Fruit Dip

Heather S

This is the 10th and final part in the Thanksgiving recipe series.

-1 8-oz pkg. cream cheese
-1 container marshmallow cream

Beat together (do not soften cream cheese) with mixture until creamy and fluffy. Serve with your favorite fruit variety. I generally serve with red and green apples, oranges, and grapes.

Turkey Dressing/Stuffing

From Heather's Grandmaw, Wilmalene J.

This is part 9 in the Thanksgiving recipe series.



-4 cups crumbled cornbread
-2-1/4 to 2-½ c. torn dry white bread (I usually tear and set out on cookie sheets overnight to dry)
-1 regular carton chicken broth
-1 cup chopped celery
-1 cup chopped onion
-½ stick melted butter
-2 teaspoons sage (rubbed)
-Salt and pepper to taste
-3 eggs
-½ teaspoon poultry seasoning

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 2 qt. baking dish. In a large bowl, combine cornbread, bread, and broth. Mix will (to a soupy consistency) and let stand 15 minutes. Add celery, onion, butter, sage, salt, and pepper. Toss lightly to coat evenly. In a small bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Fold into bread mixture. Place dressing in dish. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes until top is golden brown.


(Double this recipe for a 9”x13” dish)

Cherry Cheesecake

Heather S

This is part 8 in the Thanksgiving recipe series.


-1 pie crust or baked pie shell (I use the pre-made graham crust already)
-1-8 oz. cream cheese
-1 can Eagle brand milk (sweetened and condensed)
-1/3 cup lemon juice
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-1 can cherry pie filling

Let cream cheese soften to room temperature. Whip with mixer until fluffy. Gradually add the milk and beat until well blended. Add lemon juice and vanilla, blend well. Pour into prepared crust. Chill and then garnish top of pie with pie filling. (Other pie fillings could be substituted for a variation.)

Makes a 9” pie.

Chocolate Pie and Pie Crust

From Justin’s grandmaw, Barbara M.

This is part 7 in the Thanksgiving recipe series.



Chocolate Pie

-1-9” pie crust

Stir together:

-4 tablespoons flour
-¼ cup or 3 tablespoons cocoa

Add:

-1 ½ cup milk
-2 egg yolks
-1 tablespoon vanilla

Microwave for 2-1/3-minutes, then stir with a whisk and add 2 tablespoons butter. Microwave in 2-½ minute intervals, stirring after each with a whisk, until pie thickens.

Pour into cooked pie crust. Top with Cool Whip if desired.



Pie Crust:

-1-1/3 cup flour
-½ teaspoon salt
-½ cup Crisco
-3 tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 425°

Combine flour and salt. Cut in Crisco with a pastry cutter until coarse. Sprinkle with water, 1 tablespoon at a time. Work into firm ball with hands. Roll out and cut out pie crust. Fold edges under and flute. Prick bottom and sides with a fork. Bake until golden.

Island Party Punch

Heather S

This is part 6 in the Thanksgiving recipe series.


-32 oz. Hawaiian Punch Fruit Juicy Red
-24 oz. 7-UP
-12 oz. orange juic
-¼ c. ReaLemon Lemon Juice
-16 oz. Canada Dry Ginger Ale

Combine all ingredients. Stir until blended. Chill.

Serves 16

Cheese Pumpkins

(Heather got this from a recipe book of Michelle S’s)

This is part 5 in the series of Thanksgiving recipes.


-8 tablespoons smoked cheddar cold pack cheese food (from 8-oz. container), well chilled
-2 teaspoons finely chopped peanuts or pecans
-Pretzel spindles or sticks
-Tiny pieces of fresh parsley leaves

Line small serving plate with wax paper. Roll each level tablespoon of cold pack cheese food into a ball; place on wax paper lined serving tray. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes for easier handling.

With end of toothpick, draw ridges around balls to resemble pumpkins. Dip bottoms of cheese balls in chopped nuts.

Just before serving, insert pretzel halves into cheese balls for pumpkin stems. Decorate with parsley for leaves.

Store in refrigerator.

Pineapple Picnic Salad

Heather S

This is part 4 in the Thanksgiving recipe series.


-1-20 oz. can crushed pineapple (undrained)
-1-20 oz. can pineapple tidbits (drained)…also, can use mandarin oranges for a slightly different taste (undrained)
-1 small package instant vanilla pudding
-1-8 oz. Cool Whip
-1-8 oz. package cream cheese

Stir (undrained) crushed pineapple with softened cream cheese. Stir in pudding and mix well. Fold in pineapple tidbits (or mandarin oranges), drained and Cool Whip.

Chill and serve.

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Heather S

This is part 3 in the series of Thanksgiving recipes.


-1 cup chopped celery (optional, but I use it)
-3 tablespoons butter (used for sautéing later in recipe)
-broccoli (the recipe calls for 1-2 boxes, I use about 1 small bag and about a quarter or half of another small bag. I buy the frozen kind, then just cook it as directed on the package)
-1 can cream of chicken soup
-1 can evaporated milk (I don't remember how many ounces, but it's about the same size as a soup can).
-1 jar of Cheese Whiz (they have one that is 8 oz., but I use the bigger size up from that one, approximately 15 oz.).
-1 cup chopped onion
-3 cups cooked rice (regular rice and not instant)


Cook rice as directed on package. Cook broccoli as directed on package over the stovetop until soft and then drain. (Sometimes, I cut the broccoli up a little smaller with kitchen scissors, just because some of it is in pretty big chunks.) Sauté onion and celery in butter. Add soup and evaporated milk to onion and celery. Add cheese whiz to onion, celery, soup and milk mixture...let simmer about 1 minute. Put broccoli, rice and cheese mixture in bowl and stir a little. Pour into a 9x13” pan. Cook for 30-40 minutes at 350°.

Depending on how many you are cooking for, you can divide this into two dishes. I sometimes freeze half of it before I cook it. You can thaw it in the fridge for about 24 hours and then cook it as usual.

Tortilla Roll-Ups

Heather S

Part 2 in the Thanksgiving recipe series.


-2 packages of cream cheese (8 oz/package)
-Approximately 2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (I usually use a 4-cheese fiesta blend instead of just cheddar)
-1 small jar green chilies
-Approximately 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
-1 package of 10” tortilla’s

Other optional ingredients:

-Salsa (I use about 2-3 tablespoons of Pace Picante-Medium)
-Green olives, chopped, drained (I use about the equivalent of 1 small jar of black olives)
-Black olives, chopped, drained (I use about 1 small jar)
-Chopped jalapeños, drained (I use about 10 slices of jalapeños)
-Jalapeño juice (I use about 2-3 teaspoons)
-Ground cumin (sometimes I sprinkle a little of this in, but not usually)
-Lemon powder (I don't really hardly ever use this ingredient)
-Chili powder (I usually sprinkle just a little in).
-Chopped ham (I rarely use this)
-Chopped dried beef (I rarely use this either)

Note:
If you are not using salsa and/or jalapeño juice, you'll want to use a little more lemon juice so that it will help the mixture have a little liquid to it. I really don't measure any of these ingredients out…I just kinda throw them in and taste it as I go.

I just put all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon. I usually use the back side of the spoon to start mixing it...that way I can sorta mash the cheese into the cream cheese.

Then, I just spread it all over a tortilla and roll it up. I refrigerate overnight and then slice the next day. It works best if the tortillas are room temperature when you get ready to spread them mixture on them and roll them up.

Pumpkin Dip and Cinnamon Chips

Jennifer B (featured in the OSC cookbook)

Note:
This is part 1 in the series of recipes that Heather S used at her Thanksgiving shindig.


Pumpkin Dip
-1 container of small container of coolwhip (I used about ¾ of a large container so it would make more)
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-1 small can of solid pack pumpkin (pure pumpking)
-1 small package of vanilla or cheesecake instant pudding (I’ve used both and couldn’t tell a difference)

Combine pumpkin, cinnamon, and pudding. Mix well and fold in Cool Whip and chill. Serve with cinnamon chips, graham sticks, fruit, etc.


Cinnamon Chips
Jennifer B (featured in the OSC cookbook)

-Flour or Wheat tortillas
-Water or oil
-Cinnamon and Sugar

Preheat oven to 350°. Cut tortillas into triangles. Spray lightly with water or oil (I used water). Arrange on baking sheet. Sprinkle with sugar (I have also used ‘sugar in the raw’ for a larger sugar crystal) and cinnamon. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Thanksgiving recipes

Heather S recently sent me many, if not all, of the recipes she used for her Thanksgiving shindig. Some of them you will find in the OSC cookbook, and I'll indicate that for those that she drew attention to in her e-mail. If I post any that are in the cookbook but may not be indicated as such, feel free to let me know. It's almost a month, late, I know, but better late than never, right? :) Anyway, I will post them in a series, so that I can classify them, thereby allowing you to find them more easily. Hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday season!

Melissa G :)

Spiced Pumpkin Waffles

Melissa G

I just made these this morning, and they were pretty good. I got the recipe from:

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/spiced-pumpkin-waffles-3827?kw=ist

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon(s) baking powder
• 2 teaspoon(s) cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon(s) ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) fresh-ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) cloves
• 4 large eggs
• 2 cup(s) buttermilk
• 1 cup(s) pumpkin purée
• 1/2 cup(s) dark brown sugar
• 1/4 cup(s) (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon(s) pure vanilla extract

---

Directions

• 1. Preheat a waffle iron. Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves in a large bowl and set aside.
• 2. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, pumpkin purée, sugar, butter, and vanilla in another large bowl until smooth. While whisking, add the flour mixture and blend until smooth.
• 3. Generously coat the waffle iron with vegetable oil and cook the batter in the waffle iron as recommended in the manufacturer's instructions. Repeat with remaining batter.

Chocolate Mint Cookies

Melissa G
Taken from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chocolate-Mint-Cookies-I/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 36 chocolate mint wafer candies
  

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pan over low heat, cook butter, sugar and water until butter is melted. Add chocolate chips and stir until partially melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted. Pour into a large bowl and let stand 10 minutes to cool off slightly.
2. At high speed, beat in eggs, one at a time into chocolate mixture. Reduce speed to low and add dry ingredients, beating until blended. Chill dough about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
4. Roll dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 8-10 minutes. While cookies are baking unwrap mints and divide each in half. When cookies are brought out of the oven, put 1/2 mint on top of each cookie. Let the mint sit for up to 5 minutes until melted, then spread the mint on top of the cookie. Eat and enjoy!

Caramel Shortbread Squares

Melissa G

Taken from: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Caramel-Shortbread-Squares/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup butter, softened
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/4 cups milk chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together 2/3 cup butter, white sugar, and flour until evenly crumbly. Press into a 9 inch square baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. In a 2 quart saucepan, combine 1/2 cup butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Pour over baked crust (warm or cool). Cool until it begins to firm.
4. Place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 minute, then stir and continue to heat and stir at 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour chocolate over the caramel layer and spread evenly to cover completely. Chill. Cut into 1 inch squares. These need to be small because they are so rich.

Creamy Eggnog Fudge

Kristin G

2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup eggnog
2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
12 oz. white chocolate, chopped (I used Baker's chocolate)
1 (7 oz.) jar marshmallow cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Line a 9 inch square pan with aluminum foil and set aside
2. Combine sugar, butter, eggnog, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
3. Using a candy thermometer, heat mixture to 235 degrees F, or until a small amount of syrup dropped into cold water forms a soft ball.
4. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the white chocolate pieces, marshmallow cream, vanilla, and nuts. Stir the mixture until fluffy and it starts to lose its gloss. Spoon into the prepared pan, spreading evenly. Cool completely, then lift it out of the pan by the aluminum foil and cut into small squares.

December Cookie Exchange pics, the last and final part

See above some husbands enjoying the spoils of our little cookie exchange. :D

December Cookie Exchange pics, part 3

December Cookie Exchange pics, part 2

December Cookie Exchange pics, part 1

View my mad photographic skills. J/k :D The picture above was actually me demonstrating the worst timing. :D

December Cooking Club pics, part 1

One more November Cooking Club pic

November Cooking Club pics

Thank you

I want to send out a thank you to all of you for being patient with me and my tendency, of late, to be behind on my posts. I'm getting caught up, I promise. :)

I also want to thank Michelle and Kristie for graciously hosting us in November and December in their beautiful homes.

Finally, I want to thank all of those who attended in November and December. I don't know about you guys, but I had a wonderful time, and I hope ya'll did, too. :)

Peanut Butter Blossoms

submitted by Eileen C

Peanut Butter Blossoms are one of my favorite christmas cookie recipes. I followed the recipe exactly. For the shortening I always use butter flavor shortening. In Utah these took 10 minutes to bake, and then I do what my grandmother always did by sticking the hershey's kisses on the cookies and popping them in the oven for an additional minute. Let cool on a rack.