Whenever I’m asked to bring an appetizer to a party, I usually revert to my usual repertoire: fancy cheese and crackers, olives, or nuts. It’s not that I don’t like to make appetizers; I’m just not very creative when it comes to making new ones. To get out of my appetizer "rut" I researched recipes from around the world, trying to inspire ideas for new and different recipes.

It’s a Sunday afternoon at home watching well... whatever game is on the TV! I live in a house with sports fans, so it looks like probably not one but two football games, a re-cap of college games and then hockey! We love hanging out with family and friends on Sunday afternoons.

My family has a tradition of spending Christmas Eve Day playing games together – card games, board games, rowdy act-it-out type games – all while snacking on our favorite appetizers.

Chocolate. Just saying it makes me happy. Rich, creamy and indulgent French Holiday Truffles could become your favorite recipe once you see how easy it is to adapt to every occasion. A few simple ingredients combine to create tiny explosions of flavor further enhanced by rolling these confections in a variety of toppings to suit your mood.

Every year Land O'Lakes creates a holiday recipe brochure. This years’ brochure, "Little Joys: Bite-sized Treats for the Holidays", is available to download from our website.

It’s that time of year again- "THE HOLIDAYS". I love it, but always stress out over what to do for "everyone." You know what I’m talking about - holiday gifts for teachers, coaches, neighbors and well…"everyone."

I love spices. Not the “hot” type like crazy-red-Thai-chili-peppers, but spices that make food rich and flavorful. My love of spices is one of the reasons I’m always trying new ethnic cuisine, I’m interested in each cuisine’s combination of spices/flavors.

Every year my younger daughter’s school holds a Holiday Fair, with lots of games and crafts and gifts, plus a giant bake sale. Each family brings at least one item for the bake sale. Cut-out cookies are always a big seller, so I decided on Eggnog Snowflakes as this year’s Lacey-Gotz contribution.

A few years ago, my husband, Brant, and I established a fun Christmas shopping tradition. We choose a weekday shortly after Thanksgiving and clear our schedules. While our three children are at school, we set out together to tackle our holiday shopping.