The Results are in, winning holiday recipes are…

December 27, 2007 | Leave a Comment

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Since I love to try new recipes while cooking and my husbands family is the best crowd to try the recipes on because 1. it is a big family 2. they will eat anything (pretty much) 3. they are totally honest on what they think of something and they won’t sugar coat it to spare my feelings.

Now, a few days after the food has been cleared away and here are the three recipes people are still talking about.

Onion Dip

I served these with sea salt and cracked pepper Cape Cod chips and bread. It was super easy to put together and I chopped all my onions a day before and bagged them so all I had to do was pull out the bag and throw the onions in a pan right before people started arriving.

1 1/3 lb med onions and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbs cooking oil
2 tsp fresh sage
1/3 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp grated parmesan cheese (I think I used a bit more since I love it)
2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion

In a large skillet cook the chopped onions and salt in the cooking oil, uncovered, over medium low heat for 20 minutes or until very soft. Stir in sage and cook for one more minute. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream and parmesan cheese. Transfer into a serving bowl and sprinkle with red onion and serve.

While this was a favorite I did take a little grief for breaking tradition. Every family gathering (for the last 11 years I think) I make the family and friends favorite of Onion Pita Bites. This is similiar to the above recipe except it has one cup chopped onions, one cup parmesan cheese, one cup mayo all mixed together. Then I top little triangles of pita bread with the mixture and broil until lightly browned. They are devoured before I get them off the cookie sheet. However, with the baby this year and of course, everyone always gravitates to the kitchen I decided to forgo the broiler and try the above recipe. I guess next year I’ll have to do both.

Mashed Sweet Potatoes

Saute half a cup of chopped onions in a pan with a couple Tbs of italian salad dressing. Once the onions are soft mix into your mashed sweet pototoes then fold in 1/2 a cup of sour cream. Yum. I could have eaten the entire bowl myself.

Overnight Turkey

I have a full house of people on Christmas Eve and on Christmas Day so I prepped my Turkey during the day of Christmas Eve and placed it in my fridge. Around 10 p.m. Christmas Eve I moved the Turkey, pan and all, from the fridge into the oven with no worries of an extra mess and it leaves my ovens open for the ham and lasagna on Christmas Day.

I have no idea where this recipe originated from, my mother gave it to me and it is a copy of a copy with smudges and missing letters here and there but hey, it works and its delicious.

Rub turkey down with mixture of melted butter, couple shots of A1 sauce, some garlic, marjoram, and a little red wine. Salt and pepper it well and place in a large roasting pan. Put it into a very hot oven at 525 degrees, ok, for some reason my oven only goes to 500- thanks Thermador- so that has to work. Bake at this high temp for 45 minutes uncovered. This will singe all the juices into the bird.

Next, take out the bird and pour red wine over it until it is well doused. Soak a tea towel, cheese cloth or any towel that is NOT terry cloth in the red wine and when it is soaking wet lay it over the turkey covering the bird as well as you can. Hit the top with a little more red wine, I finished the bottle. Then cover it best you can with foil to make as airtight as possible.

Turn the oven down to 450 degrees and put the turkey back in the oven and let it cook for about an hour and half. Then turn off the oven- DO NOT OPEN the oven door- resist the tempation! Let it sit all night in the oven. In the morning, open the door and take the towel off the bird and ladle the juices over the turkey. Then heat it up for about an hour covered in a 400 degree oven. This will smell so good when you wake up!

For the Gravy: Remove the bird to the serving plate and skim off as much grease as you can, pour part of the juices into a blender and blend it with a little flour for thickening and return the mixture to the pan. Heat it until it slumbers adding salt and pepper or whatever is needed, maybe a little more wine, sour cream or milk to stretch the gravy.

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Chaos of Life, Recipes

Deceptively Delicious

December 3, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I just got my copy of the Jessica Seinfeld cookbook “Deceptively Delicious” today.

I am not one to follow fads and have to admit that as much as I like to support moms and their business, I get envious when I see something like this launch. Since celebrities have such an easy way of promoting their product between already having plenty of money, publicity, resources and a branded name that makes promotion sooo much easier then a “regular” mom who is struggling to get her product started by herself from the kitchen table after the kids go to bed with no money. Selfish of me I know…. bad me…but….

For anyone that doesn’t know what I’m talking about, this is a cookbook that is about slipping veggies and fruits into kid favorite recipes so they get the added vitamins without knowing it.

Since it is about healthy eating and I do have boys that rebel against anything healthy, I thought it was worth the try. I’ll keep posting my results on if the kids know what hit them!

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Recipes, Reviews

What’s for dinner?

November 29, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I’ve fallen into another dinner slump… what to make when all the kids have now decided they don’t like the same things or have suddenly become very picky eaters.

My Miss. Taylor is my sanity savor because she is so good about at least trying something new. She also does a good job eating a wide variety unlike my son who is purely on a meat only diet… steak, sausage, bacon, steak, hot dogs… and corn on the cob and that’s about all he’ll eat no rice, no potatoes cooked anyway. The youngest picks here and there and doesn’t care for meat or chicken but will eat hamburgers and hot dogs.

Today I sat down and brainstormed a list of what they will eat, all eat and decided to share just in case you get in a slump. There is nothing fancy.. come on… did you really think I can make fancy meals while doing homework during the “witching hour” with four kids??

I do rely on the crockpot when I can or prep during lunch time and put it in the fridge so it’s ready to go with little effort at dinner time.

Chicken Parm
Stuffed shells or lasagna
Homemade biscuits
Steak on the grill
BBQ chicken on the grill
Pork Chops
Goulash- my granmothers style of american chop suey
Homemade mac & cheese
Meatloaf- I generally make in a muffin tin so they each get their own little meatloaf
Homemade pizza or calzones- a weekend favorite of making their own dinner
Tacos
Meatball sandwiches
Applesauce
Rice Pilaf
Raw carrots and ranch dressing for dip
Corn on the cob
baked potato (2 out of the 3 will eat)
Mashed potato (2 out of the 3 will eat)
Asparages with olive oil and sea salt baked
Salad with ranch dressing
Sweat potoato chips - homemade & baked
Broccolie with cheese - homemade
Chicken Cordon Blue- store bought frozen
Burgers on the grill
Hot dogs and chicken nuggets are a sure favorite but I try to offer sparingly and only when I need a quick fix

I also try to offer fresh fruit with each meal and find if I make fruit kabobs on skewers they eat more then just leaving it out in a bowl.

The kids also eat more when we cook dinner together and they participate in setting the table. Although, sometimes it’s more work for me as you try to referee who’s putting out the napkins fight it is worth it.

CHOW!

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Recipes

Crock Pot Pot Roast

October 23, 2007 | Leave a Comment

What’s for dinner tonight? A Pot Roast in the crockpot of course!

You will need:

1 can beef consomme
1 can french onion soup
2-3 lb pot roast
6-8 small red potatoes
2 sweet potatoes
diced celery and carrots diced

Add beef consomme, soup and beef to crockpot. Turn on high for 1 hour, then turn to low. Add water to cover roast. Allow to cook for 5-6 hours; add veggies and cook for an additional 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Voila! Dinner is served.

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Recipes

EASY Summer Salad Recipe

June 18, 2007 | 1 Comment

I found this great recipe and made it for a family gathering- what better place to try out a new recipe?? There was not one person who did not like it, in fact, they all raved about it so give it a try. It only takes 10 minutes and a few simple ingredients.

Chedder Broccoli Salad

Ingredients:

6 cups fresh broccoli florets
1 1/2 cups shredded chedder cheese
1/3 cup chopped onion (I used videla)
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
3/4 cups sugar
3 tbs red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
12 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

In a large bowl, combine the broccoli, cheese and onion. Combine the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar; pour over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Just before serving, stir in the bacon. ENJOY!

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Recipes

A non-healthy but loved treat

May 11, 2007 | Leave a Comment

I found this recipe somewhere in my travels and have made it twice for extra special treats.

What you will need:

Container of refrigerated crescent rolls
cinnamon sugar
butter
marshmallows

Open package of crescent rolls and cut along perforated lines into triangles. Spread melted butter on each triangle and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Place one large marshmallow in center and triangle and pinch edges to seal. Repeat with all traingles. Roll the pouches in melted butter then cinnamon sugar mixture and place on baking pan. Bake at 350 until light golden brown. Serve warm.

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Posted by Kristen | Filed Under Recipes