Monday, October 02, 2006

Holiday Cooking Blogger Style


Overwhelmed with Joy is hosting a Holiday Cooking Blogger Style. The recipes I've been finding sound so good my mouth is just a-waterin'. If you'd like to contribute some of your favorite family recipes or would like to find some to make favorites head on over there. There's a Mr. Linky all set up and ready to go.

Here's a few of our favorite treats for the holidays.


GLAZED YAMS OR SWEET POTATOES

1 kg (2 1/4 lbs. ) yams or sweet potatoes
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. margarine
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 cup orange juice

Cut yams into 2 or 3 large sections. Cover with water, bring to a boil and cook just till fork tender. Do not overcook. When cool, peel and cut into bite size chunks. Place into a 2litre (2 quart) casserole dish.
Mix the remaining ingrediants in a saucepan. Heat over med. high heat until it comes to a boil and gets thick. Pour over the yams. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F. (180 celcius) for 20 minutes. Remove cover for the last few minutes
Note: You can also peel and cut the yams into chunks while raw. Place in casserole dish. Bring the sauce just to a boil, do not thicken on stove. Pour over raw yams, cover and bake at 350 for about an hour or until they are tender.


CRANBERRY CLUSTERS

8 squares white chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup Craisins
1/2 cup favorite nuts, I like cashews (optional)
1/2 Golden Grahams cereal

Place chocolate in microwave safe bowl. Microwave at medium (50%) power for 3 minutes to partially melt the chocolate.
Remove and stir until completely melted.
Sir in Craisins, cereal and nuts.
Drop small spoonfuls onto a foil lined cookie sheet. Chill until firm. Wrap well and refridgerate.


RED & GREEN FETA MELT

1 pgk. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup cottage cheese
1 small tomato, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled Feta Cheese
1/8 tsp. garlic powder (not salt)
tricuit crackers or your favorite crackers

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix all the ingrediants except the crackers until well blended. Put into a greased 2 1/2 cup heatproof crock or baking dish.
Bake 15 - 20 minutes until heated through.
Serve with the crackers.
Some of my family prefers this cooled off so I make and bake a double batch. Then I seperate into two serving bowls and let one cool off.
Note: For a low fat version use low fat cottage cheese and low fat feta cheese


SHRIMP TARTS
(appetizer or sometimes we have them for brunch Christmas morn)

3/4 cup broken shrimp ( 2 - 113g cans)
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1/2 cup Miracle Whip salad dressing
2 beaten eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dry dill
dash of garlic powder
unbaked tart shells (for appetizers I use the mini tart shells, for the brunch I use the regular size)

Fill tart shells with a bit the each of the first 3 ingrediants.
Beat remaining ingrediants.
Pour over the tarts to the top. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 15 - 20 minutes.
Serve hot and fresh or keep refridgerated until ready to use and reheat until warm or serve room temperature.

15 comments:

Ms. Kathleen said...

You have some real winners here. Yeah! I love feta cheese and shrimp and cranberries and I eat sweet potatoes a LOT. Thanks so much. I have them all copied!

Anonymous said...

What great recipes, I have to say though, the shrimp is calling my name LOL Love it :) I've saved them all :)

Thanks for sharing Susanne :)

Barb said...

I just said to heck with it and printed all four of them. They ALL sound great.

Unknown said...

These all sound great. Thanks!

Beck said...

I'm coming over for supper! Those sound YUMMY.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to try these! They are different from anything I have and look really good. Thanks for posting them.

Rae said...

Two of my favorite things.. shrimp & glazed yams, yum! I've gotta try the cranberry clusters ASAP. Thanks for sharing! =)

Katrina @ Callapidder Days said...

Those cranberry clusters sound very yummy! And I love the idea of the red & green feta melt - I'll definitely be trying that out this year. Thanks for sharing these!

rena said...

Oh man...all these holiday recipes are making my anxious for Christmas to hurry up and get here. It's our Thanksgiving on the weekend...maybe that'll tie me over till then!
Great recipes!

BlondeBrony said...

That red and green feta melt sounds so good. I will be making that some time this holiday season for sure.

PastormacsAnn said...

I am so glad that I made my daily visit! I would have totally forgotten this. (it's been one of those kind of days.

Your recipes look yummy! This is really a lot of fun! I love looking at recipes.

Posted my recipe.

Julie said...

Oh my gosh your Red & Green Feta Melts sound SO good. I'm going to try these...my hubby will love them.

Thanks!

Overwhelmed! said...

Susanne, all 4 of these recipes sound delicious! Like Sandra, the Shrimp Tarts are calling my name! I have some little tart molds (is that what they're called?) that I haven't even used yet. I've seen a couple different tart recipes now that I can experiment with. :)

Thanks so much for participating in my Holiday Cooking, Blogger Style recipe exchange. I sure do appreciate it!

Anonymous said...

All I can say is that cranberry snack looks yummy, and. . . I LOVE FETA CHEESE! Can't wait to try your recipes!

Anonymous said...

All of these sound so good! But the Cranberry Clusters...I'm licking my lips! They have some of my absolute favorite foods -- chocolate, Craisins, Golden Grahams, and cashews! I'm going to have to go buy some white chocolate since that's the only ingredient I'm missing. :) Thanks for sharing all of these!