I made these coconut chicken bites for Christmas and I honestly had a hard time getting enough on the plate to get a picture. People were eating them as fast as I could make them.

I used boneless skinless thighs. I pounded them flat and cut them into strips. Then I dipped the pieces in egg and rolled them in a mixture of half shredded coconut and half panko bread crumbs. I used gluten free panko. I heated up my skillet with a little olive oil and fried my chicken.

For the sauce I used

1 teaspoon gluten free soy sauce
Juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chili flakes

You could adjust the amount of heat by adding more or less chili. These were so good there wasn’t a single one left on the plate at the end of the night.

This fruit salsa is so delicious I would eat it everyday on everything I could think of. It was also so easy.

1 pint strawberries
1/3 pint raspberries
1 golden delicious apple
Juice from 1 lime
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Rough chop all of your fruit. You could chop it in the food processor or if you had something like a magic bullet. I have a hand crank chopper I bought from Tupperware that’s what I used. When your fruit is a good salsa consistency just add the rest of your ingredients and stir.

You could serve this with cheese and crackers or apple chips or maybe cookies or crackers. I made my own gluten free chips by cutting gluten free tortillas into triangle shaped slices. You could also use regular flour tortillas. I layed them out on a baking sheet sprinkled a good amount of brown sugar and cinnamon over them and baked them in the oven on 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. These were a big hit at Christmas and are definitely going on my list of recipes to make again.

They say the devil is in the details, but sometimes so is the magic and the joy. Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference. Like most families we have begun to create these small holiday rituals that make all the difference.

Some of our most favorite traditions are included in the pictures posted below. I hope everyone is having a joyous holiday!

These Christmas shirts turned out so cute. My kids can unwrap them Christmas morning and wear them to grandmas house on Christmas day. I just found pictures I liked on the internet to use as my patterns. I cut the pieces out of felt and then glued them to the shirts using fabric glue. I let the glue dry overnight. The whole project took me less than an hour for two shirts. They’re so cute and I made them in less time than it would have taken me to go to the store and buy shirts.

Nothing says thoughtful like a gift you made yourself. I always like to give tasty treats to coworkers that I make myself. Nothing gets more oohs and ahhhs. This year at work I gave pots of jam and chocolate treats. I make the jam when the fruits in season so it’s all ready to go and I spent one evening making two kinds of truffles and covering dried fruit in chocolate. Easy, cheap, and oh so thoughtful. If you want my candy recipes I’ve posted them here on my blog.

I love orange and chocolate together and I remember my mom making orange chocolate truffles as a kid. She used the old double boiler method to make her truffles. For me that’s too much fuss and more mess to clean up.

What you will need:

2 cups of dark chocolate chips or pieces
1.5 sticks of butter
2 teaspoons orange extract
pinch of salt
powdered sugar and cocoa for dusting

I melt my chocolate in the microwave with the butter. I start with one minute then take it out and stir. Then I microwave 30 seconds at a time being sure to stir well each time until its all melted together. After the mixture is melted and smooth I add my extract and a dash of salt. Then I let it chill in the fridge for about two hours. When my truffle mixture is firm I take it out and roll them into balls. You can cover your hand in a plastic bag to keep it from getting messy. I rolled my truffles first in powdered sugar and then in cocoa. These are so delicious and make great gifts. People will think you slaved all day. I got about 30 truffles out of this recipe.