Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Favorite Christmas cookies!

Please post your favorite cookie to make for the holidays! I just posted one of mine, but I'd love to try some new ones this year!

Fudgy Mint Cookies


I got this recipe from an issue of Taste of Home I got long ago. These are the perfect Christmas cookies with the peppermint patties!

1 package Devil's food cake mix
1/2 c. butter, softened
1 T. water
2 eggs
2 T. confectioners sugar
2 packages (5 oz each) chocolate covered thin mints (like thin peppermint patties)

Combine cake mix, butter and water. Add eggs, mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls, roll in confectioners sugar. Place 2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Immediately press thin mint into the center of each cookie. Cool 2 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Best way to cook your turkey, by far!!!

This is a recipe that I posted last Thanksgiving that you HAVE to use.

This was way yummy. I didn't have organic salt so I used regular, though I don't know what the difference would be. I also think this recipe was used for a regular big bird, somewhere between 12-20 lbs so I cut it in half for the turkey breast we bought.

- One gallon of chicken or vegetable broth (homemade is best, but it’s a pain to make).
- One cup of organic salt (using iodized salt isn’t necessary).
- Four tablespoons of spices: (I like rosemary, thyme, sage, and a little pepper and cinnamon).
- One cup of sugar.
- One gallon of water.

Pour all the ingredients into your biggest stockpot and bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat and cool to room temp. Wash and clean your turkey thoroughly. Put that bird into your newly made brine recipe and make sure he’s completely covered. Place your brined turkey into the refrigerator overnight or at as long as possible.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Sweet and Sour Green Beans

This is a super easy recipe I stole from my sister, Lisa. It is a great alternative to the infamous green bean casserole and has become a staple for the holidays at our house.

3 cans whole green beans
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vinegar
1/2 pack of bacon
1 onion, sliced

Fry bacon and set on towels to cool. Add sugar and vinegar to bacon grease and let it come to a boil. Pour over green beans. Top with sliced onions and crumbled bacon. Cook at 325, covered. Stir occasionally.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Paula Deen's Cranberry-Pineapple Gelatin Salad



Here's another yummy dish to add to your Thanksgiving spread. I'm not a fan of cranberry sauce so this is a great alternative.

2 (3-ounce) packages raspberry gelatin
1/2 envelope unflavored gelatin
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple packet in its own juice
1 (15-ounce) can whole cranberry sauce
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

Topping:

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons whipped cream
1/4 cup walnuts

Spray a 4-cup gelatin mold or a 9-inch square pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. In a medium glass mixing bowl, combine the raspberry gelatin and unflavored gelatin. Add 1 cup boiling water and stir with a metal spoon continuously for 2 minutes, until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in 1/2 cup cold water. Add the pineapple and juice, cranberry sauce, and walnuts. Stir with a metal spoon until all ingredients are completely incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared mold, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm.

About 1 hour before serving, invert the mold onto a serving platter and allow to sit at room temperature; the salad will release itself and come clean from the mold.

Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, whipped cream and walnuts in bowl. Spoon into the center of the mold.


Obviously this will work just fine without a jello mold (do people still use those things?). And I just spread the topping on the whole thing instead of just the middle. I found it to thick to dollop on each piece.

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Baked Lemon Pasta, and chicken and salad

My sister sent me a link to this recipe blog done by 5 sisters. She's made a bunch of recipes from this site and has loved them all. I was looking at it the other day and came across this dish. It was so different from anything I've had before and so delicious! Jeremy had three helpings and that says a lot! I think I've found a new foodie blog to stalk...
Baked Lemon Pasta
Submitted by Amy ~ www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com
Source: the one and only Pioneer woman

1 pound Thin Spaghetti
4 Tablespoons Salted Butter
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Lemon, Juiced And Zested
2 cups Sour Cream
½ teaspoons Kosher Salt, Or More To Taste
Plenty Of Grated Parmesan Cheese
Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
Extra Lemon Juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente. In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT. When butter is melted, add minced garlic. Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat. Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary. Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish. Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.) When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top. Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley. Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end or feel free to add as much as you like.

It was suggested in the recipe on the blog that you serve this with the following chicken.

Lemon Grilled Chicken:
Juice of one lemon (~3 Tb lemon juice)
3 Tb oil
1 tsp minced garlic (~2 large cloves)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate the chicken overnight. For salad, dice the raw chicken and marinate it that way so there is more surface area to marinate. You can get away with marinating for a shorter amount of time this way. Grilling is best, but cooking in a skillet is great, too.

I put the grilled chicken right in with the pasta, and also made this salad the chicken is supposed to go into, but we had it without the chicken:

Chicken Poppy Seed Salad
Resubmitted by Mindy (Originally submitted by Brittany)
www.sisterscafe.blogspot.com

Salad:
Spinach leaves
Romaine leaves
Grilled chicken, sliced (Best if marinated in Lemon Grilled Chicken Marinade*, but if you don't have time then grill with lots of lemon pepper seasoning)
Red onion, sliced thinly
Crispy bacon, crumbled
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Toasted almonds (or you can sugar the almonds. Put sliced almonds in a pan with lots of granulated sugar (about equal amounts). Cook on medium heat until sugar melts, coating the almonds as they brown.)

*Lemon Grilled Chicken:
Juice of one lemon (~3 Tb lemon juice)
3 Tb oil
1 tsp minced garlic (~2 large cloves)
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1 lb chicken breasts

Marinate the chicken overnight. For salad, dice the raw chicken and marinate it that way so there is more surface area to marinate. You can get away with marinating for a shorter amount of time this way. Grilling is best, but cooking in a skillet is great, too.


The best part... The Dressing**:

1 1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dry mustard
2/3 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tb Maui or Vidalia onion, chopped
2 cups canola oil
3 Tb poppy seeds

Mix the first 5 ingredients in a blender, then slowly add the oil, blending until thick. Stir in poppy seeds. Toss all ingredients together with generous amount of dressing before serving.

**This makes a lot of dressing! If you need a really big salad for a party then start with a large bunch of spinach, large head of romaine, 4 chicken breasts, 1 lb bacon, etc. I rarely make a salad that big so that is why there are no "amounts". So have fun with it - you're going to love it!