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Clover Lane

Home » Blog » Easy Holiday Food and Busy Day Recipes

Easy Holiday Food and Busy Day Recipes

by Sarah Turner Clover Lane, Recipes

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Food, food, food-my life seems to revolve around it, it seems, especially at this time of year.  Here are some simple recipes that make my life easier this holiday season.

If I need to bring an appetizer to a party, my feta dip is super easy and I know it will be gone in seconds.  (It is my most viewed post, no kidding.)  No oven, no bowls, no mixer, no stove top.  Here is the easy step by step recipe.

If I need to bring a dessert, I know Kitty’s Brownieswill be a huge hit.  I am telling you, these things are divine-and it’s just brownie mix and 3 candy bars.  They are ooey and gooey and chocolately and taste like you slaved over them for hours.

Caramel corn or shortbread cookies are usually my old standbys if I want to bake a gift.

 Here is the caramel corn recipe.

Here is the shortbread cookie recipe.

These pretzels are fun to make with kids and make a great snack.  My blog friend Sarah made them with her kids and they turned out prettier than mine ever do.  You can check them out here.

My favorite cut out cookies are from an old-fashioned recipe my mom used every Christmas when we were kids.  The recipe uses granulated brown sugar-they are sweet, but not too sweet, look like gingerbread, but not too gingery.  My kids love them. Here is the recipe for Butterscotch Rolled Cookies.

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I have talked aboutmeal planning and how it really saves me time and money and my sanity also-more than ever this season.  Sometimes I just about hate doing it, but if I don’t we will end up eating take out pizza every night.  Here is an example of my menu for the week-I just want to prove that it does NOT have to be fancy-I always think “meal planning” just sounds overwhelming. I use notebook paper and tape it up where I can see it every morning. Grilled cheese and soup one night-or pizza night on Saturday-no gourmet dinners or five course meals here.  (Lots of my recipes are here and I’ve been adding new ones every week.)

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December 6, 2011 · 25 Comments

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  1. Magnolia Verandah says

    December 6, 2011 at 10:06 am

    What a great collection of goodies!

    Reply
  2. Laura Lee says

    December 6, 2011 at 10:39 am

    Well that certainly is encouragement for the weeks ahead! P.S. Nice handwriting Sarah!

    Reply
  3. {cindy} says

    December 6, 2011 at 10:58 am

    i just love all of these recipes Sarah. thanks for sharing them…again! 🙂
    I think carmel popcorn is going to be our neighbor/specials teacher gift this year!!:)
    have a happy day

    Reply
  4. Simply LKJ says

    December 6, 2011 at 12:02 pm

    That dip looks amazing! I might make that instead of my usual vidalia onion dip for our Christmas Bunco party. I too would not survive without my meal plan!!

    Reply
  5. Kelly says

    December 6, 2011 at 12:38 pm

    I love that everything doesn't need to be fancy, it just needs to "get done"! You are like Nike for the home!
    (And I have to agree, your feta dip is heavenly, and since making it for my bunco group last year I am asked for the recipe all the time. In fact I just saw an email requesting it a few minutes ago. I always send people to your blog).

    Reply
  6. Melissa says

    December 6, 2011 at 1:30 pm

    That feta dip is legend. Best ever~ and everywhere I bring it, they ask for the recipe and I send them to dear Clover Lane. Never thought I would all of a sudden be wanting brownies and caramel corn in the morning…quit it!

    Reply
  7. elisabeth (bovagoods) says

    December 6, 2011 at 1:32 pm

    LOVE that feta dip. i made it when our family was here over thanksgiving and it was a huge hit! i especially love how festive it is with the red, white and green!

    Reply
  8. Denise says

    December 6, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    I took your advice and started meal planning. I save all my meal plans so that Weeks when I find it difficult to plan, I pull out a previous week and use it. This might not always be the Fanciest meals but at least dinner is on the table and we are not ordering out.

    Reply
  9. Erin says

    December 6, 2011 at 2:42 pm

    Love this Sarah! I SO need to start meal planning. It's the one area of my life that I am NOT organized in…

    Reply
  10. marlowe says

    December 6, 2011 at 2:56 pm

    I've used your feta dip a hundred times since last year .. though this year … I think I'll ban it along with the egg nog 🙂

    Reply
  11. Jasmine says

    December 6, 2011 at 2:57 pm

    Thanks, one question, what do you do for teacher gifts, with a few kids in school and each having a couple teachers it gets pricy

    Reply
  12. Emily says

    December 6, 2011 at 4:14 pm

    These recipes looks awesome – printing some.

    I talked about meal planning for years, and then last summer I found a Mon/Tues/Wed etc. magnetic wipe off board at a garage sale for 50 cents. I hung it on my refrigerator and it finally got me to meal plan. It makes a world of difference in the week. (Good 50 cents I spent.)

    Reply
  13. wendy says

    December 6, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    Love your tips, thank you!
    I believe that I read on a previous post that you no longer eat meat or sugar. Do you make a different meal for yourself when meat is on the menu for dinner? I am trying to cut down myself and would appreciate any suggestions.
    Thank you!

    Reply
  14. Jen says

    December 6, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    I have used so many of your recipes Sarah, my family sometimes asks me, "Is this one of the recipes from that blog you love?" They just know I can't come up with all this deliciousness on my own 🙂

    Reply
  15. Kelli says

    December 6, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    My mouth is watering for the feta dip right now. Looks like you are having some yummy dinners this week!

    Reply
  16. Raising Laughter says

    December 6, 2011 at 7:36 pm

    Now THAT is my kinda recipe. Love your blog. Where have you been all my life? 🙂

    Reply
  17. Christine says

    December 6, 2011 at 7:42 pm

    Please come and cook at my home!! I have just proclaimed from the rooftops that we will have tacos every tues just to make my life easier.

    my poor family.

    Reply
  18. Sarah says

    December 6, 2011 at 8:28 pm

    All of these look so good. THANK YOU for mentioning my pretzels… Now I feel famous 🙂

    Reply
  19. Meredith says

    December 6, 2011 at 9:46 pm

    Everything you just posted looks AMAZING!!!! I will definitely be trying out those recipes especially the butterscotch cookies. You really can do it all!

    Reply
  20. bostonshumways says

    December 7, 2011 at 4:19 am

    thank you sarah! I needed this, especially the meal planning nudge!

    Reply
  21. Mark and Ashlie says

    December 7, 2011 at 11:18 am

    Thanks for posting your shortbread cookie recipe. I tried it last year and they were so good! They are on my list to make again this year!

    Reply
  22. Sarah says

    December 7, 2011 at 12:56 pm

    We're having a huge Christmas party here on Christmas day and, other than making my home presentable and making sure I have enough plates and utensils, I'm not cooking!! However, after seeing your feta dip recipe, I will be making that as one of our appetizers. It looks divine!! Thank you.

    Reply
  23. Heather says

    December 7, 2011 at 2:40 pm

    I think you need to post that recipe for Cheesy Italian meatball casserole! Sounds yummy!

    Reply
  24. Mirien says

    December 7, 2011 at 6:03 pm

    So I'm curious about what you eat for dinner because you said you gave up meat–and I see a few meat entrees on your list. I ask because I don't eat meat either, except for occasional fish or chicken, in small quantities. Most of my kids are okay with meatless meals, but I have two teenage boys who miss it. Maybe I should be nice like you and fix it for them anyway!

    Reply
  25. Jenny says

    December 10, 2011 at 11:03 pm

    Oh my! Love the Feta Dip! I just whipped up a small plate so my husband and I can test it out before I take it to a little gathering tomorrow at church. Love the super easiness of it and I am sure it will be "The Dish" for all of my upcoming Christmas get togethers. Thanks for sharing it!

    Reply

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