Linking Love: Ree's Holiday Recipes

I used and enjoyed several of the recipes on Ree's recipe blog over the holidays. To allow you to enjoy them and to give myself easy access, I am linking to them from here. Click on over and you'll be licking your lips and heading for the kitchen to start some cooking of your own.


Brining a Turkey
Roasted Thanksgiving Turkey
Turkey Gravy, Baby
Delicious Creamy Mashed Potatoes
Butternut Squash Puree
French Pastry Puffs

Tortilla Soup

This is a favorite soup recipe in our home. I originally got the recipe from my friend, Heather Denny.

3 cans chicken broth
2 lg cans of chicken ( I prefer freshly cooked chicken, but use the canned when I am short on time)
1 can corn (whole kernel)
1 can white northern beans (more if you prefer)
1 can chopped green chilis
2 (8 oz) cans diced tomato
1 clove garlic, minced (or more to taste)
1/2 t. cumin (or more to taste)
1/8 t. pepper (or more to taste)

flour tortillas, sour cream and grated cheddar cheese
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Mix the first 9 ingredients in a crock pot, set on low and leave for several hours. Taste test occasionally to determine need for more cumin or pepper.

If short on time, all ingredients can be mixed in large pot on stove. Bring to a boil, then let simmer for a while. Taste test and add spices as needed.
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Cut flour tortillas into strips, layer on a baking sheet and broil until crispy and lightly browned. Turn and broil other side.

Serve soup with sour cream, shredded cheese and tortilla crispies.

Marbly Chocolate Goodness!

This stuff is too good for your own good. I made this yummy chocolate concoction this week to give away as Christmas cheer, but so far only one person has benefitted: moi!

I found this recipe in a recent Southern Living magazine and couldn't resist its promise of chocolate decadence. A caption on the recipe reads, "The hardest part about making Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy is waiting for the chocolate to firm up before devouring it." Obviously the person writing this caption wasn't just a creative writer hired to make the recipe sound good but had devoured his/her own prodigious share of this candy.

It's really quite easy and the results are spectacular!

Here's what you need:

1 c. pecans, coarsely chopped
3 (4-oz.) bars bittersweet chocolate baking bars
3 (4-oz.) white chocolate baking bars
>1 teaspoon coarse sea salt*
(*3/4 tsp. kosher salt may be substituted.)

Here's what you do:

Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 to 10 minutes or until toasted.

Line a 17- x 12-inch jelly-roll pan with parchment paper (I used my DeMarle silpat). Break each chocolate bar into 8 equal pieces. (You will have 48 pieces total.) Arrange in a checkerboard pattern in jelly-roll pan, alternating white and dark chocolate. (Pieces will touch.)

Bake at 225° for 5 minutes or just until chocolate is melted. Remove pan to a wire rack. Swirl chocolates into a marble pattern using a wooden pick (I used my Pampered Chef cake tester).

This was lots of fun! And isn't it beautiful?!
As much as I love chocolate, I could see this as a
wallpaper in my kitchen...except I'd always be craving
chocolate....wait! I already do that!

Sprinkle evenly with toasted pecans and salt.

Chill 1 hour or until firm. Break into pieces. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 1 month. (Candy will soften at room temperature)

Not only does this taste fabulous, it looks spectacular! Pretty on a plate:

Wait a minute! I need to get a little closer to that chocolate!

MUCH better! Now all this raving about Salty Chocolate-Pecan Candy is
more than I can handle. I'm off to dig some out of the refrigerator for
a late-night snack. Don't tell anyone....oh, and if you are one of the people
I was making this to give, I'm sorry. I couldn't keep from eating it all!

This recipe found in Southern Living, OCTOBER 2007 and at Southern Living Recipes online.

Pretzel Wreath

My kiddos and I spent part of an evening last week cooking in our pjs and this is what we made:


This recipe came from the Pampered Chef Holiday Guide 2007. Its easy and fun. Give it a try. Tie a ribbon and bow on it, put it in a pretty goody bag and give them as gifts.


Place almond bark or confectionery coating candy in a bowl. Microwave according to package directions until melted and smooth.

Dip rounded bottoms of 5 minature pretzels, one at a time, into bark; shake off excess. Lay pretzels onto Parchment Paper (I used my Demarle silpat) in a circular pattern with sides touching and rounded sides toward center.

Repeat with 5 more pretzels, placing directly on top of first circle in a staggered pattern. Decorate wreath as desired with nonpareils or colored sugar. (I used Pampered Chef's sweet caramel sprinkle)

Let Me Tell You About Rachel!

Now those of you who know me IRL, probably think I'm going to tell you something about my sister (which come to think of it, would probably make a good post). But actually, I'm going to tell you about my friend, Rachel and a really great book she recently wrote.

Rachel Masters (or Rachel Gustafson, as I knew her) is a friend of mine from my college days. She was the editor of our University Yearbook, and I served as Assistant Editor under her. In the photo below,we are pictured at Homecoming 1992. She went on to marry her college sweetheart, Darren (standing behind her in the photo) and they now have 5 children.

Not long ago, Rachel contacted me and told me about the cookbook she has written. I was excited when she said she was sending me a copy of it! I proceeded to put it to use and have been enjoying it for about 3 months. This isn't your ordinary cookbook that leaves you feeling guilty for not spending hours laboring in your kitchen to place a gourmet meal in front of your family. Nor does it leave you wondering where in the world you are going to find the long list of unusual ingredients needed for each recipe. No, this is a Mom's cookbook, written by a real mom for real moms everywhere.

Rachel's ideas for the cookbook started several years ago. She was tired of trying to think of what to cook for supper every night and came up with the idea of a rotating meal plan. After writing down MANY meal ideas, it made sense to go one step further and make grocery lists to accompany them. That worked for a while, but the frustration continued when she couldn't find the recipes that went with the evening's meal plan. That led her to believe that it would be worth the time and trouble to compile the meal plans, grocery lists AND recipes together in one book. So, over the course of two years, among homeschool lessons, children's naptimes, helping her husband build their log cabin, and other continuous interruptions, Rachel compiled and revised a 250-page book. -excerpt from Rachel's website

Yes, you heard right! This cookbook gives you 13 weeks of meal plans. Each week not only includes a menu for 5 meals, but also provides a grocery list, all the recipes necessary AND a timetable for when to do each cooking task during the day. I have found this cookbook to be so helpful! Rachel has done all the legwork and taken the frustration out of putting a meal on the table. Of course, my family's tastes and preferences vary some from Rachel's so as I am preparing for a trip to the grocery store, I may pencil in a different side dish or a variation that we prefer and adjust the grocery list accordingly. Preparing for the gorcery store is easy. I make a copy of the grocery list, mark off the items I already have, slip the list into my purse and I'm off!

I have shown this cookbook to several friends and family members and all have been excited about this find! It would be a great gift or even stocking stuffer for those moms on your Christmas list. You must go check out her website, order a few and tell her I sent you!

Boiled Peanuts!

I am one of those people that loves the markers of seasons. By that I mean, I love all the things that happen every year at the same time. For example, I love that the Bradford pears are one of the first trees to bloom each March, marking the beginning of Spring and I love that we get to pick strawberries every April marking summer's approach.
We are experiencing one of those season markers right now. Our house smells like peanuts, because we boiled a big pot of them last night. Before moving to SE Alabama, I didn't know a whole lot about peanuts, but I have learned a lot since. Did you know that peanuts grow underground? At harvest time, a machine digs the plants up and turns them over in the field. After 2 or 3 days of drying in the field, a harvesting machine separates the peanuts from the plants and loads them in "wagons" that are hitched to trucks.
We are definately in peanut farming country here, so peanuts seem to effect many parts of our life. Our house is located just 1/2 mile from the peanut coop. Every fall, harvested peanuts are brought in the peanut "wagons"to the coop and attached to "blowers" for curing. Hot air is forced slowly through the wagons during this process. This makes a loud, but low (in pitch) humming type noise. There are many of these running at the same time, so we hear them day and night during peanut season. I have fond memories associated with the sound of the blowers, because my son was born during our first peanut season here. When I would be up to feed him at night, I would hear the almost hypnotic, comforting sounds of the peanut blowers down the road. Every fall, the event of the season is the Peanut Festival. This rivals most county fairs, is attended by just about everyone and climaxes with the Peanut Festival Parade through downtown.
Anyway, all that to say our neighbor gave us fresh peanuts yesterday and we took on the task of pretending to be natives: We boiled them! Boiled peanuts are a favorite snack of this region and we are in full agreement! We have enjoyed the taste of them every fall since we have moved here. But this time, we boiled them ourselves. It was fun and they were tasty. Now, our house smells like peanuts marking the beginning of Fall. It may still be terribly hot and humid and so far no leaves have changed colors, but we know Fall is on its way, because the peanut harvest is beginning.
Here is a recipe for boiling peanuts that I found on the internet:

Ingredients:
2 pounds fresh raw peanuts in shells
3 tablespoons salt or to taste

Directions:
Wash peanuts well. Place them in a huge cast iron pot or the biggest pot you have. Pour in enough water to almost fill the pot. Add salt and stir. Cover and cook over high heat. Bring to a rolling boil. Reduce heat only enough to prevent water from boiling over. Add water as needed to keep peanuts under water. When adding water, increase heat to high until peanuts are boiling again. Boil for 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Test to see if they are done by spooning out a peanut, cooling briefly, opening the shell and biting into one. Boiled peanuts should be soft, not crunchy or hard. Drain, rinse well and cool slightly before serving. Store in plastic bags in refrigerator or freezer.

The photos in this post were taken by Old Shoe Woman and shared on Flickr.

Blueberry Lemon Iced Tea

A friend called last week saying since she was out of town and the blueberries on her bushes were ready to pick, I could come pick them. So, I told her I would pick all the blueberries I could, freeze them and give her half. I've been twice this week and plan to go at least 1 more time. After picking them, I rinse them in my sink, place them on paper towels to dry, put them in freezer bags and freeze. My new favorite use for blueberries is Blueberry-Lemon Iced Tea. This recipe was in this month's Southern Living and I have used it 3 times so far with plans to make more soon. I hope you enjoy it!

Bring 1 (16oz) pkg frozen blueberries (I use fresh) and 1/2 c. fresh lemon juice to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and pour through a fine wire-mesh strainer into a bowl, using back of a spoon to squeeze out juice. Discard solids. Wipe saucepan clean.

Bring 4 c water to a boil in the same saucepan; add 3 family size tea bags, and let stand 5 minutes. Remove and discard tea bags. Stir in 3/4 c. sugar and blueberry juice mixture. Pour into a pitcher; cover and chill 1 hour. Serve over ice.

(I have subsituted Splenda for sugar and its just as yummy.)

Makes 5 cups. Prep: 5 min., Cook: 10 min., Stand: 5 min.,Chill: 1 hour