Yasmine asks: What is mincemeat pie? Can a vegetarian eat it? Does anyone eat it anymore?

I always eyed mincemeat pies suspiciously when I was a kid. Was it a pie made of meat? Why was it so dark and weird looking? Why wasn’t anyone else taking a piece?

Then, one Christmas, I ate a mincemeat tart at a fabulous hotel in London. The tart was brimming with brandy infused apples, dried fruit, sugar, nuts and lots and lots of spices. The mincemeat was dense and sweet and tasted, well, very British.

But what is mincemeat?

The English (who have a deep history with this recipe), traditionally mix finely chopped beef (minced-meat), beef suet, dried fruit, nuts, candied peel and loads of cloves, allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg and bake it into a tart or a pie.

But, Yasmine, most of the mincemeat pies or tarts you’ll find in the supermarket or bakery today leave the meat out. Same with newer recipes. Instead of beef suet, vegetable shortening is substituted. Bourbon or rum is also a popular replacement for the brandy.

And just in case you’re considering making mincemeat pie (with or without meat) the mincemeat mixture needs to be prepared well in advance so the fruit can soften and the deep, rich flavors have a chance to develop.

Rice pudding, aka Arroz con Leche, is probably one of the most popular desserts around… and there are about as many ways to make it as there are abuelas (grandmothers) in the world. But I promise, this one will become a family favorite!

My friends at Right@Home wanted a traditional dessert with a modern, colorful twist, so I layered tropical dried fruit, cranberries and chopped pecans between the creamy sweet rice pudding. I made it in the Large Square Ziploc® brand VersaGlass® container… pretty and portable!

Right@Home, the bilingual website, is a great place to find more fantastic holiday recipes like this one. There are also lots of tips on how you and the family can clean and organize the house before the holidays gets here.

Need some new holiday decorating inspiration? Right@Home has some great ideas to help you get into the holiday spirit, as well as some fun projects to do with the kids.

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The holidays will be here before you know it, so get ready with the help of Right@Home®, SC Johnson’s online resource for information, tips and offers on their products including Glade®, Windex®, Ziploc®, Scrubbing Bubbles®, Pledge®, OFF!®, Raid® and more.

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I’ve really had the holiday spirit this year, so, like the song, I’m going to celebrate the 12-days of Christmas with 12 delicious recipes that play off of the lyrics.

Today is the First Day of Christmas and as the song says, “My true love gave to me, a partridge in a pear tree.”

Sorry to disappoint you, this is not a recipe for roasted partridge. I do have the pear tree covered, however, with this crunchy, nut-free Granola with dried pears and cranberries. You don’t have to use dried pears, any dried fruit will do, and you can add nuts, if you want.

But I’d recommend leaving out the partridge…

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Crunchy Granola Parfaits