December Issue

December for some marks the happiest time of the year. Let's just be honest though, for most of us, its a stressful time that we don't get to enjoy all that much because we are to busy trying to please everyone around us. We search for just the right gift (most likely completely missing the mark). We spend hours, if not days, baking all the old family favorites, only to have people say that its not like so and so used to make. If we are lucky, that won't be said to our faces, but there are those out there that don't care about hurting other's feelings or they just get a kick out of making others feel bad.

Most of the time, I love Christmas. I don't love the snow and ice that come with it, but I love spending time with my family and friends (some of them anyway). I even like my husband's family, more than I like the majority of my family. This year, I'm just counting the days until I can say see ya to 2009. It has been a year that I just want to forget. Those of you who know me, understand. Those of you that don't, you'll just have to read earlier posts to get part of the story.

Cooking, though, it always makes me feel better. My Thanksgiving was a wonderful experience, even though the turkey got done a full hour before it was scheduled too, throwing off my whole schedule. Everything turned out great in the end, wonderful food (that no one complained about, at least not that I've heard), a day of visiting that didn't end with a city wide search for a relative or a gun being pulled (both true stories for another time). My kids even liked the early Christmas gifts that the got from their Aunts, Uncles and Cousins, a first. I even managed to make my sister in law's day by giving her some clothes that Sierra had outgrown for her little girls.

The recipes that I've chosen for this issue are simple to make and for the most part relatively inexpensive, as well as being ones that my family loves. Unlike some other sources I have seen, you'll see that I've included 7 days worth of meals as opposed to the typical 5 you get. Well four, if you can "cook's night off". I am trying to limit the amount of processed food my family consumes, the preservatives that are in them is enough to make you start fasting, so you won't get a prepackaged meal very often here. You'll notice that I said limit, not eliminate. With two children age seven and two, sometimes it becomes necessary to have these simple, quick meals (this includes meals out, in this economy, who has the money to take their families out anyway).
Easy Shepherd's Pie
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
2 cups hot mashed potatoes
4 oz cream cheese, cubed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups frozen mixed vegetables
1 cup beef gravy
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375`F. Brown meat in large skillet. Drain.
2. Mix mashed potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup of the shredded cheese and the garlic until well blended.
3. Stir vegetables and gravy into meat.
4. Spoon into 9 inch square baking dish.
5. Cover with potato mixture. Don't worry about it being perfectly even; the more rustic it looks, the better.
6. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup shredded cheese. Bake for 20 minutes or until heated through.
Shortcut: Use instant mashed potatoes. Prepare potatoes as directed on package, omitting the milk. This way when you add the cream cheese, the potatoes stay fluffy.

Grilled Parmesan Turkey Burgers
Servings: 4
Ingredients:
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
4 hamburger buns, split
Sliced onions, grilled, sauteed or raw, for serving (optional)
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients except the buns. Shape the mixture into 4 patties, about 1/2 inch thick each.
Grill the patties 4 to 6 inches from medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink in the center.
Add the buns to the grill, cut side down, for the last 4 minutes of grilling. Serve the burgers on the buns with grilled, sauteed, or raw onions, if you like.

Tuna Cakes
Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup Cream of Wheat cereal, uncooked
2 cans (6 oz each) tuna in water, drained, flaked
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup finely shredded carrot (from about 1 small carrot)
1/8 tsp pepper
6 lettuce leaves
6 tomato slices
Directions:
Bring milk just to boil in medium saucepan medium heat. Gradually add cereal, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Return just to boil; reduce heat to low. Cook 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.
Add tuna, eggs, carrots and pepper; mix well. Shape into 6 patties.
Cook on nonstick griddle or in large nonstick skillet on medium heat 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through and lightly browned on both sides. Serve with lettuce leaf and tomato slice.

Baked Ziti
Servings: 10
Ingredients:
1 pound ziti, uncooked
1 (32-ounce) jar pasta sauce
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
3/4 cup parsley, chopped
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese
4 ounces provolone cheese, cut in quarters
Directions:
Cook the pasta according to the package directions; drain.
Coat a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
Place a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of the prepared dish. Continue making layers of pasta, cottage cheese, parsley, sauce, pasta, Parmesan cheese, pasta, mozzarella, parsley, pasta, sauce and parsley. Sprinkle provolone on top. Cover and bake in a 375-degree-F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Japanese Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
16 chicken wings or 8 larger pieces of chicken
2 Tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp sesame seeds
3 Tbsp honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp garlic
Directions:
Combine all ingredients except for chicken and boil for 2 minutes. In a foil lined baking dish, add chicken and pour sauce over them. Bake at 450 f. for about 35 minutes. As chicken bakes, baste them every 10 minutes with sauce. When the chicken is done, remove, from pan, pour sauce into a pan and boil until only half remains. Pour sauce over chicken, toss to coat, serve immediately.

German Pancake
Makes about 8 servings (about 2 cups syrup)
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup milk 1 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter or margarine, melted
BUTTERMILK SYRUP:
1 1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter or margarine
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla extract
Powdered sugar
Directions:
Place the eggs, milk, flour and salt in a blender; cover and process until smooth. Pour the butter into an ungreased 13x9x2 inch baking dish; add the batter. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the first five syrup ingredients; bring to a boil. Boil for 7 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Dust pancake with powdered sugar; serve immediately with syrup. (We usually use store bought syrup, so if you make the buttermilk syrup, please post a comment and let me know how it was. Thanks.)

Navy Bean Soup (allergy free)
makes 6 to 8 servings.
Ingredients:
2 cups chicken or beef stock (recipe follows or use store bought)
2 cups water
1/2 cup dried navy beans
1 bay leaf
1 cup diced carrots
2 cup diced celery
Directions:
In a large stock pot, combine the stock and water. Bring to a boil and add the beans and bay leaf. Lower the heat and simmer the ingredients approximately 2 hours. Remove the bay leaf and add the carrots and celery. Simmer for another 30 minutes. Put the mixture in a blender to puree, if desired. Return the soup to the pot and add enough water to thin it to the desired consistency. Reheat to boiling and serve.

Beef stock (allergy free)
Makes 6 cups
Ingredients:
6 lbs beef soup bones
2 1/2 quarts water
2 tsp sea salt
1 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup chopped celery with leaves
1 large bay leaf
1 Tbsp parsley
Directions:
Put the soup bones, water, salt, carrots, celery, bay leaf and parsley in a kettle. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 to 3 hours, taking care no to boil, until the broth has a pleasant taste. Remove the bay leaf. Remove the meat from the bones and cut up. Set this meat aside for another beef soup recipe. Strain. Skim off excess fat or chill the stock overnight and then lift off the fat layer. Freeze in 1 or 2 cup portions and thaw as needed.

With all the holiday baking that most of us do, I thought that I would choose a no bake dessert option. I am a huge fan of no bake cookies, though this is not one that I have made to often. Both of my children love to help mommy bake and if the oven isn't used, they don't think that we've baked, believe it or not my youngest is worse about it then my oldest. He loves to use the mixer and help cook, if I had the room I would get him his own kitchen play set.
No bake oatmeal cookies (contains peanuts)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk
2 cups white sugar
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tbsp crunchy peanut butter
1/2 cup butt
3 cups rolled oats
1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Wipe 1" wide band of butter around the rim of a 3 quart pan to prevent boil- over.
2. Combine milk, sugar, cocoa, butter and peanut butter.
3. Stir and bring to boil over medium heat. Let boil for 1 1/2 minutes, do not stir.
4. Remove from heat. Stir in oats and vanilla. Stir until oats evenly distributed.
5. Drop by teaspoon onto waxed paper. Cool. Makes 4 to 5 dozen.

Once again I want to thank you all for reading and be sure to tell your friends. If there is a recipe that you would like to see here, one that you've been looking for, post a comment and I will do my best to find and post it.