November 30, 2011: Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Here’s a favorite winter dish in my family – Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce. It’s hearty, filling and quite delicious. I usually serve it over plain, buttered white rice because that’s what my husband prefers, but feel free to spoon it over the top of buttered egg noodles or mashed potatoes. The leftovers are even better!

Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce

1 recipe Meatballs

4 ounces fresh mushrooms, thinly sliced

1/3 cup diced onions

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Prepare meatballs as directed in my Baked Meatballs recipe but instead of baking, fry them in a large or electric skillet. When cooked through, remove to a paper towel lined plate. Drain all but 2 tablespoons of drippings. Add mushrooms and onions and sauté over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add remaining ingredients. Cook just until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Serve over hot rice, noodles or mashed potatoes.

Serves 4

November 29, 2011: Hawaiian Sausage Skewers Recipe

As the holidays bear down upon us (along with all those advertisements showing perfect houses and presents and families to make us feel guilty), chances are your to-do list is growing while the time available to do all those chores gets smaller and smaller. On those hectic weeknights when you don’t have any social obligations, a quick and easy dinner is in order. Try this recipe to use a couple ingredients you’re sure to find on sale at the grocery store right now: pineapple and sausage.

Hawaiian Sausage Skewers

1 one-pound package smoked link sausages, such as Hillshire Farm Smoked Sausage, cut into 1 ½” long slices

½ fresh pineapple, cut into 1 ½” chunks

½ large white or yellow onion, cut into large chunks

1 cup Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce

Thread the ingredients in alternating fashion onto skewers (you’ll need about 8 skewers or so, depending on their length). Spray a broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place skewers on broiler pan and brush with half of the barbecue sauce. Broil for about 6 – 9 minutes, until pineapple and onion begin to char. Remove from oven and turn over; brush with remaining barbecue sauce. Broil for another 5 minutes or so, until completely heated through.

Serves 4

Tip: This is really delicious served with rice, plain or cheesy. If you don't have any Chipotle Peach BBQ Sauce already made, any type of fruity barbecue sauce will do.

November 28, 2011: German Style Green Beans

Here’s a quick and easy side dish that’s just a bit different. I call it German style because it reminds me of my grandmother’s recipe for hot potato salad.

Tip: this is a great way to use up a few slices of bacon and the last of a bag of fresh or frozen green beans.

German Style Green Beans served with macaroni and cheese for a simple, easy weeknight dinner the whole family will love.

German Style Green Beans

2 cups fresh green beans (or about half a large package of frozen green beans)

2 slices bacon

¼ cup chopped onion

1 t. diced pimiento

1 t. dried minced parsley

1 T. brown sugar

1 T. apple cider vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Boil green beans in a pan of water until crisp-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.

In same pan, cook bacon slices (you may have to cut them in half to fit) until crisp. Remove to a paper towel. Do not drain bacon grease. Add onions and sauté over medium low heat until tender, about two minutes. Add remaining ingredients and heat through.

Serves 2 – 3

November 27, 2011: Quick and Easy Southwestern Pizza Calzones Recipe

Have you tried any of the Kraft Cooking Crème? The basis is cream cheese, which is whipped up with various herbs and spices. So far I’ve tried the Garlic one and the Southwestern one. While they’re handy to use with pasta, I’ll warn you right now that a little can go a long way. I had a real dinner disaster one night when I decided to use the garlic crème, straight, to stuff enchiladas. They were so bad I had to throw most of the dish away.

But I persevered and tried using the crème again. This time I got the proportion right.

Southwestern Pizza Calzones

1 package refrigerated crescent roll dough

1 6-ounce package pepperoni (or half pound cooked, crumbled pork sausage)

2 t. olive oil

½ bell pepper, minced

8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 T. diced green chiles (either freshly roasted or from a can)

½ container Kraft Cooking Crème, Southwestern flavor

4 ounces Colby Jack cheese, shredded

2 t. butter

Garlic salt or powder (optional)

Open the package of crescent rolls and carefully separate at perforations so you have four rectangles. On a floured surface, roll out the rectangles to a 6 inch square, pressing the diagonal seam together so the square doesn’t have any separations. Divide the pepperoni into fourths and place on half of each dough square.

Heat olive oil in a skillet to medium low. Add peppers and sauté for two minutes; add mushrooms and garlic and sauté for two more minutes, until vegetables are soft. Turn off heat and add green chile and cooking crème. Mix together.

Spoon one quarter of the crème mixture on top of the pepperoni. Top each with a quarter of the shredded cheese. Fold opposite side of dough over the filling to form a turnover. Press edges together. Place on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.

Melt butter and brush over the tops of each calzone. Sprinkle lightly with garlic salt, if desired.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, until golden brown and completely cooked through.

Serves 4

November 26, 2011: Turkey Leftovers Tetrazzini Recipe

Have you had your fill of turkey sandwiches yet? If so, try this yummy main dish recipe to use up more of your turkey and stuffing leftovers.

Turkey Tetrazzini

8 ounces thin spaghetti

2 cups shredded cooked turkey

3 T. butter

8 ounces mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 small yellow onion, minced

2 cups half and half

2 cups shredded white cheese (such as swiss or mozzarella)

½ cup diced green chiles

1 t. dried parsley or 1 T. fresh parsley, chopped

1 t. salt

½ t. black pepper

1 cup prepared stuffing (optional)

Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. Grease a 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Add turkey to spaghetti and place in greased pan.

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion; cook until soft. Add half and half, cheese, chilies, parsley, salt and pepper. Heat through. Pour over noodles and turkey. Top with stuffing, if using (if not, cover with foil).

Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil, if using, and cook an additional 5 minutes to brown top of casserole.

Serves 8

Tip: Don't have any half and half on hand? Substitute 2 cups milk and add 1/4 cup flour to the onions and mushrooms at the end of sauteeing.

November 25, 2011: Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

When you need a little something to fuel your Black Friday shopping, try making these homemade cinnamon rolls the night before (or even several days earlier and store them in the freezer until ready to thaw).

My recipe for cinnamon rolls simply uses a basic sweet roll recipe that is spread with lots of butter, cinnamon and sugar.

Cinnamon Rolls

Yeast dough:

½ cup milk

¼ cup sugar

2 t. salt

3 T. butter

3 packages yeast (6 ¾ teaspoons)

1 ½ cups warm water

5 – 6 cups flour

Place milk, sugar, salt and butter in small saucepan. Heat over low heat until butter melts and sugar dissolves. Cool to lukewarm.

Dissolve yeast in warm water in warmed bowl of a stand mixer. Add lukewarm milk mixture and 4 ½ cups flour. Attach bowl and dough hook to mixer. Mix on Speed 2 for about one minute. Add flour, half cup at a time, and continue to mix until dough clings to hook and cleans sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Knead on Speed 2 about two minutes longer until dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in greased bowl, turning to grease top. Cover and and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 15 minutes.

Filling:

1 stick butter, melted

½ cup sugar

¼ cup cinnamon

Mix together sugar and cinnamon.

Roll dough out on floured surface to large rectangle, about 12 x 24 inches. Brush with melted butter; sprinkle with sugar-cinnamon mixture.

Starting with long side, roll up into a cylinder shape. With a very sharp knife, cut pieces one inch thick. Place on one or two buttered baking sheets with rims. Cover and let rise until doubled, about a half hour.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake cinnamon rolls for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden brown. Allow rolls to cool. If you are freezing the rolls, place cooled, unfrosted rolls in airtight containers and store in freezer.

To frost cinnamon rolls, stir together 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla and about 3 tablespoons milk or water. Adjust as necessary to make a medium thin frosting that easily drips from a spoon. Drizzle over top of warm rolls.

Makes about 24 rolls.

November 24, 2011: Last Minute Decoration Ideas For Your Thanksgiving Dinner Table

Have you got your turkey in the oven? The stuffing made? Dessert ready for the table? What about a centerpiece and decorations for your Thanksgiving table?

If you’ve thought of everything but how your table is going to be decorated, don’t despair. Chances are you’ve got the perfect decorations to make a last minute centerpiece right in your own home or yard.

Take a look at these ideas to make your Thanksgiving table a bit more festive:

*Take a walk outside and gather up pinecones, cattails, wildflowers or leafy plants. Take a large glass vase and fill it with apples or oranges, then stick your outdoor plant items in between. This makes a lovely, natural centerpiece.

*Core several apples and brush insides with lemon juice to prevent browning. Place a votive candle inside the hollowed out opening. Line them up on a mirror or pretty platter and light just before eating.

*Don’t have enough napkin rings to go around? Use a pretty ribbon tied around each napkin to place on dinner plates. This makes even paper napkins look nice!

*Head to the pantry for centerpiece or décor inspiration. Use cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, herb sprigs and cinnamon candies to sprinkle on a platter with a candle or flower arrangement in the center. Or stud oranges with cloves. Not only do these look nice, they smell good, too!

*For an even more festive dining room, use your scrapbooking skills to make Thanksgiving pictures like this one.

And, as a special Thanksgiving bonus for my readers, I’ve included here a free Designer Pack courtesy of My Memories software. To download it, just click on the picture below; this designer pack is compatible with any type of scrapbooking software. If you want to order the My Memories Suite (the latest version just came out!) use code STMMMS98943 at checkout to receive a $10 discount, courtesy of me!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!