Layered salad

I first had this salad at my friend Jana's house, and it is fantastic. It's so fresh and yummy and has such a great mix of flavors. You have to make it a day ahead of when you plan to serve it, which is actually a good thing for days like Thanksgiving. Making it early means you have more time to wrestle with a turkey that never seems to be entirely thawed out by Thanksgiving morning!

About half-a-head of shredded lettuce
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 chopped onion (green or red)
1 small can sliced water chestnuts
4 boiled eggs, sliced
1 small package frozen peas
1 pint mayonnaise
2 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bacon bits

At least 8 hours before serving, fill bowl 1/2 full of shredded lettuce, then layer with celery, green pepper, onion, water chestnuts, boiled eggs, and frozen peas. Make topping by mixing mayonnaise, sugar and cheese. Sprinkle top with bacon bits. Do not mix. Cover and refrigerate until time to serve. You can also wait until just before serving to sprinkle with bacon, and you can add shredded cheese to the top at the same time if you wish.

I have found the topping to be a little excessive, so I'll not make quite as much as it says. I also like to layer this in a glass see-through bowl so it will be all pretty :)

Chocolate Pecan Pie

If you like pecan pie and you like chocolate, this is the perfect marriage of the two. I LOVE this pie and make it every Thanksgiving and/or Christmas.

Ingredients: 1 pie crust
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
6 oz. package (1 cup) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups pecan halves

Prepare pie crust according to package directions (or make your own). Heat oven to 325 degrees.

In large bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, margarine, vanilla, and eggs; beat well. Stir in chocolate chips and pecans. Spread evenly in pie crust. Bake at 325 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until deep golden brown and filling is set. Cover edge of pie crust with strip of foil during last 15-20 minutes of baking to prevent excessive browning. (I sometimes put the foil on before putting it into the oven and then take it off toward the end so the crust can get a little brown). Cool completely. Serve with whipped cream.

Classic Thanksgiving pumpkin pie

This is the recipe my mom has always used, and it gets rave reviews (but only if you use REAL pumpkin, as described in the previous post).

Mix two slightly-beaten eggs into  1 1/2 cups pumpkin.
Add 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup brown sugar.
Then add:
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cloves
After blending into pumpkin mixture, add one can (1 1/2 cups) evaporated milk. Mix well and pour carefully into a 9-inch pie shell. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees, then another 25-35 minutes at 350 degrees or until knife inserted 2 inches from edge comes out clean. Makes one pie.

How to make your own pureed pumpkin

I admit it. I'm a snob when it comes to pumpkin. I won't eat it if it comes in a can. This means that every year, I buy a pumpkin, cook it, puree it, and freeze it. Yes, this takes some time and effort, but it is well worth it, both in money saved and taste enjoyed. Here's how you do it:

Method 1: Cut a pumpkin in half and place each in a pan with about an inch of water, cut side down. Bake in oven for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Scoop out flesh and puree in batches in food processor. Put 15 oz. (about 2 cups) in plastic bags and freeze.

Method 2: Cut a pumpkin up in pieces and cut off the rind. Then cut into 1-2 inch pieces and boil in a pot of water until very soft. Drain water and then puree in batches in a food processor. Put 15 oz. (about 2 cups) in plastic bags and freeze.


Now whenever you have a recipe that calls for a can of pumpkin, you can just whip out one of your bags in the freezer, and voila! You have real pumpkin that makes such a difference in every recipe.

All that candy...

I'm not sure if you'd call this a recipe... more of a general tip or idea for what to do with some of your leftover candy from Halloween.

Crush chocolate candies and candy bars in a food processor. Use the mixture in the place of chocolate chips in cookies or brownies. You can also use it for ice cream topping in the place of sprinkles.

Peanut Brittle

My holiday standard. Raw spanish peanuts can be bought in bulk at Sprouts to cut down on the cost. (I use about 40 pounds of nuts.)

2 cups sugar
1 cup Karo light syrup
2 cups raw Spanish peanuts
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. vanilla
½ cup water

Bring water to a boil on med/high heat. Remove and add sugar and karo syrup.
Bring to a boil. Add peanuts. Stir constantly. Put in candy thermometer and cook to 295 degrees on medium to medium/high heat. When 295 degrees remove from heat and add butter and vanilla. Quickly stir in soda. Pour out onto two buttered cookie sheets. Break into pieces when cooled.

Strawberry Fresh Pie

I know Fall is coming on and this is really a summer dessert, but strawberries were a reasonable price here last week, so I got some and made this. It was so delicious and refreshing. I try to avoid making actual pie crusts whenever possible, so I opted for the graham cracker crust. However, I discovered we didn't have any graham crackers, so I used gingersnaps instead. It was super tasty! I just pulverized them and drizzled melted butter over them and baked for 10 minutes.

1 3-oz. package strawberry jello
1 3-oz. package cook-n-serve vanilla pudding mix
1 tsp. lemon juice
2 cups water
8 oz. container whipped topping
pie shell or graham-cracker-crumb-lined dish
1 clam-shell of strawberries, sliced

Mix together first 4 ingredients and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool. When cooled, add all or most of container of whipped topping and sliced strawberries. Mix and pour into pie shell. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Melissa's World-famous Broccoli Salad

Every time I make this salad and take it to a function, it gets rave reviews. I once took it to a wedding reception, and the groom said that instead of congratulating them on their marriage, people were asking who made the broccoli salad!

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp vinegar
2-3 bunches broccoli, chopped into small florettes
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup raisins or craisins
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 Tbsp bacon bits, or 3 strips of cooked, crumbled bacon

Mix the first three ingredients together in a bowl and let sit while you prepare the rest of the salad. After adding the rest of the ingredients (I always just estimate the amount of craisins, onions, walnuts and bacon), mix everything together and refrigerate for at least an hour. This is very important. If you serve this salad immediately, the sugar in the dressing will still be grainy. It needs an hour to dissolve. The dressing starts out goopy-looking, but should turn milky in an hour. Stir before serving.

French Dip, or Roast For All Occasions

This is a recipe in our ward cookbook, and every time I have made it, I have just fallen in love all over again. I'm not a fan of the whole dip-bread-in-broth thing (can't stand soggy bread) but this meat is so great and can be just sliced and paired with mashed potatoes. I have used the leftovers with stir-fry and on top of taco salad. Try it the next time you make a roast. You won't be disappointed!

3-4 pound roast, trimmed of all visible fat (bottom or rump roast works best)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 cube beef boullion
1 bay leaf
3-4 peppercorns
1/2 tsp ground rosemary (or 1 tsp crushed)
1 tsp garlic powder
Kaiser rolls

Place roast in crock pot. In separate bowl, mix rest of ingredients. Pour over the roast and add enough water to just cover the meat. Cook on high for 5-6 hours, or on low for 8-12 hours depending on the size of the roast. Serve on rolls and use juices for dipping.

Hot Chocolate Buffet

I'd like to think it's Fall, but the temperatures here in Maryland are still in the high 70's. This is a recipe for a hot chocolate 'buffet'. Good for get togethers on cold days. Maybe if I post it, Fall will come sooner...

Ingredients
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated!!!)
2 quarts milk
1 tablespoon Vanilla

Toppings:

• Mint chocolate chips
• crushed candy cane/peppermint candies
• little cookies
• whipped cream
• marshmellows
• anything else that goes well with hot chocolate
  

Directions

1. Chop unsweetened chocolate into chocolate-chip sized pieces.
2. Combine unsweetened chocolate, chocolate chips, and sweetened condensed milk in slow cooker. Mix well.
3. Cover, cook on high for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes until chocolate is melted.
4. Stir in 2 cups of milk, whisk until mixture is smooth. Add the rest of the milk and vanilla.
5. Cover, cook on high for another 2 hours or until hot.
6. Before serving, stir mixture again with wire whisk, reduce heat setting to low.
   

NOTES: Keep lid on the cooker when serving. This will keep a film from forming on the hot chocolate.