Christmas Breakfast Special

6-8 slices white bread, buttered both sides with crust trimmed off
1 pkg. bulk sausage or 2 cups cubed ham
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
8 eggs
2/3 cups milk
salt & pepper

Line 9x13 pan with buttered bread slices, trim crusts first. Fry sausage, drain, cool, and sprinkle over bread. Spread shredded cheese over all. Sprinkle lightly with salt & pepper. Beat eggs with milk and pour over mixture in pan. Refrigerate over night. In the morning, set it out for 30 minutes on the counter to warm up a bit. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

*I make this every year for breakfast Christmas morning, just like my Mom did for me as a little girl. It's yummy and so easy.

Double Layer Pumpkin Pie

Scott practically begs me to make this every holiday season. This is super easy and delicious!

4 oz. (1/2 of 8 oz pkg.) Cream Cheese, softened

1 tbsp milk

1 tbsp sugar

1 tub (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed

1 Graham Cracker pie crust

1 cup milk

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin

2 pkg Jell-o vanilla flavor instant pudding

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

MIX cream cheese, 1 tbsp milk and the sugar in large bowl with wire whisk until well blended. Gently stir in half of the whipped topping. Spread onto bottom of crust.

POUR 1 cup milk into large bowl. Add pumpkin, dry pudding mixes and spices. Beat with wire whisk 2minutes or until well blended. (Mixture will be thick) Spread over cream cheese layer.

REFRIGERATE 4 hours or until set. Top with remaining whipped topping just before serving. Store leftover pie in fridge.

Delicious Chicken Pot Pie

I don't have a picture of this pot pie, but it sure is the best I've ever made. And I've tried out quite a few in my cooking days... I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup potato, diced small
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced celery (I use 1 cup green beans instead)
1 cup chopped carrot
1/3 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup half and half (if I don't have it, I use regular milk- still works out fine)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 store bought puff pastry sheet

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Saute onion, celery, carrots and potatoes in butter for 10 minutes
3. Add flour to sauteed mixture, stirring well. Cook one minute stirring constantly.
4. Combine broth and half and half
5. Gradually stir into vegetable mixture.
6. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly.
7. Stir in salt and pepper, add chicken and stir well.
8. Pour into a shallow 2 quart casserole dish and top with rolled out puff pastry sheet.
9.Cut slits to allow steam to escape.
10. Bake for 40-50 min or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly and cooked through.

It's a perfect comfort food!! Enjoy!

Holiday Pretzel Treats

Ingredients:

• Bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels
• Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug

• M&M's candy

Instructions:

1. Heat the oven to 170F. Set a number of bite-size, waffle-shaped pretzels (one for each treat) in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, then top each pretzel with an unwrapped Hershey's Kiss or Hershey's Hug.

2. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes (the white chocolate will melt more quickly), until the chocolates feel soft when touched with a wooden spoon. Remove the cookie sheet from the oven and quickly press an M&M's candy into the center of each Kiss.

3. Allow the treats to cool for a few minutes, then place them in the refrigerator to set, about 10 minutes. Place handfuls of the candies in clear plastic bags and tie on colorful ribbons.

Kelly Ellis' Oatmeal Cookies

You'll never use another oatmeal cookie recipe again!

3/4 C shortening
1 C brown sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 C water
1 tsp. vanilla
Beat above ingredients together until creamy.

Add:
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Blend well.

Add 4 C old fashioned oats (uncooked)
Blend well.
Add nuts, raisins, etc. if desired (my favorite is chopped walnuts)

Bake @ 350 for 10-12 minutes. Avoid overcooking.

Easy Chicken Salad

** So yummy and super easy. I love to eat mine with crackers!

1 (9 oz) c. chicken
6-8 oz vanilla yogurt (Dannon light and fit brand is the one you want to get)
3-4 oz mayo
cherry flavored craisins
Mild cheddar cheese
fresh or dried parsley
1/8 tsp. garlic salt (optional)

In bowl, break up chicken and add half the yogurt. If you buy a small container of yogurt, just spoon out half of it. (3-4 oz) Add an equal amount of mayo as yogurt. The mixture will be a little soupy. Put in a handful of cheddar cheese, craisins and parsley. It is best if you can put it in the fridge for an hour be fore serving.

Note: if you have left over chicken salad that you want to eat the next day, you may want to add some more yogurt, craisins, or cheese to freshen it up. Great served on crackers or croissants.

Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup

** This is the best chicken noodle soup I have ever had! Seriously... you need to try it!

1 cooked roasted chicken, diced (just the rotisserie chicken you can get)
1 can evaporated milk
1 can cream of mushroom soup
8 c. chicken broth
1 bag large egg noodles
1 heaping tbsp Herbs de Provence spice ( i found mine at krogers)
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
salt
pepper

1. Cook veggies in broth and seasonings until tender.

2. Add chicken, cream of mushroom, and evaporated milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. Add pasta last and simmer until tender. Enjoy!!

Celeste's Salsa

2 28 oz cans of crushed tomatoes
4 jalapenos, seeded, devained, quartered (leave in for hotter salsa)
1 small sweet onion, or half a large onion
juice from 2 lemons
1 bunch cilantro, leaves only
1 Tbsp, minced garlic or garlic powder to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Add 1/2 of one can of tomatoes and all remaining ingredients to a blender. Pulse until all ingredients are finely minced. Pour into a serving bowl and add remaining 1 and 1/2 cans crushed tomato. Taste and re-season as necessary. Keeps 10 days in refrigerator... Enjoy!

Caramel Pull Aparts

4 cans refrigerated biscuits
cinnamon sugar

Cut biscuits into quarters. Put cinnamon & sugar into a gallon zip bag. Add biscuits and shake around until they are coated. Spray 9x13 pan with Pam and pour coated biscuits in.

Sauce:
1/2 cup of each of the following...
sugar
brown sugar
butter
vanilla ice cream (yes, I said "ice cream")

Bring sauce to a boil and pour over biscuits. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from pan by turning upside onto a tray or platter.

These are super-easy and always turn out!

Tater Tot Casserole

If you don't all know about this one you are missing out. We don't eat red meat, so I just use whatever meat I have at the time, chicken, turkey, or pork. It works will with all. Also if you brown the meat ahead of time, it cuts the cooking time in half.

1 lb ground meat
1 can green beans
1 pouch dry onion soup mix
1 bag frozen tater tots
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 soup can milk

Spread meat in bottom of 2 qt. casserole dish. Layer green beans, dry soup mix, and tater tots. Mix mushroom soup and milk, then pour over tater tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-80 minutes. Add cheese during last 10 minutes if desired.

Easy Potato Soup

This soup is easy to make when you are short on time. It thickens when sitting in the fridge for leftovers the next day.

Potato Soup

from Angie Dewey

1 medium onion, chopped
4 stalks of celery chopped

4-5 carrots chopped

2 cloves of Garlic, minced

5 Tbls Butter

4 Tbls Flour

2 c. Chicken Broth

2 c. Milk

4-5 medium Potatoes, Diced

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp Dry Mustard

2 Tbls White Wine

2 Tbls Parsley

1 tsp white pepper (optional)

1. In a large pot saute onions, celery, carrots, garlic and parsley in the butter until veggies are soft, not browned. Sprinkle in the flour, stir until combined. Slowly stir in the chicken broth.

2. Add milk, potatoes, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, white pepper, and white wine. Simmer on medium low for 25 minutes stirring frequently to avoid burning on the bottom. Salt to taste.

Easy Pumpkin Bread

I've never made pumpkin bread. And I am a failure at making regular bread. But this recipe was easy enough for me to handle and everything turned out great! So, for the bread making challenged, try this one, its sure to turn out delicious!

Pumpkin Bread

from: Lynne Dewey

2 c. Sugar

1 c. Brown Sugar

1 c. salad oil (veg, canola, etc)

4 eggs

2 c. Canned Pumpkin

* Mix all the above ingredients together until combined.

Sift together:

3 1/2 c Flour

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Baking Powder

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Crushed/ground Cloves

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1. Add everything together in one bowl and mix until combined.

2. Stir in 1 cup of Chocolate chips

3. Divide batter into 3 different bread pans. Bake at 300 degrees. Check after 50 mins. Bread is done when a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean. Enjoy!