"This is the Week!" Menu Plan

It's here! The week of Christmas, or better known as, "countdown week" for most moms! Time to start thawing large menu items from the freezer; sitting in the closet and counting the number of gifts for each person (and what might still be needed); checking for batteries for the camera and new unopened items that will require them; and wrapping, baking, hunting addresses down in order to mail stray Christmas cards... and anything and everything else that's not complete! Christmas is Friday! Put a smile on and enjoy it, though, because it won't come around for another whole year (some say, "That's a blessing!")

Here's my menu for the week:

Monday, Dec. 21

Bisquick Chicken and Dumplings
green beans


Tuesday, Dec. 22

Chili
Cornbread muffins


Wednesday, Dec. 23

Corn Chowder (Mary Engelbreit Cookbook)
Crackers/Cheese ball


Thursday, Dec. 24 (Christmas Eve)

Steaks on grill/shrimp
baked potato bar
salad
punch and cookies


Friday, Dec. 25 (Christmas Day)

Brunch:
French Toast
Bacon
Fresh fruit

Dinner:
Baked Ham
Homemade Cheese Potatoes
Corn/Brussels Sprouts
Sweet Potatoes
Hot rolls
Iced tea
Red Velvet Cake

Saturday, Dec. 26

Irish Oatmeal (crock pot)
Toast
tea

Pot Roast w/ vegetables (crock pot)
French garlic bread


Sunday, Dec. 27

Lunch: Homemade pizzas


Dinner: Leftover Buffet

* Don't miss tomorrow's post! Fudge: Traditional Way (My Aunt Vivian's Park's Fudge!)-Easy Way! (My Mom's Lightening Fast Microwave Fudge!)*

I'll be at Orgjunkie today for MPM!

Aldi's Home for the Holidays Cook Book

For those of you who might not have an Aldi's grocery store in your area, it is a store that specializes in private label groceries that are of good quality, but lower in price. There is also less overhead, because the customer brings her own bags and loads the groceries herself, kind of like a "grocery warehouse". I used to shop at Aldi's about once every month when we lived in WV because there was one close-by. This holiday cook book that I'm reviewing today was offered by Aldi's one year between Thanksgiving and Christmas; you know me...I'm a easy-sell when it comes to cook books!

This book turned out to be one of my favorites because of its simplicity and full-color photos of the recipes. There are only 91 pages of recipes-all baked goods and holiday desserts. As you open each beautiful 2-page spread, the left-hand page is the recipe, and the right-hand page is the full-color photo of the finished product. Told you! Simple formula, but very well-done. The recipes themselves are the stars of the book; each one is great from the Mexican Wedding Cookies (La Mas Rica) to the Coconut, Cherry and White Chocolate Bars. I chose a recipe for a holiday quick bread for our sample recipe. Its publication date is 2005 by Publications International and the ISBN is 1-4127-2271-3. It also gives a website for Aldi's: www.ALDI.com

page 50 Friendly Farms Cherry Eggnog Quick Bread
(makes 3 mini loaves)

2 1/2 C Grandma's Best all-purpose flour
3/4 C Sweet Harvest granulated sugar
1 TBSP Baker's Corner baking powder
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/4 C Friendly Farms dairy eggnog
1/2 C (1 stick) Happy Farms butter, melted and cooled
2 GoldHen eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp Spice Club pure vanilla
1/2 C chopped Southern Grove pecans
1/2 C coarsely-chopped candied red cherries

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray three 5 1/2x3" mini loaf pans w/ Ariel No-Stick Cooking Spray.

-Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and nutmeg in a large bowl. Combine eggnog, butter, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl; stir until well-blended. Add eggnog mixture to flour mixture. Mix just until all ingredients are moistened. Stir in pecans and cherries. Spoon into prepared pans.

-Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted into centers comes out clean. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove and cool completely on wire racks. Store tightly wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature.


I will be at these swaps today:

LifeasMom
DesignsbyGollum
Momtrends
AnnKroeker.wordpress.com

Cookies: Traditional Way-Easy Way!

Both of these cookie recipes are winners! Both come from a neighborhood cookie swap that was an annual event on Sherwood Circle. My past neighbors and I would get together and have a great time over punch and coffee the week before Christmas. All that you needed for admission to this "bash" were several dozen homemade cookies and copies of the recipe to pass out.


Santa's Whiskers (Traditional Cookie)
Jennifer Ferguson (fellow-mommy from the neighborhood play group)

1 C butter or margarine, softened
1 C sugar
2 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 C flour
3/4 C chopped red and green candied cherries
1/2 C chopped pecans
3/4 C flaked coconut

Cream butter; gradually add sugar until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla; beating until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except coconut. Shape into 2 cylinders (8x2"), roll each in coconut. Cover and chill 3 to 4 hours; cut into 1/4" slices. Place on ungreased cookie sheets; bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 14 minutes. Cool an wire racks. Yield: about 4 1/2 dozen.



Potato Chip Cookies (Easy Cookie!)
Karen Spradlin (neighbor across the street)

4 sticks butter (or 2 sticks butter/2 sticks margarine)
1 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 C flour
1 C crushed potato chips

Cream butter and sugar; add vanilla and flour. Mix well and add potato chips. Drop on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Cool on racks.

I will be at these recipe swaps today:
LifeasMom
Joyofdesserts

Easy Meatball Stew!

Here's a quick fix to the question, "What's for dinner? I really need some of these kinds of recipes during the month of December! And, another great aspect of this recipe, is that it contains an ingredient that most cooks already have in their freezers around the holidays-frozen meatballs!

Meatball Stew
Iris Schultz, Miamisburg, Ohio (Old Taste of Home Magazine)

3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
1 pkg. (16 oz.) fresh baby carrots, quartered
1 large onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 pkg. (12 oz.)frozen cooked meatballs
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) beef gravy
1 C water
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 tsp beef bouillon granules

Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and meatballs in a 5 qt. slow cooker. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over meatball mixture. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours or until vegetables are crisp tender. Makes 6 servings.

I will be at:
DiningwithDebbie
WeareThatfamily
KellytheKitchenKop

Chocolate-Pecan Turtles: Traditional Way-Easy Way!

My mom is a fan of Turtle Candy. Each year someone in the family usually springs for a box of the gooey pecan treats to hide under the tree for her. After all, who can resist the combination of pecans, caramel and chocolate?! Mom is always willing to share, therefore, her offspring grew up loving turtle confections, too. Today, I'd like to share both my more time-consuming version, as well as my spare-of-the-moment-type turtle recipes. Turtle candies look great on a cookie tray or in gift boxes, but beware, they won't last long!


Caramel-Pecan Snappers
(Hershey Ad)

3/4 C sugar
1/4 C shortening
1/4 C butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 C Gold Medal Flour
3/4 tsp cream of tartar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C chopped pecans
36 caramels, unwrapped
2 TBSP milk
1 C Hershey's Chocolate Chips (6 oz.), melted

-Heat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl, beat sugar, butter, shortening, vanilla and egg. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.

-Shape dough into 1" balls. On ungreased cookie sheets place balls 3" apart. With greased bottom of glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls slightly. Press 1 tsp pecans into each cookie.

-Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until set but not brown. Cool slightly; remove from cookie sheet to cooling rack.

-In small microwavable bowl, microwave caramels and milk on High for 2 to3 minutes, stirring every minute until smooth. Spoon caramel over cookies; top with melted chocolate. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

TO MELT CHOCOLATE: Use small saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently until melted. Or microwave chocolate chips in a small microwavable bowl on High 1 to 2 minutes, stir until smooth.




Turtles-The East Way!
(Old Taste of Home Magazine)

1 pkg. 14 oz. caramels, unwrapped
1/4 C butter, cubed
2 TBSP water
5 C mini pretzel twists
1 jar (18 oz.) chunky peanut butter
26 oz. milk chocolate candy coating (Almond Bark, or melted chocolate chips with a little paraffin will work, too)
1/2 C chopped pecans

-In a microwave-safe bowl, melt caramels with butter and water; stir until smooth. Spread one side of each pretzel twist with 1 tsp peanut butter; top with 1/2 tsp caramel mixture. Place on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Refrigerate until set.

-In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate coating. Using a small fork, dip each pretzel into chocolate coating until completely covered; shake off excess. Place on waxed paper. Sprinkle tops with chopped pecans. Let stand until set. Store in air tight container in a cool, dry place. Yield: 8 1/2 dozen


I will be at these recipe swaps today:
BlessedwithGrace
Gypsy'sCorner
BeautyandBedlam.com.
Raising4Godleymen

Menu Plan for the Week

Monday, Dec. 14
Spicy Sausage and Rice
Caesar Salad

Tuesday, Dec. 15
Tuna Casserole
Sweet Potato Bake
Corn

Wednesday, Dec. 16
Potato Soup
Grilled cheese sandwiches on wheat
Apple pie-after church

Thursday, Dec. 17
Chicken and Dumplings-guys
Green Bean Casserole

Friday, Dec. 18
Spaghetti w/ sauce in crock pot (meatballs)-guys
salad
garlic toast

Saturday, Dec. 19
Oatmeal
toast

Buffalo Chicken-guys
Cocktail wieners-crock pot
veg. tray and dip
Pizza Bites

Sunday, Dec. 20
Pot Roast with vegetables
hot rolls

Leftover Buffet

I will be joining Orgjunkie for MPM today!

Mary Engelbreit's 'Tis The Season Holiday Cookbook

Our cookbook for review today is a Christmas treat. Mary Engelbreit is a favorite writer and artist of my friend, Julie. Engelbreit is well-known for her whimsical art full of charm and vibrant colors. She is a self-proclaimed, "Queen of the Kitchen" even though she admits that her husband, Phil, is the chef in their house. This holiday cookbook has all of the sweetness and pop that you would expect of "Queen Mary".

If you don't cook much, but you enjoy Engelbreit's art, this would still be a great addition to your book shelf. If you do love to cook, you're in luck! This book, published in 2000 by Andrews McMeel Publishing is full of great recipes. Surprisingly, it isn't all about the cookies and fudge! There are actually more recipes for your dinner table during the holidays than there are recipes for sweets. This will be especially good news for those of you who have sugar restrictions. All of us have to continue to put meals on the table every evening, even amidst the hustle and bustle of shopping, school plays and other social events. Our sample recipe for today is a great "hurry-up and get back-out-the-door night" recipe for Corn Chowder. Oh, the ISBN, for those of you who might want to hunt this one down, is 0-7407-0586-5.

Page 28 Corn Chowder

5 slices bacon, cut cross-wise into 1/4" strips
1 large onion, diced
1 large red bell pepper, cleaned and diced
1 poblano pepper, cleaned and minced (Opt.)
1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, to taste, minced
4 C chicken stock or two 14 1/2 oz. cans low-sodium chicken broth plus 1/3 C water
1 lb. Yukon Gold or all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
3 C fresh or thawed frozen corn
3/4 tsp salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp freshly-ground pepper, or to taste
3/4 C heavy cream
3 TBSP finely-chopped fresh cilantro

-In Dutch oven or large heavy pot, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp. Drain bacon on paper towels, leaving about 1 TBSP of bacon drippings in pot (pour off excess.)

-Add peppers and onions to the pot, stirring frequently, and cook until the onion is translucent. Add stock and potatoes and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and boil gently until potatoes are almost tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add the corn and cook until the potatoes are tender but still hold their shape, about 5 minutes.

-Reduce the heat to low. Transfer about 1/2 C of the corn and potatoes, along with about 1/2 C of the broth, to a blender and puree until smooth. Return puree to the pot and stir until well-blended. Season with salt and pepper; stir in the cream and reserved crisp bacon. Heat the soup through (do not let boil). Stir in the cilantro and serve.

I will be at these recipe swaps today"
LifeasMom
DesignsbyGollum
Grocerycartchallenge
Momtrends
AnnKroeker.wordpress.com