President's Choice Holidays - Part III

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Our American peeps have now watched the parade and enjoyed Thanksgiving Dinner. I hope it was a great one for all. Today there are two groups of people; those who are brave enough to hit the stores for Black Friday for the greatest shopping extravaganza in the U.S. and those who are busy making turkey soup and figuring out what to do with the leftovers from yesterday's dinner. Maybe some are doing both. Thoughts and plans now take a shift to THE holiday season. In the EOK household, the planning is in full swing. President's Choice , for me has been the helper to a "friend in need" when it comes to the planning. The next gift that I opened was a package of these oh so practical baking pans. I'm loving them and relinquished half my stash to Psychgrad who apparently loves them too. They're a perfect 9x9 size, silicone lined and reusable and in a pinch I would use them in a recipe that calls for an 8x8 pan.



The next day along came a Canadian classic; Butter Tart square mix. Butter tart anything (squares, tarts) has always been a big favourite in our family. Of course, the mix was talking to me ..... "make me, make me". I poured myself some of the PC Cranberry and Ginger Ale (it's incredible alone or even mixed with alcohol) and started to put it together.



.... so I did. I didn't exactly time it but it sure didn't take long for them to disappear. I used the 9x9 pan here even though it called for an 8x8 and they turned out just fine.



The price I saw them at my local Loblaws store was $3.00 and I knew that having these in my cupboard was a necessity. Beyond my own pantry, I began thinking about how many gifts could be sent from Canada to expats and non Canadians to give them the flavour of Canada. They're cheap, light weight and would travel well. My Australian family would love these as much as I love receiving Lamingtons from them.

The next day along came Belgian Chocolate Cake Mix. Hmmmm...squares, petit fours, a quick dessert with ice cream - so many possibilities and they can be done within an hour start to finish.



.... and - if you just want to have them on hand, the next day's sampling is a box of freezer bags to put them in and have them ready when company drops by. I like the size of these bags and plan to also use them to package a Nuts n' Bolts recipe I do every year. If you're doing home made, you can create your cookie mixes for gifting and keep them in the freezer ready to package when needed.



These mini peanut butter chips (if I don't snack them all before I bake) are creating combinations with white and dark chocolate. I'll throw some in with my nut mixes as well for an interesting variation.



I've been away for a few days and have just received the second President's Choice package. Stay tuned - you won't believe what's coming in my next post!!! This is the time of year that the best of the best is found in our grocery stores. The freshest products, the newest releases - Enjoy!!!