Category Archives: Recipes &Cooking

Peach Pie Salad

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Holiday times are the perfect occasion for special salads.  Families usually have their traditional salads they fix every year, but if you’re looking for something a little different, here’s a salad recipe for peach pie lovers:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 can peach pie filling
  • 1 can mandarin oranges, drained
  • 1 can pineapple chunks, drained
  • fresh strawberries
  • bananas, sliced
  • grapes

Combine the pie filling, mandarin oranges, and pineapple chunks.  Chill.  Just before serving, add the fresh strawberries, bananas and grapes.  Enjoy!

Four Foods On Friday 58

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#1.  Does your family usually eat meals in the kitchen or somewhere else?

We always eat in the kitchen.  It’s nice having one meal a day where we’re all together.

#2.  Who usually does the dishes in your house?

Me and the dishwasher.  I wash the pots and pans and the dishwasher does the rest!
#3.  What’s your favorite small appliance or tool in the kitchen?

Hmmm…depends on what I’m making.  I like all my appliances.  My favorite tools would probably be my “Come-apart Kitchen Shears” and my avocado slicer.
#4. This one’s for my son. Share a recipe for chili.

I don’t have a recipe for chili, but I would like chili made with turkey.  I found this recipe that sounds good:

Simple Turkey Chili

Cheese Log

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Here is a really tasty cheese log for the holiday season:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 pound cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
  • 1 tablespoon salad dressing
  • 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
  • chili powder

Combine the first five ingredients and mix well.  Form into a log and roll in chili powder.  Wrap in waxed paper and chill several hours or overnight.  Serve with crackers and enjoy!

Cheese Ball

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Here’s a festive cheese ball for the holiday season:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
  • 1 small jar of dried beef OR 2 2.5 ounce packages thin sliced beef
  • 2 green onions, chopped
  • garlic powder to your taste OR 1 tablespoon seasoned salt
  • dried parsley
  • chopped pecans

Chop the beef.  Combine first four ingredients and mix well.  Roll into a ball and coat with parsley and chopped pecans.  Best if prepared the night before.

Four Foods On Friday 57

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I’m posting early this week because of Thanksgiving:

#1. What’s your favorite carbonated beverage?

Hmmm…I’m a big tea drinker and rarely drink carbonated drinks.  But when I do, I drink either Coke (because that’s what my family drinks) or Dr. Pepper.  Every once in a while we have Root Beer.
#2. What’s your favorite spicy food?

That’s hard to name just one!  It’s a tie, depending on what I have a taste for:  Enchiladas & Queso
#3. How do you handle hot dishes? Oven mitt, pot holder, towel?

Usually a pot holder.
#4. Ice cream. How do you like yours?

With warm pie underneath it….LOL  🙂   During the summer, I like it in a banana split with fresh strawberries, nuts, chocolate syrup and whipped cream on top.

Stuffed Jalapenos – Texas Appetizer

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Since I grew up and live in Texas, we eat a lot of Mexican food.  My stomach can’t take the real hot spice anymore, but here is a recipe that sounds like something our son and son-in-law would like:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 cup pecan pieces
  • 1/2 cup Real Bacon Bits
  • 1/2 cup chopped green onion
  • can of whole jalapenos

Cut jalapenos in half and clean out the insides. Mix the first 5 ingredients and stuff into halved jalapenos.

Sausage Cheese Balls

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Here’s a great recipe for holiday appetizers for guests or to take to a party:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 pounds sausage, uncooked
  • 1 1/2 cups baking/biscuit mix (Bisquick)
  • 16 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix all the ingredients together.  Form into 1″ balls.  Bake 15 minutes on ungreased cookie sheet until golden brown.  Makes 6 dozen.

Four Foods On Friday 56

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#1. What’s the worst tasting food you’ve ever eaten?

Hmmm…I can’t remember.  I know I have eaten some bad tasting food before, though.
#2. Share a funny or embarassing story about a meal you’re made.

I can’t remember about a meal I’ve made, but I remember one about a meal I ordered…does that count?

When our son was a baby and sick one day with awful diarrhea, I was so tired from changing yucky diapers that I decided to call and have pizza delivered for supper.  My husband was at work, and the phone rang and when I heard him say “Hello,” I proceeded to tell him about our sick baby and this one awful, messy diaper that leaked all over the place.  When I finally finished, the man on the other end turned out not to be my husband and finally had a chance to say something and said, “Ma’am, this is Pizza Hut confirming your order.”  I turned the brightest shade of red and said that I was sooo sorry.  When the pizza was delivered, the delivery boy couldn’t keep from laughing when he handed me the pizza.   My family and I have laughed about that story many times!  🙂
#3. What food do you burn or have problems cooking most often?

Sometimes toast.  I try to get it a little browner and end up burning it every once in a while.
#4. Name two foods you’ll be eating on this Thanksgiving.

JUST TWO???   That’s hard to choose which two.  I guess it would be turkey and dressing.

Southwest Cheesecake Dip

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This is a dip that looks like a cheesecake.  Perfect for serving at parties:

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
  • 2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 2 cups sour cream, divided into 2 equal portions
  • 1 envelope McCormick’s Taco Seasoning
  • 3 eggs, room temperature
  • 1 4-ounce can chopped green chilies
  • Salsa
  • Tortilla chips or Ritz Crackers

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine cheeses and beat until fluffy.  Stir in 1 cup sour cream and taco seasoning.  Beat in eggs, one at a time.  Fold in chilies.  Pour into 9 1/2″ to 10 1/2″ spring form pan.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until center is firm.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes.

After “cheesecake” has cooled for a few minutes, spoon remaining sour cream on top and bake for 5 more minutes.  Cool completely on wire rack and refrigerate covered overnight.

The next day, remove “cheesecake” from pan and place on a pretty platter or plate.  Spoon on salsa.  Serve with chips and crackers.

Raw Cranberry Salad

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This is a delicious and refreshing recipe from a dear family member:

  • 2 cups raw cranberries, ground up
  • 1 large can crushed pineapple
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 cup boiling water
  • 1 whole orange, ground up
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 large package raspberry Jello

Dissolve Jello in boiling water.  Mix all ingredients into Jello and pour into glass dish.  Congeal in refrigerator.  Serve with your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Laura Bush’s Corn Bread Dressing

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This sounds so good, somewhat like my mother used to make, only she used regular cornmeal instead of stone-ground and used dry sage instead of fresh.

INGREDIENTS FOR CORN BREAD:

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 cups stone-ground cornmeal
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups whole milk

DIRECTIONS FOR CORN BREAD:

  1. Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Pour oil into a 13 x 9 inch metal baking pan.  Heat oil in oven until very hot for about 5 minutes.
  2. In a large bowl, mix cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt.  Stir in eggs and milk.  Pour hot oil into cornmeal mixture and mix.  Be very careful because oil will be hot!   Pour into heated pan.
  3. Bake at 450 degrees for 20-25 minutes until golden brown on the top.  Let stand for at least 15 minutes and then crumble the corn bread.


INGREDIENTS FOR DRESSING:

  • Above recipe for corn bread
  • 3 cups chopped onion
  • 3 cups chopped celery
  • 1 cup (16 tablespoons) unsalted butter
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/2 – 1 cup fresh sage, chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 3 cups turkey stock (or canned chicken broth)

DIRECTIONS FOR DRESSING:

  1. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.  Use a large skillet and saute onion and celery in 12 tablespoons butter and the olive oil for about 7-8 minutes.
  2. In a bowl, mix the onion mixture, sage, salt, pepper, and cornbread.  Spoon into a 13 x 9 inch glass casserole dish.  Melt the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter and drizzle over the top.  Pour the turkey stock or chicken broth on top of that.  Cover with foil.
  3. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes with the foil covering.  Remove the foil and bake for 10 additional minutes until browned on top.

Four Foods On Friday 55 – Thanksgiving Theme

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Val from Fun, Crafts and Recipes has a Thanksgiving Theme this week:

#1. Stuffing. Boxed or from scratch?

My favorite stuffing was my mother’s made-from-scratch dressing.  My family likes Stove Top a lot, so that’s what I usually fix.
#2. If you were served the perfect Thanksgiving dinner what would it be?

Turkey, my mother’s dressing, giblet gravy, cranberry sauce, homemade mashed potatoes, Michelle’s Holiday Sweet Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole, deviled eggs, celery sticks, green & black olives, fresh fruit salad, my grandmother’s homemade rolls, & pumpkin pie with real whipped cream on top.  And iced tea to drink.  (I’m ready to eat!)

#3. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving leftover?

All of the leftovers!  🙂

#4. Share a recipe using turkey.

Here’s a recipe I want to try:  Campbell’s Country Turkey Casserole