Holiday Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce

This is hardly a recipe - but so it goes. This is a variation on the traditional holiday meatballs sauce with chili sauce and grape jelly. This is pretty much right from the Ocean Spray site. We also used frozen meatballs - though we cooked them in the oven for a bit longer than recommended to give them a crunchy side.

Ingredients

1 14-ounce can Jellied cranberry sauce
1 14-ounce can Whole berry cranberry sauce
2 12-ounce bottle Chili sauce
5 pounds of frozen meatballs (cooked as directed)

Directions

1. Combine cranberry sauces with the chili sauce in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth (around 10-15 minutes).
2. Place meatballs in a slow cooker or other heating device (to keep them warm if serving at a party). Pour combined sauce over meatballs and set to low for an hour before they will be served.

Enjoy!

Scalloped Potatoes

Adapted from a very cryptic recipe from my mother-in-law and the recipe for Campbell's Scalloped Potatoes found at Food.com. These are a great non-fussy recipe that seems to happily cook longer than listed if you need some time for other other dishes to catch up. Note the picture is a triple batch!

Ingredients
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup Skim milk
1 tbsp Dried parsley
salt and pepper (to taste)
4 cups peeled and thinly sliced White potatoes (used a mandolin set to 3/16" - about a pound and a half)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 cup Grated Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top (no need to multiply if you increase the recipe).

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Combine soup, milk, parsley, salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. In 1 1/2 quart casserole, arrange alternate layers of potatoes, onions and soup mixture. Top layer should be soup mixture.
4. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and then a dash a paprika.
5. Cover and bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Uncover & bake for 20 more minutes or until potatoes are done.

Enjoy with almost entree!

NOTE: This will often cook with other entrees - so you might need to tweak the temperature.  Here are some alternative temperatures and timing:

325 degrees - Cook for 1 hour 45 minutes with cover & 40 minutes uncovered.

Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

Adapted from an old favorite of ours. Pam called these "Corey's Roasted Potatoes." I tweaked it a bit and now the name is even more appropriate!
Ingredients
2.5 to 3 lbs Red Skin Potatoes, cleaned & cut into 8 wedges each (leave skin on)
1/4 cup Olive oil (or you may use a bit less)
1 envelope Onion soup mix
1 1/2 tsp Dried rosemary
1/2 tsp Kosher salt (or to taste)
1/4 tsp Black pepper (or to taste)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large roasting pan, add the potatoes, oil, onion soup mix, rosemary, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly until the potatoes are well coated.
3. Place pan in oven and let cook for around one hour. Mix every 15 minutes.

Enjoy with almost entree!

Sautéed Green Beans and Jarred Onions with Bacon

Adapted from the Cooking Light recipe for Sautéed Green Beans and Onions with Bacon. I loved the way it came and out will definitely make it again. It is a really liked it and the jarred onions add a really nice taste...well so does the bacon! And it is from Cooking Light - so it is sanctioned....right???

Ingredients
1 lbs Green beans, trimmed
5 Bacon slices
1 (16-ounce bottle) Jarred Onions (we used White Holland Style Onions), drained
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Dried thyme
1/2 tsp Dried Rosemary
1 tbsp White balsamic vinegar
3/4 tsp Kosher salt
1/4 tsp Black pepper

Directions
1. Cook beans in boiling water 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Rinse with cold water; drain and pat dry.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp (around 5-7 minutes). Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Crumble bacon, and set aside.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add drained onions to drippings in pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, thyme and rosemary and cook an additional 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the beans and cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Add vinegar, salt, and pepper; toss to coat.
5. Stir in crumbled bacon just before serving.

Enjoy with almost entree!

ROLO Pretzel Delights

(Adapted from the Hershey's Kitchen recipe. These are simple, taste amazing and are kinda fun to make. I changed the recipe because I think the original cooks too long - making for a messy candy treat. Perfect for the holidays...or any day!

Ingredients:

You will need equal numbers of the following (up to around 40 on a cooking sheet at a time)

• Small pretzels (I used mini twists) 
• ROLO Chewy Caramels in Milk Chocolate 
• Pecan halves (raw)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Line a flat cookie sheet with parchment paper. (NOTE: use a cookie sheet without a lip for easy removal)
2. Place pretzels on the cookie sheet (they can be as close as 1" to each other). Top each pretzel with one unwrapped ROLO Chewy Caramel in Milk Chocolate.
3. Bake 3 minutes and remove from oven.
4. Carefully, slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet onto a flat surface (NOTE: This will help it not melt as much)
5. Top each pretzel with Rolo with a pecan half, pushing down onto the ROLO. If you want, add sprinkles here before the chocolate cools.
6. Leave on parchment paper until cooled completely. You may speed up the cooling in the fridge (use a plate or tray under the parchment paper). If they touch as they cool - that is not a problem as they break apart nicely.

Enjoy!

Michigan Biscotti

(Adapted from the Barbara Karoff's The best 50 Biscotti Recipes (Bristol Publishing, 1995) & my Cranberry and Orange Biscotti. I have long wanted to make a Michigan Biscotti with cherries - this is my first attempt! They are just fantastic. The have cherries (the fruit most associated with Michigan) along with chocolate and walnuts. Definitely a great treat with a hot cup of tea, hot chocolate or coffee on a cold day.

Ingredients
3 cups All-purpose Flour (plus some for shaping biscotti)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 cup Sugar (plus some for topping)
1/2 cup Brown sugar
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter or Margarine (room temperature)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Large Eggs
2/3 cup Dried Cherries (cut in half if large)
2/3 cup Walnut pieces (crushed small)
2/3 cup Chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and set aside.
3. Combine in a mixer or mixing bowl butter or margarine, white sugar and brown sugar until blended. Then add vanilla extract and eggs. Then blend until thoroughly mixed.
4. Slow the mixer and add the cherries, walnuts and chocolate chips (one at a time). Then add the flour & baking powder until blended.
5. You will make two logs from this batter. Place parchment paper on a cookie sheet (or grease with butter or a cooking spray) and prepare a place to work on the batter (wax paper with flour will work fine). Form each half of the batter into a log about 3 inches wide and about 3/4" to 1" high. (NOTE: If your hands have flour on them, it will be easier to mold). When you have two logs (do not worry about a bit of flour on them), lightly sprinkle the tops with sugar.
6. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes (test with a toothpick that it comes out clean). Let cool on the baking sheet for about twenty minutes (leaving the oven on).
7. Using a spatula, transfer the logs to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife (electric knives work great), cut on the diagonal into 3/4" slices (be as consistent as possible). Cutting on a diagonal gives you longer pieces. Place sliced pieces back onto the cookie sheet with a small gap between the cut slices (this will allow the biscotti to be baked again on the sides). Put back in the oven for 20 minutes.

Store in an airtight container and enjoy!