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 SHAKE THAT CINNAMON SHAKER | Greet holiday guests with a fragrant mug of hot cider spiced with cinnamon and cloves. It will do more than warm them up. | .
Cinnamon and cloves are irresistible flavorings, but they aren't just treats for your tastebuds. They also provide powerful health benefits, like helping the body process blood glucose -- essential to avoiding diabetes. Keep both spices handy for baking, hot drinks, and savory dishes. Cooking with them is as easy as apple pie.
Cinnamon is well known as a stellar antioxidant and a potent germ-killer, and there's a growing body of evidence that shows that a substance in the spice turns on insulin receptors to help the body use glucose. Which is a good thing, because too much glucose in the bloodstream is tough on your organs and a marker of diabetes. Cloves appear to have a similar effect. | 
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So don't save these spices for holiday cooking. You can use cinnamon liberally, but cloves -- ground or whole -- really pack a flavor punch and take a lighter hand. For ways to get more of these good-for-you spices into your everyday life, try these tips: - Sprinkle both on fresh apple slices and poached pears.
- Add cinnamon and cloves to crockpot dishes for an Indian-inspired flavor twist.
- Add ground cloves to stuffing recipes.
- Use a cinnamon stick to stir your tea, hot chocolate, or warm soymilk.
- Sprinkle both spices into muffin batters and on whole-wheat toast.
- Keep a cinnamon shaker next to the salt and pepper on the table and experiment.
- Push whole cloves into an onion and place it in turkey or chicken cavities for flavorful roasting.
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Here Are Some Christmas Libations To Warm Your Soul...... Christmas Bellringer Martini | 1 1/2 oz gin | 
| 1 tsp Cointreau® orange liqueur
1/2 oz freshly squeezed orange juice |
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| Christmas Coco
2 oz Godiva® chocolate liqueur
1 package hot chocolate
1 handful marshmallows
Heat water in microwave. Mix hot chocolate in water. Add Godiva. Stir. Add marshmallows to taste. |
| White Christmas Cocktail
1 oz creme de bananes
1 oz white creme de cacao
1 oz Scotch whisky
1 oz double cream
Shake, strain into a cocktail glass, and sprinkle with grated chocolate. |
| Grinch's Christmas Martini (you can only drink this if your heart is two sizes too small)
3 oz Skyy® vodka
1 oz Midori® melon liqueur
1 oz Cointreau® orange liqueur
1 oz sweet and sour mix
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well, strain into a large cocktail glass, and serve. |
| Merry Christmas Punch
1 bottle raspberry vodka
6 cans cranberry juice
1/2 bottle Absolut® vodka
1 can Sprite® soda
Pour all ingredients (chilled beforehand) into a large container or punch bowl, preferably on top of another similar container filled with ice. Allow to chill. Serve in punch cups or tall glasses. |
| Non Alcoholic Punch
12 oz can frozen lemonade
12 oz can frozen orange juice
12 oz can frozen pineapple juice
3 cinnamon sticks
12 whole cloves
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
Make all juices according to package directions. Combine and put in a 1 1/2 gallon pitcher/container. |
| Christmas Elf's Revenge
,2 oz Luxardo® white sambuca
1 oz Goldschlager® cinnamon schnapps
1 oz apple schnapps
20 ml ginger syrup
90 ml apple juice
1-inch cube ginger root
1 pinch cinnamon powder | 
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Crush the ginger root and add the ginger syrup, apple juice, sambuca and schnapps. Shake well and strain into a pina colada glass, which should be about half full of crushed ice. Add the goldschlager then sprinkle the cinnamon powder over the top. Serve with a slice of apple floating on the top, and a straw. You serve it in a hurricane glass or a really tall glass. |
| Hot Russian Christmas
1 oz Grey Goose® vodka
1 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
1 oz eggnog
2/3 cup hot chocolate
Take 2 packets of hot chocolate mix and put them into the coffee mug. Add the shots of eggnog cream, vodka, and Kahlua. Fill the rest of the coffee mug with hot water. Stir. You may need to heat the drink up in the microwave for 30 seconds before serving. When nice and hot, serve. |
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New Year's Eve Game Use Your Mouse To Help The McCarty Walk Home From The New Year's Eve Party At The Hoff Brau
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