Simply Cookbooks

Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category

With the holidays upon us, most are looking for easy to fix appetizers for the last minute guest.   These do not have to be elaborate or hard to make.

Here is a simple recipe that I have used for years.  It is always a hit with family and friends.  I make the filling out before hand, keep it in the refrigerator up to week, then when the guests drop by, I just fill the mushroom and put in the microwave.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
1 pound large stuffing mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed
4 ounces bulk Italian sausage
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese plus two tablespoons
2 green onions
DIRECTIONS
Chop mushroom stems. In microwaveable pie plate using a fork, combine mushroom stems, sausage, Italian seasoning, garlic, Parmesan cheese, ½ cup Mozzarella cheese and green onions. Cover with paper towel.

Microwave on HIGH (100% power) for 1 minute. Arrange mushroom caps on paper towel lined microwaveable pie plate. Spoon about 1 tablespoon sausage mixture into each cap. Cover with paper towel. Microwave on HIGH (100% power) uncovered, until cheese melts, about 30 seconds.

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Christmas traditions are part of every family experience. Whether it is spending time shopping, going to parties, staying home with family and friends these traditions are important.

They are important because they give continuity to family. Something you can look forward to year after year. Something your parents did, your grandparents and if you are very lucky your great-grandparents.

In my family it is the traditional cookie baking Sunday. It started when the children were small and the only treat I could afford to give them during the holidays were homemade cookies. The kids and I spent one Sunday making cookies together. We then gave them as gifts to teachers, friends, the local shelter, and the nursing home down the street. The children would make the wrapping out of whatever paper was available even newspaper. Presents came from the heart, not the department store, and because the children helped in making the recipients appreciated the presents all the more.

Since the children have become adults and moved out of the home you would think this little tradition would have been forgotten. The truth is it hasn’t. My daughter who is the oldest and one of my twin sons spend the second Sunday in December in our kitchen making cookies to hand out to friends. They still take cookies to the local shelter for other children to enjoy.

It is a time of much laughter and memories. The recipes have broadened to include some new favorites. One of the newer cookies for them to make is a recipe handed down to me from my grandmother. It is a simple sugar cookie with a twist. The recipe is at the bottom of this article.

This is a tradition that I have passed down to my children and hopefully if any of them have children they will pass down to my grandchildren. Gifts do not have to be store bought, do not have to have a dollar sign attached; they should come from the heart.

During the holiday season take a moment to reflect what you have rather than what you can’t afford and start a new tradition. Maybe it is taking baked goods to a shelter, to a nursing home, give of yourself in little ways and involve your children. Teach them the tradition of giving.

Soft Sugar Cookies (Gram’s Cookies)
½ cup of shortening
1 cup of sugar
1 egg
½ cup milk (best if sour)
pinch of salt
½ tsp of baking soda
2 ¼ c flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
banana 1-2
chocolate chips- whatever feels right to you
Maraschino cherries cut in half.
A little cherry juice

Mix all with a spoon, not an electric mixer. Combine shortening with the sugar. Add egg,, blend in milk and vanilla and a small amount of cherry juice. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix all together very good with large spoon.
Last add 2 mashed bananas and chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls on a lightly greased cookie sheet ( I use parchment paper) and sprinkle with sugar and top each with a maraschino cherry. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes

(I want to say that I was luckY that Gram lived with us while growing up, a plate of these cookies was always made for us when we got home from school. She never had a written recipe. Her cup of anything was measured with a coffee cup, her teaspoons with a regular table teaspoon. For that reason these measurement might be a little off. She gave us the recipe towards the end of her life. When the texture looks the right consistency, then you have added enough flour. Have fun and enjoy)

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Tired of Turkey yet?  Still have a little left over?  I know I am and I do!   Truefully if I don’t see another turkey for a couple of months that will be all right with me.

So on that theme I had to come up with some recipes for the leftover turkey.  There are tons of them out there, but this one I have made before with chicken, so why not use the turkey instead?   The guys in my house (of which there are many) loved it.  I hope you will too!

Ingredients

* 8 No-boil (oven ready) lasagna noodles
* 1 Meyer lemon or lemon
* 4 small skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, halved crosswise
* 1 cup garlic-stuffed or pitted green olives
* 1 cup ricotta cheese
* Fresh Rosemary (optional)

Directions

1. In Dutch oven bring 3 inches water to boiling. Add noodles and 1 teaspoon olive oil. Cover. Cook 6 minutes or until tender; drain. Lay noodles in single layer on waxed paper. Cover; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, shred peel from lemon; halve lemon. Juice 1 half, cut remaining into wedges. Season chicken with salt, pepper, and 1/2 of lemon peel. In skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken. Cook 10 minutes or until no pink remains, turning once. Add olives; heat through. Remove from heat.

3. In microwave-safe bowl combine ricotta, the lemon juice and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Microwave on 100 percent power (high) for 30 seconds stirring once.

4. Spoon ricotta mixture into bowls. Top with noodles, chicken, and olive mixture, remaining lemon peel, and the fresh rosemary. Pass lemon wedges. Makes 4 servings.

Happy Holidays!

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It is Pumpkin time once again. What most people seem to forget about the pumpkin is that it is not just a Jack-O-Lantern. A friend of mine never used canned pumpkin, she always quartered a fresh pumpkin and cooked it down until it was mushy.

I tried doing it her way with a slow cooker, and it was all right, but give me a can any day! Why go through all that work yourself, when someone else has done it for you. Anyway here is a great recipe for pumpkin other than pie.

WARNING: In keeping with my idea of comfort food, these are not low fat!

Pumpkin Bars
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 eggs
2 cups pumpkin filling
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 cup chopped nuts

Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Stir in oil, sugar, pumpkin, and eggs, and beat well. Add nuts and pour into a greased 10 by 15 pan. Bake 350 degrees F for 25 minutes

Frosting:
1 package cream cheese 30z
3/4 stick butter
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 3/4 cups of powdered sugar

Cream the cream cheese and butter. Add remaining ingredients and mix until proper spreading consistency is reached.

Enjoy!

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