Cranberry Christmas Salad

I love this jello salad my mom made for both our Christmas open house and our church’s Christmas party. I also had quite a few requests for the recipe, so here it is…

1 lg. box strawberry Jello

1 c. boiling water

1 10 oz box frozen strawberries thawed or 1 c. fresh sliced

1 can jellied cranberry sauce

Dissolve jello in boiling water.  Add cranberry sauce and mix well.  (use a wire whip or rotary beater)  Add strawberries. 

Corn Dog Casserole

This is a recipe I made up for a quick and easy dish to take to Family Nite at church. It’s one of those “mac n cheese” comfort food sort of things. Nothing special or gourmet, just simple and filling.

2 boxes corn bread mix

1 egg

1/4 cup sour cream

1/3 cup milk

1 stick melted butter

1 can creamed corn

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

1 package sliced hot dogs

Mix ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Pour into sprayed 9x13 baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes or until golden brown.

Easy-Peasy Bread

My dear friend Leanne came over last week to show me how to make her “easy peasy” bread. We made 5 loaves then and it was so easy I have 5 more loaves going right now! I had so many requests for the recipe that I just had to share it.

I am looking forward to playing with different sweeteners, flours and add-ins after I get a little more practice… Leanne also told me this dough works great for pizza, cinnamon rolls and anything else you can dream up!

2 1/2 cups hot water (I just use the hot faucet water; let it get really hot!)
1 TBSP plus 1/2 tsp yeast
2 C  flour (white, whole wheat or combination of both)

Place the water in a large bowl.  Sprinkle yeast on top of the water.  Add the two cups of flour and gently stir until the flour is wet.  Don't stir it to death! 

Let this sit for 20 minutes.  It will foam up and bubble.  While it sits, grease two loaf pans and get the next ingredients ready......

1/3 C sugar, brown sugar, honey or molasses
1/3 C oil
2 tsp salt
5-6 C flour

 
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Add the sugar or honey, oil and salt to the bubbly flour mixture.  Gradually add the flour, one cup at a time and stir gently.  Keep adding the flour and stirring until the dough looks a bit dry and comes away from the sides of the bowl.

On the surface where you will knead the flour, generously sprinkle extra flour. I knead my bread on a large cutting board surface.  Any surface will work, as long as you have a cup of flour next to you that you can sprinkle on your surface as you knead.  Dump the dough out on your floured surface.  Sprinkle more flour onto the dough.  Knead dough for about 6-10 minutes, until the dough is soft and smooth, making sure to sprinkle flour onto your surface so that the dough does not stick. 

Cut dough in half.  Shape into two loaves.  Place dough into your greased loaf pans.  Place in preheated oven. 

Let rise for about 15 minutes, or until dough is about an inch above the top of your pans.  Turn oven up to 350 degrees.  Bake loaves for 25 minutes. Brush tops with melted butter while still hot.

White Chocolate Cranberry Granola Bars

My homeschool/FB friend Lori posted this recipe that I just had to try. I have to say that they are healthy enough that I let the boys snack on them in the morning before lunch but not-healthy enough that they want to snack on them. :o)

I used dark chocolate chips and cherry flavored craisins in mine and drizzled them with white chocolate and they are perfect!

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups crisp rice cereal (Rice Krispies)
1 cup white chocolate(vanilla) chips
1 1/2 cups rolled or quick oats
1/2- 3/4 cup craisins (sweetened, dried cranberries)
1 cup chopped nuts, optional
Preheat oven to 350° and lightly grease or spray 9 x 13 pan.
In large bowl, beat brown sugar, sugar, and butter until light and fluffy. Blend in honey, vanilla and egg. In separate bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture gradually to sugar mixture and beat until combined. By hand, stir in nuts, white chocolate chips, Rice Krispies and oats until well mixed. Press mixture firmly in bottom of greased pan, and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until light golden brown. Do NOT overbake, they may still look "wiggly". Cool and cut into squares or whatever other shapes you might desire;-)

For Glaze: Melt the rest of the chips in the micro with a tblsp of butter. Spoon into a sandwich bag. Cut a very tiny tip of the corner off and squeeze in swirls over the bars. Before or after cutting depending on how much work you want to put into them and how pretty you want them to turn out.

Thumbprint Cookies

I remember often having these at Christmas growing up, but seldom make them now. But since I have 4 jars of mint jelly on my shelf, I decided this year I would add them to the list. I think they’re even better than I remember…

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup softened butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 egg, separated

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup chopped nuts

Jelly

Cream together sugar, butter, shortening, vanilla and egg yolk. Stir in flour and salt.

Shape dough into 1” balls. Beat egg white slightly. Dip balls in egg white and then roll in nuts. Press thumb into center of each cookie.

Bake on ungreased baking sheets at 350 for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove immediately and let cool. Fill “hole” with jelly.

Pumpkin Dessert

I love this recipe for a quick and easy pumpkin dessert. I’ve already made it twice this week! It works great now that I have my own “pumpkin” in the freezer.

1 yellow cake mix

1/3 cup melted butter

1 egg

Reserve 1 cup of dry cake mix. Combine remaining cake mix with butter and egg. Mix well and spread into bottom of greased 9x13 pan.

3 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

2/3 cup milk

Mix well with wire whisk and pour over cake mix mixture in pan.

1 cup cake mix

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup chopped nuts

Mix cake mix and brown sugar in bowl. Cut in butter until it is crumbly. Sprinkle with chopped nuts.

Bake at 350 for 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden brown.

Kentucky Christmas Cake

This is also known as Jam Cake. I found the recipe in my search to try to find things to do with all the jam that I made last year and that is still in my freezer. I don’t know what I was thinking, we hardly eat jam???

I have to admit that the recipe intrigued me: coconut, bourbon-soaked pecans, raisins and blackberry jam. When I saw the lavender-colored batter, I was even more intrigued. It should have dawned on me that it would be purple from the jam but would I want to eat a cake that was purple? But it wasn’t purple at all after baking. I was kinda disappointed. :o(

Well, it turned out much better than I thought and is really yummy warm. I will be making this one this Christmas for sure! But be sure if you make it, to either eat it after cooling a bit out of the oven or after warming it a bit in the microwave…

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup blackberry preserves
• 1 cup chopped pecans (you can soak them in bourbon for a few days prior to baking cake)
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F . Lightly grease one 10 inch tube pan and set aside.

1. Cream together the butter and sugar. Add eggs separately, beating well after each.
2. Sift together soda and flour; add alternately with buttermilk to creamed mixture. Mix well.
3. Add jam, pecans, coconut and raisins. Mix well and pour into prepared pan.

1. Bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.