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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
Oh lord my bucket list is huge! But here goes!
Once December 18 is here I want to bake something every day…cookies, pies, fudge, cake…yes! I already have my family sending holiday requests.
Go shopping with the family (one at time…more covert that way 😉 because it’s always entertaining and those are the memories that last!
Watch holiday movies with my cousin until the wee hours in the morning drinking wine and cookies, and laughing about our ridiculous and A-mazing cousinisms (silly quotes/inside jokes…yes we made up a word for it…lol)!
Walk, run, or move in general so I don’t end up looking like an oompa loompa. Cuz yes, I can stuff my face with delectable sweets like the best of them.
READ. For some reason I’m in the mood for a sappy historical romance novel, especially if it’s set during the holidays or just winter. Wait…what?…no…yeah…I just said that.
Help someone in need. My boyfriend and I always choose a child from the Angel Tree and buy presents for them. This year I’d like to do something a little extra. Not sure what yet. Serve food at a homeless shelter? Spend quality time at a nursing home? They all sound good to me.
Dance with my man until my feet are sore on New Year’s Eve. Then watch the fireworks cuz I’m a girl that likes all things that sparkle and shimmer.
And finally…the day after New Year’s hold my head up high and say the famous words of Fat Amy from Pitch Perfect, “Crushed it!”
My bucket list is taking my annual christmas picture – we started the first year of dating and now is our first year married!
1) I love your posts. Your food is my spirit animal (sorry if that’s weird) and I love your photography. I graduated with a photo degree and just love your look! I want to eventually get into staging and possibly food photography and your stuff is seriously an inspiration!
2) Bucket list=family recipe GUMDROP COOKIES. It’s a family recipe we only make at christmastime and they’re the best cookies ever (secret ingredient=lard).
These photos are gorgeous! I would love to have this simmering on my stove top right now!
My Christmas Bucket List:
1. Finish shopping!
2. Decorate gingerbread houses.
3. Eat my mom’s cinnamon rolls on Christmas morning.
Staub is amazing! Thanks for this chance to win 🙂
At the top of my bucket list? Watch Christmas Vacation, Love Actually and Home Alone (maybe even a double-feature with Home Alone 2)…while eating ginger cookies and sipping from enormous mugs of pumpkin hot chocolate!
My bucket list – (1) finish decorating all 5 Christmas cakes that I’ve been told I have to make this year.
(2) get blogging again after having to abandon it for a few weeks due to school work
(3) finish my university application while trying to plan Christmas Dinner
Running a marathon for a cause is on my bucket list
Hi Tieghan! So my Christmas bucket list: host my friends for my annual (ha! can it be called annual if it’s only the second time I’ve done it? ) Christmas brunch, make All the Cookies, make some edible stocking stuffers, watch “Love Actually”, see the holiday train at the Botanical Gardens, and hopefully still snag a cheap flight so I can go home for Christmas! : )
What a nice idea! I plan on making these to bring as a hostess gift for an upcoming Christmas party!
The one thing I must do before Christmas is make pierogis with my grandmother for our Christmas Eve Wigilia dinner. My grandmother is 95 this year, so being able to make those delicious little potato and sauerkraut dumplings together is such a meaningful part of the holidays.
I actually just want to take some time just to sit with my family in front of the fire, hug them all, and tell them how much I love them.
I want to do all sorts of things before Christmas — most involve cooking copious amounts of cookies, candy and fudge for all my friends!
Number one on my Christmas bucket list is to watch White Christmas. I haven’t gotten to it yet this year, but I watch it at least once every holiday season and if I don’t see it before December 25th then it’s just not Christmas.
This Christmas I am going to keep playing secret Santa as long as I can! At the office, in my neighborhood, and with my family and friends!
Oh MY GOSH!!! This is amazing! I want to Make this definitely before christmas! Also this is first on my Christmas Bucket List! Go Ice skating downtown!
Love your blog! I’m looking forward to trying your rib-roast for Christmas-eve dinner.
My Christmas bucket list includes baking and making gingerbread house with my girls. We skipped last year because we went out of town for Christmas, and my daughter’s been talking about how much she enjoys the tradition.