"Christmas Chrunch" - Not Just for Christmas

The following is an easy peasy snack to throw together for any casual holiday gathering, game night (including an important upcoming college bowl game), or work place “bring a snack day”. I call it Christmas Chrunch (yes, with an ‘h’) because my sister made it to send with her husband when the school at which he works had a snack day prior to Christmas. If I remember to make it next year, I might have to throw in some red and green M&M’s to give it a bit more color and maybe even some coconut flakes.

Sissy’s “Christmas Chrunch”

A bag of white chocolate chips

A bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels/chips

A can of cashews

A bag of skinny stick pretzels (my sister broke hers in half) or small regular shaped pretzels

A bag of white yogurt covered raisins

A bag of dried cranberries

The above amounts are just suggestions. Add as much of each as you want, put in a covered bowl or Ziploc bag and shake well. Store in an airtight container.

See.  Easy peasy!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Oreo (plus a recipe)

By all accounts (and by "all accounts" I mean Yahoo, which, sadly, is where I get much of my news) today is the 100th birthday of the Oreo cookie. As someone who very much enjoys this little cookie- especially with a cold glass of milk - I thought I would pay homage by sharing with you a recipe.

The following was passed along by a friend who made a batch for me as a Christmas gift a couple years ago. Definitely NOT something you would want to eat everyday but OHHHH so good.

OREO BALLS

1 package Oreo cookies

1 package cream cheese

1 package white almond bark

1 tablespoon Crisco shortening

Crush oreo cookies (you can use a mini chopper)

Blend oreos with softened cream cheese until well mixed

Roll into balls

Place in the refrigerator to cool and set approx. 15-20 minutes

Melt almond bark and shortening

Dip rolled balls into chocolate, place on waxed paper and let set.

So simple and sooooo good.

P.S. Did you vote today? I did - even though it took a little longer due to an address conflict. One little mile cost me my place in line.

Recipe via Jan G.

Image via Google

Chocolate Gravy

Every so often I will surprise myself and cook breakfast. We're mostly a cereal and pastery family even on weekends. However, for the past few days I have been thinking it might be nice to get up one morning and make some chocolate gravy.

I remember my mother making it for me from time to time growing up and also having it at my grandparent's. I have to say I was not a huge fan of it as a child. To me, there was something a little wrong in taking a commodity as great as chocolate and putting it on an ol' biscuit.

Like many things from childhood, though, it becomes more well loved as it becomes more nostalgic.

While it's not something we would want to eat (or could eat) every weekend, we like to have it three or four times a year. So, this morning I made my family chocolate gravy. You all know there's no way I could do it any other morning of the week. I'm late to work and church everyday as it is...throw in something like cooking breakfast and I wouldn't be able to show up until noon.

Now, many of you have probably had this kind of gravy before, especially if you were raised in the south. However, if you haven't you should try it one day.

CHOCOLATE GRAVY

1/2 stick of butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1/3 cocoa

2 cups milk

Heat butter in skillet over medium heat.

Add the sugar, flour, & cocoa in a little bowl and whisk to blend.

Then add the dry ingredients to the butter and stir. Will be clumpy.

Slowly, add the milk. Whisk to remove lumps.

Bring to a boil for just a minute, stirring constantly so it won't stick.

Remove from heat and pour over hot, buttered biscuits.

Enjoy!

Have a great weekend, y'all!

image via

because I was too busy eating my breakfast to take pictures of it. ;)

Chicken Taco Soup and My Sister's Name, Her Real One

Did you know that I call my sister Sissy? Well, I do. She’s almost seventeen years older than me, my only sibling, and pretty much my second mother. Her name is Shelia and I guess I couldn’t pronounce it when I was little so I just called her Sissy and it stuck. I don’t know that I have ever called her by her real name. I do know that I misspelled it once on something kinda important. It was the invitations to our parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary celebration (that was over twenty years ago) and I spelled it Sheila. She was not, I repeat, NOT, happy with me. So, when writing her real name on things, I now always go through a little mental routine…SHE, SHE, SHE.

Anyway, this is Sheila’s, Shelia’s, Sissy’s recipe for Chicken Taco Soup. It is what she served on Halloween (a fun night, both parts) and I served this past Saturday night when my Denver Broncos played against the Patriots (a not-so-fun night). Bon appétit!

You will need:
Canned white chicken meat (2 large and 1 small - I just used the Great Value brand at Wal-mart). I guess you could boil a real chicken, but why go to that trouble?
2 cans black beans (drained)
2 cans light red kidney beans (drained)
2 cans yellow, whole kernel corn (drained)
2 cans petite diced tomatoes
1 pack McCormick’s original taco seasoning
1 pack McCormick’s chicken taco seasoning
About 14 oz. of tomato juice (I just poured it from a large bottle into one of my empty diced tomato cans)

Directions:Empty all the ingredients (except for the chicken and the seasoning packs) into a large pot and stir.
Drain the chicken, break the chunks apart, and stir it and both packs of seasonings into a skillet and brown/heat for a few minutes. Once this is done I add it to the rest in the large pot.
If you want it soupier you can add a little more tomato juice or water.
Serve with shredded cheeses and Tostitos scoops. Yummy!

Easy Caramel Pie

I hope you all had a magical Christmas spent with those you love the most. We did and I'll be sure to get some pictures up in a few days. I'm going to take a semi-break from blogging and enjoy just being home and doing a lot of NOTHING! Nothing is relaxing. Nothing is good. Nothing is the life.

Before I head out into Nothingland for a few more days I want to share with you a recipe, one that could come in handy if you are having friends over, or are needing to take something somewhere, for a New Years evening.


Now you may already be familiar with this one but I just thought it was shear genius. It is super, super, let me say it one more time, super easy. Now you all know how I don't like to cook, so if I say something is easy you can take it to the bank.

Courtesy of my sister-n-law (thanks, Paula)...

Crock Pot Caramel Pie

2 cans sweetened condensed milk

(I used Eagle Brand)

1 graham cracker pie crust

tub of Cool Whip

Whatever other toppings you want

(I used Heath toffee bar pieces and mini chocolate chips)

Crock Pot

Directions:

Peel the labels off the cans.

Place the unopened cans in crock pot and cover with water. I filled mine up.

Cook on low. Paula cooked hers 10 hours. I left mine on 11. I read where others have left theirs on as little as 8.

Remove from crock pot. Allow to cool. I left mine to cool on the counter an hour or two.

After cooling, open your cans and remove your wonderful caramel. Whisk in a bowl just a bit and then fill the pie shell.

Refrigerate.

When cold, top with the Cool Whip, etc.

Make sure you get a piece early, as it will quickly disappear.

Tips:

I think I may have cooked mine a little too long. Had I shaved an hour or two off the cooking time it would have set better. The taste was still heavenly.

Place a piece of parchment paper underneath the cans while in the crock pot. They left rust rings. Oh well, it was time for a new crock pot anyway.

If you have or a flirting with diabetes, you may want to steer clear. It is super rich.

I served this pie yesterday when my family gathered at my house for Christmas. Everyone was in awe of how good it was and surprised at how easy it was. I think this is going to be my new go-to dessert item for potluck gatherings.

Photo via

A Few Tasty Recipes for New Year's

This past Tuesday night some of my old teaching buddies came by and visited with my family (minus John-Heath). Nothing like unannounced guests when your house is as turned upside down as mine is post-Christmas. Just kidding, ya'll. This visit was pre-arranged, so there was time to clean.

I had been wanting to have my friends down for some time. It had been a while since we were all together. Now, the best thing about getting together with this group of ladies is that they... can... cook. And I don't. Well, not much anyway. Which is surprising to some because I have a pretty nice kitchen. I digress.

It seems one thing I made was a hit and I've been asked to share the recipe. I can't take much credit, though. I first saw Paula Deen making it on her cooking show the other day and looked it up on her website. Once you pick yourself up off the floor after hearing that I, Tyla, watch cooking shows, you can read on.

I'm also posting a couple other recipes of things I served and my friends brought in case you are needing a last minute idea or two for something to take to your New Year's Eve party.

Tyla's Pecan Clusters

7 oz. marshmallow creme

12 oz. bag of Hershey kisses

2 1/2 c. sugar

5 oz. can evaporated milk

4 tbsp. butter

2 1/2 cups of pecan pieces

Put the creme and the kisses in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Yes, the kisses are a pain to unwrap.

In a heavy saucepan mix the sugar and milk and then add in the butter.

Bring this just to a boil over medium heat.

Reduce heat to med. low and simmer for 8 minutes.

Pour over the creme and kisses and stir until they are melted.

Add the pecans and stir like crazy.

Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto wax paper. Let cool for an hour.

I refrigerate mine and then remove about an hour before serving.

Depending on the size you make your clusters, you can get many from this batch.

I have made two batches so far and this last time I only had about 1/2 c. of pecans to add, so I guess they were more chocolate blobs than pecan clusters.

Check Paula Deen's website for more info. on these.

Aunt Susie C.'s Banana Punch

6 cups of water (make some warm so it will dissolve the sugar)

3 c. sugar

3 c. pineapple juice

2 c. o.j.

the juice of 2 lemons

3-4 overripe bananas (blended smooth in a blender)

ginger ale

Mix all but the ginger ale. Stir well. Freeze in a few plastic bowls. Take out of the freezer 3 hours before serving. You want it to be slushy. Pour your desired amount of ginger ale over.

You can double this recipe and keep some frozen to serve at a later date. That way, you can buy the 64 oz. cans of pineapple juice and o.j. and use it all up (or mostly up).

Aunt Susie has always made this punch for family get-togethers and it is sooo good. This was my first year to try it and I don't think I messed it up too badly. In fact, I thought it was pretty good. But, then again, anything laced with 3 cups of sugar tastes good to me.

My momma's Sausage Balls

3 c. Bisquick (or something similar)

1 lb. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 lb. hot sausage

Mix together and form into small balls about the size of a quarter. Freeze. When ready to serve, pre-heat oven to 325 and bake for 25 minutes or so.

Momma has always made these for Christmas and I love them. She made me a batch for my party the other night (aren't mommas great?) and I still have a bag left over in the freezer. I'll be using them tomorrow night.

Debbie's Corn Dip

16 oz. frozen white corn

3 c. shredded mild cheddar cheese

1 c. mayo

1 jalapeno pepper

2 teaspoons Emeril Southwest seasoning (you can find this at Publix)

Mix and bake at 350 until bubbly (about 20-30 minutes)

Serve with Tostitos Scoops.

I had never had this before but I plan on making it tomorrow night for New Year's. It was awesome!!!

Jean's Favorite Cookies

Bag of semi-sweet chocolate morsels.

Follow the directions on the back but, instead of forming them like cookies, put them in a pan as you would brownies. Then while they are cooking give the pan a good shake so the cookies will fall.

I have had these many times and they are delish!!! There is also a neat story behind the name of the cookies. I'll have to share that with you later, if it's okay with Jean.

Bon Appetit!

In My Family, We Eat Dressing!

A big ol' dish of dressing just waiting to be devoured. This pic is from Thanksgiving 2009 at my house. My sister is hosting it this year.

There are many reasons Thanksgiving ranks high on my list as a favorite holiday. It is true that I love spending time with my family. While it’s not like I don’t get to see them every single week (we attend church together - the whole lot of us) days like Thanksgiving are special. People are more relaxed and less rushed, there are board and card games to be played and football to be watched. And there is dressing to eat!

Dressing. That fabulous side dish to the the turkey. I liken it somewhat to Ed McMahon. Just as The Tonight Show would not have been the same without Johnny’s faithful sidekick, Thanksgiving would not be the same without dressing. In fact, if I could only eat one thing at Thanksgiving and had to choose between turkey or dressing, I’d opt for the carbs.

I know in some parts of the country people call it stuffing. I even read somewhere that the term stuffing is most commonly used in the south and east. I had to disagree with this, at least with the part about the south. I don’t think I have ever heard any born and bred southerner call it stuffing.

I believe they say in the turkey = stuffing, while out of the turkey = dressing.

So, today my mom is busy preparing her dressing mixture. She always makes it the day before so that it can soak up more flavor. It is absolutely delicious. I thought of selling copies of her recipe but, in the spirit of the season, decided to pass it along free of charge. Plus, you only have to Google the word “dressing” and you get about 5 million hits. Enjoy!

Betty’s Corn Bread Dressing

1 or 2 skillets of corn bread, depending on how much you want.
2 or 3 slices of bread.
4 or 5 stalks of celery - chopped

1 or 2 onions - chopped
dash of salt and pepper
about a teaspoon of sage and poultry seasoning
2 eggs well beaten
1 box of Stovetop Stuffing Dressing mix
Crumble corn bread and loaf bread.
Add all the other ingredients.
Put in covered container and refrigerate.
When ready to cook, add enough broth from the turkey to make the mixture somewhat soupy.
Bake in oven for an hour or a little longer.

Decoration (plus a recipe)

New Hope Cemetery - the 1969 on the arch refers, I think, to when the gate was built. The cemetery itself was around long before then. The white table-like structure just inside the gate is the pulpit from which some outdoor sermons have been preached. Don't you just love the oak tree?

My grandparents.

Yesterday was decoration at the cemetery in which my mother’s father and his wife - Pa Vernon and Mama Beatrice - are buried. In case you are not from the south, “decoration“ is the day set aside each year at a particular cemetery when family members of folks buried there come out to adorn the graves with fresh flowers and spend time visiting with others who have come out to do the same. And usually on these days there is a meal.

Now some decorations include dinner on the ground, in which there is a potluck meal served on the grounds of the cemetery. This is not to say that the food is actually placed on the ground. Usually there are folding tables and chairs. My brother-n-law thinks this is waayyy too creepy and refuses to participate in such meals held at cemeteries. He’s a New Yorker by birth, so we'll forgive him this stubborness.

My mother’s family traditionally gets together at someone’s house for just such a meal after church. These past several years it has been held at my Aunt Carol’s. She recently remodeled and has a very nice garage and sun room in which to set up tables. In fact, her garage seems nicer than some of the rooms in my house.

Everyone brings a little something to contribute to the meal. But most of the cooking (the good cooking, at least) is done by the ladies from the more, umm how should I say this, mature generation. Someone remarked yesterday that when these ladies are gone our meal will most likely consist of Kentucky Fried Chicken and side dishes from some deli. And, it’s sad to say, this is probably true. Does anyone from my generation cook like my mom’s generation? I know I don’t.

It was a yummy meal and I know I was not the only one who was stuffed to the point of being miserable. We had turkey and dressing, ham, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, pinto beans, green beans, corn, deviled eggs, and about 13 different casseroles. Then to top it all off there was chocolate pie, coconut cake, banana pudding, fudge pie, pecan pie, and ice cream. We were taking bets on who would fall into a diabetic shock afterwards.

I think I might try to start compiling some of my mom’s, sister’s, and aunts’ recipes one here. I guess I should start with what I took to yesterday’s lunch. This is a little recipe that my sister gave me a long time ago. It’s super easy and is a nice dessert alternative for those who want something a little less rich than chocolate pies or oooey gooey caramel brownies.

Easy Fruit Salad

You will need:

2 29 oz. cans light fruit cocktail
1 15 oz. can mandarin oranges
Apples (red and green)
Bananas
Fresh grapes, if desired
Instant vanilla pudding
Chopped walnuts, if desired


Cut up apples (leaving the skins on). Peel and slice the bananas. Dip the apples and bananas in lemon juice to keep them from turning brown.

In a large bowl, mix the fruit cocktail with the DRAINED can of mandarin oranges. Sprinkle on as much of the instant vanilla pudding as you need to make it the consistency you prefer (If you want it really thick and “puddiny” you will want to add a lot. My family doesn’t like it that way so I add just a light coating of the pudding mix). Stir.

Add the desired amount of apples and bananas to the mix.

Chill.

Just before serving sprinkle on a few chopped walnuts.

From this...

...to this in less than 15 minutes.

P.S. Don't forget...we'll be having a little giveaway on our 100th post. Be sure to stop back by. Just so you'll know today's post is #97.