Festive Mincemeat Pie

For some, like my mom and my husband, it is not the holiday season without mincemeat pie. They love this pie! For those who don't know much about mincemeat pie, there no longer is meat in the pie, like there was years ago when my mom was a little girl. So, really, it should be called mince pie to be accurate. A jar of mincemeat is spiced raisins and apples, to which I add brandy, more apple, and dried cranberries. This fragrant and spicy pie is then topped off with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream. Yummy! Blessings...

Recipe:

Pastry for a double-crust pie
1 (27- to 29-ounce) jar of mincemeat
1 apple, such as Jonathon, Golden Delicious or Jonagold, cored and diced
1/3 cup dried cranberries
4 tbsp. brandy
2 tbsp. sugar mixed with 1/4 tsp. cinnamon for topping

1. Combine mincemeat, apples, cranberries and brandy in a large bowl. Let stand 30 minutes, or longer, to develop flavors.
2. Roll out pastry to about 12 inches around. Place in 9-inch pie plate. Pile mincemeat mixture in the crust. Cover with top crust and cut several slits in it for vents, or cut into strips and place across the top in a lattice pattern. Brush lightly with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
3. Place in a 375 degree oven and bake about 30 minutes, or until crust is brown and apples are tender when pierced with a fork. Let cool on a wire rack before cutting.

Yield: 6 to 8 pieces

This recipe was adapted from a recipe that I clipped out of my hometown newspaper many years ago.

Savory Thanksgiving Stuffing

If you don't have a favorite stuffing recipe for turkey, may I suggest this one? I've been making it for years, so long in fact, that I don't even remember where the recipe comes from. This stuffing is our family favorite for Thanksgiving and Christmas, if we have turkey for Christmas. The stuffing can be made the day before it is
needed and then stored, covered, in the refrigerator until you are ready to stuff the turkey. Never stuff the turkey and store it in the refrigerator because of the possibility of bacterial growth. Stuffing is delicious combined with the mashed potatoes, turkey and turkey gravy. Blessings...

Recipe: 

2 onions, diced
2 cups diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 tbsps. butter
2 7-oz. bags plain stuffing cubes
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tsps. ground sage
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups chicken broth

1. Saute' onion, celery and garlic in 4 tbsps of the butter for 3 minutes or until onion softens.
2. Combine veggies, bread cubes and seasonings in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Melt remaining 2 tbsps butter and add to stuffing with the chicken broth. Mix and stuff turkey for roasting now, or cover the bowl of stuffing and store in the refrigerator for later use. After stuffing the neck cavity and main cavity, there will be stuffing remaining.
4. Bake remaining stuffing in a covered casserole in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes or until heated through.
5. This recipe can be cut-in-half for a turkey that is 15 lbs. or less, if you don't want a lot of leftovers.

Tip: I toast about 1 cup broken pecans and add to the stuffing along with a handful of raisins. I've also used dried cranberries, chopped, dried apricots, or 1 chopped apple with the pecans.
Tip: If you have limited oven space, put the extra stuffing in the crock pot on low heat until dinner time. This works great.
Tip: We don't care for soggy stuffing, so when I remove the stuffing from the turkey I add it to the baked stuffing, or to the crock pot. Mix well and serve. Wonderful flavor!

Sweet Potato Casserole with Praline Topping

From my kitchen to yours, one of the best sweet potato casseroles I've ever eaten, bar none. There have been many variations of this recipe over the years, but none of them any better than this one contributed to Woman's Day Magazine years ago by a woman named Bette Haney. This wonderful casserole is a favorite on our holiday table year after year. In the picture, the sweet potatoes are on the bottom right of the plate. Tomorrow I will post my favorite recipe for stuffing, pictured between the turkey and mashed potatoes. Blessings...

Recipe:

3 large eggs

5 lbs. fresh sweet potatoes, boiled, drained and mashed (6 cups)

2/3 cup sugar

2/3 cup butter, melted

1/3 cup heavy cream (fat-free 1/2 and 1/2 works just fine)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. allspice

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 13-inch pan.

2. Beat eggs. Add to mashed sweet potatoes with the other ingredients; mix well. Spread in prepared pan.

Topping:

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup butter

1 cup chopped pecans

1. Mix sugar, flour and nuts. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over potatoes.

2. Bake 1 hour or until mixture is hot and bubbly.

Yield: Serves 12

Note: recipe can easily be cut in half and baked in a 8 x 8-inch pan.

Cranberry Conserve

This fruity cranberry recipe is my husband's absolute favorite for our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. It is definitely a family tradition and thankfully others like it, as well. He never tires of it. I really appreciate the fact that the recipe makes a large batch and is easily frozen for up to 3 months.

Have a wonderful time cooking and preparing for your family's Christmas season. Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cups water

2 cups packed light brown sugar

2 pkgs. (12 oz. each) cranberries (6 cups), picked over and rinsed

2 tbsps. grated orange peel

4 oranges, peeled and chopped

2 apples, peeled and chopped

1 cup chopped nuts

1. Mix water and brown sugar in Dutch oven. Heat to boiling; boil 1 minute.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts. Heat to boiling; lower heat and boil rapidly until cranberries pop and mixture thickens, about 20 minutes. Watch very carefully and stir often as the sugar will burn, especially the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

3. Remove pot from heat and stir in the nuts. Set aside to cool and then store in containers in the refrigerator or put into freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months.

Yield: 9-3/4 cups
90 calories per 1/4 cup serving
2 gms. fiber per serving

This favorite recipe comes from Betty Crocker's "Christmas Cookbook".

Stuffed French Toast with Fruit Salad

This brunch dish is wonderful, rich, and not complicated, and can be prepared in advance. If you do prepare it in advance, the only adjustment needed will be when cooking the French toast. Since you will have chilled it overnight, you will want to allow time to warm the bread all the way through, without burning it, so a lower heat may be needed. The syrup can be re-warmed in the microwave, or on the stove top. When we had it for breakfast with our very young grandchildren, I prepared slices of the bread without the filling. This worked very well without making a separate dish.

A large bowl of fruit salad makes a good and very simple side dish.  Add coffee, tea, and juice, or maybe a fruit punch, and you’re ready to enjoy a wonderful meal with your family and friends. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 8-ounce package Neufchatel (low-fat) cream cheese, softened
1 cup apricot jam
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup finely chopped pecans
1 16-ounce loaf sweet French bread
4 eggs
1 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup orange juice

1. In a small bowl beat together the cream cheese, 2 tablespoons of the apricot jam, and the teaspoon of vanilla until light and fluffy. Stir in the pecans and set aside. Cut the bread into ten to twelve 1 ½-inch-thick slices; cut a pocket in the top of each. Fill the pocket with about 1-½ tablespoons of the cheese mixture.
2. Combine the remaining apricot jam and orange juice in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat, whisking as jam melts so the mixture becomes a smooth syrup.
3. Beat together eggs, whipping cream, cinnamon and the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Preheat a large frying pan over medium heat, or use a griddle, if preferred. Using tongs, dip filled bread slices in the egg mixture, being careful not to squeeze out the filling. Cook in lightly greased pan for about 2 minutes per side or until lightly brown. Keep warm in a 300-degree oven while cooking remaining slices.
4. To serve, drizzle warm syrup over the hot French toast. Delicious!

Yield: 5 to 6 servings
Tip: For a lower fat version, use 1 cup refrigerated egg product in place of whole eggs and 1 % milk instead of whipping cream. It is still excellent and a little easier on the waistline.

Pumpkin Dip

The day after Thanksgiving we enjoyed this festive pumpkin dip for our lunch with slices of pear and apple, and sweet potato chips. The dip is mildly flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, keeping it kid-friendly, and deliciously creamy-sweet with the addition of a jar of marshmallow cream. Yummy for a snack, lunch, or light dessert after dinner. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 pkg. (8 oz.) light cream cheese, softened
1 container (7 oz.) marshmallow cream
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
chopped pecans for garnish is desired

1. Using an electric mixer, beat together all of the ingredients until smooth.
2. Cover and chill for several hours to blend flavors.
3. Serve with slices of pear and apple, sweet potato chips, vanilla wafers or gingersnaps.

Yield: about 2-1/2 cups
1/4 cup serving = 127 calories
.5 gm. fiber

This recipe comes from a flyer sent out by Fred Meyer Grocery Store.

Turkey Taco Bake

This very easy kid-friendly casserole makes good use of some of the leftover turkey from the grand feast of last week. Of course, when there is no leftover turkey, chicken can also be used very successfully. We served the casserole with a simple salad of greens and fruit that was topped with a poppy seed dressing. Yummy, and so easy! Blessings...

Recipe:

2 cups coarsely crushed corn chips
1 can (16 oz.) refried beans
1 cup shredded Mexican four cheese blend
1 cup shredded medium Cheddar cheese
1 cup salsa
2 cups shredded cooked turkey or chicken (I use chopped meat, it's faster)
1 tsp. Mexican or taco seasoning
1 green onion, sliced (opt.)
1 medium tomato, chopped (opt.)

1. Place corn chips in a 9 x 9-inch baking dish.
2. Heat the refried beans in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in 1 cup of cheese and salsa. Spread over chips.
3. Toss the turkey or chicken with the Mexican seasoning; sprinkle over bean mixture.
4. Top with the remaining cheese; sprinkle with the green onion, if desired.
5. Bake, uncovered, in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes, or until heated through.
6. Sprinkle with chopped tomato, if desired.

Yield: 4-6 servings
Tip: Casserole can be made in advance and refrigerated. Heat covered casserole in a 350 degree oven for about 1 hour. Check the center of casserole to make sure that it is heated through.