Day 26 is all about planning your holiday baking.  Yes, there are so many traditions tied to food around the holidays, but when is enough enough?  Holiday baking should be a pleasure, so think smaller and more simple.  

 

Now, we do a lot of baking around here, but for our family, the time we spend on the creation of holiday goodies IS part of our tradition, more than how many cookies we can make, which means that is how we choose to spend our time instead of some other holiday activity we could be doing instead.  We pick a couple we all would like to make and eat and just focus on those.  Also, doubling up on batches of drop cookies and bars (so much easier than the shaped ones) help fill out our Thanksgiving and Christmas cookie trays, thanks to storing some in the freezer.

 

The recipe for today is a freezer recipe for a mac and cheese with ham cubes.  I would freeze a batch of  Chicken Wild Rice Soup instead.  It is so comforting on those busy days ahead…