"We're in town for the day and we thought we'd drop in later. Is that okay?" The dreaded "drop in." Your week has been totally hectic already and now your friend... and her kids... are going to drop in. Cleaning up the house is going to be hard enough, but what are you going feed these people? All you have in the fridge is a lonely carton of sour cream.
But all you need is sour cream to start making these simple and delicious dishes that are perfect for guests who drop in.
Ingredients
Mini Yukon gold potatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup sour cream
Fresh dill and chives
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Wash and boil potatoes until softened, approximately 10-15 minutes.
Toss soft potatoes in a hot saute pan, with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Once the potatoes are golden brown, remove from the pan and let cool.
Cut a shallow "x" in the top of each potato.
Drop a 1/2 tsp dollop of sour cream on top of each potato and sprinkle with either finely chopped chives or a small sprig of dill.
Serve and enjoy.
Ingredients
4 slices of bacon
12 cherry tomatoes
Handful of baby spinach
2 leaves of basil
1/2 cup sour cream
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Bake the bacon, set aside to cool and chop into 1/4" slices.
Julienne (thinly slice) spinach and basil.
Quarter the cherry tomatoes.
Mix bacon, spinach, basil and cherry tomatoes into sour cream until combined.
Serve dip with crackers or breadsticks.
Ingredients
2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 cup room temperature unsalted butter
1 cup sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3 slices of baked ham
Dijon mustard
Directions
Cream together butter and sour cream.
In a small bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and cheese.
Add flour mixture to butter and sour cream in 2 batches.
Stir until combined and dough forms.
Scoop 1 tbsp of dough into buttered mini muffin tin.
Bake in 450°F oven for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Use a round cookie cutter to slice ham.
Once cooled slice biscuits in half and add ham and optional Dijon mustard.
Serve and enjoy.
Get the kids involved: When it's time to top the mini potatoes, let the kids do all the work! They can measure the sour cream and sprinkle on the herbs. Kids love mixing and stirring, so why not let them combine all the ingredients in the BLT dip? Any time the cookie cutters are out in our house, the kids like to lend a hand. Have the kids slice the ham into rounds for the little ham sandwiches.
There is nothing quite as awesome as coming home to a crock pot full of warm chili at the end of a long day at the office. The trusty crock pot has become an essential part of our daily lives. However, we have actually been ignoring another function of our slow cookers. Did you know that a crock pot is the perfect place to make hot chocolate and spiced apple cider? It's true.
For the same reasons we love to make meals in the crock pot, we can make hot beverages too. The low and slow heat is ideal for melting chocolate and steeping cider. The next time you head out for a day on the ski hill, a day at the rink or any old day, throw all the ingredients for crock pot hot chocolate or crock pot mulled apple cider in before you leave and come home and warm up with a mug of deliciousness.
Ingredients
2 litres whole milk (3.25% fat)
1 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (or dark chocolate chips)
whipped cream or marshmallows
Directions
Pour all ingredients in a crock pot and whisk to combine.
Cover and cook on the low setting for a minimum of 2 hours. Hot chocolate can be left on low heat for as long as you need.
Whisk before serving. Top with whipped cream or marshmallows.
Enjoy.
Ingredients
2 litres pure apple cider
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp whole cloves
1 tbsp whole allspice
2 clementine oranges, or 1 medium sized orange
Rum optional
Directions
Pour apple cider into slow cooker.
Wrap cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice in a square of cheesecloth and tie with kitchen twine.
Drop spices into apple cider.
Slice clementines and add to apple cider.
Cover and cook on low setting for a minimum of 4 hours. Mulled apple cider can be left on low heat for as long as you need.
If you wish, add a shot of rum to each glass of spiced apple cider before serving.
Enjoy.
What the Kids Can Do: Crock pots are a fabulous tool for kids to use in the kitchen. Have the kids pour all the ingredients into the crock pot. The kids will be amazed at the transformation from chocolate chips and milk to steaming hot chocolate.
Can you say "show-stopper Christmas cookie"? Bring these Christmas pinwheel cookies along to your next holiday gathering, and watch the jaws drop.
Now, I'm not saying that we bake for the accolades, but isn't it nice to be appreciated? I have been wanting to try my hand at making a festive swirled cookie for a while now. In the past, I made a rainbow cookie and a more simple Christmas ornament cookie. I knew this year I wanted to challenge myself with the Christmas pinwheel cookie.
I'm not going to lie, these cookies take time and patience. In the end you will have created a beautiful, one-of-a-kind cookie that is as delicious as it is beautiful. Let the kids help out and watch their amazement as you slice into the cookie dough roll to reveal swirling cookies.
Seriously, so...much...fun.
Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp festive Christmas sprinkles...sugar sprinkles, not chocolate
food coloring
Directions
In an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and light.
Beat in egg yolks, one at a time.
Add vanilla.
In a small mixing bowl whisk together flour and salt.
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients, in two batches, until dough forms. The dough will pull away from the sides of the electric mixer's bowl when it is done.
Divide dough in half and shape into disks.
With a toothpick, add red food colouring to one half and green food colouring to the other half. Knead the dough until the colouring is evenly distributed in the dough. The colour will get darker when the cookie is baked....don't worry if the red dough looks a little pink.
Wrap the disks in plastic wrap and place them in the fridge for at least 1 hour.
Remove the dough from the fridge and let it sit on the counter for about 10 minutes...to slightly soften.
Place a disk of dough on a sheet of waxed paper...this is a must...trust me, you need to use waxed paper.
Place a second piece of waxed paper over top of the disk of dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough to 1/8 inch thickness.
Set aside and repeat with the second disk.
Once both red and green doughs are rolled out it is time to combine the doughs.
Peel the top sheet of waxed paper off each sheet of dough. Carefully, flip one dough over top of the other dough...the dough should be stuck to the waxed paper...this is why you need the waxed paper.
Once the sheets of dough are on top of each other, gently press the roller across the top of the waxed paper, gently pressing the two sheets together.
Peel the top piece of waxed paper off.
With a sharp knife, trim off the jagged edges of the dough, make a clean edged square or rectangle.
Using the bottom piece of waxed paper to help, begin tightly rolling the dough away from your body. Much like rolling sushi - if you have ever done that before. 
Continue rolling and pulling off the waxed paper as you roll, until you reach the end of the dough. You will now have a cookie dough log.
Use your hands to gentle press and roll the log of dough...making sure the dough is tightly packed.
Roll the cookie dough log through a pile of festive sprinkles. Press the sprinkles into the dough.
Tightly wrap the cookie dough log in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 24 hours. The dough can be left in the freezer for up to a month.
When you are ready to bake the cookies, preheat the oven to 350°F and remove the dough from the freezer and let the dough sit on the counter for 10 minutes.
With a sharp knife, cut the dough log into 1/4" disks.
If there are any air gaps, or if the dough has crumbled as a result of being sliced, use your warm hands to press the dough back together.
Bake the cookies, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet for 10-12 minutes, until lightly golden on the bottom.
Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.
Enjoy.
What the kids can do: Pass the recipe to the kids and let them do all the reading and measuring. I would suggest an adult adds the food colouring to the dough, this can get pretty messy if left to the kids. While mom or dad can roll the dough into a log, let the kids roll the log through the sprinkles. Make sure the kids are close on hand when it's time to slice the dough. The swirly cookies that appear are seriously magical.
RELATED: 8 Easy Holiday Cookie Recipes for Your Baking Exchange
Printer-friendly version