Christmas Dinner '09

Nothing exciting this year as I've been sick and am still trying to catch-up on the day-to-day since Scott got home!

ham (from Costco)

potato wedges

Julie's homemade rolls

red & green finger jello

spinach salad

california cuties (the oranges)

apple pie

Christmas Dinner

It'll just be the 5 of us for Christmas dinner, so we thought we'd splurge on a couple favorites instead of the traditional feast.  I have to admit, I'm really excited!

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Filet Mignon

Twice-baked stuffed potatoes

Caesar Salad

Jello & Raspberry salad

Garlic Bread

Apple Crisp & homemade icecream

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Christmas Brunch

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While we're opening presents...

orange juice, strong coffee, and cinnamon rolls

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Brunch...

Lemon Cream Stuffed French Toast

scrambled eggs & cheese

Oscar Mayer Natural bacon

fruit platter

more strong coffee :)

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cheese (cup)cakes

These are cute little treats.  Top with a cherry or sweetened raspberry for a festive look.

3 - 8 oz pkg cream cheese

5 eggs

1 1/8 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

*Blend cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla together until smooth.  Add eggs.  Mix.  Fill mini cupcake pans.  Bake 300 for 30 minutes.

*Cool in pans on racks.  Centers will sink as they cool, but perfect for adding a little garnish.

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This can also be used as an appetizer.  Substitute vanilla with hot sauce, worchestershire, cumin, whatever sounds good.

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peppermint-frosted chocolate yummies

This has Christmas written all over it!

1/2 cup butter, softened 1 cup granulated sugar 1 tsp. vanilla 1/2 tsp. salt 1 egg 2 1-oz. squares unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled 1 cup all-purpose flour Granulated sugar 1/4 cup butter, softened 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract 2–3 Tbsp. milk Red food coloring (optional) Crushed peppermint candies (optional) 1 cup semisweet chocolate pieces 2 tsp. shortening 1. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat 1/2 cup butter for 30 seconds. Add 1 cup granulated sugar, vanilla, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in egg and melted unsweetened chocolate. Beat in flour until combined.2. Drop dough by rounded teaspoons 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Grease the bottom of a glass and coat with granulated sugar; flatten cookies with sugar-coated glass. Bake in a 375° oven for 8 minutes or until set. Cool on cookie sheets for 1 minute; transfer to wire racks. Cool completely. 3. In a medium mixing bowl, with an electric mixer on medium to high speed, beat 1/4 cup butter for 30 seconds. Beat in powdered sugar, peppermint extract, and enough milk to make a spreading consistency. If desired, tint pink with food coloring. Spread frosting over each cookie leaving a 1/4-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle with candies, if desired. 4. In a small saucepan heat and stir semisweet pieces and shortening over low heat until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly. Drizzle chocolate over tops of cookies. Makes 3 dozen cookies. TO STORE Store unfrosted cookies in covered containers at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw, then frost as above.

 

from countryhome.com

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cranberry tea

Perfect for a cold winter's day!

Boil together:

2 cups sugar or less

3 cups water

3 sticks of cinnamon

Add:

2 quarts water

1 quart cranberry juice cocktail

1 large can pineapple juice

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 cups orange juice

Simmer for 30 minutes on the stove, or transfer to crockpot.

chocolate pecan pie

Rich and delicious... pecan pie has never tasted so good!  (Also a Thanksgiving tradition at our house that started when I made my first Thanksgiving dinner.)

photo (not recipe) courtesy of pillsbury.com

1 pie crust (I use the frozen ones)

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 cup light-colored corn syrup

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup pecans halves

1/2 - 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (depends on how rich you want it)

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*Preheat oven to 350

*In medium bowl combine eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter, and vanilla; mix well.  Stir in pecan halves and chocolate chips.

*Pour into pie shell, bake until set, about 45 minutes (use foil ring to prevent crust from burning).

*Cool on wire rack.  Drizzle with melted chocolate, if desired.

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cornflake christmas wreaths

What a cute treat for the holidays!

Ingredients

• 1 bag (10.5 ounces) mini marshmallows


• 1/4  cup (1/2 stick) butter


•  Green food coloring


•  4-1/2  cups cornflake cereal


•  Jumbo red nonpareils


•  Light corn syrup


•  Red sour belts

Directions

1. Line 2 baking sheets with nonstick foil or parchment paper. Lightly coat a 1/3-cup measure with nonstick spray.

2. Stir marshmallows and butter in a large saucepan over low heat until melted and smooth. Remove from heat and tint with 5 or 6 drops of food coloring. Gently stir in cornflakes.

3. Scoop 1/3 cupfuls of the mixture and drop into 6 piles on each baking sheet. Let cool 5 minutes. Spray fingers with nonstick cooking spray and shape each pile into a wreath, gently compressing the flakes together. Refrigerate until firm.

4. Decorate wreaths with nonpareils or candy balls, attaching them with a dab of corn syrup.

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from parentsmag.com

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merry berry cheese bars

2 cups unsifted flour

1 1/2 cups oats

3/4 cup + 1 Tbsp firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese, softened

1 (14oz) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)

1/4 cup lemon juice (like Real Lemon)

1 (16oz) can whole cranberry sauce

2 Tbsp cornstarch

*Preheat oven to 350. 

*In mixing bowl, beat flour, oat, 3/4 cup sugar, and butter until crumbly.  Set aside 1 1/2 cups mixture; press remaining mixture on bottom of greased 13x9" baking pan.  Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned. 

*In medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Gradually beat in condensed milk until smooth; stir in lemon juice.  Spread over baked crust.

*Combine cranberry sauce, cornstarch, and 1 Tbsp sugar.  Spoon over cheese layer.  Top with reserved crust mixture.

*Bake 45 minutes or until golden.

*Cool and cut into bars.  Refrigerate leftovers.

apple dumpling rolls

Oh my deliciousness!

2 cups sugar

2 cups water

1/4 cup butter

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup shortening

2/3 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups peeled, shredded cooking apples (3 to 4 medium)

*Sauce:  In large saucepan, combine 2 cups sugar, water, butter, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for 5 minutes; set aside.

*Dough:  In large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt.  Using pastry blender, cut in shortening until pea-size.  Make well in center.  Add milk all at once.  Stir just until moistened.  Knead dough on lightly floured surface 10-12 strokes or until nearly smooth.  Roll out to 12x10" rectangle.

*Filling:  Combine 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon; set aside.  Sprinkle apples evenly over dough.  Sprinkle with sugar mixture.  Roll dough into spiral, starting from a long side.  Pinch seam to seal.  Cut into twelve 1" thick pieces.  Place in 13x9x2" baking pan.  Pour sauce over dumplings (yes, use it all!).  Bake in a 350-degree oven about 50 minutes, or until golden.

Serve warm and enjoy!

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cranberry butter

There's just something about cranberry that shouts "Happy Holidays!"

1 stick butter, softened

1/2 cup cranberry sauce

*Place butter in bowl and fold in cranberry sauce.  Serve immediately or store in fridge for up to 5 days.

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spiced cranberry dip

I haven't tried this, but thought it looked perfect for the Holidays!

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup canned whole berry cranberry sauce

1/4 cup orange marmalade

1/8 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

*Spread cream cheese onto bottom of 9" pie plate

*Mix cranberry, marmalade, & red pepper.  Spoon over cream cheese

*Sprinkle with almonds

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pretzel turtles

On a cookie sheets, spread out your pretzels.  Top each pretzel with one Rolo candy.  Put in 250-degree oven until Rolo is soft.  Remove cookie sheet from oven, press with a pecan.  Let cool before eating.

french breakfast muffins

Muffins...

2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1 large egg

1 cup, plus 2 Tbsp milk

6 Tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled

1 tsp vanilla extract

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping...

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 Tbsp butter, melted and slightly cooled

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*Heat the oven to 375.  Butter the bottoms of 12 standard-sized muffin cups and set pan aside.

*Combine in large mixing bowl: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.

*In a medium bowl, whisk the egg until it's frothy.  Blend in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla extract.  Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid mixture.

*Using a wooden spoon, mix the batter just until it's evenly blended, then spoon it into the muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.

*Bake the muffins on the center rack for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and bake for an additiona. 5 to 7 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack until the muffins are cool enough to handle, about 5 minutes, then remove them from the cups.

*Before the muffins lose their warmth, prepare the topping.  Mix the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl, melt the butter and transfer it to a separate bowl.  Set both bowls next to the muffins.

*Working one muffin at a time, quickly dip the tops in the melted butter and then the cinnamon sugar, rolling each muffin in all directions to cover the entire top.

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from Family Fun's kitchen

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Chex Muddy Buddies

9 cups Chex cereal

1 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

*In a large bowl, measure cereal and set aside.

*In a large microwave-safe bowl, stir together chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter.  Microwave (uncovered) for 1 minute.  Stir.  Microwave for another 30 seconds.  Stir until smooth, then add vanilla and stir.  Pour over cereal and stir until evenly coated.  Pour into 2-gallon ziploc.

*Add powdered sugar, seal bag.  Shake well until coated.  Spread onto wax paper to cool.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

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From the Chexmix kitchen

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cookie salad

This recipe reminds me of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and any other holiday where my grandma (GG to my kids) was at the table.  She always made way too much, meaning we always ate way too much, but we also always had lots of leftovers!  Sure the cookies got a little mushy, but that didn't stop us from finishing the "salad" the next day!

2 cups buttermilk

2 - 3 oz pkgs of instant vanilla pudding

12 oz Cool Whip

Fudge-strip shortbread cookies, broken in bite-sized pieces

I've never actually made this recipe, just eaten a lot of it.  So hopefully the following directions make sense and are accurate!

*Mix buttermilk and pudding in large bowl and refrigerate as per package directions.  Once pudding is set, fold in Cool Whip.  Gently add cookies and combine.

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from GG's kitchen

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Tracy's Cinnabons

This really is as good as it gets!  It takes a lot of time, but it is *so*so*so* worth it!  Thanks to Dandelion Mama for letting me steal this recipe and claim the cinnamon rolls as my own!

(is your mouth watering yet?!)

• 1/2 cup warm water


• 2 packages dry yeast


• 2 Tbsp sugar

Bloom the yeast with the sugar in the warm water, waiting for froth and bubbles.

• 1/2 cup instant vanilla pudding powder


• 1 c warm water


• 1/2 cup melted butter


• 2 lightly beaten eggs


• 1 tsp salt


• 5-6 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, with a wire whip, mix the pudding powder with the water until well combined and smooth. Add the butter, eggs and salt, whisk to combine well.

Add the bloomed yeast/sugar/water mixture and combine well.

Add flour, one cup at a time, until the dough comes together, and is still soft, but not sticky. Knead until smooth. It will feel like fat baby thighs.

Let rise in a warm, covered and lightly oiled bowl until doubled in size. About 2 hours.

Punch down, and knead again.

With a rolling pin and a lightly floured board, roll out the dough to a 34 x 22 inch rectangle. Keep moving the dough as you roll, to keep from sticking to the board.

• 1 cup melted butter


• 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar


• 2 Tbsp cinnamon

Melt the butter and pour the whole cup on your rolled out rectangle of dough.  In a separate bowl, combine with your impeccably clean hands, the sugar and cinnamon, then cover the butter-drenched dough rectangle in an even and delectable layer of cinnamon sugar.

Starting at the 22 inch side, roll the entire thing into a nice, long cinnamon tube. Seal the edge with a little bit of water on a pastry brush or your fingers.

With a serrated knife, (or even better, a piece of thread or dental floss) cut the log into 2 inch segments, and carefully move your giant cinnamon treasures to a glass pan.  Put no more than 8 in a large glass Pyrex casserole dish.  Do not crowd them- they will rise almost double. Whatever baking dish you use, deeper sides give the rolls a softer exterior = better.

Cover in a warm place and let them rise again until fat and happy- about two hours.

Bake at 350* for 15-18 minutes. Really, only that long. Do not over-bake. You want them to be soft, yet set, in the middle. The house will smell divine.

Icing:

• 8 oz. softened cream cheese


• 1/2 cup butter


• 1 tsp vanilla


• 3 cups confectioners sugar


• 1 Tbsp cream

Whip all ingredients together and smear on top of still warm rolls.

Remember, only a few times a year!!  Your taste buds will rejoice and your heart will need a serious, sweat-inducing walk afterwards.  Enjoy!!

(from Tracy's Kitchen)

Lemon Cream Stuffed French Toast... with Berries!

Okay so I totally stole this from Julie, but I couldn't resist... it's *SO* good.  I tweaked Julie's recipe a smidge, but nothing major.  Here is Julie's version.  And here is mine...

For the bread I used a french baguette, sliced into thin slices (1/2"? less maybe?).  I sealed the slices in a ziploc bag while I prepared the rest of the stuff so they wouldn't get hard or dry-out.  Mix raspberries and sugar and let sit so a syrup forms (I used the frozen ones from Trader Joe's, so they had to be defrosted).  For the filling mix cream cheese and lemon curd (Trader Joe's) to your liking... I used about 6 oz cream cheese and 4-5 oz lemon curd and just mixed in a bowl with a spoon until incorporated.

Soak one side of the bread slice in egg mixture, put on greased griddle on very low heat.  Add a big spoonful/dollup/smothering of the lemon cream.  Top with another slice of bread, also soaked in the egg mixture, with the soaked-side up.  Don't smash down, let the bread just rest on top!  <note: after you have all of the slices cooking, add a little cinnamon to the egg mixture and make "real" french toast for whoever may not enjoy the fancy-shmancy stuff, ie: my kids> 

Flip carefully when ready.  Plate with 3 "sandwiches" together, topped with berries and a dollup of whip cream. 

Enjoy!!!

(adapted ever-so-slightly from Julie's kitchen)

Mint Cookie Candies

12 oz white candy coating, coarsely chopped
6 tsp shortening, divided
1/4 tsp green food coloring
4 mint cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, crushed
2 pkgs (4.67 oz each) mint Andes candies

~In microwave-safe bowl, melt candy coating and 4 tsp shortening; stir until smooth. Stir in food coloring. Pour evenly into miniature muffin cup liners. Sprinkle with cookie crumbs. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt mint candies and remaining shortening; stir until smooth. Pour over cookie crumbs. Let stand until set.

~Yield: 4 dozen

from Quick Cooking

Frango Dessert Drops

Any Frederick & Nelson fans out there?

12 oz chocolate chips

1 1/8 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

2 beaten eggs

2 tsp vanilla

2 caps peppermint extract

*Melt chocolate chips.  Cream powdered sugar with butter.  Add eggs and vanilla, and stir into cooled chocolate.  Stir in peppermint extract, and beat until smooth.  Drop by teaspoon onto wax paper.  Chill until set.  YUM!!!