Forum Decor Activity.

-- Create a charming display of teddy bears dressed for the season. Gather together three or more teddy bears and arrange them on a table or on the floor in a corner. Dress the bears with touques, scarves and mittens. Place candy canes in their hands or tie bows around their necks. You can even wrap up some small, empty boxes with Christmas wrapping paper to place in the bears' hands.

-- Display a collection of nativity scenes from different cultures.

-- Make simple bows from Christmas print ribbon and pin them to your curtains.

-- Hang a collection of Christmas stockings on your mantle, a shelf or the wall (even if you don't stuff them). The more the merrier when it comes to nice christmas decorations.

-- Revisit your childhood. Cut snowflakes from white paper and hang them in all of your windows.

-- Buy a clear plastic shower curtain. Use a hot glue gun to attach Christmas decorations to the outside of the curtain. Don't use breakable ornaments - instead, try small wooden or plastic ornaments (remove any hooks), bows, garland, etc.

-- Use red and green 3-dimensional fabric paints to trace simple Christmas patterns (like stars, bells, Santas, stockings, etc.) on a white tablecloth.

-- Dress up your house plants - hang small Christmas ornaments on them.

-- Tie a red ribbon around a tall, slim drinking glass. Fill the glass with candy canes and display on a shelf or side table.

-- Purchase plain green or red place mats and attach Christmas ribbons, bows or small wooden ornaments with a hot glue gun.

-- Decorate plain red, white, green or gold candles with 3-dimensional fabric paint. Draw stars, bells, angels, snowmen, etc. If you make a mistake, let the paint dry and peal it off, then start again.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

Stuffing:

1. In large skillet over medium heat heat oil until shimmers. Add onions and cook about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until translucent. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon, pepper, and allspice to combine.
2. In large bowl combine onions, stuffing mix pecans, apples, and cranberries.

Pork Roast:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper. Add stuffing to inside cavity; do not pack it.
2. Cook for about 2 hours 20 minutes, or until a thermometer in the thickest part of the meat registers 155 degrees. Remove from oven and cover with aluminum foil. Let rest at least 15 minutes.

Sauce:

1. Place roasting pan over medium heat; add broth and port. Bring mixture to a boil, scraping up bits on the bottom of the pan. Reduce liquid by about half. Add butter and swirl to combine.
   

Make-Ahead

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Apple-Glazed Turkey

USP: Roast turkey requires a crowd. So surround yourself with friends and family, and celebrate the season. 

Easy Quotient: Four ingredients and you've made a feast!! 

Apple-glazed turkey is a snap to make and a delight to eat. A sweet glaze with a touch of heat, that takes just a minute to make, is brushed on the turkey just before it's removed from the oven.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F. Remove giblets and neck from cavity. Place giblets and neck (not the liver) in the roasting pan. Place rack in pan and put turkey on rack.
2. Roast turkey until the skin is browned, about 2 -3 hours. Tent turkey with aluminum foil. Continue to roast until temperature in thickest part of thigh is 175 degrees F., about hour more.
3. In a small pot, melt apple jelly. Stir in cinnamon and pepper to mix. Brush turkey with apple glaze and broil 4 inches from heating element about 3 minutes, until browned and bubbly.
4. Remove turkey from oven, tent loosely with aluminum foil, and let rest 30 minutes before carving.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

USP: A glazed ham adds a festive sparkle to your holiday table.

Easy Quotient: It's already cooked. You're just glazing it and warming it up. But no one needs to be told that it was that simple.

Ingredients

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (160 degrees C).
2. If the ham has thick skin, slice off the top layer, leaving about 1/4-inch (.5 cm) of fat on the meat. Place, fat-side-up on a rack in a roasting pan. With a sharp knife, score the fat in a criss-cross pattern and poke a whole clove into each square, if desired. Pour water into the roasting pan to 1/4-inch (.5 cm) deep. (The water should not touch the ham -- if the rack is too low, just add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan.) Place in the oven and roast, uncovered, for 20 minutes per pound or approximately 3-1/2 hours.
3. While the ham is roasting, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, stir together the brown sugar, orange juice, honey, mustard and orange zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
4. About 45 minutes before the ham is finished roasting, brush with some of the glaze. Continue to baste with the glaze every 10 minutes until the ham is done. (A meat thermometer should read 135 degrees F or 57 degrees C when poked into the thickest part of the ham.) Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

                                    

Zuccotto trifle

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