Friday, December 19, 2008

Christmas countdown 6 days

I thought today was a perfect day to share some recipes that I love for this time of year, perfect for this wild weather we are having....

SPICED CIDER
1 quart apple cider
3/4-1 cup lemon juice
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
8 whole cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
cinnamon stick (for garnish) (optional)
In large saucepan, combine all ingredients except garnish; bring to boil.
Reduce heat, simmer uncovered 20 minutes to blend flavors.
Remove spices; serve hot with cinnamon sticks and sliced apples if desired.

CHILI
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed
tomatoes
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans
1 1/2 cups water
1 pinch chili powder
1 pinch garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS:
1.In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the beef and onion and saute until meat is browned and onion is tender. Add the stewed tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, beans and water.
2.Season with the chili powder, garlic powder, salt and ground black pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.

CORN BREAD
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil
1 cup milk
DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin pan or line with paper muffin liners.
2.In a large bowl, mix together corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add egg, oil and milk; stir gently to combine. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
3.Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean.

Will you share some recipes that you have this season?

2 comments:

On Purpose said...

Hey thanks for planning dinner for me...I will be snagging me this menu...love to you my friend!

Desiree said...

Here are a couple of cookie recipes I'm doing. If we are lucky enough to come down for Christmas, I will bring some in for ya.
They are both SUPER easy and very good....kinda similar too...I noticed that after getting the ingredients together.

#1 Chocolate Gooey Butter Cookies (from Paula Deen)

1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (18-ounce) box moist chocolate cake mix
Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Beat in the egg. Then beat in the vanilla extract. Beat in the cake mix. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls. Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake 12 minutes. The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

#2 Cream Cheese Cookies
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 box cake mix (any flavor, our favorite is strawberry)
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 tsp. almond or vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients together. Chill dough for at least 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375*. Roll dough into 1" balls - place on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until edges are slightly browned.