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Hi there!

My name is Liz Shaw, fellow blogger at Shaw’s Simple Swaps, and healthy fit foodie.
I’m honored to be here today to chat with you! I had the pleasure of meeting Aggie at the Blog Brulee sponsored trip earlier this year and grew to love her even more than I did online (is that possible?)
Anyways, as a registered dietitian nutritionist, I’m always on the hunt for simple swaps I can incorporate into those delightful holiday recipes to make the perfect homemade gift. Nothing screams the holiday season like a gift from the heart, right?

Plus, I love it when I can show friends that REAL food tastes good and is GOOD for them too!

So, in the spirit of the season, here are three #shawsimpleswap tips to inspire you to build your own DIY healthy holiday gifts for teachers, friends and family this year.

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Every year around this time as I’m getting to the end of my Christmas shopping list I seem to run into the same problem. There are always a few people on my list (translate: the men) that I seem to struggle finding the perfect gift for. And don’t take this the wrong way, but it’s mostly because they already have everything they want or need. They are grown men after all, and don’t really hesitate when it comes to purchasing something they need or want for themselves – and usually it’s way before the holidays approach.

My husband, Larry, definitely falls into this category (along with my dad, my grandpa and my brother).

Lucky for me, all the men (including my husband) in my family have something in common – they like to eat. I mentioned the other day that I like to make things like spice blends and other homemade food gifts to gift some of the hard to shop for men in my family, but I have to say, when my friends at Harry and David offered to send the man in my life a gift (to review) I knew he would be thrilled.

My husband’s tastes definitely fall into the meat and cheese category when it comes to food. He also loves collecting gourmet mustards and condiments to dress up that meat and cheese any time we are traveling or just visiting a specialty food store. Knowing this, and being able to send him a nice package full of everything he enjoys from Harry and David made me a happy gift giver.

Can you imagine all the glorious grilled cheese goodness that can happen with this beautiful cheese?

I know there’s always a few (translate: men) in the family that tend to linger on the holiday shopping list too long. If they like food, then most likely you’ll be able to find a sausage and cheese snack box like this one  to send. It’s something they’ll be able to enjoy snacking on throughout the holidays and even for some time after the holidays are over.

A few more gift options for him to consider:

Salmon Trio
Table Rock Turkey or Ham Buffet Gift
Holiday Founders Favorite

(This post was sponsored by Harry and David, but as always my opinions are 100% my own.)

The post Holiday Gifts For Him From Harry & David appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Most of these can be made at pretty short notice, which I like. These types of gifts are also great for friends, neighbors, teachers and co-workers. The spice blends are great gifts for those you know like to cook – just pick up inexpensive spice jars at a place like World Market for easy packaging (don’t forget a coupon!). My friend Heidi has been giving us whipped honey butter for the last couple of years and my whole family looks forward to it each time. I love the idea of packaging up a Christmas coffee blend for the coffee lovers in my life, how nice would it be to wake up to a pot of spiced coffee Christmas morning!

Hope you are inspired to make something special with some of these ideas this year. Nothing made me happier than getting a text of a picture of my brother-in-law at the grill using up the last of his bbq spice rub asking for more! 🙂

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Goodness gracious, Thanksgiving is seriously right around the corner. Like, 10-ish days away around the corner. Not trying to stress you out or anything…

My favorite part of Thanksgiving has never been the turkey or the ham. For me, the star(s) of the meal have always been the Thanksgiving side dishes. From sweet potato casserole to all kinds of veggies prepared all kinds of ways to my family’s favorite Italian stuffing…my plate is usually filled to the max with plenty of deliciousness. No disrespect to the turkey, I usually manage to find a spot – though small spot – for a piece of him as well, for the sake of the holiday and all.

Since most of us are already in Thanksgiving menu planning mode, I wanted to bring forward a few Thanksgiving side dish recipes I’ve cooked up for my family over the years, along with plenty of others from friends around the web. Whether you are looking for traditional or want to get a little adventurous this year, there is something for everyone. Happy menu planning!

Cranberry Sauces and Relishes

Apple Orange Cranberry Sauce (shown above)
Slow Cooker Cranberry Sauce
Simple and Amazing Cranberry Sauce
Apple Cranberry Tangerine Sauce
Boozy Cranberry Sauce with Port Wine and Cloves
Tequila and Lime Jalapeno Cranberry Sauce
Maple Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce
Cranberry Pear Ginger Relish
Pomegranate Apple Cranberry Relish
Cranberry Orange Walnut Relish

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Christmas Eve is by far my favorite meal of the year. For as long as I can remember, we have pretty much eaten mostly the same few dishes (all seafood) every single Christmas Eve and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s a feast I tell you.

I didn’t really ‘know’ this until I was older, but apparently, our Christmas Eve feast is called Feast of the 7 Fishes. For all I knew, growing up, it was just what we did, what we ate on Christmas Eve…I didn’t realize it was such a cultural thing until later on. What I love, especially in food blogging world, is seeing other people celebrating Christmas Eve the same way…similar food, similar traditions. It’s pretty cool.

These pictures on this post were taken a few years back, I can’t believe I am just now blogging about it now. I am shocked it took this long…and that my kids looked like this that year…my babies!!

Sammy was huge into Transformers this year…

Gosh, I just love the belly on that baby girl…

And my sweet grandparents…one of my favorite pictures of them.

Amore!!

And of course the food…

Here we have simple shrimp cooked in lemon and wine …

 Fish Oreganata (this was my contribution a couple years back)

Steamed Mussels with wine and tomatoes (similar to Paula’s recipe here)

Chilled Seafood Salad… (similar to Gina’s Chilled Calamari Salad here)

All seafood…a total feast I tell you.

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The post Sicilian Spaghetti with Breadcrumbs…and my favorite meal of the year appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

This year we are celebrating the holiday with my husband’s family at my sister-in-law’s house…all 26 of us (and there are some family members not able to make it still!). There will be lots of cousins playing, sisters in the kitchen cooking, our spouses being bossed around and great grandparents watching it all. How blessed are we!! My sister-in-law Maxine lives on plenty of beautiful land so the space and scenery is perfect for it all.

I hope everyone takes a moment this year to count their blessings, whatever they may be. Mine are abundant…I have a great family and extended family that I can always count on, a husband who encourages me and brings me coffee in bed every morning and 2 happy kids that make me who I am. This year has had its challenges and adjustments and while I try to take everything in stride (I don’t always), I’ve learned a lot about life and myself and am thankful for every single life lesson that comes my way. This year has been a year for friendships too, my life is more full than ever because of a few special people that have been put in my life and I am ever so grateful for that. My biggest life lesson that I learned this year is to always strive to be the best version of yourself, in whatever situation you are in. You own your words, your actions, your feelings…be confident in who you are and never doubt yourself…and don’t be afraid to grow.

God Bless everyone who reads my words here and encourages me along the way…I love what I do and am ever so grateful for the opportunities this little blog has brought me this year. This blog has made my world a smaller place, and boy is that a blessing in itself.

In case you’re wondering…I’m bringing this yummy apple cranberry sauce to Thanksgiving this year, along with some of these Roasted Green Beans with Shallots and Almonds, Roasted Carrots and of course my Nonna’s Italian Stuffing. Like I said…the sides are where it’s at!!!

Apple-Cranberry-Tangerine Sauce
Recipe from Aggie’s Kitchen

2 cups fresh squeezed tangerine juice
1 1/4 cups sugar (plus 1/4 cup more if needed, adjust to your taste of sweetness)
2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
2 12 oz bags fresh unsweetened cranberries, rinsed
zest from 2 tangerines
2 Jonagold or Gala apples, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons corn starch

In a medium saucepan, bring juice, sugar and cinnamon stick up to a boil and let simmer for about 5 minutes. Add cranberries, zest and apples to juice and gently stir. Bring to a slow boil and then simmer for about 15-20 minutes until cranberries are broken.

In a small bowl combine water and cornstarch into a ‘slurry’ and stir into cranberry sauce. Take sauce off heat and let cool.

Makes appx 7 cups (which is a lot so be sure to freeze some!)

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Have the happiest of Thanksgivings… and its totally okay to wear yoga pants!

xoxo

The post Apple-Cranberry-Tangerine Sauce and a Happy Thanksgiving to you… appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

Over the last few years, I have found myself making more and more food gifts for my family and friends for the holidays. Cookies and other sweets are usually a given but I like to get a little creative and try something different…like this homemade bbq rub and peach barbecue sauce I gave the men in my family last year.

I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas on any homemade holiday gifts you may have made over the years. This year I would love to make a hot sauce and bottle it up for gifts so if you have a recipe please share it with me!

I started a Homemade Foodie Gift series over at Family Kitchen where I’ll be sharing ideas for homemade gifts for the upcoming holidays. I’ll be posting a couple ideas a week for the next few weeks and have already shared this great Pumpkin Pie Spice and Cinnamon Honey Butter, if you missed those be sure to go check them out!

Have a great weekend!

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