Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Times Advocate, 2005-12-07, Page 35Wednesday, December 7, 2005 Exeter Times—Advocate 35 Recipes to help you with your holiday menu Christmas is a great time to try out new recipes and to put some extra effort into some special meals. This year I have tried to come up with a batch of recipes that are hopefully new to you and great for bringing variety and ORANGE KISSES It is fitting to start my Christmas collection with breakfast fare. These buns have been made along- side the sticky buns I put in last year. They have a wonderful taste and are easy to assemble. Start with a basic dough in your bread maker (or from scratch) adding 1 tbsp of grated orange peel to the dough. I use a 2 pound bun recipe. When the dough is finished proofing turn it onto a lightly floured surface. With a serrated knife cut the dough into about 21 equal portions and form into balls. Roll into the following mixture: 1/2 cup softened butter 3 tbsp grated orange rind 1/2 cup white sugar If necessary make up more mixture to be sure to generously coat the dough balls. Place the balls in 3- 9 inch greased, round cake pans and let rise `til dou- ble (about one hour). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or until just golden brown. Enjoy a crispy, crunchy top and a wonderful orange flavored bun. Serve warm with butter. Yummy! APPLE CARAMEL COFFEE CAKE Coffee cake is such a treat! It goes back to dating days when Randy and I were living 2 hours apart. Weekends he would arrive with a fresh Amish type coffeecake or apple strudel and a block of cheese. Wow -sink your teeth into that and no wonder I was won over! I tried this recipe out and it is a WOW. Enjoy this for some of those special breakfasts com- ing up. 3 eggs 2 cups sugar 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3/4 cup applesauce 2 tsp vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp salt 1 tsp baking soda 3 cups peeled and chopped or grated apples 1 cup chopped pecans Topping: 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup butter 1/4 cup milk Pinch of salt In a mixing bowl beat eggs until foamy. Slowly add sugar. Mix in oil, applesauce, and vanilla. Combine dry ingredients and add to egg mixture. Stir in apples and pecans. Pour into a greased 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and 15 min or until a toothpick near centre comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert on a serving platter. Boil topping ingredients in a saucepan for 3 minutes, stir- ring constantly. Slowly pour over warm cake (some topping will rim down onto the serving plate). Serve up and enjoy the gushing reviews! THE ROLLED UP SANDWICH Appetizers play an important role in any get together. They sometimes are the sustainer until the latecomers, arrive, they can take the edge off of hunger so that your guests will eat lighter on the main fare, they make great conversation starters. The following filling for a pretty rolled sandwich comes from my mom and was first picked off the tray (by me) when put out with other appetizers. Rolled sandwiches can be a lot of fun and you can use sim- ple fillings like peanut butter and banana or cheese whiz with a gerkins pickle, or a traditional filling like egg salad, ham salad or tuna salad. The following filling is outstanding. 8 oz pkg of cream cheese softened 1/2 cup of chopped, salted peanuts 12 chopped maraschino cherries Mix the spread together and spread on rolled out slices of bread that the crusts have been removed. Roll the sandwich up and refrigerate covered 'til chilled. Slice into small bite size sandwiches. Very nice for a finger food buffet! GRAPE JELLY TREATS Sometimes when looking for a great appetizer we overlook simple ones that are well liked. The follow- ing recipe is one such food that you might see a recipe for but you overlook it because you think it is too easy and people won't like it. I have served this many times and it is one of the first things to go on a light meal table. Serve it up with toothpicks and enjoy! fun to your table! Many of the recipes bring along great memories of friends and family times and I pray that they provide the same for you. May your holidays be a time of special moments! Merry Christmas! 1/2 cup ketchup 1/2 cup grape jelly 1 tsp dry onion flakes 1 pkg of wieners, cut bite -size Measure the ketchup, jelly and onion into a saucepan. Stir. Add wieners. Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer slowly, covered for 30-45 minutes. They will get thick in size and coated nicely with the glaze. I have done them in a slow cooker as well, leaving them for several hours. Youth and young adults really gobble these up! MEXICAN BEAN SOUP There is always a place for soup on the holiday table! This recipe is a fun one to give in a jar to a host. Keep a few of your own jars on hand and make a big pot of soup ahead of the holidays, freeze and serve it as needed on those nights when comfort food is called for. This recipe came from my mom as a gift one Christmas so it is fitting to slip it in with the Christmas Recipe Collection. Enjoy! 3/4 cup each of dried pinto and red kidney beans Flavor packet: 2 tbsp each of dried onion and parsley flakes 1 tbsp chili powder 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp dried oregano 6 Chicken bouillon cubes 1/2 cup uncooked white rice 1 cup small cut pasta To Store: Put beans in a 1 quart jar with lid. Put fla- vor packet ingredients in a sandwich size plastic bag. Seal bag with tie. Do same for rice and for pasta. Place in jar with beans. Give as a gift with the recipe for preparing it attached to the jar. To Cook: Rinse and pick over beans. Put into a 4-5 quart heavy pot with 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover and remove from heat. Let sit one hour. Drain beans and return to pot. Add 8 cups water and contents of flavor packet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer one hour or until beans are firm - tender. Stir in rice and bring to a boil. Cover and cook 15 minutes. Uncover, stir in pasta and 1/2 cup water. Cook 10 minutes or until pasta is tender. Variation: Fry 1 chopped onion, 1 minced garlic clove, 1 chopped celery stalk, and 1 grated carrot in olive oil then add to seasonings and water. Add 1 48 oz can tomatoes. Sausage can be a nice addition. Fry it in bite size pieces and then add to soup. Continue as directed. BLUEBERRY SALAD This is a unique salad to dress up any holiday fare! We tried it at a family get together and everyone loved it! The recipe started going around the extended fami- ly. It was given to me by my mom when she gave me recipes for my cooking file! She has continued down through the years to give me new additions. If you want to start a new tradition give a recipe file folder with your child's favorite recipes hand written out! Start a gift that will keep on giving! 2 -3 oz grape jello 2 cups boiling water 14 oz crushed pineapple with juice 19 -oz can blueberry pie filling Mix together well and pour into a nice glass bowl or a 9 by 9 pan. Chill. When set mix the following and spread on top of the firm jello. 8 oz cream cheese softened 1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup sugar 1 tbsp vanilla Keep cold till ready to serve! Enjoy a blueberry treat. Variations: Try cherry or raspberry fillings and jellos. RITZ IT UP BROCCOLI It is easy to doctor up broccoli! Everyone likes cheesy broccoli so this recipe is pretty basic but oh so good! This is easy to make and great to eat, simple require- ments for a good recipe. Enjoy! 1/2 pkg of frozen broccoli or a large head of broccoli cut up and parboiled. Drain. Melt 1/4 cup Velveeta cheese and 1/4 cup butter. Pour over broccoli in a casserole dish. Crush 16 Ritz crackers and fry with 2 tbsp butter in the pan used for the cheese sauce. Put on top of broccoli and bake at 350 till bubbly (about 15-20 min). CHICKEN BREAST CORDON BLEU I like to put in a Christmas collection different ideas to help you get away from the traditional turkey dinner! I love to make fancy meals and this particular recipe comes from an old cookbook Randy and I first started to use while living in Kingston. We made this recipe many times for friends visiting us and I think it is extra special because Randy and I often prepared the meal together. What fun to be in the kitchen together who cleans up the mess can be a bit stressful though!! This is a fabulous chicken cor- don bleu! Increase the recipe as required. 2 whole chicken breasts, boned and skinned 1/2 tsp salt 2 slices cheddar cheese 1 tsp chives 2 slices ham 1 tbsp flour Freshly ground pepper 1 egg 2 tbsp milk 3 tbsp bread crumbs 2 tbsp butter Using a mallet, flatten breasts between sheets of waxed paper. (Each breast should be hinged in the middle but remain whole.) Sprinkle chicken lightly with half the salt. Place 1 slice of cheese, a sprinkle of chives and a slice of ham on underside of each breast. Fold breast in half, sandwiching cheese and ham. Pinch edges. In a bowl mix together flour, remaining salt and pepper. In another bowl, beat together egg and milk. Dredge chicken in flour. Dip in egg -milk mixture. Coat with bread crumbs. Melt the butter in a fry pan and saute the chicken until golden, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to oven proof casserole. Bake at 350 oven, uncovered 10-20 minutes till cheese is bubbling through. Serve with a favorite rice concoction. MOM'S SQUARES It wouldn't seem right if I did not include my mother's square in a collection of special recipes. My mom taught me how to cook and how to experiment with recipes to come up with something all your own! This is Noriene Chester's creation and does her proud!! Enjoy! 3/4 cup melted margarine 1/4 cup brown sugar 1-1/2 cup flour Mix ingredients together and press into a 9 by 13 inch pan. Bake at 350 oven for 12-15 minutes. Taking a total of 3 cups in combination, mix the follow- ing with one can sweetened condensed milk -mixed peel -chopped mixed fruit -chopped red and green candied cherries -chopped brazil nuts -chopped walnuts or pecans -semi-sweet chocolate chips -almonds slivered I use a combination of about 1-1/2 cups fruit mixed, 1 cup nuts and 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. Carefully spoon mixture of sweetened condensed milk and fruit and nuts, over base and bake at 350 for anoth- er 25 minutes. Cool and cut into decadent squares. This is an old standby for my Christmas baking trays pretty and tasty! PRETZEL MIX There is no snack like pretzel mix! We always make 1- 2 batches of this every year with my kids polishing one off all too quickly! This is a combination mix that you sort of come by, by mixing a little of Aunt's, a little of Mom's and a little of another recipe. Voila! 2 cups Shreddies 2 cups corn bran 1 cup bugles (original) 2 cups Crispix 2 cup salted peanut 2 generous cups pretzel sticks 1 cup butter 2 tsp seasoned salt 4 tsp garlic powder 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce Melt butter and mix with seasonings and then pour over dry ingredients, mixing well. Bake at 300 oven in a large roasting pan for about 60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Bake till desired crispness. Pour unto paper towels to absorb extra grease and then store in an airtight bag or container. Put lots out for the late night games and visits with family and friends!