The hustle and bustle of the holidays have already begun. Before you know it, we’ll all be eating Thanksgiving leftovers and moving on to Christmas dessert recipes.  I’m noticing that my calendar is getting fuller with parties, events, and just general busyness. In fact, I just threw a little crafting party the other day trying to get a handle on my Christmas crafting. I’ll be showing you those crafts later this week, but today I wanted to show you some of the foods I made for the party.

I headed to Walmart to pick up all my party food ingredients plus a few craft related items too. My shopping list included lots of Kraft products. I always try to stay stocked up on Kraft essentials so I can have all the ingredients I need for lots of different recipes.
Today, I’m using Stove Top Stuffing, Bakers Coconut, Bakers Chocolate, and Cool Whip. Don’t worry, it’s not all in the same recipe!

First up are Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs with Cranberry Glaze. It’s pretty much a whole Thanksgiving feast in one bite. They are so tasty. The Worcestershire sauce really cuts the sweetness of the cranberry sauce, and makes a beautiful balance.

Turkey and Stuffing Meatballs with Cranberry Glaze

Yield: 32 meatballs

Ingredients:

Meatballs

• 1/2 cup milk 
• 1 large egg 
• 1 cup Stove Top stuffing mix 
• 1 tsp dry mustard 
• 1 lb. ground turkey

Sauce:

• 1 can jellied cranberry sauce
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Beat together the milk and egg. Add in the Stove Top and dry mustard; stir until combined.
2. Add the ground turkey and mix until completely incorporated.  Form mixture into 1 inch balls and place on an ungreased sheet pan. 
3. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the meatballs are browned and no longer pink in the center. 
4. When the meatballs have about 10 minutes left to cook, bring the sauce ingredients to a boil over medium heat in a sauce pan. Turn the stove to low and simmer the sauce for about 5 minutes. 
5. Add the meatballs to the sauce  and stir until they are coated. If the meatballs had time to cool, cook for 5-10 minutes or until they are heated through. Serve the meatballs from a slow cooker turned to the warm setting. 

Now let’s turn to something a little sweeter. I also baked up a Coconut poke cake with toasted coconut and shaved chocolate. If you like coconut, you will love this cake.

Coconut Poke Cake with Toasted Coconut and Shaved Chocolate

Ingredients:

• 1 box white cake mix
• 1 can coconut milk(in the Asian food section of the grocery store)
• 1 bag Bakers Sweetened Coconut
• 1 box Bakers Semi-sweet baking chocolate bar
• 1 tub Cool Whip 

Directions:

1. Make the white cake mix according to the instructions on the box in a 9×13 pan. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, use a fork to poke holes all over the cake. Be careful not to tear the cake into pieces. 
2. Pour the coconut milk over the whole cake. The coconut milk will soak into the cake. Cover with tin foil. As soon as the cake is cool enough, place it in the refrigerator. 
3. While the cake is cooling, turn the oven to 325 degrees F. Spread the coconut flakes onto a cookie sheet in an even layer. Toast the coconut for 5-10 minutes until lightly brown. It can toast quickly, so keep an eye out.
4. When the cake is cold to the touch, remove from refrigerator. Spread the Cool Whip over the top of the cake. Sprinkle the toasted coconut over the top.
5. Using a vegetable peeler, peel the Baker’s chocolate to get shavings. Sprinkle the shavings over the top of the cake. Serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Walmart has a great selection of Baker’s Chocolate. It would be a lot of fun to switch it up and try the different varieties. You can see all about my shopping trip and the other holiday baking supplies I found, over on Google+.

Below you will find some great holiday recipes and ideas. I recommend you check it out.