Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!! I hope everyone has a wonderful day and you all get to spend some quality time with your family! Enjoy this recipe and maybe use it as a last minute Christmas Dinner Idea!!!!

Cranberry-Pecan Stuffing

I know this seems like I should have posted this one before Thanksgiving, but in my family we have Stuffing on Christmas too! Where theres a bird, there’s stuffing. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 tbsp. butter
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 1/2 cups Chicken Broth

1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 pkg. (14 ounces) Herb Seasoned Stuffing

Directions

Heat the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until they’re tender, stirring occasionally.  Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Stir the broth, cranberries and pecans in the saucepan.  Add the stuffing and mix lightly.  Spoon the stuffing mixture into a greased 3-quart casserole.  Cover the casserole.

Bake at 350°F. for 30 minutes or until the stuffing mixture is hot.

Tags: Food, Holidays, Recipes

Turkey-Stuffing Bundles

This pastry-wrapped main dish is a creative way to use up your Thanksgiving leftovers.  It combines turkey, stuffing, gravy, vegetables and cranberry sauce in individual pot pies. ENJOY!!!

Ingredients

1 pkg. (17.3 ounces) Puff Pastry Sheets, thawed
1 1/2 cups of Turkey Gravy
2 cups coarsely chopped cooked turkey

1/2 cup cooked vegetables (peas, corn, green beans or carrots)
2 cups prepared Stuffing, any variety
1/2 cup cranberry sauce

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Stir 1/2 cup gravy, the turkey and vegetables in a medium bowl.

Unfold 1 pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 14-inch square.  Cut into 4 (7-inch) squares.  Repeat with the remaining pastry sheet, making 8 in all.

Place 1/4 cup stuffing in the center of each square.  Top with about 1/3 cup turkey mixture and 1 tablespoon cranberry sauce.  Brush the edges of the squares with water.  Fold the corners to the center over the filling and pinch the edges to seal.  Flute the edges, if desired.  Place the filled pastries onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Remove the pastries from the baking sheet and let cool on wire racks for 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining gravy in a 1-quart saucepan over medium heat until hot and bubbling.  Serve the gravy with the pastries.

Tags: Food, Holidays, Recipes

Ingredients

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce Puff Pastry Sheets
1 egg
1 tbsp. water
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup cranberry chutney
1/4 cup finely chopped toasted walnuts
Chopped fresh thyme leaves

Directions

Heat the oven to 400°F.  Beat the egg and water in a small bowl with a fork or whisk.  Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface.  Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square.  Cut into 25 (2 1/4-inch) squares.

Spoon about 2 teaspoons cheese in the center of each pastry square.  Top each with about 1/2 teaspoon chutney and about 1/2 teaspoon walnuts.  Brush 2 opposite pastry corners with the egg mixture.  Fold the pastry corners up over the filling and press firmly to seal, then fold over to one side, forming an open-ended “envelope”.  Brush the filled pastries with the egg mixture.  Place the pastries onto 2 baking sheets.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastries are golden brown.  Sprinkle the pastries with the thyme before serving, if desired.

Tags: Food, Holidays, Recipes

Ingredients

1 packet (1 ounce) Ranch Dip Mix
1 container (16 ounces) sour cream
1 pkg. (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 can (4 ounces) peeled, deveined shrimp, rinsed and drained
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke heart, rinsed, drained and chopped
1/2 cup diced red pepper
Crackers

Directions

Stir the dip mix and sour cream in a large bowl.  Add the cream cheese and stir until the mixture is smooth.  Add the shrimp, artichoke hearts and red pepper and mix lightly.  Serve with the crackers.

Tags: Food, Holidays, Recipes

Good morning and welcome to day 3 of my favorite holiday recipes. Today is not technically one of my favorites-but a must around the holidays: Green Bean Casserole. You see, I was never a fan of Green Beans as a kid, but as I got older I learned to appreciate them a little more. I am pretty sure that this recipe is used every holiday-not just Thanksgiving and Christmas. We adapted this recipe from the food network-enjoy!

Green-Bean Casserole

Ingredients  

Onion topping:

• 1/2 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Sauce & green beans:

• 2 cups skim milk
• 6 black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• Pinch grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 pound mushrooms, trimmed and sliced (3 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 9-ounce package frozen green beans (2 cups)

Directions

To make onion topping: Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. Add sliced onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender and golden, about 30 minutes. Set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread breadcrumbs on a baking sheet and toast, stirring once, until lightly browned, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside.

To make sauce: Combine milk, peppercorns, bay leaf and nutmeg in a medium saucepan and heat over low until steaming. Remove from heat, let stand for 5 minutes and strain into a measuring cup. (Discard peppercorns and bay leaf.)

Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and cook, stirring often, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes. Add mushrooms and garlic and cook, stirring, until tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in sour cream, salt and pepper.

To assemble and bake casserole: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spread green beans evenly over the bottom of a shallow 2-quart baking dish and pour the sauce over the top. Toss together the reserved onions and breadcrumbs in a small bowl and spread over the beans. Bake until bubbling, 15 to 25 minutes.

Tags: Food, Holidays, Recipes

Good Morning All! Welcome to day 2 of my favorite Holiday Recipes. This recipe is brought to you by Better Homes and Garden. It is a different way to prepare potatoes and is great for the guests who prefer something other than your basic mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Maple Glazed Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3  lb.  tiny new potatoes
• 1/4  cup  butter/margarine, melted
• Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
• 3  Tbsp.  white balsamic vinegar
• 2  Tbsp.  pure maple syrup
• 3  cloves  garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4  cup  chopped green onions
• 2  Tbsp.  chopped fresh thyme
• 1  Tbsp.  finely shredded lemon peel

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Halve or quarter any large potatoes. In shallow dish large enough to hold potatoes in a single layer, toss potatoes with butter; season with salt and pepper. Spread in single layer. Roast potatoes, uncovered, for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice during roasting.

2. Meanwhile, in small dish, stir together vinegar, maple syrup, and sliced garlic. Drizzle potatoes with vinegar mixture, gently tossing with a spoon or spatula to coat. Continue to roast about 10 to 20 minutes more, until potatoes are fork-tender and glazed, stirring once or twice.

3. To serve, sprinkle potatoes with green onions, thyme, and lemon peel.

Tags: Food, Holidays, Recipes

Apple Strudel

 In my family, we always serve some type of dish that contains apples in it for the holidays. This is always a dish that is a home-run especially for those apple lovers. Enjoy!

 Ingredients

1 egg
1 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 tbsp. raisins
1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Puff Pastry Sheets (1 sheet), thawed
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Directions

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 16 x 12-inch rectangle. With the short side facing you, spoon the apple mixture onto the bottom half of the pastry sheet to within 1 inch of the edge.  Roll up like a jelly roll.  Place seam-side down onto a baking sheet.  Tuck the ends under to seal.  Brush the pastry with the egg mixture. Cut several slits in the top of the pastry.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the strudel is golden brown. Let the strudel cool on the baking sheet on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

Tags: Food, Holidays, Recipes