ChristmasTaffy Apple Salad

This treat is great anytime of the year, but it is a nice lighter addition to your holiday dessert table which will balance nicely against all the heavy sweets. This is not necessarily a diet friendly recipe, but it is not so rich and heavy which has come as a welcome relief to our family as we have been bombarded with sweet things here lately!

*This needs to chill thoroughly for best flavor overnight in the fridge, however it is still good chilled for just a few hours if you're like me and can't wait!



YOU WILL NEED:

1/2 cup sugar
1 T. cornstarch
2 T. lemon juice
1 egg
1 cup pineapple chunks (drain- save juice)
1 (8 oz.) Cool Whip (you can use the lite version- both are good)
2 med. red apples
2 med. green apples
2 cup mini marshmallows
1 1/2 cup salted peanuts

In pan, heat sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, egg and juice from pineapple until thick after boiling (about 5 minutes).
Cool.
In Large bowl, combine all other ingredients. Toss lightly. Refrigerate overnight (or at least several hours).




Have a wonderful Christmas!

We're making memories...literally.

This post is from 5 years ago... it bears repeating.


It's Christmas Eve morning....most of my baking/cooking is done and treat trays are prepared to give to my neighbors. The house is all decked out and all of my sons will be home for Christmas!

This evening, my next-door neighbors and my family will once again enjoy our holiday tradition of exchanging gag gifts and treats, and my sons will (hopefully) spend the night and we will all enjoy Christmas breakfast together.

I host the big family dinner here (around 30 are expected) and we will eat, and laugh, and hug, and clean up spills and watch the teens and tweens roll their eyes at their parents and us "oldies but goodies"!

This year, we will enjoy an Italian Christmas feast.

Our menu is buffet style and will include Home made Spaghetti and meatballs (Tyler Florence recipe), Mostaciolli w/pepperoni, Fettuccine Alfredo, a big Italian Salad, garlic bread,Italian Cheese Ball, Italian Creme Cake, Italian Pizelle Cookies and a few appetizers, and of course, a vast array of Christmas cookies and candies.

If you scroll down through previous posts, you should find recipes you may want to serve at your feast!

Remember, though, it's not WHAT you serve but WHO you serve that matters!

Have a wonderfully blessed Christmas holiday and I pray for PEACE to all of you. In your hearts and in your home.

Crock Pot Ham

Need a simple but DELICIOUS ham recipe for Christmas or Easter but think it will involve too much of your time watching the oven and testing for doneness?

Try this CROCK POT recipe that I found at this wonderful crock pot recipe site.

If you find yourself hosting a large family dinner in your home, this is a perfect recipe that will need no tending to- once it has started the slow cooking.

And it extremely moist. NO MORE DRY HAM!

Only a few ingredients:

7-8 pound bone-in spiral-cut ham

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup all natural maple syrup

2 cups pineapple juice



The Directions.


Use a 6-7 quart slow cooker. Unwrap the ham, and discard flavor packet. Place it into your stoneware, flat-side down. Rub brown sugar on all sides. Pour on maple syrup and pineapple juice. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. If possible, baste ham with collected juice from the bottom of the crock an hour or so before serving. When cooking is done, remove carefully and let it rest on a cutting board for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Now, how easy is that?

And your house will smell DIVINE!

Cheater Version Homemade Cinnamon Rolls

As if you can't tell from the photo, this is one of the MOST DELICIOUS treats I've ever tasted! You will be SHOCKED at the taste, the texture and presentation--it truly tastes like a "from-scratch" recipe...and all it needed was a little help from a friend!

My friend Gail shared this recipe with me last Christmas. She brought the warm pan, fresh from the oven to my home for me to serve to my family for Christmas Eve breakfast.

It was a special time for us. My middle son had just graduated from boot camp and was home on leave. And Gail herself had just learned she had breast cancer, but was still going about her business, doing what she does best...cooking up mouth-watering recipes!

We share a love of food--and feeding those we love--along with many other interests, including writing. (Gail and her husband, Michael are the publishers of GOOD LIVING IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS and GOOD LIVING IN WEST FRANKFORT magazines and I am one of the freelance writers.)

* UPDATE: She is now finished with her treatments and is doing very well. She has a great prognosis and amazing strength! I'm honored to be counted among her close friends.

Okay, before I start tearing up, here's the recipe you MUST try--you can thank us later when you WOW your friends and family!

YOU WILL NEED:

1 frozen Bag of Rhodes cinnamon rolls (12)
3/4 cups nuts-broken
*take out the 2 bags of cream cheese icing that comes with rolls (to use in another recipe later)

Spray a 9x13 pan with Pam.

Melt 1 stick butter and 1 cup to 1 1/4 cup light brown sugar. Melt in saucepan until it bubbles. Then add broken nuts.

Pour over bottom of a 13x9 pan. Take slices of rolls and lay flat in pan.
Let rise (about 3 hours if frozen-till they meet together)

Bake at 350 degrees till golden on top (20-25 min.)

Run knife around sides, flip upside down.

Serve warm.

Take a bow.

THANK YOU GAIL!

Devil's Food Cake Mix Cookies!

Simple and so good- these are great to add to your cookie sampler platter for Christmas.

It's always good to have a box of cake mix handy for those unexpected times when cookies are needed.

I make them with and without nuts, with and without powdered sugar--and they're always a hit.


1 box devil's food cake mix
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tbsp. water
1/2 c. vegetable shortening
1/2 c. chopped nuts
Powdered sugar

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Mix cake mix, eggs, water and shortening until well blended. Stir in nuts. Shape into small balls, then roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes. Makes about 48 cookies.

Mocha Mix ( a repost)

My good friend Debbie gave me this recipe many years ago, and I always save it for our first REAL snow (you know, the kind that sticks and cancels school and shuts down businesses).

But it's also perfect for a cozy evening at home, when I curl up on the sofa and read a good book, and of course, it is perfect for gift-giving and when entertaining friends.


Debbie's beautiful Mother, Lynn, passed away from breast cancer, and this recipe makes me think of her. So when you make yourself a cup, drink up...in honor of Lynn, who fought a courageous battle and has left behind a wonderful family.

Lynn was a stay at home mother whose life revolved around her family. So, in her memory, make a batch for your bunch to warm up their bodies after a cold day outdoors, and give them a hug to warm their souls!

YOU WILL NEED:
2 cups Swiss Miss powdered Mocha
2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer
1 c. instant coffee granules
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/4 cup sugar

Blend all till well mixed. Store in covered jar. Use 2 tsp. mix per cup of boiling water.

Stir well, top with marshmallows.
*If you'll notice in the photo, I sprinkled some little "snowflakes" I had leftover from some Christmas baking supplies I had on hand. I love the touch it added.