No Christmas feast is complete without the dinner rolls! Whether those delicious, buttery rolls are simply part of your tradition or a necessary tool to assist you in cleaning your plate I think I can speak for us all when I say that its just not Christmas dinner without them.

While I must confess that some of those store bought dinner rolls are quite tasty, Christmas is a time for sending love to those closest to you, and what better way to show a little love than by making your dinner rolls from scratch. Wait! Don’t rolls your eyes or panic, Michele has provided us with an easy recipe for homemade rolls (no kneading required!). And for those of you who like to plan ahead they can be made up to four days ahead of time! Bake these rolls off just before your guests arrive to allow the smell of fresh bread to permeate the house. Mmmm….

Michele’s blog, A Big Cup of Tea, is full of easy Christmas recipes and the cutest teacher gift ideas! Be sure to stop by for a little inspiration!

With so many recipes on the web these days, how do you know which one to choose? Before, we might’ve chosen a recipe based on just the ingredients, but with delicious pictures accompanying those recipes, the competition can be pretty intense. In the end, you’ve gotta listen to your taste buds; it comes down to which one makes your mouth water the most!

The ingredients Marit uses are a bit different from the other stuffed zucchini recipes she came across before finding this one. This one is unique because it incorporates all of the ingredients she had on hand. So it’s not only delicious, it’s a recipe that came in handy at the right time… the perfect time to be corny and cheesy!

Yep, these Zucchini Boats are cheesy and corny in the best way possible :). Sweet yellow corn and blue cheese are the ingredients I’m referring to. If you’re wondering where that savory zest in the background is from, it’s from the lemon pepper that gives the boats a fresh kick of flavor. Don’t let Marit’s Zucchini Boat recipe sail away! Like Marit’s blog, Tasty Food, her boats are just that!

The holidays are always a happy time for all but our hips :( With all the amazing desserts and treats out there, this is no time to start dieting. After all isn’t that what the New Year is for? I’m sure you have been working up quite a sweat in the kitchen to burn off enough calories to have “just one more taste.” Go ahead, I wont tell ;)

Plutosangel really is “1 of a Grind.” She has been working tirelessly to bring us all the perfect cheesecake to ease our guilt. Her REALLY Low Fat Cheesecake substitutes low fat yogurt for cream cheese, and keeps the sugar to a bare minimum by using a sugar-free strawberry pudding mix made with skim milk. To top off this already amazing recipe, Plutosangel tells us that it is also incredibly easy to prepare! It doesn’t get much better than that.

Make this low fat cheesecake and keep on hand in the fridge to ward off those intense sugar cravings while you are baking up goodies for friends and family. If it’s really intense, just have one bite of fudge and 2 bites of the cheesecake…. that cancels out right? :)

It’s dinnertime and you’re on your way home from a long day at work, maybe reading this blog entry on your cell phone while you’re sitting in traffic…and even though it’s Friday, you know you’re going to have to make a run to the mall in the morning; it’s time to get those last minute Christmas gifts! Dinner is the last thing you want to worry about!

Well, it’s also the last thing you need to worry about. Whitney’s Chicken Stir-Fry Lettuce Wraps are perfect for anyone, she even says you can easily make them Vegetarian. Whitney mentions that you can substitute the chicken for tofu, maybe even add a few extra veggies! Unlike that pile of Christmas gifts buried in the back of your closet, you’ll actually enjoy wrapping these!

Between the office holiday parties and family gatherings, you know you haven’t been getting enough fresh veggies. Whitney’s Chicken Stir-Fry Lettuce Wraps are the ideal light meal, packed full of the veggies you’ve been missing. On her blog, Rookie Cookie, Whitney talks about throwing in a few Chinese noodles for crunch, check out her other tips!

Chicken Biryani is a trademark dish of South Indian home-cooking. As with most home-cooked dishes, each family puts their own twist on it to make it as original as their own family :)

Aparna has put her own spin on this dish and has produced something truly wonderful! Her recipe contains quite a long list of ingredients, but each flavor comes together perfectly to create a delicious Indian meal. If you have ever wanted to experiment with Indian cuisine, this is the perfect dish to get you started. This recipes takes quite a bit of time, but I guarantee that it is well worth the wait. Aparna gives great, detailed instructions on her blog, Sumi’s Weblog, and will have you feeling like a pro in no time!

Chicken Biryani is sure to wow your family and friends. Aparna even adds a bit of red food coloring to make her dish as beautiful as it is tasty! Sumi’s Weblog is packed with great Indian recipes and is a wonderful resource if you are looking for new Indian dishes to experiment with!

Over at Art and Aioli, Nicole shares her family recipe for a Chinese Chicken Salad the never gets turned down! Even on the second day, it still has a crisp freshness that’ll make everyone think you’ve just made it! Nicole says the secret’s in the cabbage. She claims it’ll keep even after you’ve drizzled it with your favorite dressing. This Grilled Chicken with Asian Slaw and Avocados is based on her family’s favorite salad.

The slaw itself is crunchy and light, it then gets taken to another level when Nicole’s unique dressing is poured on top. What makes this dressing different from the rest? You’ll still get the oil and vinegar flavor you’re looking for, but Nicole adds a little extra something special to spice it up! You’d never guess! Top Ramen Seasoning! She used the noodles in the salad and created an extraordinary dressing with the spice packet!

Nicole serves her slaw with grilled chicken and avocados, two unarguably healthy and delicious ingredients that complete this simple but flavorful dish. Nicole likes to serve her salad at family potlucks, she suggests you do the same; we can’t argue with her tasty suggestion :)!

I can always count on a quickbread to work out right! I don’t have to worry about whether I let the dough rise long enough so that the yeast could work its magic. I don’t have to be staring through the little window of my oven door with my fingers crossed, praying that the bread rises the way it should!

Beginning bread bakers like myself will find that the quickbread Solange of Pebble Soup shares with us is the answer to their carby prayers! Straight from Leanne Kitchen’s The Baker, and beautifully executed and blogged about (with permission, mind you!) by Sonlange, this quickbread recipe delivers the perfect sweet and fragrant loaf! The only reason why you’ll be hanging out in front of the oven while it bakes won’t be to stare at a loaf of yeasty bread in fear; your senses will draw you in to the kitchen, your mouth will water at the delicious aroma of vanilla bread with currants baking in the oven!

You’ll enjoy Leanne Kitchen’s Vanilla Currant Loaf any time of the day, says Solange. She says it’s the best treat morning, noon, or night! Nibble on it with a cup of tea before bedtime or devour it for breakfast while you’re running out the door, just make sure you leave a slice to snack on later! But even if you don’t, Solange says it isn’t too difficult to whip up, so you can make yourself another loaf in no time!

We all have one, maybe you are one…. a forward friend. You know what I mean, the friend that forwards you fifteen emails a day promising a year of good luck or eternal friendship if you “forward this message on to ten friends in the next five minutes.” Instead of marking them as spam why not give them something else to forward, something much less annoying and much more appreciated.

Sharmi, from Neivedyam, uses Amish Friendship Bread to spread her love and friendship. She describes the exchange to be similar to a chain letter (remember those? :) ) The concept is quite simple and extremely fun! Sharmi describes it like this: “A friend gives you a cup of yeast culture (also known as “starter”) and a copy of instructions. Following the instructions, you add sugar, flour and milk and it rises. Eventually, you end up with 4 cups of the starter. You use one cup to make bread (the instructions provide you with the recipe), keep one cup to start a new cycle and give two cups to your friends. Each of your friends also gets a copy of the instructions for what to do with the yeast starter.”

Fun right?! We have talked a lot about giving baked goods as gifts, but this is like the food gift that keeps on giving!

Creamy and comforting is how I’d best describe risotto. If you’re looking for something a bit heartier than rice, and want a side dish with a different texture than you’d expect from other carbs, go with risotto. What if you need an appetizer to hold you over, or maybe even a light lunch to keep you satisfied?

Helen from Hel’s Kitchen knows just what to make, Mushroom Risotto. With just a few ingredients on hand, Helen concocted a creamy and veggie packed risotto that hit the spot. She literally didn’t have very many ingredients to choose from, but instead of turning to a not so healthy quick snack to hold her over, she put something nutritious together.

What gives Helen’s Mushroom Risotto its delicious flavor are the fresh ingredients. You won’t find anything prepacked in her dish. In fact, she even used the basil that was growing near her very own kitchen window! What a great way to use up leftover ingredients from home, too! Instead of throwing away the few remaining vegetables in the fridge, she threw them into this risotto and created a delicious vegetarian mini meal that’s sure to please!

I dont know about you, but these stuffed shells just look fun to me! They remind me of being dragged to the grocery store by my mom when I was a kid, and picking out every item that we passed that was “gaint-sized.” It didn’t matter what the product was, jumbo apples, goldfish, pasta, cookies, marshmallows… if it was big I wanted it! These shells look exactly like something I would have pointed out!

Lysha is a busy mom, so when she needs to whip up something fast and easy, she turns to recipes like this that can be ready in just an hour. I’m sure her kids enjoy digging into giant pasta shells, but I guarantee the taste is what keeps them asking for more! Stuffed with ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and ground beef this pasta dish incorporates everything that is good and cheesy!

Lysha is constantly adding tasty family recipes to her blog, Cooking with Magnolia Mom, so if you are looking for a fast, easy recipe look no farther!