. I accept flowers, love notes or life-sized Chris Hemsworth cardboard cutouts. Jane has my details.
Let me start off by saying I am not Swedish.
*gasp*
I have the height and love of all things butter and cardamon but not the stoicism or obsession with rotten seafood. I leave those to my father-in-law, Hansy-Poo. (He’s really going to hate that I called him that. But he won’t show it because, well… stoicism, remember?)
When Christian (Jane’s brother) and I first started dating, I knew my husband’s family was Swedish but mostly only on the holidays. Christian told me fabled tales of Christmastime and, in particular, the Christmas Eve feast: breaded Swedish ham, savory meatballs, pickled herring and sugary bullar. Turns out he was mostly right about the deliciousness, just exclude the fish.
His mother is basically Mrs. Claus. Her home becomes utterly transformed at Christmas. Her presents are decorated so beautifully she uses them for decorations on high shelves and in her windows. The candles, the non-creepy Santa collection, the music and the tree with 15 strands of lights make it all feel like Christmas might actually be hugging you. Then she starts to cook.
(All photos in this post are by Jane, except this one from, which is from Cora and Christian)Lawd, the food. I eat, roll over for a nap, eat some more and only then do I leave the table. It’s goooood, people. After everyone’s rib cages are finally able to expand again, she gives one final gift. She makes bullar. And this is now my gift to you fine folk.
We went to Sweden last summer and ate bullar at every stop, from gas station to coffee shop. I kid you not. Then Jane and I came home and started tweaking the old family recipe. We did a damn fine job, if I do say so myself. Of all the authentic sampled kardemummabullar, I can think of only one small shop in the-middle-of-nowhere-Sweden whose bullar outdoes what we made. So it may seem like a lot of steps but stay with me. It’s worth it.
Please do try to wait until they’ve cooled some before eating three (or more) right off the cookie sheet. Taste buds grow back but it does take time.
Presenting…Phyllis, Jane, Cora and Some Old Swedish Broad’s Cardamom Buns!
Swedish Cardamom Buns | KardemummabullarNote: Fresh, home-ground cardamom is worth the effort. I’ll attach the link for where we got ours. https://www.thespicehouse.com/cardamom-whole-seedsAuthor: Jane Maynard, Phyllis Wallin, Cora Wallin and Some Old Swedish BroadIngredients- BREAD
- 2½ cups scalded milk
- 2 packages or 4½ teaspoons dry active yeast
- 7½ - 8 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup butter, melted then cooled
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2½ teaspoons coarsely ground fresh cardamom (or 3 teaspoons store-bough ground cardamom)
- EGG WASH
- 1 egg, beaten
- FILLING (There is debate about the amount of filling. Cora and Phyllis do the amounts listed below, Jane uses half amounts listed below. Cora says it's because Jane is more American but she crazy (luckily for Jane she got final editing rights to this))
- 1 cup butter, softened
- ⅔ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground fresh cardamom (here is where you really do want to use freshly-ground cardamom, it makes a difference!)
- SIMPLE SYRUP
- ¾ cup water
- ¾ cup sugar
- TOPPING
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground fresh cardamom (again, fresh is best!)
- 1½ tablespoon coarse sugar
Instructions- Scald milk and cool to lukewarm. Add yeast to mixing bowl then soak with ½ cup of the luke-warm milk and gently stir. Let yeast dissolve and bloom, 5-10 minutes. Add remaining milk and ¼ cup sugar. Beat in 3 cups of flour and beat until smooth. Cover and set aside to rise until double in bulik 45 minutes - 1 hour. (We use a KitchenAid stand mixer to make this bread.)
- Add remaining ¾ cup sugar, cooled butter and salt. Add cardamom as listed under the bread ingredients as well as 4½ more cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead in ½ cup more flour. Knead until elastic and smooth. (We use the dough hook in our stand mixer to do the kneading. Jane usually adds that final ½ cup flour at this point; Cora and Phyllis just let the mixer knead without adding the ½ cup flour.) Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until double, 45 minutes to 1 hour. (Jane usually just leaves the dough right there in the mixer bowl and covers it, works just fine. One less bowl to wash.)
- Turn dough unto to lightly floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle. Spread evenly with filling and fold dough in half. Cut 1-1½ inch strips of dough with pizza cutter.
- FORMING THE KNOTTED BUNS: Now it's time to form the beautiful, awesome-looking buns. This part is tricky. There are lots of ways to do this. Jane does it differently than Phyllis and I remain as neutral as Sweden conforming to whatever method takes my fancy. There are links below this recipe so you can watch videos of people shaping the rolls. Definitely go watch those videos! You will essentially twist the strips and tie a knot. They’re supposed to be rustic, so don’t stress if they don’t all look the same. They will all still be beautiful.
- One strip at a time, gently hold one end of dough with one hand while the other twists the dough until it stops, making a spiral. Be careful not to break the dough. Now wrap dough around two fingers once or twice depending on the length of the strip and tuck ends into the center of dough. Phyllis tucks one end in the top and one end in the bottom. Jane holds the bottom end while wrapping around her fingers and uses the other end to go over the center of the top before tucking into the center of the bottom. See, confusing! Watch the videos they’ll help.
- Place rolls on un-greased, parchment-lined or Silpat-lined cookie sheets. Let rise until double, 30 to 40 minutes. Preheat oven to 400º F.
- While buns rise a final time, make simple syrup. In a medium saucepan combine sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and allow to cool.
- When buns are double in size, gently brush with the egg wash. Bake in oven 14–16 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through.
- When buns are done the tops and bottoms should be a dark brown. The bottoms are your key to doneness, so be sure to lift one before you take them out and make sure it's dark brown. Immediately brush hot buns with simple syrup and sprinkle with sugar cardamom topping or pearl sugar.
This is the way Jane forms the kardemummabullar knot:
This is the way Phyllis forms the kardemummabullar knot:
OTHER RECIPES YOU MAY LIKE:
Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:03 pm 14 Comments
Categories: Cora, featured recipes, holidays, Recipes, sweet things, way gourmet Tags: cardamom bread, swedish cardamom buns, swedish cardamom rolls, swedish food |
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Sunday, November 18, 2018
Week 600 Weekly Menu + Our Thanksgiving Menu 2018
Happy Thanksgiving Week! Below is our dinner menu for the week PLUS our plans for Thanksgiving. This week feel free to share your regular weekly dinner menu, your Thanksgiving menu or both in the comments!
Click here or on the banner above to see all of my Thanksgiving-related content here on the blog.
MONDAY:
– Corner Bakery Cafe (I have a work thing in the evening, so going to take advantage of the free kids meal night!)TUESDAY:
– Bolognese & Pasta
– SaladWEDNESDAY:
– Leftovers/Scrounge up whatever you can find in the kitchen, Family, as I’ll be busy cooking for Thursday!THURSDAY: Thanksgiving 2018!
- Turkey (for real this is the BEST technique for cooking turkey, be sure to click through and check it out!)
- Classic Mashed Potatoes
- Classic Stuffing
- Gravy
- Crescent Rolls and/or Squash Rolls
- Cranberry Slush (my great-grandmother’s recipe that we have EVERY YEAR NO MATTER WHAT)
- Cranberry Sauce (as per Jess’s request, there will also be canned jellied cranberry sauce)
- Sweet Potato Souffle
- Green Kale Salad with Dried Cranberries
- Dessert: Pumpkin Pie, Crumble Apple Pie, Chocolate Mousse
FRIDAY:
– LeftoversSATURDAY:
– LeftoversSUNDAY:
– Turkey Soup with Rice
– Homemade Bread (my Grandma’s recipe that is not published anywhere…saving that for the book I may never write ;))Can’t wait to see what you all have cooking this week! Thank you in advance for sharing!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 12:54 pm 12 Comments
Categories: thanksgiving prep, weekly menus Tags: dinner ideas, thanksgiving, thanksgiving menu, thanksgiving prep, weekly menu |
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Friday, November 16, 2018
Rose’s Creamed Onions
Today I was going through my favorite Thanksgiving recipes to share them on Facebook and discovered something – I have never published Rose’s creamed onions recipe here on my blog. This is not right and I must rectify the situation immediately.
When Nate and I met and married, his great-grandmother Rose was still alive. She was in her 90s and still lived in the beautiful Colonial home where she raised her children. It wasn’t until she was 99 years old that she finally moved into an assisted living facility, where she requested a cane simply because everyone else had one. She also always wore a dress, even in exercise classes. She passed away just one month shy of her 104th birthday and I am so grateful to have had the chance to know her.
Rose was able to meet her first two great-great-grandchildren, both of whom carry her name. My daughter, Cate Rose met Great-Great-Grandma Rose a few times — meetings that of course involved many laughs, hugs, and camera flashes.
Until she moved into assisted living, Rose made creamed onions for every holiday. Her creamed onions could always be counted on for Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. After she died, Nate’s grandmother and his mom both carried on the tradition. Rose’s creamed onions are beloved and elicit wonderful memories and feelings of love.
The first time I tried making Rose’s creamed onions was with Nate’s sister Jess at Thanksgiving. We inadvertently used pickled onions for the recipe and it was horrible, but also really funny. While the laughs were good, we were a wee bit disappointed at our failure. Thankfully I have since made creamed onions successfully with my girls, keeping the tradition alive.
The more modern version of the recipe uses jarred onions, but Rose always used fresh pearl or boiler onions. The first time I made these after that initial failure, Cate and I could only find fresh onions at the store. Cate insisted that we stop looking and make the recipe the way Rose always did. She literally gripped the fresh onions to her chest, rejecting even the possibility of jarred onions. It was very sweet.
Cate and Anna three years ago, making the creamed onions recipe togetherWhether you use fresh or jarred onions, the result is the same — delicious! The fresh onions take longer to cook, but if you cook them a long while, as Rose did, it works great. Either way you end up with layers of flat, soft onion petals that complement many different types of meals nicely. I will admit that my kids don’t love eating these onions nearly as much as they love making them, but I’m sure they will appreciate the taste as they get older. As my daughter Anna pointed out, even if you don’t like the onions that much, the cream around them is awesome! As for the adults in the family, we all love Rose’s onions. There are even several onion-averse members of the family who eagerly look forward to this dish each year. It’s just so good served alongside holiday food — as necessary for some family members as cranberry sauce.
Rose's Creamed OnionsRecipe for creamed onions from my husband's great-grandmother, Rose McCarthy. Perfect for all kinds of holiday meals.Author: Jane MaynardIngredients- 1 16-ounce jar onions (NOT pickled) or 1 pound pearl/boiler onions, fresh or frozen (about 20-25 total)
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ cup flour
- 2 cups half and half
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon pepper
- Pinch nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
Instructions- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- If you are using fresh onions, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add onions and cook for 1½ minutes. Drain onions and add to an ice bath to stop cooking. Cut off the root end of the onions and then peel the outer layer off each onion. Set onions aside.
- Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add flour all at once. Whisking constantly, cook until butter has liquefied. The butter and flour will start out pasty, then boil for about 3-4 minutes, then it will foam a bit and become liquefied, about 5 minutes total. When it reaches this point, turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 3 more minutes.
- Slowly add cold half and half, whisking constantly while adding.
- Raise the heat back up to medium and cook until the sauce thickens, between 5-10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and whisk in the Parmesan cheese, dry mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
- Add onions to the sauce, stir well, then pour into a 1½-quart baking dish. Sprinkle top with paprika.
- Jarred Onions: Bake uncovered for 10-30 minutes, until mixture is hot and bubbly. Cook longer if you want the top more browned.
- Fresh Onions: Bake uncovered for 60-90 minutes, until onions are very soft and top is very brown. If you want to cook the onions longer to make them even softer, cover with foil once the top is as brown as you want it.
- Frozen Onions: Boil frozen onions for 2 minutes then prepare as you would for the fresh onions.
- Creamed onions can be made a day ahead. Follow all directions until the baking step. Place unbaked creamed onions in the fridge, covered. The next day, remove baking dish from fridge, uncover, and let sit at room temperature while oven preheats. You will probably need to add 10-20 minutes of baking time.
NotesMakes appx. 12 servings; Prep Time: 30 minutes; Cook Time: 10-20 minutes when using jarred onions, 60-90 minutes when using fresh pearl/boiler onions
Posted by Jane Maynard at 2:20 pm 10 Comments
Categories: featured recipes, Recipes, side dishes, thanksgiving prep Tags: creamed onions, family food traditions, holiday food, thanksgiving prep |
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Thursday, November 16, 2017
ATTENTION! ONLY ONE WEEK UNTIL THANKSGIVING!
I love it when Thanksgiving is a little early because then there’s more time in between Thanksgiving and Christmas but HOLY CRAP HOW IS IT ONLY ONE WEEK UNTIL THANKSGIVING?
Just letting you know I’ve tagged all of my Thanksgiving goodness on the blog. Simply click HERE to scroll through it all. You’ll find all kinds of goodness, including from-scratch green bean casserole that is to die for, cranberry slush, SERIOUSLY THE BEST WAY TO COOK TURKEY EVER and so much more. (Did I mention the turkey? Oh, yeah, okay, I did, but really, check out my turkey roasting technique.)
Happy Thanksgiving prepping!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 1:06 pm 4 Comments
Categories: thanksgiving prep Tags: thanksgiving prep, thanksgiving recipes, thanksgiving tips |
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Monday, November 21, 2016
Easy Turkey Pudding Craft Perfect for Thanksgiving
Before we take off on our Thanksgiving travels, I have to share this super cute, crazy easy Thanksgiving kids craft with you. Owen brought it home from school. It’s so simple and so cute (and so delicious…I love Hunt’s Pudding Snack Packs for some reason!) even I would do this craft with my kids. That is really saying something. I’m like the anti-craft mom.
Materials:
- Chocolate Pudding Snack Pack
- Small Googly Eyes
- Construction paper, cut into feather shapes and small orange triangles for the nose
How To Make the Turkey Pudding Craft:
- Flip the pudding snack pack upside down.
- Using either a hot glue gun or scotch tape, attach the eyes, nose and tail feathers.
- All done!
You could even have the kids make these and then put them on the table at each place setting for decoration. It will keep them busy while the grown-ups are cooking and make them feel like they’ve contributed.
I never thought I would say this on the blog…but…Happy Crafting!
Posted by Jane Maynard at 7:01 pm No Comments
Categories: kids, thanksgiving prep Tags: kids, kids craft, thanksgiving, thanksgiving prep |
Hi! My name is Jane Maynard and you've landed yourself on my blog, This Week for Dinner™. Every Sunday I share a weekly menu...and count on you to share yours! You'll also find other deliciousness that I hope you'll enjoy!
