Visiting Teaching

I love how visiting teaching has changed with technology. I don't have to make any phone calls anymore! I contact my companion and our sisters by e-mail then report to the supervisor by the same means.

My current route is very easy. My companion and our three sisters are all well-established, active members. We are all similar in age and/or situation. My companion and I like to do things a little differently. Instead of going to each individual's home we take turns hosting a lunch or brunch in our own homes. It's been fun trying new recipes and using recipes I don't get to use very often.

I usually make an egg dish, some kind of coffee cake or breakfast bread and something with fruit. Yesterday I prepared a breakfast burrito bar. I loaded up my Tupperware veggie tray with three different kinds of meat--sausage, bacon and ham, cheese, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed onions and green peppers, salsa and sour cream. The scrambled eggs and tortillas were served on the side. I had a fruit platter and a blueberry coffee cake which was a new recipe but very good.

We always have a very good time and the kids get to play together so that means the adults get a moment to chat.

Mini Ham Puffs

A few months ago I had a Pampered Chef show and this is what we served. I have made them a few times since for various reasons. They are very good.

Mini Ham Puffs

1 pkg (2.5 oz) processed ham or smoked turkey, finely chopped
2 Tbs finely chopped onion
1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Swiss or cheddar cheese
1 egg
1 Tbs snipped fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1 pkg refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray mini muffin pat with vegetable oil. Finely chop ham and onion. Place in mixing bowl. Add cheese, egg, parsley, mustard and black pepper; mix well.
Unroll crescent dough and press into one large rectangle. Cut dough into 24 squares using a pizza cutter. Press one square of dough into each muffin cup.
Fill each muffin cup with a scant tablespoon of ham mixture. Bake 12-14 minutes or until puffs are light golden brown. Remove from pan; serve immediately.
Yield: 24 appetizers.

Dirty Days

Pumpkin Apple Streusel Muffins: That was my latest great find. Crispy sweetness on the outside, tender and moist on the inside. The flavor of fall.
The weather has been really nice lately. We have finally cooled off to the 80s! I took the kids outside to play. My neighbor is having some landscaping done around her yard. The workers dumped a big pile of dirt in the cul-de-sac. Tristan spotted it first. I tried to deter the kids but then one of the workers suggested they go get their buckets and shovels.
Both kids had a blast but they were covered from head to toe with dark brown dirt. It was fun to see them play in it. I didn't even mind so much when Tristan ate a few handfuls of dirt. He seemed happy. If it wasn't for our dinner meeting with Daddy it would have been even more fun. I had to take them in the house and give them a bath before taking them to the hospital so we could have dinner as a family.

The Cooking Club

I went through a cookbook-collecting phase when we lived in Denver. It started with one of those mail-order things where you get so many cookbooks for $1 then have to buy so many at regular price. Then a lady at church cleaned out her cookbooks and gave me some very good books. It kind of snowballed from there. I have kept most of them.
About this same time I had an idea to start a cooking club. My friend, Liz, helped me get it going. We invited some of our friends and we met once a month or so. We always had a theme and a little lesson with several dishes to taste at the end. We took turns hosting, teaching and providing the food. Now that I think about it it kind of sounds a bit silly but we had so much fun! When you combine women, food and conversation you can't go wrong.
Some of the themes I remember are fondue, picnics, bread and eggs. I also remember having a little demo on napkin folding. I still have a lot of our handouts and refer to them from time to time. I really did learn a lot.

This recipe is one of my favorite desserts. I like Oreo desserts. This is not related to the cooking club but I thought I would include it because I was talking to my mom about it the other day.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecake
2 cups (24) crushed Oreo cookies
6 Tbs butter, melted
Combine crumbs and margarine, press onto bottom and 1 1/2 inches up sides of spring form pan
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 1/4 cups (10) chopped Oreo cookies
Soften gelatin in water; stir over low heat until dissolved. Combine cream cheese and sugar, mixing at medium speed until well blended. Gradually add gelatin, and milk, mixing until blended. Chill until slightly thickened but not set; fold in whipped cream. Reserve 1 1/2 cups cream cheese mixture; pour remaining cream cheese mixture over crust. Top with chopped cookies and reserved cream cheese mixture. Chill until firm.

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

I claim to be on a quest for the best chocolate chip recipe. When I find it I will let you know. So far I have at least three "favorite" chocolate chip cookie recipes. One is just a plain ol' chocolate chip cookie which uses half butter, half shortening. I also like the recipe that uses the ground-up oatmeal that has falsely been accused of being a clone of the Mrs. Field's and Nieman Marcus recipes. When I'm in a really chocolate mood I opt for the Double Trouble recipe that my sister gave me. It's a chocolate cookie with chocolate chips and sometimes I add the Andes mint chips for a little surprise. I would add another recipe of my sister's, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, which are really yummy but since Kennedy has a peanut allergy I choose not to make those. They really are good though.
I tried a new one today called "Mississippi Mud Cookies" that really were good. They might be on my list depending how they taste tomorrow. It has all the right ingredients: chocolate dough, milk chocolate chips, pecans and toasted marshmallows. I was surprised at how much the recipe really takes on the flavor of the traditional Mississippi Mud cake. I found the recipe in my August issue of Southern Living, which has been my favorite magazine for some time.
Go ahead, try them and see what you think.

Spa Night

Last night was my first big Enrichment Meeting. I only have three people on my committee so there was a lot of planning on my part. We had a "Spa" night. Our spiritual message was on "loving who you are". We asked someone who is leaving the ward this summer to do that and she did a great job.

When we fist started planning we had too many things planned for the night so we decided to double up on the classes and have two being taught at the same time, different rooms. We had four classes, skin care, color analysis, women's health issues--stress management, and hair tips. We wanted to have an exercise class and manicures for the end but that didn't work out. In then end, one of our speakers cancelled last minute. We ended up all staying in the Relief Society room for all of the speakers.

I was surprised at the number of people we had. I didn't count but I bet we had between 30-40 which is good for our ward. Our activities have not been that well attended. All the speakers we had lined up did an excellent job. Everyone listening seemed really interested too.

We topped the night off with chocolate fondue and dippers. Yum!

Recipe Naming Contest

About 3 1/2 years ago we were visiting Chris's aunt in Bountiful when she served this yummy dish. There is no name for it and really no recipe. I even searched the Internet trying to pin down some specific measurements but came up with nothing. I don't even have a name for it. So, any suggestions?

Meat:
1 pork butt/shoulder roast
Coke (about 1 cup)
Ketchup (about 1 cup)
Brown Sugar (about 1/2 cup)
Combine and cook all day in slow cooker or crock pot--I put it in the night before and had it for a luncheon the next day.
Remove pork and shred. Mix in some of the reserved liquid and add more ketchup and brown sugar to taste. Heat in slow cooker/crock pot.

Serve on tortillas with rice, black beans, sour cream, Monterrey cheese, salsa, corn, etc.

As a side dish I served Minted Pineapple:
1 fresh pineapple, cut into bite-size chunks or slices
4 Tbs sugar
8 mint leaves

Combine sugar and mint in food processor or blender and mix until mint is chopped into tiny pieces. Sprinkle over fresh pineapple chunks.

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!
We had a nice day today. This morning we snuggled in bed with the kids for a few minutes before going downstairs. We let Tristan play on the floor while we read the Easter story to Kennedy. She loves reading about Jesus on the cross and about his resurrection.
My kids were spoiled by the Easter Bunny. When my mom was here a few weeks ago she bought the kids some things from the Gap and Pottery Barn Kids. By the time we supplemented it almost looked like Christmas. We got Kennedy a little CD player and some audio story books. That was a big hit. She has been listening to it all day. Kennedy said she looked like Sleeping Beauty (with brown hair of course) in her pink dress.
When I was a kid it seemed like Easter was always cold. The Easter Bunny always brought a cute shorts set and a nice spring dress but it was usually a little crisp still. Since moving to NC that has not been the case, until this year. Last Saturday was beautiful when I took Kennedy to an egg hunt. The first part of this week we had beautiful weather with the temperature in the 80s. On Thursday we had a swift change and it feels like winter again. However, I couldn't bring myself to dress my kids in anything but their Easter attire today.
We had our friend Nathan over for dinner. His wife and kids were out of town. We had grilled basil shrimp, orange rolls, lemon rice, salad and raspberry cake. If our friend wouldn't have come we would have leftovers.

Three Reasons to Blog

This is one of the reasons that I wanted to start a blog. I wanted to record my quilting experiences. I have a quilt journal but it's all filled up. This way other people can see what I have been working on.
I love to quilt. It has been a journey for me but I am comfortable now doing larger projects. I started out making small wall quilts. On occasion I would attempt a baby quilt. The first baby quilt I made took me three years to complete. It was a scrappy quilt, no two blocks alike and I hand quilted it which took me a really long time. I would get tired of it and put it away for several months. I finally finished it and there was no way I would let it go to anyone else. I'll have to admit, I haven't even used it for myself. It's beautiful but it's in my hope chest.
This quilt was made out of Moda fabrics from the line "Faded Memories". My friends found them on sale at a local quilt store but the sale was a 1-yard minimum cut so four of us pitched in a bought the whole line and each had a fat quarter of each of the prints. It's a very pretty line of fabrics.
The pattern is called "Twin Sisters". The pattern looked fun to me so I thought I would give it a try. I really enjoyed making this quilt. I even machine quilted it myself. I haven't decided who will get it. I might just hold on to it for a while.

This is the second reason I wanted to start a blog. My kids are growing and changing so fast I wanted a way that I could keep their grandparents updated.

Today I was on a walk with the kids in a stroller. Kennedy, aka Sweet Pea, asked me to let go of the stroller and push them into the busy street. I tried to explain to her that that was dangerous. "Why?" is always the next question. I explained to her that a car might not see them and run them over. "Then what would you say, Mommy?" I explained that I would be sad and that I don't like to see my babies hurt. Here's the kicker--"Then you wouldn't have a "P" and a "Q" anymore?" Then she pointed to Tristan and smiled and said that he was a cute little "Q".

Here is the third reason I wanted to have a blog: Recipes! I love sharing recipes and finding new recipes. This one is my sister's recipe and it is really good. Today I substituted the chocolate chips for Andes Mint Baking Chips. The cookies were heavenly!

Double Trouble Cookies

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups chocolate chips or Andes Mint Baking Pieces

Cream together the butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla until fluffy. Add the dry ingredients and beat on a low speed. Add the chocolate chips. Drop by tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until set.

Note: For high altitude, cut the baking soda to 1/2 tsp. and add 1 Tbs. flour.

This 'n That

I have been so lazy about blogging lately. I often think of something to write about but when I get a moment to myself there are so many things I want to do.
One of the reasons I feel like I have not had much time is because Kennedy has given up naps. Or, rather, I have stopped offering them. It has been so difficult, with her taking a nap, to get her to go to sleep at night. This is much sooner than I thought she would be ready but her night sleep has improved so much and she doesn't make a fuss when I put her to bed at 7:30. Now if I could just figure out what I could offer for quiet time that would keep her quiet and entertained for an hour!
We had the missionaries over for dinner Sunday. They are always so complementary on my meals. They are good guinea pigs too. I usually try a new recipe when they come over because I don't feel too embarrassed if it doesn't turn out ok. Here is a recipe I tried:

Sweet Raspberry Muffins

2 cups biscuit/baking mix
2 Tbs sugar
1/4 cup cold butter or margarine
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup raspberry jam
Glaze:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tsp warm water
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine biscuit mix and sugar. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk just until moistened (batter will be thick). Spoon about 1 tablespoon of batter into 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Top with 1 teaspoon jam. Spoon the remaining batter (about 1 tablespoon each) over jam. Bake at 425 degrees for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool in pans for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients until smooth. Remove muffins to a wire rack. Drizzle with glaze.

Pie Time

I come from a family of pie-makers. I consider my mom an expert pie maker. I especially love her apple pie and her strawberry rhubarb pie and her made-from-scratch banana cream pie, and. . . . . I could go on. My sister is also a great pie maker. She won a pie contest when she was just in high school. She still makes great pie. I, however, have not inherited the pie gene. I like to try on occasion but never really succeed. I guess I just don't practice enough.
Tonight is our ward's chili and pie cook off. Chris signed me up for both pie and chili. I went for a single-crust pie "Coconut-Caramel Pie" (recipe follows) which is a really good dessert. I usually cheat and bake a pre-made Pillsbury crust. I decided to try my mom's pie crust recipe this time. . . . . Nope, I'm still not a pie maker! I always follow the recipe but it turns out to be a gloppy mess. I baked it anyway and it will just have to do. This may ruin my reputation!
I hope the chili turns out better.

Coconut-Caramel Pie

2 Baked Pie Shells
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 8-oz pkg cream cheese, softened
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 16-oz carton Cool Whip
1 12-oz jar caramel ice cream topping

In a large skillet, melt butter; stir in coconut and pecans. Cook and stir over medium heat until coconut is golden, about 6-8 minutes. Cool.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer until smooth; gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk on low speed. Fold in Cool Whip. Spoon 1/4 mixture into each pie shell. Drizzle each with about 1/4 of the caramel topping (I never use quite that much) and sprinkle with 1/4 of the coconut mixture. Repeat layers.
Cover and freeze at least 5 hours. Serve or freeze, covered, for up to 2 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 20 servings (2 pies).

More Recipes

I'm not sure how many people see my recipes and try them but I have most of them typed up anyway and I figure I might as well put them out there. I love finding a good recipe and I find that I have a few sources I can trust, some are cookbooks and magazines and some are people I know. Here are a few that we use a lot. The bar recipe is one that we have used in my family for a long time and there are a few variations on it but I really like this one.

Supreme Beef Casserole
From Recipe Hall of Fame Cookbook
1 pound ground beef
1 16-oz can tomatoes
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 garlic buds, crushed (or garlic salt)
1 5-oz pkg egg noodles
1 3-oz pkg cream cheese
1 8- oz container sour cream
6 green onions, chopped
1 cup grated cheese
Brown and crumble beef in frying pan. Break up tomatoes and add to beef with tomato sauce, salt, sugar and garlic. Simmer 20-25 minutes. Cook noodles and drain. Mix noodles with sour cream, cream cheese and chopped onions (it’s easier to have the cream cheese and sour cream already mixed up before adding the noodles). Grease a 3-quart casserole dish. Put a small amount of meat sauce, layer of noodles, and grated cheese. Repeat and top with meat sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. May be frozen and reheated to serve. Serves 6-8.

Oatmeal Fudge Bars (aka Fudge Jumbles)
1 cup margarine
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 12-oz pkg semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup margarine
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13x2-inch baking pan. Set aside. In a large mixer bowl cream margarine and brown sugar; add eggs and vanilla. In a small bowl sift flour, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture. Mix in oats. In heavy saucepan mix sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips and margarine and heat until just melted. Stir in vanilla and nuts, if desired.
Spread two-thirds of the dough into prepared baking pan. Spread with chocolate mixture. Drop remaining one-third of the dough on top by spoonfuls (I find it easier to kind of flatten the blobs with my palms so they cover more area). Bake for 25 minutes. Cool, then cut into bars.

My Valentine

I have always disliked Valentine's Day. It's probably because I never had a boyfriend on that particular day and I was jealous of those who did. My best Valentine's Day was when I was engaged to Chris. We had a romantic evening listening to a piano quartet at BYU and then eating chocolate something-or-other. Over the years I have become less and less romantic. I still don't care for the day. This year we didn't exchange any gifts. How boring is that? I did bake some cookies and take them around to the neighbors. I did that for Kennedy's benefit. I want her to learn to be compassionate and loving. She had fun delivering her Valentines. These are the recipes I used. The sugar cookie recipe comes from my Mom. It's the best because the cookies are soft. Oh, and I do love my husband very much. I don't need a holiday for an excuse to tell him I love him.

OLD FASHIONED SUGAR COOKIES
Sift together:
3 ¼ cups sifted flour
1 tsp. soda
½ tsp. salt
½ cup butter or shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat for 2 minutes. Add ½ cup sour cream. Add flour mixture. Beat 1-½ minutes. Roll out on floured surface to ½ inch thickness. Cut with your favorite cookie cutter. Place on greased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-9 minutes. Do not over-bake. Cool. Spread with your favorite frosting.
My favorite frosting is a tub of Betty Crocker cherry flavored frosting. Add just a tiny bit of powdered sugar to thicken. Yum yum!

ALMOND KISS COOKIES
½ cup butter, softened (no substitutes)
½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. almond extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
Additional sugar
40 milk chocolate kisses with almonds
Glaze
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 Tbs. milk
4 tsp. raspberry jam
¼ tsp. almond extract
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars. Beat in egg and extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Cover and chill for 1 hour or until easy to handle.
Roll dough into 1" balls, then roll in additional sugar. Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 325 for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately press a chocolate kiss into the center of each cookie. Cool on wire racks. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cookies.

Mexican Beef Pile-Ups

I tried this new recipe today. Probably everyone already has it but I will post it anyway. It's kind of like a Mexican version of Hawaiian Haystacks. It made a lot of meat sauce so I put half in the freezer to use another time.

Mexican Beef Pile-Ups

3 pounds ground beef
3 cups water
1 16-oz can refried beans
1 package enchilada mix
1 14-oz can enchilada sauce
2 6-oz cans tomato paste

Cook ground beef and drain fat. Add rest of ingredients ans simmer for 2-3 hours on top of stove or in oven at 300 degrees. (I put it in a crock pot and cooked for about 5 hours.)

Pile up your meal in this order:
white rice
corn chips
meat mixture
Cheddar cheese, grated
green onions, chopped
olives, sliced
tomatoes, diced
avocados, chopped
lettuce, shredded
sour cream
salsa

Thank Goodness for Pancakes

There are days when 5:00 comes and I just don't have the brainpower to follow a recipe. That's when I whip up a batch of pancakes for dinner. That's what happened yesterday. . . .
It all started when we woke up to snow. That's right, snow! The last time it snowed here my three-year-old daughter was 15 months old. She has never seen snow that she can remember. It wasn't much snow, just what I call a skiff. In North Carolina snow takes precedence over everything. All the schools cancelled for the day and the local news trumped Good Morning America and all the other morning news programs. I'm not afraid so I got the kids ready to leave a little earlier for Tristan's 9:00 office visit. Hardly anyone was out. I thought I would get to the doctor's office early, Tristan would be seen early and we would go home early so I could give him a quick nap before we had to go to the realtor's office in Chapel Hill. Wrong!
When I arrived at Duke Peds they had no record of Tristan's appointment. I knew they gave me a paper the last time I went in for his six-month visit because that's what I was waiting for when the Stranger Discipline incident happened. The clerk told me to sit down and wait and maybe someone would cancel because of the snow. I sat down and let the kids play and all of a sudden the waiting area got really busy. I kept waiting and finally the clerk told me we weren't going to get in this morning and we should schedule for next week.
I scheduled the appointment and it was just late enough that by the time I got home I would have had to drive back that way to go to Chapel Hill where I needed to drop off the earnest money check and sign the contract at the realtor's office. I was already half way there so I just went to the realtor's office hoping he would be there.
When I arrived there were two cars in the parking lot and neither were his. By this time Tristan had fallen asleep in the car and Kennedy had her shoes and socks off. I locked them in the car and went inside really quick just to see if he was there. The nice lady at the front desk told me he wasn't and tried to reach him. No luck.
I turned back around and took the kids home. I was not having a very productive afternoon. A while later the realtor called and agreed to bring the contract to my house at noon. I hung up the phone and started cleaning up my house. I had another realtor coming in the afternoon to talk about selling my house so I wanted it to look nice.
The rest of the afternoon went a little better. It was just busy. Both realtors came, at different times of course, and did what they came to do. I was a little shocked by the 6%-of-the-selling-price fee that the realtor charges and couldn't wrap my brain around it. By this time it was time to start thinking about dinner. I was fried so I made pancakes because I have made them at least a hundred times and know the recipe by heart.

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 1/4 cups flour ( I like to use a white/wheat mix)
1/4 cup sugar
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
1/4 cup oil
1 egg
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Put all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Scrape down sides if necessary and blend again.
Cook on hot griddle and drizzle with warm syrup.

After I fed the kids and had a bite to eat it was time to take Kennedy to Little Gym. Just as she was putting on her shoes Chris got home. Just in time to watch Tristan.
After Little Gym our neighbor came over to babysit while Chris and I went to the Stake Center to meet with the president. After a lot of chit chat and some awkward questions my worst thoughts were confirmed. "We would like to extend a calling to you, Brother Kelsey, to be the new Elder's Quorum President." So here we go! More stress, more blessings, more opportunities to serve.

Recipes

Here are two of my favorite recipes. Texas-Style Enchilada Casserole and Curry Chicken. The curry recipe is something my grandma used to make. She used chicken pieces but I like to use cooked and cubed chicken. Tristan had three helpings of it tonight.

The Enchilada Casserole is so easy to make and tastes really good. My friend makes the same recipe using chicken. I have only tried it with ground beef.

CURRY CHICKEN
2 Tbs. butter
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 apple, shredded
1 cup evaporated milk
1 onion, chopped
salt
paprika
2 tsp. curry
3-4 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
Sauté curry, apple and onion in butter until onion is clear. Add soup, milk, salt and paprika. Put chicken in shallow baking dish. Pour sauce over chicken. Bake 20 - 30 minutes at 350. Serve over cooked rice.

Christmas Dinner

It's no secret that I like to cook. I wanted to have a nice Christmas dinner but didn't want to cook just for our little family so Friday at work Chris asked one of his co-workers to join us. He would be coming alone. Sunday when we went to church I saw one of the sisters that I visit teach. I didn't think she was going to be here for Christmas so I asked her if she and her family would like to join us. They have two children about Kennedy and Tristan's ages. Both she and her husband are doctors so everyone had plenty in common and the conversation never lagged.
Here is the menu for our dinner:
Orange Almond Punch
Honey-glazed Ham
Sweet Potato Casserole
Scalloped Pineapple
Bermuda Poppy Seed Salad
Lion House Rolls
Chocolate Christmas Mousse
The meal went well. Tristan was kind of fussy. I think he was tired. I put him to bed while we were eating dessert. After that all the kids started to melt down so our guests started to leave. It was nice to have someone in our home for Christmas dinner. When we don't have family around we like to invite friends.
Here is my recipe for, what I think, is the best Sweet Potato Casserole:

Rub 3 large sweet potatoes with Crisco, pierce, wrap in foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 350 degrees. Remove skins and mash.

Sweet Potato Casserole:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup milk
1 cup sugar
With a mixer, mix sweet potatoes and butter until well combined. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well. Add milk and sugar and blend until smooth. Pour into 9x13 casserole dish. Top with pecan topping.

Pecan Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup self rising flour*
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup melted butter
Sprinkle over top of sweet potato mixture and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

*To make self rising flour combine 1 cup flour, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt. Only use 1/3 cup for recipe and save the rest for another use.

This is a true Southern recipe. It is a little gem I have picked up while living here in the South!

Cookies

I love to bake, especially cookies. Most of the time I make some kind of chocolate chip recipe since that is Chris's favorite. I try to have cookies it the freezer for him to take to work for lunch. Sometimes I have occasion to make a different kind though.
Last Saturday I hosted a cookie exchange at my house. The first time I had heard of a cookie exchange was when I lived in Denver. My friend Liz talked me into hosting one there. It was a lot of fun. The idea is that the guests bring a certain amount of cookies and leave with many different kind. I like to put them on plates or in bags and take them to neighbors and friends who weren't at the party.

This year I had seven friends show up to exchange goodies. All the cookies were homemade and there many wonderful kinds. We had chocolate-dipped shortbread, carrot cake cookies, chocolate mint, meltaways, soft gingersnaps, pumpkin chocolate chip, mock turtle cookies, and eggnog cookies. I made the eggnog cookies. The recipe is from the Chinaberry Cookbook. We had peach nectar punch and crackers and a cream cream cheese kind of dip for an appetizer and creamy chicken noodle soup, minestrone and rolls for lunch. We ate on my China and talked about our kids, Christmas traditions, and baking. It was a lovely party. I am really glad my friends made the effort to come. It's a busy time of year but it's nice to just come and relax for a few hours and do something for ourselves.

Here is the recipe for the Eggnog Cookies:
Eggnog Cookies
1 cup soft butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp rum extract
2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
Rum Frosting
Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add extracts, then egg and mix well. Combine flour, nutmeg and salt and gradually add to the butter mixture, blending well. Chill at least one hour. Allowing about 1 Tbs of dough for each cookie, shape into balls and bake 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 12-15 minutes. Cookies should not be browned. Cool before frosting with Rum Frosting.
Rum Frosting:
1/4 cup soft butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2-3 Tbs milk
1 tsp rum extract
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Cream butter, add extracts and mix well. Add sugar gradually, then add milk and mix to spreading consistency.

I like these cookies because they have a nice flavor but not overpowering. Enjoy!