RECIPES II (BAKED POTATOES & CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE

This week I am sharing three new recipes (Baked Potatoes and Cream Cheese Pound Cake)from my kitchen.  I have used these recipes for a long time and my family enjoyed these.

 

I hope you and your family will enjoy these as much as mine!

Baked Potatoes

Wash and cube red potatoes with skin on.

Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, coat with a package of zesty Italian dressing mix and stir to coat.

Add minced onion for flavor, salt and pepper to taste. Cook 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender.

Top with grated Parmesan cheese.

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Cream Cheese Pound Cake
 
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia brand cream cheese (at room temperature)
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2  teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch bundt pan, then flour it.

2. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes.

3.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

4.  Sift together flour and baking soda.  Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.  Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.  Stir in vanilla and almond extract.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top and get rid of large air bubbles. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 1/4 hours.

6. Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

 
 

 
 

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Recipes - Cranberry Sauce, Corn Souffle, Hot Corn Dip

My Favorite Recipes

Christmas is just around the corner; during this season everyone wants to bring out their best dishes.  For years I have been making my cranberry sauce from scratch.  This is nothing like the stuff in the cans.  Once you make this you will never buy those in the cans again.  Below I am sharing a few of my favorite recipes.  These are sure to be the favorite dishes at your next party or family dinner.

Cranberry Sauce
Ingredients

• 4 cups (1 12 ounce bag) cranberries
• 1 cup water or orange juice
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 tsp grated ginger

Directions

1. Bring the cranberries, water, ginger and sugar to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until it starts to thicken, about 15-20 minutes. 
2. Let  cool and serve.



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This is a perfect dish to add for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. This dish will disappear in minutes.  I have gotten so many compliments.

Corn Souffle

Ingredients:

• 1 can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 stick of butter, melted (1/4 cup)
• 2 eggs, well beaten
• 1/2 pint sour cream (1 cup)
• 1 box Jiffy cornbread mix
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded cheese
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Pour mixture in a greased dish.
3. Sprinkle cheese on top.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.
5. This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled, but you may need to increase the baking time accordingly.

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Here is a second version without eggs; if you are watching your calories & cholesterol levels, this one would be perfect for you.


Corn Souffle

Ingredients:

• 1 can whole kernel corn
• 1 can creamed corn
• 1 stick of butter, melted
• 1 cup sour cream (fat free)
• 1 box Jiffy Cornbread Mix
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Mix all of the ingredients together.
2. Pour mixture into greased baking or Pyrex dish.
3. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.
4. This recipe can easily be doubled or even tripled, but you may need to increase the baking time accordingly.

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This will be a hit with your guests.  Serve this dip at a recent baby shower and everyone enjoyed it!



Hot Corn Dip

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack
• 1/2 of a small jalapeno pepper (remove seeds); use less or more depending on your taste.
• 1/2 cup Mayo
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder or 1 garlic clove (crushed)
• 1 11oz can of corn, drained
• 1 small tomato, diced
• 1/4 chopped sweet pepper
• 1 tbs cilantro, chopped
• 2 tbs green onions, sliced thin

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Mix the cheeses, chili, mayo, garlic powder/crushed garlic and corn together. Pour into an oven safe dish.

3.  Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

4. Top with diced tomatoes, green onions, and cilantro. Serve immediately with tortilla chips.

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TABLESETTINGS FOR THE HOLIDAY

The holiday season (Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year) is the time to bring out your beautiful dishes.  What spell celebration better than a beautiful table setting?  You don't have to over do it; a simple layout can be sophisticated.

Don't have an expensive china set? don't worry just use what you have.  Mix and match the pieces you have around.  You will be surprise how elegant these can look. 

Here are two different plates that I have; I pair them together and add a blue napkin.

 

 

The same setting from above.  I added a silver charger plate.  You don't have to purchase expensive charger plates.  During the holiday season you should be able to get these for about $1.99 or less.

Remember, you can get great deals at the end of the season.  I purchased several silver charger plates after Christmas last year for $0.99.

These plates I actually brought at the Dollar Store.  For $3.00 you can have a beautiful table setting. I added a gold charger plate to give some elegance.

For this setting I use 3 different pieces.  I used just every day pieces and group them together.

Cream plates with gold ring on the edges, gold charger plate and orange napkin. Pine cone is being used as place card holder.

You could spray the pine cones gold or silver; this will depend on your color scheme.  Keeping them natural would work just fine too.




 I will be using the above setting for Thanksgiving.  Cream plates with gold ring on the edges; glasses with gold pattern, orange table napkins; cream candles and off-white tablecloth.

 

 

My table is set and ready for Thanksgiving; now bring on the turkey, stuffing, ham, collard greens, pound cake, cranberry sauce and of course I won't leave out my rice and peas.

 

This tablecloth was purchased at a yard sale.  This is made from a linen/cotton blend fabric with very detailed embroidery work.  I don't normally use tablecloth but this one is special and I must include it in the tablescapes this year.  Can you believe I purchased this for only $10.00 (tablecloth and 12 napkins)? This was the perfect size for my 6/8 seater table.



DECORATIONS FOR THE HOLIDAY II

HOLIDAY DECORATIONS

 

Using Lights in Your Decorating

 



Lights play a very integral part in decorating.  It helps create the ambiance and give your space a unique appearance.

1. String Christmas lights
Add a string of lights in a basket, and a pile of Christmas ornaments.  Plug the lights in and you have a simple but elegant focal point in a room. 

This creates a beautiful glow at nights

2.  String Christmas lights
Tie viole strips along the string of lights.  Use this on your Christmas tree or as part of your mantel decoration.

 

 

Using Candles
1. Wrap candles with beautiful ribbons.  Group several wrapped candles  together and you have a beautiful center piece.

 

2.  Cut strips of wrapping paper and wrap candles. Again, group several together and you have a beautiful center piece or focal point.
Important:  Do not leave candle burning unattended.

Christmas Tree
My tree is up and decorated. I used many of the tips that were included in last week's and this week's post. I used lots of ornaments, ribbons and plastic flowers. I used different shades of blue and gray in this color scheme this year.

Tree with lights.  Make sure you add some lights deep inside the tree; this will give your tree some dimension.

Use various shades and sizes of the ornaments in the color scheme. 

 Ribbons add an elegant touch; pick up a few rolls from the Dollar Tree to add to your tree.

 

 

These white poinsettas I got from the Dollar Store.  I use these to fill large gaps in the tree.

 

The white poinsetta used to fill gaps.

  

 



 

 

 

 

 My tree is complete; as you can see Santa came early to Florida.

 

 

Here is a link for download of free gift tags for presents: http://sweetlittleparties.blogspot.com/2010/11/free-printables-vintage-christmas.html

 

 

http://www.thecandytree.com.au/christmas/the_candy_tree_christmas_2010_traditional.pdf

 

DECORATIONS FOR THE HOLIDAY

Fall is my favorite season.  I love to decorate my home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  I usually have my Christmas trees up and decorated the day after Thanksgiving.

Start planning your decoration ideas now so that you will have time to gather items.  Dollar Tree is a great place to pick up inexpensive items to use in your projects.

Here are some simple decoration ideas; they can be used for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Decoration Sample I

Using Acorns and Pine Cones

Materials needed:

Vase (free - had this around the house)

Candle (Dollar Store or use one you currently have in the house)

Acorns (free - the amount needed will depend on the size of your vase).

Instructions:

1. Collect your acorns; make sure that are dry.
2. Put acorns in the vase to about half way up the vase.
3. Place the candle in the middle of the vase (on top of the acorns).
4. Add acorns around the candle.
5. Add ribbon of you choice.
6. Place the vase on a large place then add pine cones around the vase.  I glued my pine cones together; this will prevent them falling over.

Simple but this piece will give a striking effect to your home for fall.

The ribbon I purchased from the Dollar Store.

Decoration Sample II

Using Acorns, Pine Cones and Dry Leaves

Use the same direction above; I also added the dry leaves in the vase first, add the acorns then candle.  You now have another very simple but attractive piece to add somewhere around your house.

Decoration Sample III

I sprayed some of my pine cones silver.  These are arranged on a silver plate with the tall vase in the middle.

I then place some Christmas tree ornaments in the vase. 

Decoration IV

Candles
Using candles is a simple but easy way to add some glam to your home.  Dollar Tree carries an array of candles, candle holders, glass plates and candles.



Candles placed on a glass tile



Candles placed on glass tile with pine cones

Decoration V

This wreath is made from coffee filters.  This is the version using the brown filters.  I posted directions for making the white version last week (November 9).  This is a simple project which doesn't take much time or money.  Filters are on sale at Publix this week for $1.00.

Link to the direction for making the wreath using coffee filters.

http://julesdiys.blogspot.com/2012/11/i-pinned-it-and-i-made-it-wreath.html

Sample VI

Using old ornaments
I have several Christmas ornaments that I have gathered over the years so I used some of them to create this beautiful wreath below.  A wire clothes hanger, hot glue gun, ribbon and ornaments are all you need for this project.

Directions for making this beautiful wreath: http://www.eddieross.com/eddie_ross/crafts/page/14/

Enjoy!

Coming next week - simple tablescapes for the holiday.



Weekly Bargain - Chandelier

As I mentioned in my previous posts; I am always looking for a good bargain.  One of my favorite place is Lowes.  Last Saturday I went by to see what deals I could find. 

Browsing around I came up on this chandelier on the discount shelf. This was not in a package and a little dusty.  I examined it carefully and it was in good condition, missing bulbs but nothing that a bit of soap and water couldn't remove.

Originally sold for $169.00 on sale for $59.00.  I blieve that the registers always come up in my favor.  The cashier swiped and the price came up as $40.00.  I guess they gave an additional discount because the item was not in a box.  The  cashier looked puzzled but I just swiped my debit card and head out of the store.

This chandelier found a place in my dinning room.

Lesson learned- the item doesn't have to be in a package.  As long as it is in good condition and the price is reasonable, you are good to go!

What is your latest find?  I would love to hear from you my viewers.

I Pinned It and I Made It - Wreath

The Christmas season is upon us.  This is my favorite time of year and I look forward to decorating my house. I saw several versions of this wreath and decided that I would do a "knock-off" version for myself. 

Material needed:

Foam wreath

Hot glue gun

Coffee filters

Decoration

Separate the filters and fold in quarters then twist the ends.

Use a screwdriver to pierce a hole in the wreath on the front side.  Put glue in the hole then insert the folded filter.

Continue to insert the folded filters in the hole with glue.

Continue adding folded filters in a circular pattern. Place the filters about 1/2 inch apart.  Use the point of the screwdriver to help you insert the end of the filter in the hole.

When you have completely cover the top side; add filters to the outside edges. Do not add filters to the back side since you will have to hang the wreath.

Continue adding folded filters about 1/2 inch apart.

Continue adding folded filters until the entire surface is covered. 

Add filters on the inside of the wreath and make sure the surface in covered.

Examine the completed wreath to see if there are any open spaces(wreath showing); if needed add more filters in the empty spaces.

I used the white filters.  Some of the versions I have seen on Pinterest use dyed filters to make the wreath.

Since mine is white, I wanted to add a little sparkle so I added a Christmas decoration that I purchased from the Dollar Store.  Also I added a few dabs of a gold spray I had on hand.

The wreath is complete and you are ready to hang.  I hang mine on a black door in my home. I think this looks real good!

I would be happy to answer any questions regarding this diy. It took me only one hour so you can do it too!

In my upcoming posts I will be sharing inexpensive decorating ideas for Christmas.  Collect some pine cones, twigs, leaves and acorns.  I will show you how to use these in your decorations.