Appetizer or Breakfast

I'm going to an ornament exchange tonight and need to take an appetizer.  I made sausage bread for a party last Christmas and it was a hit, so why not make it again? It's easy to make (my number 1 criteria) and you could even eat it for breakfast.  It would be great for Christmas morning too!

Sausage Bread

1 loaf pizza dough.

1 lb sausage
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 or 4 cloves garlic, pressed
2 eggs

oil

Cook sausage and crumble finely.  Mix cheese, eggs, parsley, sausage, and garlic in bowl.  Roll dough to 1/4 " thick.  Spread cheese /sausage mixture on dough.  Roll and brush with oil.  Bake 350 degrees 25-30 minutes.  Sprinkle the top with cheese.  Slice and serve.

Mmmmmm ... Oreo Truffles

 Oreos are so yummy.  This recipe is easy and makes a treat everyone will love.

 Oreo Truffles

1 pkg. (8 oz.)  cream cheese, softened

1 pkg.  (16.6 oz.) Oreo Cookies, finely crushed 

1   1 lb. pkg of chocolate candy coating

Mix cream cheese and cookie crumbs until well blended.  It easier to use your hands to do this. Shape into 1-inch balls. Dip in melted chocolate; place on waxed paper-covered baking sheet. Refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.

Place chocolate in a microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 1 min. or until chocolate is completely melted, stirring every 20 seconds

To coat truffles with the melted chocolate, add truffles, in batches, to bowl of melted chocolate. Use a spoon and fork to roll truffles in chocolate until evenly coated. Remove truffles with the fork, letting excess chocolate drip back into bowl. Place truffles on prepared baking sheet; let stand until firm.

Store in the refrigerator in a covered container. 

Makes about 4 dozen 

Magic Reindeer Food

Here's a special something for Christmas Eve.  You'll want to share this with the kids in your neighborhood.  You can make as much or as little as you'd like.

Magic Reindeer Food

Cheerios
Red or green colored sugar

Put Cheerios in a food processor to finely crush.  Stir in colored sugar.  Put about a tablespoon in a bag and give it to your kids to sprinkle on the lawn Christmas Eve for Santa's reindeer.  Since it's magic food, it doesn't take much to feed 8 tiny reindeer.  You can also go to the site below to print out directions for your children. 


http://www.stampin-pad.com/Files/Patterns/ReindeerFoodPage.pdf

Easy Treat

 Need a quick treat for a party or unexpected gathering?  Try these.  The sweet and salty mix is good.  I know reindeer don't have green noses, but I didn't have a ton of M&M's on hand.  They're still good though!

Reindeer Noses

Small pretzels - twists, circles, or waffle
Hershey Kisses, unwrapped
M&M's

Lay pretzels out in a layer on a cookie sheet.  Top each one with Hershey Kiss and bake at 225 degrees for 4 minutes.  Remove from the oven and press the M&M on top of the Kiss.  Let cool to allow the chocolate to harden.

Merry Christmas To My Dogs!

Everyone knows I love my dogs.  I always say that once my kids left home, I had to replace them.  So, I replaced them with dogs!  Since it's almost Christmas, it's time to make cookies.  A friend of mine shared a recipe for cookies for dogs with me.  I decided to start the Christmas season with cookies for my girls ... dogs.  I gave them one and they gobbled it up!  Their cookies are in the shape of pigs because it's the only cookie cutter I have.  The girls didn't mind though.  I told them they were Christmas pigs.  :)

Dog Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
3 cups flour
2 large eggs
3/4 cup molasses or honey

Mix together and roll out into a thin sheet of dough (maybe 1/8 inch) Use cookie cutters to cut the shapes or shape as desired. Bake at 325F until dry (about 8 – 10 min.). 

Makes about 60 cookies.  People can eat these if they want to.  

Puppy Pig Cookies!

My sweet girls.

Dear God, Just Get Me Through This Week!

This is the last week at school before Christmas Break.  The schools now refer to it as Winter Break.  Except for me.  I will always refer to it as CHRISTMAS Break.  Last week the kids were CRAAAAZY!  I can only imagine what this week will bring.  I thought I had better prepare after last week so I made out the menu for Monday through Friday.  You'll notice the dinners get easier as the week goes on because I know my energy level will drop daily.  I hope this will help to get you through this week too!  Merry Christmas!

Monday - Taco Ring - pre-cook your meat today to make it easier on you tomorrow.
                                  *I'll post a pic after I make it.
Tuesday - Breakfast
Wednesday - Baked potatoes with toppings
Thursday - Chili
Friday - DiGiorno Pizza with chicken wings- They were on sale at Kroger today AND I had a coupon.


Taco Ring

1 lb. ground beef
1 package (1.25 oz) taco seasoning mix
1 c. (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese
2 T. water
2 8-oz packages refrigerated crescent rolls
1 c. salsa (optional)
3 c. lettuce, shredded
1 medium tomato, diced
¼ c. onion, chopped (optional)
½ c. pitted ripe olives - sliced
sour cream

Directions:


Preheat oven to 375°. Brown the ground beef, then drain. Add taco season and simmer.
Unroll the crescent dough; separate into triangles. Arrange triangles in a circle on a pizza pan with the wide ends toward the center of the pan, overlapping each other. It will look like a large sun with the points hanging half off the pan.
There should be a 5 or 6 inch opening in the center. Spoon the meat mixture evenly onto widest end of each triangle. Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under wide ends of dough. (Filling will not be completely covered). Bake 18-22 minutes or until golden brown.
Shred lettuce, and dice tomato and onions. Slice the olives. Arrange salad items in the center of the ring.

I was at a loss of recipes to post.  So what does a person do these days when they need something?  They take it to Face Book!  And that's what I did.  Friends started responding right away.  It's funny because several wanted one dish breakfast casseroles.  I wouldn't have thought to post those.  Good idea, friends!  This is a recipe I fix every Christmas Eve and put it in the refrigerator so I can take it out and cook it Christmas morning. By the time we have all examined our stockings, the casserole is ready.  After we go through our stockings, we eat breakfast and then head to the tree to open presents.  We didn't do it in this order when the kids were little though.  That would not have made for a good start on Christmas morning.  Try this recipe this Christmas.  It will make your Christmas morning (or any hectic morning) much more enjoyable.  If you have a small family, this recipe is easy to cut in half.

Breakfast Casserole

6 eggs

2 cups of milk

1 tsp. salt

6 slices of bread, cubed

1 lb.  cooked sausage, bacon, or ham

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook, drain, and crumble the choice of meat you would like to use.  Set aside.  Beat eggs, add milk and salt.  Spray a 9x13 baking dish with Pam.  Add cubed bread.  Sprinkle meat over the bread.  Add egg mixture.  Top with cheese.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Take it out the next morning and bake at 350 degrees for 40 – 45 minutes.

Pizza for Breakfast? Of Course!

Several years ago my class was having a Christmas party and a mom volunteered to make Breakfast Pizza since out party was in the morning.  The kids loved having pizza for breakfast!

Breakfast Pizza

1 Boboli pizza crust

1 cup shredded 3 cheese blend

8 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 large eggs

½ cup of milk

Place pizza crust on a pizza pan.  Sprinkle with cheese and bacon.

Whisk together eggs and milk until well blended.  Pour over center of crust.

Bake at 400 degrees for 12 – 15 minutes or until the egg mixture is set and cheese is golden brown.  Cut into wedges and serve.

*Options

Before adding the egg mixture, you can sprinkle ham, cooked crumbled sausage, or thinly sliced vegetables.