Category Archives: Holidays

Simple Christmas Candy

This yummy, colorful Christmas candy is simple to make but
oh-so-hard to stop eating.  Put 10 or 12 in a holiday treat bag for a perfect gift, or bring a plateful of them to a party.  Do NOT expect any leftovers to bring home.

Ingredients:
Hershey’s Peppermint Kisses (or any flavor)
Mini pretzel squares
Red and green M&Ms

Directions:
Lay out pretzels on baking sheet.  Put one kiss on each pretzel.  Bake at 200° for 5 minutes, until kisses are shiny and soft but not runny.  Immediately put an M&M on the center of each kiss and press down lightly.  Let them cool (I refrigerate for a little while so they get firm).

Fudge Brownie Hearts with Fresh Raspberry Cream

Brownies - Final 2

These brownies were a hit at my Valentine’s brunch and are so
simple to make.

You can make brownies from scratch if you like, but I think some of the box mixes out there are as good as any brownies I’ve tasted and certainly a lot simpler to make.  And you can make your own icing from scratch, too, but I chose the simpler path of using canned
frosting.  Below I’ll explain how I used fresh raspberries in the creamy frosting and share with you some tips for creating these special Valentine’s brownies.

Ingredients:
Fudgy brownies (from the bakery, box mix or from scratch)
Buttercream frosting (canned or freshly made)
1 cup of fresh raspberries

Directions:

  1.  Line a 13″x9″ pan with foil so the edges hang over the sides.  Spray with cooking spray.

2.  Bake the brownies, following the box instructions or your own recipe.

3.  Let them cool completely. Lift the brownies out of the pan using the excess foil.
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4.  Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to cut out the brownies.
Brownies - foil 3

5.  Slice each brownie in half horizontally and lay the bottom half on the serving tray.
Brownies - 5

6.  In a small saucepan, add the raspberries and cook over medium heat until the raspberries begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
Brownies 6

7.  Put the raspberries into a strainer and press out the juice.  Let the juice cool.
brownies - 7

8.  Stir the raspberry juice into the buttercream frosting, and put into a pastry bag with a small tip.  Pipe the frosting onto the bottom half of each heart brownie.
brownies - 10

9.  Put the top half of each brownie on top of the corresponding iced bottom half.
Brownies 9

10.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Brownies - Final

Baked Scrambled Eggs With Veggies

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Light, fluffy scrambled eggs to serve 12 people.

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INGREDIENTS:
½ cup butter, melted
24 large eggs
1 ¼ cup Half-n-Half
1 ¼ cup milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
¼ cup olive oil
Fresh veggies, chopped (suggested: mushrooms,
red and green bell peppers, spinach, onion)
3 green onions, chopped
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS:
1.   Pour melted butter into 9″x13″ baking dish.

2.  Whisk together the eggs, Half-n-Half, milk and salt.

3.  Pour eggs into baking dish.

4.  Put eggs into 350 degree oven, and stir every 5 to 10 minutes
until beginning to set.

5.  While eggs are baking, sauté veggies in olive oil until lightly browned.
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6.  If using spinach, add it to sautéed veggies to let it wilt for just a minute.
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7.  Add vegetables to eggs and bake another 8 to 10 minutes.

8.  Once eggs are set nicely but still moist, stir again and top with green onions and cheese.

9.  Bake 2 to 3 minutes longer and serve immediately.20160131_185453-1

 

Personal Pumpkin Pie

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A fun and mess-free way to serve pumpkin pie — personal pumpkin pies, baked in a muffin tin.

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Ingredients:
2 refrigerated ready-to-roll pie crust
½ cup sugar
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Whipped cream, optional

 

 

 

 

 

1.  Roll out dough. Use a 4-inch round cup or bowl to cut out 12 circles. Place each circle in a greased muffin tin. Press into the bottom and the sides of the muffin tin.  Use a fork to score the bottom so the crust doesn’t bubble up while baking.
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2.  Mix sugar, pumpkin, vanilla, eggs, cream cheese and pumpkin spice until smooth.
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3.  Pour the pumpkin filling into each muffin tin, filling to the rim.
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4.  Bake for 15 minutes at 425 degrees. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees and bake another 25 minutes or so, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for at least an hour for the pumpkin filling to set.
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Serve with a dollop (or two) of whipped cream.