Tag: Holiday Dishes

Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Starches · Uncategorized · Vegetables

Dinner Party Menu

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Friday evening we had two couples over for dinner. When it was time to plan the menu, I thought about a couple of recipes which I had not made in quite a while and decided to bring them out of retirement. So as Randy barbecued chicken breast (which btw, he has totally perfected and is so good) and thighs, I made corn casserole and rice pilaf. One of the other ladies said she would bring the salad, which is one of those things that I do not make well. Maybe its because it is healthier than what I usually make, but for whatever the reason, salads are my least favorite thing to make. It surprised me to discover that neither couple had even experienced either of these recipes before, but they loved them. Then it dawned on me that they were not from the South, so had not grown up going to Southern Baptist potluck dinners. Both of these recipes were staples at the church gatherings and graced every table at Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas. So…here you go! Your welcome!

Corn Casserole

1 box of Jiffy Cornbread mix
1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter
1 can (drained) whole kernel corn
1 can cream style corn
1 (8 oz) sour cream
*optional 1 small can diced green chiles

Spray with Pam or grease a 11×7 (or medium size pyrex baking) dish. Preheat oven to 350. Melt Butter and pour into mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake uncovered in preheated oven for about 40 minutes, or until lightly browned around the edges and middle is almost firm to the touch. Remove from oven and serve hot.

Rice Pilaf

1 can French Onion Soup
1 can Beef Broth
1 cup water
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter
2 cups rice
1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a medium size baking dish that has a close fitting lid or Smaller Dutch oven. Melt the butter in the dish in oven. When butter is melted, pour the water, and both cans of soup into the melted butter. add the 2 cups of rice and the almonds and stir to combine. Bake covered in the over for about 40-45 minutes or until rice is done. Stir and serve hot.

Casseroles · Daily Thoughts · Uncategorized · Vegetables

Slow-Cooker Green Been Casserole

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This is a wonderful side dish to add to the Thanksgiving table. Taken from Cooking with Paula Deen, November 2017 magazine, it is one of the recipes that will be at our Thanksgiving dinner. This whole magazine is full of great recipes. Get out and buy it…you won’t be sorry.

3 tables butter
1 (8 oz) package sliced fresh baby portobellos mushrooms
2 large shallots,sliced
2 cloves garlic, diced
5 tables flour
1 cup half & half
2 teas kosher salt
1 teas Italian seasoning
1/2 teas black pepper
2 pounds fresh green beans, cute into 2″ pieces
1 cup fresh french-fried onions

Spray a 4 to 6 quart slow cooker wit cooking spray.
In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms and shallots; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender out 5 minutes.
Stir in garlic, cook for 1 minute.
Stir in flour, cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Gradually stir in half and half, salt, Italian seasoning and pepper. Cook until mixture thickens, 2-3 minutes. Stir in green beans and spread mixture into the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on low until beans are nearly tender ,4 to 5 hours. Stir mixture and increase heat to high.Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally until sauce is thickened and beans are tender, about 30 minutes more Transfer to a serving dish and top with french fried onions Serve immediately.

Makes 8 servings

Breads · Breakfast · Casseroles · Holiday Fare

Cheese Sausage & Croissant Casserole

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What a wonderful new Christmas Morning breakfast dish. Taken from Southern Living, all you need is a great fruit compote which will be on tomorrow’s blog post and you have a great way to celebrate Christmas morning.

1 lb ground pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean)

1 1/4 cups (5 oz) shredded Parmesan cheese

1 teas salt

6 green onions, sliced

1 (13.22 oz) package mini croissants (about 24 of the mini ones), torn

Vegetable cooking spray

3 cups milk

1 cup heavy cream

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups (8 oz) shredded Gruyere cheese

Cook sausage 8 min in a skillet over medium-high heat, stirring to crumble. When sausage is done, drain and toss with the Parmesan and next 3 ingredients. Arrange in a 13×9 baking dish which you have sprayed with vegetable cooking spray.

Whisk together milk and next 2 ingredients; pour over sausage mixture. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 350. Uncover casserole and sprinkle with Gruyere. Bake 45 min or until golden. Let stand 10 min before serving.

Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Holiday Fare

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

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The pumpkins are out and am excited to find new delish ways to make use of them. I do remember the first year that Peter Pumpkin and I were married, I ask him to take me to the pumpkin patch down at Farmer’s market to pick out the perfect pumpkin that would adorn our porch. When we found it, I was so excited. There in the car seat beside us would be the first pumpkin that we had picked out and bought together. When “she” became (yes, it became a she as I named her Penny pumpkin), should we say a little decayed, ok, rotten, I ask him to bury her in our yard so we would always have  her with us. I do seem to get attached to things. He knew that if he buried her in our yard,  we would have a yard full of pumpkin ivy the next year, so he had just thrown her over the fence, and came in and told me he had taken care of her.  I didn’t bake any pumpkin dishes for a few days, just out of memory of Penny.  He didn’t tell me that until years later when we were in the heat of an argument how he had really “taken care of Penny” when he blurted out the words, “oh, and remember the year you told me to go bury Penny in our yard, well, I didn’t, I just threw her over the fence!” How cruel can a husband be??? So from that point on, I knew that this was not a man I could trust….I don’t let him pack away all my snowmen at Christmas now either, I just can’t take the chance. So, in honor of Penny,  here is a recipe that I found in a 2010 Taste of Home that I am making this weekend.

2 cups finely crushed pecan shortbread cookies (I will use Lorna Dune)

1 tables flour

3 tables butter, melted (as if the cookies don’t have enough in them already)

Filling:

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 (3 oz) package cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

1 can (15 oz) solid-packed pumpkin

3 tables flour

1 tables milk

1 teas ground cinnamon

1/4 teas each: ground ginger, nutmeg and cloves

3 eggs, lightly beaten

In a small bowl, combine the cookie crumbs, flour and 3 tables melted butter; press into an ungreased 9″ deep-dish pie pan. Bake at 350 for 9-11 min or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.

For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the pumpkin, flour, milk and spices. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined.

Pour into crust and bake at 350 for 40-50 min or until center is almost set. Cover edges with foil during the last 15 min to prevent overbrowning if necessary* (see below).  Refrigerate for at last 4 hours before serving. Top with whipped cream

*an easy way to cover edges is to place the pie plate on a piece of foil that is large enough to lap over the edges when it is brought up around them. I go ahead and do this at the beginning of the baking as it is so much easier to do this before dish is hot, then just remove the foil from the edges, leaving it under the pie, to finish baking about 25-30 min before pie is done.

 

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Cheese & Green Chile Casserole

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I am having a ball going through and choosing recipes that we will be having all through the holiday season. It is fun to make them early to see if they are winners or will be tossed aside. This recipe is from 2006 SL Christmas and if I were a betting woman, I would bet that this will be gracing our table all through the holidays.

*This recipe won Editors Favorite

Preheat oven to 350.

9 large eggs

3/4 teas salt

3  (8 oz) packages Monterey Jack cheese, cubed

2 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, cubed

1 (12 oz) container small-curd cottage cheese

1 tables butter, cut into small pieces

3/4 cup flour

1 1/2 teas baking powder

1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained

1 ( 2 oz) jar diced pimientos, drained

whisk together eggs and salt in a large bowl. Add cheeses and butter. Whisk flour and baking powder into cheese mixture. Add green chiles and pimiento. Pour into a lightly greased 13×9″ baking dish.

Bake, uncovered at 350 for 45 min or until set. Let stand 10-15 min before serving.

Yield: 16 servings

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Double Corn-Cornbread Dressing

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In 2 days, the weather person has promised us that the first cold front of the season will be arriving. When it does, a pan of corn dressing will be in my oven. Cornbread dressing is one of my all-time favorite foods in the whole world.
No matter if I missed the 12 hour sale at Stein Mart, by 1 hour or forgot to use my coupons at Nothing Bundt Cakes before they expired, all I need is a pan of dressing to pull me out of my blues. This recipe sounds perfect for the coming cold (which means that the 90’s will be in the 80’s) front that will arrive here in about 48 hours.

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 1/4 cups flour
3 table sugar
4 teas baking powder
1 teas salt
1 1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
3 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 large red onion, chopped
1/2 cup butter
1/2 teas crushed red pepper
6 cups fresh spinach, torn into small pieces
1 3/4 cup to 2 3/4 cup chicken broth
For the cornbread, preheat oven to 400. Grease a 13×9″ baking pan; set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs and the 1/3 cup melted butter. Stir milk mixture into cornmeal mixture just until moistened. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake 20 min or until edges are golden. Cool cornbread on wire rack. Cut into 1″ cubes. Makes about 10 cups.
Preheat oven to 325.
Spread cornbread cubes onto baking pan. Bake, uncovered, 10 to 15 min, stirring once. Cool on wire rack.
In a large skillet, cook the corn and onion in the 1/2 cup butter over medium heat 6-8 minutes.
Stir in crushed red pepper, salt and pepper to taste. In a very large bowl, combine cornbread pieces corn mixture and spinach. Drizzle with broth to moisten; toss lightly to combine.
Spoon into a 3qt baking dish, which you have lightly greased. Bake uncovered 30-40 min or until top is browned and dressing is heated through.
Makes 8 servings.
This can be made ahead up to 24 hours, if you cover and place in fridge until the last bake step. Then proceed according to baking directions.

Cakes · Daily Thoughts · Desserts · Fruit · Holiday Fare

Five Golden Ring Recipe: Cherry Date Pecan Cake

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How did it get to be 5 days before Christmas? The days just go by so quickly before I make it halfway down my “to do” list of grand ideas to make this Christmas more special than ever. I haven’t even had time to sit by the fire and look through Christmas magazines yet this year to see all the great new recipes. Last night, I actually went to pick up our Christmas cards and addressed them and mailed them this morning.. I am so proud. The salon where I get my nails done had an open house today. They had trays of egg rolls, spring rolls,meat pies and cookies and invited all the customers to come by to say Merry Christmas. It was a very nice gesture and makes it feel like Christmas. Enjoying the festivities today made me want to do something nice for someone so I am going to really try to do something nice for someone these next 5 days. Someone who could never repay me and someone who would never expect it. .

The next 5 recipes are what I would call “golden” and have become very special through the years. They just make it feel like Christmas. This first one is Cherry Date Pecan Cake which I use to watch my mom make for years, before she passed it down to me. When I saw her buying dates and cherries, I knew it was Christmas baking time. Have just finished mixing this cake and is in the oven as we speak. Am using them as hostess gifts for several open houses we are invited to attend. My favorite way to eat them is with a big dollop of fresh whipped cream.

1st Golden Ring Recipe: Cherry Date Pecan Cake

1 lb chopped dates

1 lb candied cherries ( I live my whole, but you can chop them if you like)

3 cups chopped pecans

1 cup sugar

4 eggs, separated (works better at room temperature)

1 cup flour

2 rounded teas of baking powder

1 teas salt

2 teas vanilla

Cream sugar and egg yolks until creamy. Add vanilla. Add flour, baking powder and salt. to creamed mixture. With clean beaters, (no grease on them as egg whites do not whip up stiff if grease is on bowl or beaters) whip 4 egg whites until they are still, around 4-5 minutes. Add fruit  and pecans to batter with heavy spatula. This is hard to mix but keep folding until fruit is distributed into batter. Add beaten egg whites and fold in to mixture until it is all folded in. Pour into individual greased loaf pans or a greased bundt pan . Bake until toothpick comes out clean when inserted in middle of cake. Baking time depends on size of pan you use. The batter made 4 small loaf pans and 1 long loaf pan. When finished baking, cool and wrap as gifts. These little cakes keep for a long period of time in the fridge. So make them this weekend and eat on them all through Christmas.

Breads · Casseroles · Holiday Fare · Starches

Wild Mushroom Bread Pudding

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I am in love with bread puddings of all kinds. In a new  BH&G Christmas book, this recipe jumped off the page. Well, not actually, but when I saw the picture of it, I wanted to jump in the kitchen and make it. A great meatless main dish or a wonderful side to any type of meat, this will knock your socks off.

3 cups sliced assorted fresh wild mushrooms (such as cremini, Portobello, chanterelle or stemmed shitake) (8 oz)

2 medium shallots, sliced (1/4 cup)

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tables olive oil

1/4 cup dry sherry or dry white wine

8 oz rosemary or onion focaccia, cut into 1″  cubes (about 6 cups)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups half & half

1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese (4 oz)

1 tables snipped fresh thyme

1 tables snipped fresh rosemary

1/2 teas salt

1/2 teas coarsely ground black pepper

Grease eight (10 oz) individual casseroles (ramekins); set aside. In a large skillet, cook mushrooms, shallots and garlic in hot oil over medium heat about 5 minutes or until tender. Carefully add sherry. Simmer, uncovered, until liquid is nearly evaporated. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Stir in focaccia cubes.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, half and half, cheese, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over focaccia mixture, pressing with a wooden spoon to moisten all of the bread.

Divide pudding mixture between the prepared casseroles (ramekins, if using pyrex ramekins, will make probably 10 instead of 8).

 Cover and chill for 2 to 24 hours. Preheat oven to 325. Bake, uncovered for 35 to 40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the centers comes out clean. *If you used the Pyrex ramekins, you won’t need to bake them that long. Tests after 20-23 minutes for doneness.

Serves 8 to 10 depending on size of individual casseroles

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578 Recipe for Left Over Turkey

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Kay Vasquez from Roswell, NM sent this to me today telling me how she uses up left over turkey. So forget the first 577 ways, this one sounds great.

8 corn tortillas

2 cups shredded left over turkey

1 small can diced green chiles

1 cup sour cream

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup diced onions

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cups chicken broth.

Dip each corn tortilla in warm chicken broth. Drain on paper towels. Saute onions and green chiles in the oil and butter until tender. Add shredded turkey and about 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. (If you like the sauce a little less thick, add a little more broth.)

Grease a 8×8 baking dish. Mix soup and sour cream until blended. Place about 1/2 cup of this mixture In the bottom of the baking dish.

On each of the corn tortillas, place about 1 table of meat mixture in center of tortilla. Spread about 1 teas cheese over meat and roll up the tortilla and place seam side down in the dish. Continue until you have rolled all 8 of the tortillas. (if you have meat mixture left over, just use tortillas until you have used it up. When you have rolled all of the tortillas, spread the soup mixture over the enchiladas. Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 or until they are bubbling and heated thoroughly.

Thanks Kay, am passing this on!.

 

 

 

After Thanksgiving, I use leftover turkey, cream of chicken mixed with sour cream, cheese, hot chopped green chilies, chopped onions, rolled into corn tortillas softened with chicken broth.  Bake and add more sour cream topping and cheese in last 10 minutes.  Great with guacamole, Spanish rice and pinto beans.  Complete meal and crowd favorite.

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Cheese Stuffed Chicken Roll Ups

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Having some test done last week, I had to fast from liquids and food. Why is it that during those times, every food magazine that I subscribe arrives during those fasting hours. Every recipe looks divine and you promise yourself that as soon as the test is over you will head to the kitchen and bake up some of the fancy foods that you drooled over a few hours before. I was so hungry that even the horrible bottles of white liquid that I had to drink , was beginning to appeal to me. It is bad when  you are so hungry that you can’t wait till it is time to drink the stuff you are required to drink. I found myself looking at the clock to see if it was time to start drinking. Well, the tests are over but all I could think about was a greasy hamburger and French fries. Never mind the delicious looking recipes that had looked so amazing just the night before. Give me grease and carbs….but, it is now a few days later and the new recipes that I found last week are beginning to conjure up great visions of family and friends sitting around the table just waiting for me to walk out of the kitchen with a dish that will make their mouths water. Here is the first of the many dishes that I cannot wait to try this season.

 

8 skinned and boned chicken breast halves

1 teas salt

1/2 teas pepper

4 cups chopped fresh spinach

1 medium onion, chopped

2 tables olive oil

1/2 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened and cut in cubes  (in other words, 4 oz)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup (4 oz) crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup (4 oz) shredded Cheddar cheese

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1 tables flour

1/2 teas nutmeg

1/2 teas cumin

16 frozen phyllo pastry sheets, thawed

Melted butter

Place chicken between 2 sheets of heavy duty plastic wrap and flatten to 1/8″ thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. (I usually have this done at the meat market)

Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper, set aside.

Saute spinach and onion in hot oil in a large skillet over medium heat 3-4 minutes or until onion is tender. Remove from heat and stir in cream cheese until blended. Stir in mozzarella cheese and next 6 ingredients.

Spoon 1/4 cup spinach mixture on center of each chicken breast half, and roll up, jellyroll fashion.

Unfold phyllo sheets on a lightly floured surface. Stack 2 phyllo sheets, brushing with melted butter between sheets. (keep remaining sheets covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying out.)

Place 1 chicken roll on short side of phyllo stack; gently roll up, folding in long side. Repeat procedure with remaining pastry sheets, melted butter and chicken. Place rolls in a shallow pan and brush one more time with melted butter.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until done. Serve with a mushroom gravy or atop salad greens.