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Thanksgiving Recipes for Beginners

It doesn’t matter if this is your first time preparing Thanksgiving dinner or your third. The Willow Hill Blog has a few simple recipes that still maintain all the flavor we love in a good Thanksgiving dinner. If you’re planning on staying in your apartment to celebrate the upcoming holiday, or if you are planning to leave Puyallup, WA, these recipes will come in handy wherever you are. The first recipe in our list is for Easy Herb Roasted Turkey . You’ll need one 12-pounds turkey, olive oil, garlic powder, dried basil, ground sage, salt, pepper, and water. To make, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Clean the turkey by discarding the giblets and organs. Then place the bird in a roasting pan with a lid. In a small bowl, you’ll combine the olive oil, garlic powder, basil, sage, salt, and pepper. Apply the mixture to the outside of the uncooked turkey using a basting brush. Don’t forget to pour the water into the bottom of the roasting pan before you cover the turkey. Cooking the turkey will take over three hours, so find something to do while waiting. Why not crack open a good book? Of course, you can’t have Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes and gravy. This Easy Turkey Gravy recipe has a nice flavor and creamy texture. Never made mashed potatoes before? These Day Before Mashed Potatoes are filled with great flavor. If you like stuffing, try this recipe for Bread and Celery Stuffing . Whether you actually stuff the turkey or eat it on the side, you’ll love the flavor of this dish. It’s so much better than buying a box of stuffing at the store. We couldn’t forget the most important part of the meal: dessert. This recipe for Pumpkin Cream Pie is perfect for the holidays. Topped with whipped cream and crushed pecans, this is a sweet treat you don’t want to miss out on. And if you have guests over, neither will they! Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving recipe? Share in the comments so we all can enjoy making it this month. Happy Thanksgiving!

Seven Things to do with Leftover Halloween Candy

Now that Halloween has passed, you probably have a lot of leftover candy. While consuming it every day until it’s gone might sound like fun, we have a few other ideas you might like. Today the Willow Hill Blog is sharing seven things you can do with leftover Halloween candy in your Puyallup, Washington apartment. Freeze it If you’ve got a lot of chocolate leftover, freezing it is one of the best things you can do. Not only does this help prolong the life of the candy, it also helps with future recipes. Adding frozen chocolate to milkshakes, sundaes, and ice cream are just a few examples. Have a mini Snickers bar? Break it up and add to your dessert. Bake it Adding mini peanut butter cups or M&Ms into a cake batter, cookie dough, or brownie batter is a great idea. You could even break up the candy and use it as a topping for your dessert. Combine it Do you like trail mix? Make your own wild trail mix by adding your favorite candies along with some salty favorites, like nuts and pretzels, to a sandwich bag for your next outing. Pair it Chocolates, caramels, and even some candies with fruity flavors pair nicely with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee. Craft it With Thanksgiving and Christmas approaching, this is a great time to make your own advent calendar. Alpha Mom has instructions for this fun leftover Halloween candy repurposing project that cost less than $5 to make. Enjoy reading about the calendar as well as other fun ways to repurpose Halloween candy. Transform it It’s almost time to make gingerbread houses. Use your leftover Halloween Candy to transform a plain gingerbread house into a dazzling candy palace. Smash it Does someone have a birthday in the next month? Fill a pinata with the leftover candy. Everyone will love it, and it saves you from buying more candy. Other than eating it, what do you do with your leftover Halloween candy? Share in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

A Book and a Warm Drink

It’s October, the holiday cheer is approaching, and we are left to slog through cold weather until springtime brings relief from wintertime dreariness. But why wait until spring? A good book and a warm drink are sure winners to brighten your evening. Today, the Willow Hill Blog will provide some ideas for warm drinks and some good reads so that you can be prepared for what will come these fall and winter seasons. Enjoy these from the comfort of your apartment in Puyallup, WA. First the books. Favorite genres vary, so this list includes a variety of genres to choose from: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Young Adult Fiction) — The setting is a dystopian society, where teenager Wade Watt lives on the fringes. When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his billions. And contest users are willing to kill to win. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer (Historical Fiction). A Goodreads reviewer describes the book: “January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….” Becoming Odyssa: Epic Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis (Contemporary) follows Jennifer as she hikes the Appalachian Trail, and describes her adventures and the realizations she comes to during the forty-six days it takes to hike the 2,181-mile trail between Maine and Georgia. Second, warm drinks! For starters, let’s start with some basic recipes for hot cocoa and spiced cider. It doesn’t have to be snowing to enjoy these great drinks! Homemade Hot Cocoa ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup granulated sugar ? cup hot water ? tsp salt 4 cups milk (Dairy or nondairy) 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Mix cocoa powder, sugar, water, and salt together in a medium saucepan. Over medium heat, stir constantly and bring to a boil. Boil one minute. Reduce heat to a simmer, add milk and heat through. (Do not boil.) Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. (For a flavorful variation add a drop of peppermint extract.) Makes five servings. Hot Spiced Cider 8 cups fresh apple cider or apple juice 3 cinnamon sticks 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg 4 whole cloves 1 orange, cut into slices Heat the cider, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and orange slices in a 3-quart saucepan.Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes or until the mixture is hot, stirring occasionally. Or mix ingredients in a slow cooker, heat on high until hot and then turn to warm setting. If you want to get more adventurous, check out this blog: Fifty Hot Drink Recipes to Warm You Up on a Cold Day Please feel free to share your favorite recipe or book recommendation in the comments.

Relax

We can safely say that nearly everyone is already aware of stress, whether it’s from a big project at work or school, changing relationships, a death in the family, or the holidays. While this is a time of year for fun and great food, it can also be a time of stress. Join the Willow Hill Blog as we explore different ways to reduce stress in and out of your Puyallup, WA apartment. Here’s what we discovered in our research: Start and end the day with a few minutes of quiet meditation. Take those few moments and ground yourself by connecting with the here and now. Take several deep breaths. In the morning, anticipate a positive that will happen during the day. In the evening, review what went well, and give yourself credit. Write your stress away. Keep a junk journal, a private journal where you can record all the junk that’s happening in your life and then let it go. Simply writing it down will often help you quit fretting about it, whatever it happens to be. Some people like to burn up pages from their junk journal when the situation is resolved, which can be very freeing. Collect hugs throughout your day. Touch is important, and it’s been proven to reduce anxiety and stress. If you are not a huggy-touchy person, schedule a massage, which is another great stress reliever. Turn on some tunes. Find a lullabye station to stream and let the music help you relax, or listen to nature sounds or white noise to slow down and relax before bedtime. If you're stuck in a traffic jam, try this relaxing exercise. Grab your steering wheel and clench the muscles in your fingers, arms, shoulders, and back. Do this until your muscles begin to tremble (about 45 seconds), then release. This will create a wave of relief in your upper neck and arms all the way down to your fingers. Just be sure your foot is on the brake when you let go of the wheel! What is your favorite stress-reduction technique? We would love to hear about it. Please feel free to share in the comments!

Something Sweet For Halloween

Halloween is coming and that means it’s time for something sweet! Last week, we featured a few tasty recipes from around the world. This week, we’re shared a few recipes that land on the sweeter side of life. Enjoy reading through these five delicious recipes which feature pecans as the main ingredient. The Willow Hill Blog invites you to get together with a few friends in your apartment, make a treat, and celebrate this spooky holiday like you never have before!. Peach Pecan Crisp from Sally’s Baking Addiction Dish up a bowl of this peach pecan crisp with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. Our favorite part of this recipe is the topping. Make the topping with brown sugar, all-purpose flour, rolled oats, cinnamon, salt, pecans, and butter. Butter Pecan Fudge from Growing Up Gabel You can make this butter pecan fudge in just fifteen minutes. Butter, white sugar, brown sugar, heavy whipping cream, salt, vanilla extract, powdered sugar, and pecans combine for a dessert that is just the right amount of sweet. Classic Pecan Snowball Cookies from Life Made Sweeter Share these classic snowball cookies with friends this month. This delicious dessert can be made with unsalted butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, all-purpose flour, and pecans. Pour a tall glass of milk and enjoy a plate of these cookies. Apple Pecan Fritter Bites from Great Grub, Delicious Treats We think that these apple pecan fritter bites would make the perfect breakfast. Top this treat with a glaze made of powdered sugar, vanilla, and almond milk. Pair this treat with a side of fruit. Coconut Pecan Chocolate Chip Granola from Chef Savvy Make coconut pecan chocolate chip granola for a tasty snack. Combine coconut oil, honey, oats, shredded unsweetened coconut, pecans, and semisweet chocolate chips to make this sweet treat. What are your favorite pecan recipes? Leave us your favorite recipes in the comments. Also, let us know about your favorite bakery in Puyallup, WA, and your favorite thing off the menu, below. Thanks for reading our post!

Recipes from Around the World

When done well, one taste of something delicious can transport you from your apartment to a destination around the world. Talk about a cheap passport! This month, the Willow Hill Blog invites you on a culinary adventure. Join us today as we leave Puyallup, WA to visit Italy, India, Greece, Germany, and a few countries in the Middle East. “It takes a little work, but it is worth it,” says the creator of what has been claimed to be the World’s Best Lasagna . With one pound of sweet Italian sausage, crushed garlic, minced onion, lean ground beef, tomato paste, dried basil leaves, and a slew of other ingredients, this recipe is a definite winner. Yes, it takes over three hours until it’s ready for eating, but believe us when we say that it’s well worth the wait! If you’re looking for a classic recipe that will put a smile on your face and a craving for more in your stomach, try this Indian recipe for Butter Chicken . “Marinated overnight, the chicken is roasted and cooked in tomato puree, cream, and masalas” — sounds delicious, doesn’t it? Heading to Greece, there’s no better passport than a bite of moussaka , a Greek dish made with ground lamb, eggplant, tomatoes, and cheese. With nearly thirty ingredients listed for this recipe, your next trip to the supermarket will be a big one. Rest assured, the instructions to make this great dish are very straightforward and, as always, worth it. For many people, one taste of homemade pot roast is a quick trip home. Well, feel right at home in Germany with Sauerbraten , a German pot roast. While there aren’t many ingredients, this recipe takes a lot of time marinating and cooking. The end result is what some people would call the perfect meal. We recommend paying attention to some of the reviews following the recipe, as some people have made some alterations to make this recipe even better. For our final recipe of the day, we’re heading to the Middle East. Baklava is tedious to make, but if done right ends up both looking and tasting great! With crisp-flaky layers and a gooey-sticky filling, this sweet treat is one that you’ll make you smile after each bite. We hope you enjoy a culinary adventure with these amazing recipes that take you around the world! Don’t let us stop you from adventuring to other countries. What international recipes are your favorites? Thanks for reading today’s post.