8th DAY OF CHRISTMAS -Spaghetti Casserole

QUICK AND EASY TRY THIS ONE TONIGHT

Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredient:
1 pound pk. spaghetti
2  pound lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (16 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 10 -15 minutes or until al dente; drain and reserve.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
In a large skillet, brown ground beef until no longer pink; drain reserving 1 tablespoon of drippings in pan. Set beef aside. In skillet saute onion, green bell pepper and garlic until just soft. Combine browned beef, spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes , oregano, salt and pepper with onion mixture; mix well.
Mix together spaghetti and meat mixture, pour into 9 x 13 pan. Top with cheese and bake for 30 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

DAY 7 OF CHRISTMAS (Meatball Stew)

This is a  quick and easy dinner idea.

Crock pot Meatball Stew

Ingredients
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound fresh baby carrots, quartered
1 onion, chopped
3 celery ribs, sliced
1 package (12 ounces) frozen fully cooked meatballs
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) beef gravy
1 cup water
1 envelope onion soup mix


Directions
Place the potatoes, carrots, onion, celery and meatballs in
a 5-qt. Crock pot. In a bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.
Pour over meatball mixture. Cover and cook on low for 9-10 hours
or until the vegetables are crisp-tender. Yield: 6 servingsStew

DAY 6 1-2-3-4 POUND CAKE

The pound cake, most known as a rich cake, originally contained a pound of each of the main ingredients, including flour, sugar, and butter. That’s where the pound cake gets its name.
When I was a young girl, my grandmother didn't have a mixer she would beat this cake by hand and folded the dry ingredients in a little at a time before baking. She said it needed 300 strokes so we used to count as she mixed. She would bake it during the week for Sunday dinner,also she would bake one for my dad's Friday Night Fish Fry.

1-2-3-4  POUND CAKE   

Ingredients:

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sugar
3 cups flour sifted (to day we use Swans Down Cake Flour)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon bourbon
1 teaspoon orange zest, grated
1 - 2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate, thawed


Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat on medium speed 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add flour mixture alternately with milk and flavorings, creaming by hand until smooth after each addition. Spread batter into prepared 10-inch bundt pan. Bake until tester inserted into cake comes out clean, about 1 hour and 25 minutes. Cool in pan 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on rack.
Glaze with OLD-FASHIONED BOURBON GLAZE: Combine sugar, bourbon, zest and enough orange juice to make a thin glaze. Drizzle onto cake.

DAY 5 - SWEET POTATO PIE

SWEET POTATO PIE

Ingredients:
3 - Frozen Unbaked 8” Or 9” Single Crust Pie Shells
4 - Pounds Uncooked And Unpeeled Sweet Potatoes
1/2 - Cup (1 Stick) Butter
2 - Cups Sugar
3 - Large Eggs
2 - Cups *Evaporated Milk
1 - Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 - teaspoon Salt
1/2 - teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation:
Boil the potatoes until tender. When you stick a
fork in them it should go in easy but you don't
want them to fall apart. Let the potatoes cool and then peel them.
Blend your sweet potatoes in a large mixing bowl with a blender to**remove strings,
repeat this three our four until you have remove just about all the strings
Next cream the softened butter with sugars. Add to the blended sweet potatoes
and continue to mix while adding the eggs one at a time. Add your milk,
vanilla extract, cinnamon and salt and mix thoroughly.
Finally, pour mixture evenly into your three frozen unbaked pie shells. Bake for
1 hour and 30 minutes at 350 degrees on your center oven rake.

Tip:
I double the recipe and bake two pies at a time.
* DO NOT use sweet condensed milk
**Beat the potatoes with an electric mixer on "medium" for one to two minutes remove the beater blades wash off all the string  with tap water, repeat this step five to ten times until  all the  strings are gone.

Christmas is in the air

 WOW!! it's the 4th day of Christmas already so let get cookin'

 We all are so busy, this time of the year I would like to share some of my HOLIDAY recipes and a few one-pot  meals, crockpot  and casseroles for your last minute dinner ideas.
I wanted to create a countdown to Christmas in a creative crafty way, I decided to create a handmade Advent Calendar filled with 24 recipes ideas that are quick, easy and fast to prepare, along with a few of my family favorite Holiday goodies.

Do you make an Advent Calendar or have a special way your family celebrates the countdown to Christmas?
 I would love to hear your ideas! Here are the instruction of an Advent Calendar ideas I used to create my 2011 countdown to Christmas.


I saw this cute homemade advent on the web freebies for mom.
Homemade Advent Calendar

Supplies needed:

A large circle punch (in scrapbook supplies at craft store) or a jar or glass for tracing
Tape
Scrapbook or festive holiday gift wrap
Ribbon
Marker
2 Muffin Tins
A picture frame stand or a place to prop your finished tins
I began this project by punching out 48 circles. On half of these write the numbers 1-24 and on the other half you can write fun activities to do with your children in anticipation of the big day.
Break out your trusty calendar and jot down the activities for each day to remind yourself what you need to plan for and what supplies will need to be purchased to accomplish the activities.