Frozen Cherry Salad

This is a festive, delicious, easy to make frozen fruit salad that is perfect for dressing up any family meal. I've served it this week with the Hot Turkey Sandwich recipe that was posted on 12/5/13. The combination of cherries and mandarin oranges in a rich creamy salad make it a kid-friendly treat, as well. This is another reader-contributed recipe from a Taste of Home cookbook. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 pkg. (8 ounces) low-fat cream cheese, softened
1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 cans (11 ounces each) mandarin oranges, drained

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese and whipped topping using an electric mixer. Stir in the pie filling.
2. Set aside 1/4 cup mandarin oranges for garnish if desired. Fold remaining oranges into cream cheese mixture.
3. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the mixture into a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Cover and freeze overnight or until firm.
4. Remove salad from freezer 15 to 20 minutes before serving.
5. To unmold, run a knife around the edge to loosen salad from pan. Set salad in warm water for a few minutes and turn out on a cutting board. Cut into slices to serve.

Yield: 12 servings
Note: To make this salad low calorie use fat-free cream cheese, light whipped topping and reduced-sugar pie filling.

Merry Christmas

I want to wish each and every visitor to my site a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year. May you know the warmth of loving relationships in your family and with friends today and through your life. Please know how much I appreciate your visits. Blessings...

Chewy Sugar Cookies

I have been searching for the best part of this year for a soft, chewy sugar cookie for a friend and I. I found it at www.americastestkitchen.com. This test kitchen creates some of the best recipes I have ever used. These cookies are everything the name suggests; soft, chewy, covered in sugar, and very easy to prepare. They are not a cut-out cookie for decorating, but rather a stand-alone sugar cookie that is wonderful with a glass of milk or a cup of tea. Blessings...

Recipe:

2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1-1/2 cups sugar, plus 1/3 cup for rolling
2 ounces cream cheese, cut into 8 pieces
6 tbsps. unsalted butter, melted and still warm (I used salted butter)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 tbsp. milk
2 tsps. vanilla extract

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Set aside.
3. Place 1-1/2 cups sugar and cream cheese in large bowl. Place remaining 1/3 cup sugar in small bowl and set aside. Pour warm butter over sugar and cream cheese and whisk to combine (some small lumps of cream cheese will remain but will smooth out later). Whisk in oil until incorporated. Add egg, milk, and vanilla; continue to whisk until smooth. Add flour mixture and mix with wooden spoon until soft homogeneous dough forms.
4. Divide dough into 24 equal pieces, about 2 tbsps. each (or use #40 portion scoop). Using hands, roll dough into balls. Working in batches, roll balls in reserved sugar to coat and evenly space on prepared baking sheet, 12 dough balls per sheet. Using bottom of drinking glass, flatten dough balls until 2-inches in diameter. Sprinkle tops evenly with 4 tsps. of sugar remaining in dish ( 2 tsps. per tray), discarding any remaining sugar.
5. Bake, 1 tray at a time, until edges are set and just beginning to brown, 11 to 13 minutes, rotating tray after 7 minutes. Cool cookies on baking sheets 5 minutes. Using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Yield: 2 dozen

Turkey Artichoke Quiche

A year or two ago on Thanksgiving weekend, when I was in need of something to feed my family for brunch, I thought of making a quiche. Because of that need, a Broccoli Cheddar Quiche was created, the recipe will be shared later, but from that recipe I created this quiche this week for dinner. We love the combination of poultry, in this case turkey, and artichokes in a casserole, so I figured it might work well in a quiche. We thought it was very good, maybe your family will, as well. Quiche is a nice change of pace; not something usually found on the family menu as it is a little bit more work with the pie crust, but so worth the effort. Blessings...

Recipe:
Pastry for a 10-inch one-crust pie
1 cup cooked chopped turkey or chicken
1 cup grated medium cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 cup chopped artichoke hearts, from a 13.75 ounce can, well drained
1/3 cup minced onion
1-2 tsps. butter
4 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 few grinds white pepper
1/2 tsp. Fines Herbes
1 tbsp. fresh minced parsley

1. Line 10-inch pie plate or 10-inch quiche dish with pastry. Make high fluted edge and set aside.
2. In small frying pan over low heat, melt butter. Add onion and fry until golden in color, remove pan from heat.
3. Heat oven to 425 degrees.
4. Carefully spread cooked onion in pie plate.
5. Sprinkle turkey, cheese and artichokes over onion.
6. Whisk together last 6 ingredients in a medium size bowl until well combined. Carefully pour cream mixture into pie plate.
7. Bake 15 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees and bake another 30 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cover crust last 10 minutes if it is browning too quickly. Remove quiche from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

Yield: 6 main dish servings
Note: Fines Herbes is a blend of chervil, minced parsley, French tarragon and chopped chives that is not very popular, but very good in a quiche or vegetable dish.

Turkey Vegetable Soup

This soup is really much more like a rich turkey-vegetable chowder, in my opinion. I've been making this recipe, with a few changes to better suit us, after the holiday turkey dinner since 1983 when I found it in Bon Appetit Magazine. We love the variation of a cream-based soup from the usual turkey soup that is stock-based. It is a very nice change of pace. Blessings...

Recipe:

1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 tbsps. flour
1 tsp. curry powder
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup chopped potatoes
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
2 tbsps. chopped parsley
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 cups cubed cooked turkey
1-1/2 cups milk (I use 1%)
1 9-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup light sour cream

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan, 3 or 4 quart will do, over medium heat. Add onion and saute until translucent, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour and curry and cook 2-3 minutes. Add broth, and next 5 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
3. Add turkey, milk, spinach and sour cream. Cover and simmer until heated through, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper as needed. This soup is thick, so you might want to thin it a bit with additional milk for your taste. We love it thick like a chowder.

Yield: 7-3/4 cups
198 calories per cup
1.4 gms. fiber

Cranberry Cake

This wonderful recipe was a reader-contributed winning recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens holiday contest back in November 2004. The cranberry-pecan topping is a crunchy layer on top of a delicate white cake when the cake is turned out of the pan to serve. Topped with whipped cream, this is absolutely a winning recipe for the holiday season. Blessings...

Recipe:

3 cups cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tbsps. milk
Sweetened whipped cream

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 9 x 9-inch baking dish. Spread cranberries and pecans over bottom of dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup of the sugar.
2. In a medium mixing bowl beat eggs with an electric mixer on high speed until foamy. Add remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, melted butter, and milk; beat on low speed just until combined (batter will be thick). Carefully spread batter over cranberries and nuts.
3. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until top is brown and wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes.
4. To serve, spoon warm cake into dessert dishes, cranberry side up. If desired, top with sweetened whipped cream.

Yield: 8-9 servings

Fluffly Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

Cheesecake pies are a simple substitute for the often labor-intensive project of making a traditional cheesecake. This one is simplified even more by using a purchased graham cracker crust. I personally think that the purchased graham cracker crusts are very good and very helpful when time is tight, like during the holiday season. Blessings...

Recipe:

12 ounces low-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsps. pumpkin pie spice
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 eggs
1 (6 oz.) Ready Crust graham cracker pie crust
whipped topping or whipped cream for garnish, if desired

1. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and pumpkin pie spice on medium speed until smooth.
2. Stir in pumpkin. Add eggs and mix until blended.
3. Place crust on a baking sheet. Pour filling into crust.
4. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool completely on a wire rack.
5. Refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight. Garnish with whipped topping or whipped cream if desired.

Yield: 8 servings
8 servings = 289 calories and 2 gms. fiber (without garnish)
6 servings = 385 calories and 2.6 gms. fiber (without garnish)

Italian Breaded Baked Fish

Fish is not one of my husband's favorite foods, but he does like wild-caught cod fillets done in very simple fashion like this. He would tell you, "as long as it does not taste fishy" I'll give it a try, and he does, thankfully. The fish takes minutes to prepare and about 15 minutes to bake, so it is great for getting dinner on the table quickly. Serve it alongside pasta and salad for a truly Italian-style meal. Blessings...

Recipe:

1-1/2 lbs. fish fillets (cod worked great)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp. grated Romano cheese (I used Parmesan)
1 tbsp. Italian herb blend
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. granulated garlic or garlic powder
2 tbsps. olive oil, divided
1 lemon, cut into wedges

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a glass baking dish with a teaspoon of olive oil.
2. Mix the bread crumbs, cheese and spices together in a pie plate.
3. Cut the fish fillets into 5-6 oz. portions. Gently toss the fillets in the remaining olive oil then dip them into the bread crumb mixture until coated. Set the fillets in the greased baking dish, being careful not to crowd.
4. Place the pan in the preheated oven on the top rack near the broiler. Bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets. Open the oven and turn on the broiler. Broil the fillets for another 2-3 minutes, or until the breading begins to brown. Keeping the oven door open allows for you to watch the fish closely so that it does not burn. Serve with a lemon wedge, unless you enjoy the fish alongside pasta and a wonderful sauce, as we did.

Yield: 4 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Pumpkin Applesauce Bread

After the pumpkin pie is baked, there is almost always leftover pumpkin for another use and this moist, fruity bread is a wonderful choice for that use. This bread is delicious for breakfast, tea or snacks. In our opinion, chocolate is a great addition to the bread so this is the way I will make it from now on. But, if you are not a fan of chocolate, the original recipe was written without this addition, so feel free to omit the chocolate chips. Blessings...

Recipe: 

2/3 cup shortening
2-1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 cup sugar-free applesauce
1 cup canned mashed pumpkin
3-1/3 cups unbleached flour
2 tsps. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. mace
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
2/3 cup apple juice
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Grease two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.
2. Cream the shortening and the sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Stir in the applesauce and the pumpkin.
4. Stir the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternately with the apple juice, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips.
Pour into the prepared pans.
6. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Begin checking at 1 hour to see how it is doing.

Yield: 2 loaves, 13 slices per loaf
2.6 gms. fiber per slice
Note: This bread freezes beautifully.

Hot Turkey Salad (Sandwich)

This hot turkey salad sandwich is a bit different than most we are familiar with in that it is cooked in a hollowed out loaf of French bread. I made this sandwich often when our son was growing up and still at home, as an easy, fun meal after Thanksgiving. We loved it with the leftover cranberry sauce that was always in our refrigerator and maybe some chips. This recipe was adapted from a recipe I found in Family Circle Magazine many years ago. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 loaf French bread

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped green onion, or 2 tbsps. white or red onion

1/4 tsp. salt or to taste

1/8 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning (curry powder was the original spice of choice)

1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise

2 cups cubed cooked turkey (of course, chicken would also work)

1/2 cup shredded medium cheddar cheese

1. Cut a slice lengthwise from the top of the loaf. Hollow out loaf, leaving a 1/2-inch shell.

2. Combine first 6 ingredients, blend well. Fold in turkey. Spoon mixture into hollowed out loaf and place the cut slice on top. Wrap loaf in foil.

3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese; bake 5 minutes longer. Slice loaf into "chunks" for serving.

Yield: 4-6 servings
 Note: Recipe pictured on post dated 12/30/2013

German's Sweet Chocolate Freezer Pie

Traditionally for Thanksgiving my son wants pumpkin pie and my husband wants a mince pie, I'll eat either, but my daughter-in-law isn't really crazy about either one of the choices. This year I wanted to try a very simple recipe for a freezer pie a few days in advance of their arrival to see if it might be any good. My hubby and I enjoyed it for dessert one evening, so I offered a piece to her for her Thanksgiving dessert and she was very happy with it. Our four year-old granddaughter also enjoyed this pie.

This recipe takes about 20 minutes to prepare, so it is great for the busy holiday season, and it's rich chocolate flavor and soft texture reminded me of a mousse. Blessings...

Recipe:

1 pkg. (4 oz.) German's Sweet Chocolate
1/2 cup milk, divided
4 oz. cream cheese (1/2 8-oz. pkg.), softened.  (I used low-fat)
2 tbsps. sugar
1 8-oz. tub whipped topping, thawed
1 6-oz. ready-to-use graham cracker crumb crust

1. Break chocolate into pieces and place in a large microwave-safe bowl. Add 2 tbsps. of the milk and microwave on high for 30 seconds; stir. Microwave 30 seconds more and stir until smooth. You may need to microwave a bit more depending on the size of the broken pieces of chocolate.
2. Stir in the cream cheese, sugar and remaining 6 tbsps. milk; whisk until blended. Refrigerate for 10 minutes or until slightly cooled.
3. Gently fold in the whipped topping until completely blended. Pour into crust.
4. Freeze pie for 4 hours or until firm. Let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cutting.
5. Garnish with additional whipped topping or whipped cream, and drizzle with chocolate sauce or hot fudge sauce. Yummy!

Yield: 8 servings

This recipe comes from the Baker's German's Sweet Chocolate package.