Happy X-Mas!

Yummy Sausage, Apple and Cranberry Stuffing

                     Happy Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving stuffing is fantastic! It is very flavorful and fresh-tasting. This recipe will stuff a 10-pound turkey (which serves six) plus extra. I replaced the usual pork sausage with much healthier turkey sausage. Other dried fruits may also be used in place of cranberries.

Here is what you will need. 

• 1 1/2 cups cubed whole wheat bread
• 3 3/4 cups cubed white bread
• 1 pound ground turkey sausage
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 Golden Delicious apple, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• 1 cooked turkey liver, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup turkey stock
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

And here is how you put it all together. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degree F (175 degree C). Spread the white and whole wheat bread cubes in a single layer on a large baking sheet. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes in the preheated oven, or until evenly toasted. Transfer toasted bread cubes to a large bowl.
2. In a large skillet, cook the sausage and onions over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the lumps until evenly browned. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes to blend flavors.
3. Pour sausage mixture over bread in bowl. Mix in chopped apples, dried cranberries, parsley, and liver. Drizzle with turkey stock and melted butter, and mix lightly. Spoon into turkey to loosely fill.

Yummy No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake

                                        Happy Thanksgiving

My second recipe for November is the very yummy No-Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake. It is so easy to make and so delicious.

Here is the list of things you are going to need.

1/4 cup cold water

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1 pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

3 pudding cups, vanilla

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 graham cracker pie crust

dairy whipping topping

And here is how you put it all together to make the pie.

Place water in a small saucepan and sprinkle with gelatin; let stand 1 minute. Stir over low heat until gelatin dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, set aside.

Blend cream cheese, pumpkin, pudding, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium until smooth.

Add gelatin the mixture; beat on low until combined. Pour into crust.

Cover and refrigerate 2 hours or until firm.

Top each slice with whipped topping just before serving.

Yummy Cheese Ball

                                                   Happy Thanksgiving

My first recipe for the month of November for Thanksgiving is the very delicious Cheese ball. It is a very yummy recipe and is great served with crackers. Your Thanksgiving guest (friends and family) are going to love snacking on the cheese and crackers while they wait for the great big Thanksgiving Dinner.

Here is everything you need to collect up before starting.

• 1 pound bacon
• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 green onion, chopped
• 1 cup chopped pecans

And here is how you put it all together and make your guests happy. :-)

1. In a large skillet fry the bacon. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels. Chop or break the cooled bacon into small pieces.
2. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, and green onions. When mixed well, form 2 balls out of the mixture. Cover and refrigerate 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
3. Before serving, roll the cheese balls in the chopped pecans.

Marshmallow Popcorn Balls

                                  Happy Halloween

My eleventh recipe for October is the delicious Marshmallow Popcorn Balls. These are very easy popcorn balls to make. The marshmallows make them similar to crispy rice cereal bars that are so popular. Made with marshmallows, these are sweet, crispy, and chewy.

You are going to need to collect a few simple things to get started.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 cup  un-popped popcorn

6 tablespoons butter

5 cups miniature marshmallows

And here is what you do with the four things you have collected up.

1. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Set aside.
2. Add vegetable oil to a 4 quart saucepan, and heat over high heat. When oil is hot, add popping corn. Keep pan moving constantly. When corn stops popping, remove from heat. Put popcorn in prepared pan.
3. Melt butter In a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in marshmallows and cook until melted, stirring constantly. Pour marshmallow mixture over popcorn and mix with spoon to coat evenly.
4. Let mixture cool slightly. Smear butter on your hands or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Mix popcorn with your hands so that it is evenly coated.
5. Form popcorn into 8 balls. 

 You can add whatever flavor you with too these yummy Halloween treats, I like to use Caramel for delicious Caramel Popcorn Balls.

Salty Sweet Caramel Apples

                              Happy Halloween

My tenth recipe for October is the delicious Salty Sweet Caramel Apples. Children love helping out making them and love helping eat them as well. It's always a good thing when you can get your kids to eat an apple.

Here is the list of ingredients that you need to make the Caramel Apples.

6 Granny Smith apples

6 wooden sticks

1 (14 ounce) package individually wrapped caramels, unwrapped

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 tablespoons coarse sea salt

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

And here is how you put it all together for the great Halloween treat.

1. Insert wooden sticks 3/4 of the way into the stem end of each apple. Place apples on a cookie sheet covered with lightly greased aluminum foil.
2. Combine caramels and water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring often, until caramel melts and is smooth. Stir in the vanilla. Dip each apple into the caramel and gently run apples around insides of saucepan to scrape off some of the caramel. Scrape excess caramel from the apple bottoms using the side of the saucepan. Place on the aluminum foil. Sprinkle lightly with the coarse salt and chill.
3. Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. Drizzle over the apples and return them to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Roasting Pumpkin Seeds

                               Happy Halloween

My ninth recipe for October is the leftover seeds from your scary cool pumpkins that you carved just for Halloween. This time I am adding two different recipes for Pumpkin seeds so try them both and enjoy.

When you're carving your Halloween pumpkins, don't throw away the seeds! Toasted and salted, pumpkin seeds have a nutty flavor. They're even better flavored with sweet and savory spices.

  
 Super simple Pumpkin Recipe
Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. (This is easiest just after you've removed the seeds from the pumpkin, before the pulp has dried.)

Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, stirring to coat. If you prefer, omit the oil and coat with non-stick cooking spray.

Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted, about 25 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.

Let cool and store in an air-tight container.

Here are two of my favorite Pumpkin seed recipes and what you are going to need to bake them.

Cinna-Sweet Pumpkin Seeds

4 cups pumpkin seeds, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup margarine, melted

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup white sugar, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

Combine the pumpkin seeds, margarine, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl; stir to coat the seeds. Spread the seeds in a single layer in a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes; stir and return to oven for 15 minutes more; remove from oven and sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over the seeds; stir to coat. 
Return to oven and bake another 15 minutes before removing again to sprinkle with remaining sugar and stirring. Bake another 15 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Store leftover seeds in an airtight container.  

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups raw pumpkin seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 1/4 teaspoons seasoned salt 
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). 

Rinse the pumpkin seeds and pat dry. Place them in a bowl. Add the Worcestershire sauce, melted butter and seasoned salt; stir until evenly coated. Spread out in an even layer on a baking sheet. 

Bake for about 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until crisp, dry and golden brown.

"I personally just enjoy mine plain with seasoned salt, toasted in the oven but which ever you enjoy take the recipes and have fun with them. Get your kids involved because they love this kind of stuff.:-)"

Halloween Eye of Newt Deviled Eggs

                                Happy Halloween

My eighth recipes for October is the spooky fun Halloween Eye of Newt Deviled Eggs. These delicious appetizers will be a scare at any Halloween party. Here is the list of ingredients that you will need to collect up for this recipe.

12 eggs

1 tablespoon sweet pickle relish

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 pinch  salt

1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

2 drops green food coloring, or as needed

1 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives, drained

And here is where you will find the directions on how to create the Halloween Eye of Newt Deviled Eggs.

1. Place all of the eggs into a large pot so they can rest on the bottom in a single layer. Fill with just enough cold water to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil, then cover, remove from the heat and let stand for about 15 minutes. Rinse under cold water or add some ice to the water and let the eggs cool completely. Peel and slice in half lengthwise.
2. Remove the yolks from the eggs and place them in a bowl. Mix in the relish, mayonnaise, salt, mustard, and food coloring. Spoon this filling into the egg whites and place them on a serving tray. Round the top of the filling using the spoon. Place an olive slice on each yolk to create the center of the eye. Dab a tiny bit of mayonnaise in the center of the olive as a finishing touch.

Pumpkin Cake

                               Happy Halloween

My seventh recipe for October is the very yummy Pumpkin Cake. Here are all of the ingredients you will need to collect before getting started.

1 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups white sugar

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped nuts

And here is how you put all of those ingredients together to make the delicious Pumpkin Cake.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch bunt or tube pan.
2. Cream oil, beaten eggs, pumpkin and vanilla together.
3. Sift the flour, sugar, ground nutmeg, ground allspice, ground cinnamon, ground cloves and salt together. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and mix until just combined. If desired, stir in some chopped nuts. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 5 minutes then turn out onto a plate and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

Boo Drinks

                                                 Happy Halloween

My sixth recipe for October is the silly Boo Drinks that are as fun to drink as they are delicious. Here are the ingredients you will need.

2 cups orange juice

2 cups milk

2 pints orange sherbet

4 ripe bananas

2 cups whipped topping

18 miniature chocolate chips

And here is how to put together the Boo Drinks

In four batches, process the orange juice, milk, sherbet and bananas in a blender until smooth. Pour into glasses. Cut a hole in the corner of a pastry or plastic bag; fill with whipped topping. Pipe a ghost shape on top of each beverage. Position chocolate chips for eyes.

Stuffed Jack-O-Lantern Bell Peppers

                                          Happy Halloween

My fifth recipe for October is the delicious and scary "Stuffed Jack-O-Lantern Bell Peppers." You are going to need a few things.

6 bell peppers, any color

1 pound ground beef

1 egg

4 slices whole wheat bread, cubed

1 small onion, chopped

1 small tomato, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chili sauce

1/4 cup prepared yellow mustard

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

And here is what you need to do with all those ingredients to make the very yummy Stuffed Jack-O-Lantern Bell Peppers.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8x8 inch baking dish.
2. Lightly mix together the ground beef, egg, bread cubes, onion, tomato, garlic, chili sauce, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
3. Wash the peppers, and cut jack-o'-lantern faces into the peppers with a sharp paring knife, making triangle eyes and noses, and pointy-teeth smiles. Slice off the tops of the peppers, and scoop out the seeds and cores. Stuff the peppers lightly with the beef stuffing, and place them into the prepared baking dish so they lean against each other.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the peppers are tender and the stuffing is cooked through and juicy, about 1 hour.

Spooky Graveyard Punch

                            Happy Halloween

My fourth recipe for October is the very scary, delicious "Spooky Graveyard Punch." If you want to add a little more creepy to your punch you can add a frozen hand. Here is what your going to need to make this come true.

1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened grape soft drink mix

1 (.13 ounce) envelope unsweetened orange soft drink mix

2 cups white sugar

3 quarts cold water

1 liter ginger ale

And here is how to put all the ingredients together to make the Spooky Graveyard Punch.

1. To make a frozen hand, wash a disposable glove, fill with water, seal with a rubber band and freeze until hard.
2. Stir together grape soft drink mix, orange soft drink mix, sugar and water until solids are dissolved. Combine with chilled ginger ale just before serving. Dip the frozen hand briefly in warm water, then peel off the glove. Float the prepared hand in the punch bowl for a ghastly effect.

Spooky Witch Finger Cookies

                                 Happy Halloween

My third recipe for October is a witch of a good time, delicious Witch Finger Cookies. These are basically Christmas cookie mix but I changed the shape of the cookie to look just like Witches fingers instead of little trees, snowmen, Santa and other Christmas cookie shapes. Here is the list of ingredients that you will need to get to make these yummy, spooky witch finger cookies.

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup whole almonds

1 (.75 ounce) tube red decorating gel

And here is what you will need to do with the ingredients when you have them all collected up on your table or counter.

1. Combine the butter, sugar, egg, almond extract, and vanilla extract in a mixing bowl. Beat together with an electric mixer; gradually add the flour, baking powder, and salt, continually beating; refrigerate 20 to 30 minutes.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets.
3. Remove dough from refrigerator in small amounts. Scoop 1 heaping teaspoon at a time onto a piece of waxed paper. Use the waxed paper to roll the dough into a thin finger-shaped cookie. Press one almond into one end of each cookie to give the appearance of a long fingernail. Squeeze cookie near the tip and again near the center of each to give the impression of knuckles. You can also cut into the dough with a sharp knife at the same points to help give a more finger-like appearance. Arrange the shaped cookies on the baking sheets.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until the cookies are slightly golden in color, 20 to 25 minutes.
5. Remove the almond from the end of each cookie; squeeze a small amount of red decorating gel into the cavity; replace the almond to cause the gel to ooze out around the tip of the cookie.

Mud and Worms Pudding

                                                        Happy Halloween

My second recipe for October is a deliciously spooky treat for Halloween lovers of all ages and it is extremely easy to make, Mud and Worms. Child will love eating it and making it with you. Here is what you will need to make this yummy recipe.

12 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies

1 (3.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix

2 cups milk

1 (3 ounce) package gummy worms candy

Here is what you will need to do with the ingredients you just collected up.

Place the chocolate sandwich cookies into a resealable plastic zipper bag, and crush with a rolling pin into crumbs. For a more mud like appearance, untwist the cookies and scrape off the creme filling before crushing cookies. 
Whisk together the chocolate pudding mix with the milk in a bowl, stirring for 2 minutes. Sprinkle about 1/3 of the crushed sandwich cookie crumbs into the bottom of a serving bowl, and spoon the chocolate pudding over the crumbs. Smooth out the top of the pudding, then top with the rest of the chocolate cookie crumbs to resemble dirt. Poke gummy worms halfway into the dirt. Refrigerate until serving.

Spooky Chocolate Cake

                                      Happy Halloween

My first recipes for October is "Spooky Chocolate Cake."It is a super spooky dark chocolate cake suitable for all your ghostly good times. You will need...

1 3/4 cups self rising purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

1 cup strong brewed coffee

1 cup buttermilk 1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

And here is what you will need to do with all that stuff you just collected up.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease and flour whatever pans you will be using.

In large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center. Add eggs, coffee, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed. Batter will be thin. Pour into prepared pans.               
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 to 40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.
Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans and finish cooling on a wire rack. Fill and frost as desired.