…I Get To Decide What My Holidays Are Like

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The story of the holiday season: We scroll and see the best and we feel like the worst. So this year, I’m laying down some boundaries. Some standards we Hollands are going to live by. Hopefully. Until I see someone with a well-placed ‘Welcome Santa’ on their front porch and demand we turn our front yard into a poor man’s Dollywood. But, until then, these are the things I will and will not do this holiday season and I’m bringing the person you want along with you on any new venture – our friend Brooke. Here’s No One Told Me I Get To Decide What My Holidays Are Like. 

Show Notes:

• Crate Joy
• Fitbit

Brooke’s Mom’s Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup orange juice

12 ounces cranberries (fresh or frozen)

2 teaspoons orange zest

pinch of salt

Directions:

Place the sugar and orange juice in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer.

Add the cranberries, orange zest and salt. Simmer for 8-10 minutes or until cranberries have burst. (If you prefer a chunkier sauce, add 3/4 of the berries, then after the cranberries have burst, stir the remaining 1/4 cranberries in.)

Let the cranberry sauce sit at room temperature until cool, then transfer to a container and store in the fridge until you are ready to serve it.

Callie’s Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups pretzels, crushed

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3/4 cup melted butter

1 6 ounce box instant strawberry jello

1 16 ounce container fresh strawberries, sliced OR 1 10 ounce package frozen strawberries

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 8 ounce container of cool whip

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine crushed pretzels, brown sugar and melted butter. Press into a lightly greased 9×13 pan. Bake for 8 minutes and let cool completely.

Make the jello according to package instructions. Mix in the strawberries. Refrigerate for an hour to let it partially set.

Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. Fold in the cool whip. Spread the mixture over the top of the pretzel crust to the edges so the jello won’t leak through.

Pour the jello over the cream cheese layer and refrigerate for 2-3 hours before serving.