Category: HOLIDAYS

FAVORITE FAMILY RECIPES – BLOGMAS – DAY 10

I’ve been looking forward to this day! I have many many recipes, but these are the closest to my heart. Grab a cup of my SIL’s homemade hot chocolate and homemade marshmallows and join me while we chat.

My great aunt who I only got to see a couple times a year used to make these every year special for me.  My cousins and I would wait out on the front steps for her arrive just to see them, the wreaths that is. She always made them soooooooooo pretty and perfect!  Aunt Louise was just plain crazy it seemed to me.  I can’t pinpoint any one thing that made me think that, but as the years wore she continually proved it.  Let’s just say if the made a movie of her life, Shirley MacLaine would play her part.  Aunt Louise reminds me of Shirley’s character Ouiser Boudreaux in Steel Magnolias.

HOLIDAY WREATHS
(these are better when they are made a few days ahead)
30 large marshmallows (or 1 jar marshmallow cream)
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoon green food color
3 1/2 cups cornflakes
Red Hots

  • Combine marshmallows, butter, vanilla and food color in top of double boiler. Heat and stir frequently until well blended.
  • Gradually stir in cornflakes until well blended.
  • Drop onto wax paper and arrange into wreath shapes. I plop them onto the wax paper and then push out from the center to form the wreaths.
  • Decorate with red hots.
  • Let cool.
  • If your house is warm – chill in refrigerator until set.

Many Christmases ago I stood in my childhood kitchen watching my dad prepare the stuffing for dinner.  Daddy never stuffed the Turkey, but instead made the “stuffing” like a big casserole.  The stuffing was always my favorite part topped with daddy’s giblet gravy – YUMMY.  I can taste it like it was always those years ago again.

Several years ago my brother asked me to try and reproduce the recipe as a scratch recipe and VOILA’, I did it! This wasn’t easy since daddy started with a box of Mrs. Cubbinson’s cornbread dressing cubes and then started winging it from there.


OATNUT SOURDOUGH HERB DRESSING
10 slices Brownberry or Oroweat OATNUT bread, cut into bite size chunks
1/2 loaf sourdough French bread, cut into bite size chunks
1 large sweet onion, chopped fine
1 small bunch celery (leaves and all), chopped fine
1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped fine
1 box mushrooms, chopped fine
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon white pepper
2 sticks unsalted butter
4 cups hot water
2 tablespoons Better than Bouillon Chicken base
2 tablespoons Buttery Herb & Garlic Mix (I believe McCormick makes it)
4 teaspoons minced garlic, Jar

  • Cut bread into bite sized chunks and spread out in a thin layer over cookie sheets.
  • Bake at 200 degrees for 3-4 hours until pieces are actually hard.
  • Chop all the vegetables.
  • In a large cast iron pan melt 1/4 cup of the butter.
  • Add the onions and saute until translucent. The add the celery and carrots and continue sauteing until crisp tender. Add the garlic last as it will burn first.
  • Whisk together the water, better than bouillon chicken base and all of the seasonings.
  • Add the melted butter.
  • In a large pan toss the bread slices together.
  • Add the sauteed vegetables and toss again.
  • Add the liquid mixture and toss again until well absorbed.
  • Fold entire mixture into at least a 9×13 baking dish.
  • Bake uncovered 1 hour.
  • At this point I use a small portion for our dinner that night and freeze the rest.
  • When it’s time to cook it again, I defrost it, put it back in the same baking dish and bake it again, but this time covered with foil until the last 15 minutes so it doesn’t dry out. We like it crisp on top so I remove the foil the last 15 minutes.

Now there is much debate over Gran’s cranberry salad recipe, but one thing was for sure she’d have to make a double batch, one for my mom and aunt and another for everyone else.  Now while I usually helped prepare the above recipe, I hated it!! One year she even decided the grapes needed to be peeled – need I say more?

I much prefer the recipe below.  Shhhh, don’t tell anyone, but I’ve already eaten a whole batch by myself.  In my defense it was while I wasn’t feeling good and had a sore throat.

HOLIDAY SALAD
1 package (3 ounces) cherry Jell-o
1 package (3 ounces) black cherry Jell-o
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 can (14 ounces) whole berry cranberry sauce
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, undrained
2 cups seedless green grapes, quartered
chopped pecans (optional)

  • Dissolve the jell-o in the boiling water in a large bowl.
  • Fold in the pineapple and cranberry sauce.
  • Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Fold in grapes and pecans if desired. 
  • Refrigerate until firm.

Now on to the REALLY yummy stuff!

    CHUNKY MONKEYS
    3 cups crushed pretzels
    1/2 cup sugar
    scant 1 cup butter, melted

    • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
    • Line a 13×9 cake pan with heavy duty foil, leaving plenty on the edges to use as handles later.  This will make clean-up so much easier.
    • In a medium mixing bowl stir together the pretzels, sugar and melted butter until well blended.
    • Press the pretzel mixture evenly into the bottom of the cake pan.

    1/2 cup butter
    1/2 cup whipping cream
    1/4 cup packed brown sugar
    11 ounce package caramel baking bits (or 14 ounce vanilla caramels, unwrapped)
    2 cups honey roasted peanuts

    • In a medium saucepan melt butter over a medium heat.
    • Whisk in the whipping cream and brown sugar until sugar is dissolved.
    • Stir in caramel bits, stirring constantly until bits are melted and sauce is smooth.
    • Add in peanuts to coat well.
    • Immediately pour over pretzel layer, spreading evenly.

    1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
    1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
    1/2 cup peanut butter chips
    1/2 cup butterscotch chips
    3/4 cup Heath milk chocolate toffee bits

    • Scatter each of these over the caramel layer.
    • Bake 25-30 minutes or until edges are bubbling.
    • Cool in pan on a wire rack.
    • Lift foil edges to remove bars from pan.
    • Cut into bars.
    • Layer between wax paper in an airtight container.  I store them in the fridge, but the can also be frozen for 3 months.

    BUTTERFINGER COOKIES
    Ritz crackers
    creamy peanut butter
    almond bark
    sprinkles

    • Spread peanut butter on ritz crackers and top with another cracker. 
    • Melt almond bark in the microwave. 
    • Dip each cookie in the almond bark and set onto wax paper to harden. 
    • If you’re using sprinkles do so before the almond bark hardens.

     A few more favorites are:

      WHAT I CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT IN WINTER – BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 9

      Today we are listing what we CANNOT live without in winter. There are, I’m sure many many more things, but these are my top items! The one thing I am absolutely sure of is that if I have a sore throat, dry skin, cold feet or hands, cold food or catch a cold I am NOT happy.

      I drink a cup of green tea every night and try to make very balanced comfort food meals to warm up my family from the inside out.  Here are a few of our favorite soups and stews links for you.

      More entries over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom’s BLOGMAS.

      CHRISTMAS WISH LIST FOR BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 8

      Funny story here – I had herb savers on my Amazon Christmas list for the past 2 years.  So this year I decided to buy myself a Christmas present and get the herb keepers so I could quit using a glass covered with a plastic bag.

      So, a couple days ago, hubby holds up one of the new herb keepers and asks, what’s this?  So I begin explaining what an herb keeper is and he’s like, “No why did you buy them?”  Long story short he was getting them for me this year for Christmas.

      HANDMADE CHRISTMAS – BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 7

      HANDMADE CHRISTMAS FAVORITES

      Over the years I have made everything, and I do mean everything at one time or another to create a handmade Christmas. I’ve made rolls and rolls of butcher paper into wrapping paper, cut grocery bags into handmade tags, made enough fudge, candies and cookies to feed a small country, as well as jams, jellies, soup mixes and Snowman soup!

      My award winning jams were requested one year at the Church Christmas Boutique and I ended up selling for another 10 years before we moved.  Now I make just enough for gifts for neighbors and family.  I started making Snowman Soup about 20 years ago for the girl scouts and it was a HUGE seller at our gift wrap days and later for the Church Boutique.

      Last year I missed the big Christmas Crafts Festival at the fairgrounds because of an ice storm, but this year I made it!  For the things I didn’t make myself, I at least bought from local crafters.

      As for receiving, I love ANYTHING handmade.  I’m a BIG believer that it’s the thought that counts and that caring action ALWAYS touches my heart though I’m partial to cotton crocheted dishcloths, my brothers photographs, my mom’s quilted totes and ANYTHING food.

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 6 – OPEN OPEN OPEN

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 6 – When do you open presents?

      This has changed a lot over the years.  My family traditions of a BIG Christmas eve from when I was a kid carried on through college, but as we got older and got families of our own, parents passed on, blended families (with their own traditions) were formed, etc… getting together for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day became harder and harder to do.  
      Eventually for me it became more and more Christmas morning only which is fine by me.

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 5 – FAVORITE FOOD

      This is another easy topic.  The one thing I am noticing as I type each entry is that by doing this, I am remembering so many silly stories and anecdotes about aunts, uncles, cousins and such that keep bringing a smile to my face.  These memories are part of what this season is all about to me.

      I’d like to say that our table looked just like the one in the picture. Well Christmas day was close, but Christmas Eve was much more casual.

      One of my earlier memories is of a very warm Christmas Day, a backed up sink/garbage disposal (I don’t think we ever had a holiday in that house where the garbage disposal didn’t have an issue of some sort) and having to transport all the prepared food from my parent’s house to my granparent’s house via my  grandmother’s RED (kind of like a Christmas sleigh) Chevy station wagon (remember those?) while my uncle and I sat in the back keeping the food from toppling over.

      CHRISTMAS EVE – Served Buffet style since this was the night we did most of the present opening and the adults didn’t want to spend all their time in the kitchen – in later years we would have it catered (so to speak – they prepared the food, we picked it up and displayed it) from Rattler’s BBQ.  We also began to use “FINE CHINA” as hubs calls it aka as decorated paper.

      • Sandwich makings – roast beef, ham, cheeses
      • Potato Salad
      • See’s Candy boxes
      • Wintergreen ribbon candy
      • Chocolate covered cherries

      CHRISTMAS DAY – This is where we dug out the REAL fine china and crystal as well as the silver.  I loved setting the table for this meal. There were always enough people that we had a KID’S table too.  I hated the kid’s table – all the good stuff was sitting at the grown-up’s table.

      • Roast Turkey
      • Daddy’s Stuffing – now recreated from scratch to taste virtually the same as my Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing
      • Mashed Potatoes from scratch – it was these potato peels that were one of the biggest garbage disposal problems
      • Giblet Gravy
      • Cranberry Sauce – they used Ocean Spray from a can but we now use one of these 2 homemade recipes – Cranberry or Cranberry Pomegranate Tangerine
      • Baked Ham – in later years it was always HONEYBAKED HAM and I loved making Split Pea soup with the left over bone.
      • Glazed Carrots
      • Green Bean Casserole
      • Gran’s cranberry salad – she’d make two, one for mom and aunt Liz and one for everone else.
      • Rolls and butter
      • Traditional pies like pumpkin, Cherry and as well as Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake.

      When we go to my SIL’s family for Christmas (or any other big family get together)  we do Hor’deouvres style.   The family is so big that over the years we have found that if each person brings an hor’deouvres to feed 10+ people that we can make a HUGE feast.  We just serve it buffet style and mingle and play – it is ALWAYS the best time.  

      More entries over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom’s BLOGMAS.

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 4 FAVORITE MUSIC

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 4 FAVORITE MUSIC
      More entries over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom’s BLOGMAS.
      I’m all over the place with Christmas music – depends on the day, the occasion, my mood, what food we’re eating – just sooooooooo many factors!

      I love the old standards, but I also love country Christmas and Mannheim Steamroller.  I love Christmas carolers, not that you see many these days.  I was even part of the handbell choir at church for Christmas programs.

      As for favorite songs I have a few that top the list:

      • Silent Night

      • White Christmas

      • Jingle Bell Rock

      • Winter Wonderland

      • Frosty the Snowman

      • Little Drummer Boy

      • The twelve days of Christmas

      • Deck the Halls

      • Come All Ye Faithful

      • It Came upon a Midnight Clear

      • We three Kings of Orient 

      • Joy to the World

      • Rudolph the Reindeer

      • Do You Hear What I Hear

      • The Most Wonderful Time of Year

      • It’s Beginning to Look a lot like Christmas

      • Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 3

      Today’s category is an easy one for me.  I start taping Christmas movies on Lifetime, Hallmark and INSP as soon as they air so I can watch all year long.  I’m a sucker for a happy ending and let’s face it, Christmas movies have happy endings.

      So this list could be reallllllllllly long, but I will just keep it to the top 5 MUST watch each and every year movies.

       It’s a toss up for me about whether White Christmas with Bing Crosby, Rosemary Clooney, Vera Ellen and Danny Kaye or It’s a Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stewart, Lionel Barrymore and Donna Reed is my absolute favorite, but I think I’m leaning towards It’s a Wonderful life!
       Which Miracle on 34th street version (the original with Natalie Wood or the remake with Richard Attenborough) is the best?  BOTH versions of course!
      The Santa Clause with Tim Allen quickly became a favorite – who could resist visiting the North Pole every year?
       Now Home Alone is just silly, but it never fails to make me laugh!

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 2

      DAY 2 – WHAT CHRISTMAS MEANS TO ME

      Christmas is the most important holiday to me and not because Santa comes, though that is pretty important to the kiddos, but more importantly, it’s a caring spirit, a sharing feeling, an attitude that I try to practice all year long.  I truly feel good about giving – whether it’s the Angel trees I select gifts for or the smile from the Salvation Army bell ringer as you put your money in their red bucket and wish them Merry Christmas.

      For 10 years I chaired an Angel Tree Program for FISH and I loved doing it! I prepared for it every year and I truly believe each year got better and better.  The night before we distributed the gifts I would go shopping for the teenage girls.  We were ALWAYS lacking in gifts for the teen girls no matter what we tried to boost things up for them.  So now when I choose the angels from the trees in the community I seek out the teenage girls specifically.

      Christmas means lots and lots of memories of family, some no longer with us, but always in my heart when I hang an ornament they made especially for me like my cousin Beth who we lost in October or a recipe that they always prepared like my dad’s Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing or Gram’s Christmas box full of goodies picked out just for each one of us or…

      One of the things I try to practice is to make at least one homemade gift each year – nothing extravagant, but just something that says “I MADE THIS with LOVE JUST FOR YOU”.

      The years that I host Christmas include a lot of family recipes.  LOL coming up on the 10th I’ll share an anecdote about crazy Aunt Louise and her recipe that truly became a family favorite among us kids.  They were addicting and one year she made them for me as a Christmas in July at the 4th of July pool party she hosted.

      This year I’m making Tangerine Pineapple Apple Sauce to include with each person’s gift.

      But most importantly, Christmas is the spirit of Love and Giving and it must be felt and shared. Christmas is a gift from above and each year as I grow older I realize more and more that Christmas is about Love, Peace, Sharing, Caring and just being together.

      More entries over at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom’s BLOGMAS. BLOGMAS 2014 DAY 2

      BLOGMAS 2014 – DAY 1

      It’s December 1st and the Christmas season is upon us,  so be sure to join in with Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom  for BLOGMAS.

      DAY 1 – YOUR FAVORITE CHRISTMAS TRADITION
      This is a really hard category for me.  I LOVE Christmas!  There is nothing about this season I don’t like short of maybe crowds of rude people and Black Friday.  Being a military family on a tight budget I’ve always started shopping early to work everything we want to do into our tight budget.

      If I had to pick just one though, it would be putting up the tree as a family while eating leftover turkey (from Thanksgiving) sandwiches.  We usually put our tree up just after Thanksgiving and leave it until Kings Day, the Epiphany on January 6th.  For that reason we like to go cut our own tree so it’s fresh and last the entire time.  I use an apple cider/sugar mix that keeps the sap from forming on the cut area and keep the water cool and full.

      When I was a kid we did a BIG family get together with a buffet of food and opening our family presents on Christmas Eve.  I just saw a few of my cousins and we were reminiscing about some of those holidays and LOL how horrible our wardrobes were back then.

      Thankfully, I’m not in the bottom picture because I remember what I was wearing! But I love my brother’s plaid pants and Monica’s floral blouse. If you don’t hear from me for a few days I’m Sure it’s because one them found me LOL. 

      Then on Christmas Day we did Christmas morning and “Santa” with just the immediate family and then we would do a BIG turkey with all the trimmings including my dad’s stuffing and giblet gravy with all the family as well as extended family, which included crazy Aunt Louise and Uncle Herb, but I’ll tell you more about them on the 10th. I replicated dad’s stuffing recipe a few years ago (Oatnut Sourdough Herb Dressing) and that is now a MUST for the Christmas meal whatever the meat is and I’ll tell you more about that on the 10th as well.

       

      BLACK FRIDAY THANKSGIVING WRAP UP with NEW RECIPES for GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE, CRANBERRY POMEGRANATE TANGERINE SAUCE, PUMPKIN PECAN BUTTER CAKE with CARAMEL SAUCE & CINNAMON PECANS

      As I mentioned before, I DO NOT shop Black Friday, unless it’s from the comfort of my desk chair talking to a computer.  Thanksgiving weekend for us is and always has been casual.  This year was no exception. With just 2 of us this year I bought a turkey breast only.  So my questions is, where does the rest of the turkey go?

      Our range is on the way out also – losing the heating elements one by one and the oven is now 75 degrees under temperature.  I didn’t want to take a chance so I started the turkey breast in the slow cooker and then used the oven to only brown the top.  Amazingly, it turned out PERFECT!  I see great turkey sandwiches tomorrow! And there are plenty of leftovers until the new range is installed next week.

      Our morning started out foggy and drizzly before turning to serious cold and rain.  I did manage to capture this Robin hanging out in the old garden bed.

      And the first opening bloom of the Christmas Cactus this season.

      99.9% of my recipes are made from scratch, but every now and then I do cheat a bit.  Part of Thanksgiving’s dessert, PUMPKIN PECAN BUTTER CAKE with CARAMEL SAUCE & CINNAMON PECAN was one of those small cheats and believe me I will cheat again, but next time I’ll add some fresh whipped cream.  MOST of the recipe is scratch ingredients, but it called for a Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix.  Instead I used a SuperMoist BUTTER PECAN cake mix and it was FABULOUS!  I’ll give you the original recipe (which for the life of me I can’t remember where it came from – probably pinterest) with my changes in red.

      GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
      3-15 ounce cans cut green beans, drained VERY WELL!
      2 1/2 tablespoons butter
      2 tablespoons Wondra
      1 1/4 cup whole milk
      3/4 cup heavy cream
      1/2 teaspoon each, paprika, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper
      1 teaspoon Savory Spice Shop Hidden Cove Lemon Garlic Blend
      1 teaspoon celery flakes
      2 tablespoons Riverhouse Parmesan Herb dressing **
      3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
      1 cup +/- French’s French fried onion rings

      • Over medium heat melt butter in saucepan.
      • Whisk in Wondra until golden.
      • Add milk and heavy cream gradually, bringing to a boil JUST SLIGHTLY!
      • Reduce heat and simmer, stirring continuously until sauce begins to thicken.
      • While still stirring add in paprika, salt, pepper, Lemon Garlic and celery flakes. When you reach your desired consistency set pan aside to cool slightly.
      • In a large mixing bowl toss the green beans with the Riverhouse Parmesan Herb dressing.
      • Pour sauce over beans and gently toss and coat.
      • Pour into a baking dish and top with crumbled bacon and fried onion rings.
      • Bake 20-30 minutes until heated through.

      **If you can’t find this brand, Litehouse Parmesan Caesar is a great substitute.

      CRANBERRY POMEGRANATE TANGERINE SAUCE
      1 bag cranberries
      1 cup pomegranate seeds

      1/2 cup fresh squeezed tangerine juice with pulp*
      1/2 cup pineapple juice*
      2 cups sugar
      ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
      1 teaspoon orange peel
      • Wash cranberries and drain in colander.
      • Mix tangerine juice, pineapple juice and sugar in saucepan until dissolved.
      • Add cinnamon and orange peel. Stir well.
      • Add the cranberries and pomegranate seeds simmering over medium high heat until bubbling, stirring often.
      • When the mixture begins to boil, reduce heat.
      • Cook uncovered or until all cranberries and pomegranate seeds have ’popped’.
      • Sauce will thicken as it cools.
      • Can be stored in the refrigerator for a week or frozen for future holidays.

      Yields: 2 cups
      *You can use ALL orange juice if you prefer

      ***I like to make a double batch at Thanksgiving and freeze half for Christmas.

      PUMPKIN PECAN BUTTER CAKE with CARAMEL SAUCE & CINNAMON PECANS
      CAKE BOTTOM 
      1 Betty Crocker SuperMoist yellow cake mix (Butter Pecan)
      8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
      1 Egg

      • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
      • Line the bottom of your 10 inch springform pan with parchment paper. I cut a square sheet and close it into the seam of the bottom with the latch and then trim into a circle. Lightly spray the pan with non-stick cooking spray.
      • NOTE: you can use a 9×13 cake pan, but coat it well with non-stick cooking spray. In a large mixing bowl combine the cake mix, melted butter and egg until well blended.Press batter into the bottom of your springform pan.

      FILLING 
      8 ounces softened cream cheese
      15 ounce can pumpkin
      8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
      1 teaspoon PURE vanilla
      1/2 teaspoon orange peel 
      3 eggs
      2 cups powdered sugar
      2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
      Caramel sauce (recipe follows) 
      Candied pecans (I used Fisher’s Cinnamon Pecans) 
      Kraft Caramel Balls 
      Smucker’s Pineapple Sauce, slightly warmed (optional)

      • In a large mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.
      • Add melted butter, vanilla and eggs, beating until well combined.
      • Fold in powdered sugar, orange peel and pumpkin pie spice until just mixed.
      • Pour batter over cake base and smooth even.
      • Bake 60-75 minutes until cake is set and top is only slightly wobbly (similar to a cheesecake consistency).
      • COOL COMPLETELY on a wire rack BEFORE removing the pan.
      • Serve sliced with Caramel sauce, pineapple sauce, caramel balls and pecans.

      NOTE: YOU WILL NEED LESS TIME USING A 9X13 PAN!

      CARAMEL SAUCE 
      1/2 cup heavy cream
      4 tablespoons butter, softened
      2 tablespoons light corn syrup
      3/4 cup sugar
      2+ tablespoons water

      • Combine the cream and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.
      • Remove from the heat.
      • In a medium saucepan cook the corn syrup over a medium heat until bubbly.
      • Fold in 1/4 cup of the sugar and continue to cook until the edges begin to turn a light amber color.
      • Add in 1/4 cup sugar more and repeat until all the sugar is blended in.
      • Continue cooking until amber color darkens stirring constantly.
      • Remove from the heat and carefully fold in the cream mixture.
      • Cook over medium heat stirring frequently until caramel is bubbling.
      • Serve warm.
      • Makes 1 1/2 cups.

      Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. Microwave 20-30 seconds to soften refrigerated caramel before serving.

      I’m off to wrap Christmas presents – Have a great weekend! 

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