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Sage Crusted Standing Rib Roast with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce.
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I don’t know about you, but I love the smell of Christmas. Give someone the gift of a Christmas scent (homemade holiday potpourri) this holiday season!
Fresh pine, cinnamon, vanilla, and orange. So fresh, yet so cozy. To me, there’s nothing better than a snow day and a pot of homemade potpourri simmering on the stove. It’s winter perfection.
Last Christmas, I made potpourri in a pot for us all to enjoy, but this year I thought, why not take those scents and turn them into a gift for all our friends and family to enjoy as well. I know, I know, I am just so nice…right. Seriously though, this is such a quick and simple gift, I cannot believe I never thought of it before!
I have customized these cute little bags to my liking, but feel free to use a little more of this and a little less of that so that your Christmas scent is just PERFECT for you.
I also used fresh cranberries and oranges in my bag. Since I will be gifting these bags to Asher teachers tomorrow, I stored them in the fridge. If you would prefer, you can make these using all dried fruits, and then you don’t have to worry about the fruit going bad. For me, the fresh cranberries and oranges make a huge difference both in appearance and in smell, just sayin.
OKAY, and now for a fun/sort of serious part of this post. In keeping with my goal to really try to give back this December, today I have partnered with ZWILLING J.A. Henckels (aka my bestest buddies) to gift THREE readers one of my FAVORITE Staub pots. I’m pretty excited about it, AND you get to choose your favorite color (my favorites are the matte black and grenadine)! I know, so fun!
Staub is hands down my all time favorite cookware. Their pots, skillets, and dishware are honestly the best. I know you guys will LOVE this Staub Cast Iron 4 Quart Cocotte. It’s the pot I use most in the kitchen!! Love it!
While I am so excited to be gifting you guys some of my favorite cookware, I am also really excited to share a little info about the charity I am giving to this week. My mom has always made a point to give back, especially around Christmas. This year, she has really inspired me to give back myself, and today I wanted to chat a little about a charity I think is pretty close to a lot of people’s hearts.
St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital works day and night to help save the lives of thousands of children battling cancer. Cancer is something that has probably affected most us in some way or another. I know it has greatly affected my family. This is one of the many reasons I feel so lucky to be able to give back and help support such an amazing organization like St. Jude’s.
I was laying in bed the other night finishing up some work, I think it was like 11:45 pm and I was so ready for bed, but me being me, I just couldn’t go to sleep without a little something fun. At least for a few minutes of a Christmas movie was a must. I told myself I would only watch ten minutes, but of course, I picked one of those sappy, tear-filled Hallmark Christmas movies. A huh, you know what I’m talking about.
Anyway, long story short, the movie was about a young boy with leukemia. His mother wrote a blog about their journey, staying at St. Jude’s, and the everyday ups and downs. To say that it was intense is an understatement. I totally cried my way through the ending, but even though the story was so sad, it was also very upbeat and positive at the same time. It’s hard to explain, and I am a horrible story-teller, but the point is that it really made you think and be grateful and so happy for what you have, you know?
I really could not think of a better organization to donate to this Christmas. Kids are everything, full of innocence, energy, and life. Knowing that by giving, even just a little, I can help to fund research that can potentially help save lives, is a great feeling.
So today I am encouraging you all to give a little back too, if it’s at all possible! Please check out the St. Jude’s Website, watch the videos, learn about the kids, and learn how you can help save a life.
Sorry if that all totally sounds like an ad, BUT it’s Christmas, and it’s a time for giving, not just receiving… of course that’s fun too!
To enter the Staub GIVEAWAY: tell me what is on your bucket list of things you MUST do before Christmas? Do you want to go ice skating? Bake pounds of Christmas Cookies? Decorate Gingerbread houses? Make Homemade Holiday Potpourri for gifting?
Leave your answer in the comments and I will pick THREE winners one week from today!! Oh, and if you do decide to give to St. Jude’s, please email me or let me know in the comments. I will send you a big internet hug! 🙂
Happy potpourri making friends!
Christmas Potpourri.
Servings: 1 BAG HOMEMADE CHRISTMAS POTPOURRI
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries OR 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2-3 cinnamon sticks crushed
- 1-2 star ansie optional
- 1 tablespoon cardamom crushed
- 2 teaspoons whole cloves
- 1/4 cup candied ginger
- 1 vanilla bean halved lengthwise
- 1 fresh pine or 1 sprig rosemary
- 1 cup Satsuma or tangerine OR 1/3 candied orange peel
Instructions
- Combine all the ingredients except the orange in a burlap bag or glass jar. If using a jar, add the orange and seal the jar. If using a burlap bag, tie the sack shut and then tie the orange onto the outside of the sack. You can also just place the orange inside the sack. Decorate as desired.
- If using fresh cranberries and oranges, gift the potpourri within 2-3 days of making and keep stored in the fridge. If you use all dried fruits, the potpourri can be stored at room temperature for up to a month.
- To make the Potpourri, add the contents of your bag (or jar) to a medium size pot. Add water until it comes 3/4 the way up the pot. Simmer on the stove over low heat, adding water every so often to keep it from drying up.
If only you could smell my potpourri simmering away. SO Christmasy!! And isn’t that Staub pot the most beautiful thing ever? It’s really a work of art! I know I have already said this, but it’s my favorite!
Lastly, if you make this Homemade Holiday Potpourri be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
This post was originally published on December 6, 2015
Sign Christmas carols with my family 🙂
Pre-Christmas Bucket List:
Oh man, so many things, so little time!
-I still have yet to make any gingerbread goodness, which is borderline unacceptable, so top of my list: make ALL the gingerbread confections!
-Secondly, (not really something I have any power over, but…) the skies have yet to open up and blanket us with a lovely layer of snow in New Hampshire. I am having minor panic attacks that this may not happen before Christmas. So second on my list, frolic through snow, even if I have to hike up a mountain to find it.
-Tree cutting! I’m envisioning finding the perfect tree whilst wrapped in cozy scarves and mittens, followed immediately by steaming mugs of mulled cider toddies. Then decorating the tree between bites of above mentioned gingerbread goodness.
-Christmas shopping… *winces looking at calendar* yes, this still needs to happen.
-Christmas movie night. Amid more toddies and gingerbread goodness. Snuggled in cozy flannel and warm blankets. Wood-stove fire warming the body and soul.
-Finish homemade Christmas presents. So much sewing. So much baking. So much crafting. By Christmas I will be a Cousin It creature covered in stray threads and paper scraps, powdered with flour, and sticking to everything with my gluey fingers.
The list could go on and on, but I’d better stop myself somewhere.
I wante to go ice skating yet before Christmas.
I would LOVE to win one of those gorgeous pots! This year our advent calendar is 24 days of dates! It’s been so much fun already and a great way to connect with my husband during this usually hectic season.
My bucket list…..when my boys and their girlfriends come home for Christmas, I want them to open the door, see and smell the memories they grew up with. A beautiful tree, twinkling lights everywhere, cookies and sweets ready to be snacked on, lots of hugs ( and probably a few happy tears from mom!).
I have bookmarked so, so, so many recipes that I want to make for the holidays that at this point, I would be happy to make 3 of them. I’m excited to make some home-made gifts to give. Happy Holidays!
I am going to make tons of loaves of sourdough bread and baguettes for all my friends and family. That’s my newest kick!!
Nothing too fancy…I basically want to have time to finish my shopping which never seems done and I would love love love to find time to make holiday cookies for friends and family!
Bucket list for pre-Christmas
1-clean house (I have started on that!)
2-decorate house (started that too!)
3-pack and decorate gift jars of sugar cookies, brownies, cocoa drink for giveaway!
4-finish Christmas shopping and handmade items (quilts, paintings, and food)
5-wrap gifts and ship gifts that need to be shipped
6-get Christmas cards signed sealed and delivered
7-sit down, put my feet up and watch POLAR EXPRESS with a cup of hot cocoa and my hubby and my doggie! Have a MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A BLESSED NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!!
I still have to make cookies, mail cards and make gift baskets. I volunteer to serve meals on Christmas day at a Senior Center and take a few gift baskets along.
Finish my decorating and go ice skating!
Can’t wait for my son to get here (NC) from college in Ohio. We recently moved here and my son doesn’t feel like NC is “home”. So I suppose my big must do for the holidays are all the things that remind him of “home for Christmas”. Decorating and shopping are done, so now it is time to plan some outings and cook some of his favorite meals. He would love your Standing Rib roast so I am going to make it!
I absolutely love potpourri. I am always on the the lookout for great smelling candles and potpourri for the house, especially at Christmas. I will definitely be making some this year. I love your website and appreciate your recipes! I also love to cook and bake and collecting awesome cookware has become an obsession. I absolutely adore cast iron enamel cookware! My son and I love to cook together and we make Sunday dinners together and those memories I will always cherish. I am in the process of making Christmas cookies to share with my friends and family. It is so nice to have them ask me if I’m making cookies this year! I love pinterest and i am always looking for interesting recipes that I can try. I don’t like making the same recipes all the time! I have found some great recipes from other countries such as Hungary, France, and especially Italy. So I need to get busy baking. Not to mention I need to finish my Christmas shopping! Anyway, I would love to receive the Staub enamel pot and make more cherished memories with my son and share our creations with our family! Thank you and Merry Christmas to you
Before Christmas, I would just like a day of peace. No running around, no working, just peace. Cooking grants me peace, so that’s allowed, but nothing else, just peace.
I’m always baking this time of year, so that goes without saying. What I really want to do is set up my grandmother’s Christmas village. She’s 88, so we stopped setting it up years ago because it’s a lot of work to take down and she can’t do it alone. The Christmas village is one of my best childhood memories, though, and is worth the effort for the wonder and magic it brings to Christmas. My sisters and older cousins all remember it fondly, but the little ones never got to experience it.
Well, I’ve convinced myself- the village needs to go up this year!