Even though the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas has felt short, it doesn’t mean I’m short on holiday recipes! This one will have you coming back for more!
Ingredients
9 cups Rice Chex Cereal
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
¾ cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups powdered sugar (more or less)
½-1 cup (mint or regular) Holiday M&M’s
Directions
Place cereal into a large bowl.
In a medium bowl, add the chocolate chips, butter, and peanut butter. Microwave until smooth and creamy.
Add in the vanilla extract.
Pour the chocolate peanut butter mixture over the cereal and stir to coat thoroughly. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes.
Add the powdered sugar and stir until all cereal pieces are coated. You can add more powdered sugar as needed.
My Daughter-In-Law is a vegetarian. So when she was recovering from delivering my grandson, I wanted to make her something I knew she’d LOVE. She’s a huge fan of pumpkin, so I gave this a whirl. She said it was DELICIOUS!
Ingredients
1 lb no-boil lasagna noodles
For Pumpkin Sauce
1 tsp olive oil (or ½ cup unsalted butter)
½ small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3 cans (15oz) pumpkin puree
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp nutmeg
2 TBS maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste
For Cheese Mixture
1 large egg, whisked
1 container (15oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded fontina cheese (I used provolone)
2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
Assembly
Preheat oven to 375° and grease a baking dish. (I used two 8×8 and froze them each for her)
Prepare the pumpkin mixture by cooking the onion and garlic in oil
Add the apple cider vinegar, pumpkin puree, spices and maple syrup
Season with salt and pepper and heat through
Prepare the cheese mixture by combining whisked egg, ricotta and 2 cups each of the other cheeses
Assemble the lasagna in layers, starting with the pumpkin mixture, then noodles, followed by 1/3 of the cheese mixture.
Repeat these layers, ending with the remaining pumpkin mixture and a final layer of noodles
Top the final noodle layer with the remaining shredded cheeses
Cover and bake for 35 minutes
Remove foil, increase the oven temp to 400° and bake for another 20 minutes until bubbly
Let the lasagna rest for 5-10 minutes before serving
Over the weekend, my sisters and I got together up north. One of my sisters made the most delicious breakfast (and it was beautiful!) I had to share it with you. So easy and SO yummy!!!
Ingredients:
3 eggs 2/3 cup pumpkin spice coffee creamer 1/3 cup canned pumpkin ¼ cup pure maple syrup, plus more for serving ¼ tsp salt 1 (16 oz) loaf French bread, cut into 1-inch slices 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon Pumpkin butter, sliced almonds, and/or powdered sugar, for serving
Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10×15-inch rimmed sheet pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together eggs, creamer, pumpkin, maple syrup, and salt in a medium bowl; pour into a shallow dish. Soak bread slices in egg mixture, turning once, until well soaked. Shingle bread slices in prepared pan; sprinkle with pumpkin pie spice.
3. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Serve with pumpkin butter, almonds, powdered sugar, and/or additional maple syrup.
Pumpkin Butter: Whisk together 1/2 cup canned pumpkin, 1/2 cup apple juice, and 1/4 tsp each of ground ginger and cinnamon in a small saucepan until smooth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Makes about 1/2 cup.
I love taking the tastes of Michigan summers into the depths of winter, don’t you? This recipe does this perfectly. You’ve GOT to get some Michigan blueberries while the getting is good and get these in your freezer soon! (this recipe is adapted from local cook extraordinaire, Deanna House)
INGREDIENTS
4 quarts blueberries
4 ½ cups sugar
1 cup quick-cooking tapioca
6 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp salt
DIRECTIONS
Wash and drain blueberries
In a large mixing bowl, combine blueberries, sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and salt. Mix until well combined. Let stand 15 minutes
Line four 8″ pie pans with heavy-duty foil, letting foil extend 5″ beyond rim. Measure 4 cups filling into each pan
To freeze, fold foil loosely over fillings; freeze. Remove from freezer, remove filling from pan and wrap snugly with foil. Wrap with freezer wrap. (we use newspaper) Label, date and return to freezer for no longer than 6 months. (we’ve done longer and it’s fine)
To bake, remove foil from frozen pie filling and place it unthawed in a pastry-lined 9″ pie pan. Dot with butter if you wish. Adjust top crust; flute edges and cut vents. Bake in preheated 425 oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until syrup boils with heavy bubbles that do not burst.
I had this at a summer party/picnic a few weeks ago and I couldn’t stop eating it! Once you try it, you’ll probably think it is the Salad of the Summer, too! It’s easy and SO yummy!
Ingredients
1 can (15 oz) Whole Kernel Corn, drained (or the corn from 3 fresh ears)
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Chopped Green (I used yellow) Pepper
1/4 cup Chopped Green Onion
Sliced or chopped Black Olives
1/2 bag (10.5 oz) crushed Chili Cheese Fritos
Instructions
In a bowl combine; corn, cheese, mayonnaise, pepper, onion and olives. Right before serving, crush chips and stir into “salad”.
Don’t you just LOVE a fresh cool BLT in the summer!? My deck tomatoes are starting to pop, so I’m excited to taste them! Instead of an actual BLT, I put all the ingredients into a salad so I could have all those flavors together! Check this out. This is the salad version! SO yummy!
½ pound bacon
½ cup mayonnaise
2 TBS red wine vinegar
½ TBS sugar
1-2 TBS Bacon grease (yep)
Croutons
1 pound romaine lettuce – rinsed, dried, and chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes, sliced
Place bacon in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside, reserving 2 TBS of the drippings.
In a small bowl, whisk together the reserved bacon drippings, mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar. Let stand, covered, at room temperature.
In a large bowl mix together the romaine, tomatoes, bacon and croutons. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well.
Here’s an easy breakfast for the campground or even if the teens are scrounging around the house while you’re at work! This is such an easy way to get a good breakfast and I love that it’s totally customizable! Just prepare most of the ingredients ahead of time, and put them together when you need them. They’re perfect for busy mornings, camping, or mornings when cereal just won’t cut it!
Bacon strips, cooked and halved
Breakfast sausage, cooked and halved
Eggs, scrambled (Salt and pepper to taste)
Small flour tortillas, warmed
Shredded cheddar cheese
Green onions, thinly sliced
Bell peppers, thinly sliced
Salsa
Cook up bacon, sausage and eggs
You can make this into a breakfast burrito bar and have people make their own to their preference.
Take warm tortillas and fill with preferred ingredients
Wrap and microwave until the cheese melts
Serve with salsa or guac
One of the things I love about this is that you can totally make them all ahead of time. Wrap them in foil individually and even freeze them! Then throw them in the oven, on the grill or campfire grate, or unwrap and warm in the microwave!
My sister and I would always make no-bake cookies during summer vacation. We loved making stuff in the kitchen and playing Sorry while our parents were working. I’m sure if we would have had this recipe, we would’ve tried this too!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups powdered sugar
1½ cups creamy peanut butter
Topping
1½ cup chocolate chips
¼ cup peanut butter
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine first 4 ingredients until smooth (I did this in the pan I melted butter in)
Spread into a 13×9 baking pan
For the topping, (I use the same pan) melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together
Spread over the peanut butter layer
Chill for an hour in the refrigerator or 15 minutes in the freezer
I used to request this for dinner all the time when I was growing up. I’m not sure why it’s called “senate bean soup”. My mom says that’s how the recipe was given to her! Anyway, I still love it. Tastes like my youth.
1 pound dry navy beans 5 quarts water Ham bone with meat 3 medium potatoes, cooked and mashed 1 cup diced onion 1 cup chopped carrot 1/8 tsp garlic powder Rinse beans and soak covered with water in a saucepan overnight Drain beans Add 5 quarts of water and ham bone (with meat) Simmer 2 hours Add mashed potatoes, onion, carrots, and garlic powder Simmer 1 hour Remove ham bone and trim off meat Return meat to soup Heat and serve with 1 Tbls pepper juice
ONE POT DINNER with SAUSAGE, CABBAGE, AND POTATOES
When I saw the name of this recipe, I was intrigued and just HAD to try it. I tweaked a couple ingredients and steps, but it’s a DEFINITE winner for dinner! Give it a try. (don’t be intimidated by the list of ingredients or steps…it’s easier than it seems!)
INGREDIENTS
1 pound (16 ounces) smoked sausage,sliced
5 slices thick bacon, chopped
1 small shallot,diced
1 clove garlic,minced
½ TBS EACH: dried basil, dried oregano, garlic powder
½ tsp EACH onion powder, dried thyme
1 and ½ cups chicken stock, separated
1 bag chopped cabbage
1 cup diced baby carrots
4 cups red potatoes, quartered
1-2 TBS syrup
INSTRUCTIONS
Start by coining then halving the sausage and placing into a large heavy-bottomed pot
Cut the raw bacon into little pieces and add in with the sausage
In a small bowl, toss together the seasonings: basil, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder and thyme
To the pot (over medium heat), add the shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes
Add in the garlic and half of the seasoning mix, stir
Add in 1/2 cup stock
Add in the chopped cabbage and remaining 1 cup stock, stir
Cover the pot and increase heat to medium-high
Let cook, covered, stirring occasionally for 8-10 minutes (cabbage should be cooked down and tender
Remove the lid and then directly on top of the cabbage, place the quartered red potatoes, and halved baby carrots
Add the remaining seasoning mix on top and do not stir
Cover (still medium-high heat) and let cook for 18-20 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender
Check occasionally and if needed, add up to 1/2 cup additional stock to keep from burning
Once potatoes and carrots are fork tender, drizzle with syrup
Cookin With Brooke 