Holiday Cooking

It is the time of year I love cooking, when it gets cooler and now with the Holidays there is always plenty of people around to try new dishes and get new recipes.

The following recipe works wonderful with any kind of meat salad, my favorite is tuna salad but then everyone is different. It makes an attractive dish for any gathering. I had one lady tell me it is scrumptious with BBQ meat in it also so may just have to try that one myself.

Chicken Salad Served In A Basket Recipe

1 cup diced cooked chicken
3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1/3 cup chopped mushrooms
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
2 tablespoons diced peeled apple
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/8 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
20 slices bread
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Combine the mayonnaise, salt and pepper; add to chicken mixture and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Cut each slice of bread with a 3-in. round cookie cutter; brush both sides with butter. Press into ungreased mini muffin cups. Bake at 350° for 11-13 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.

Cool for 3 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Spoon 1 tablespoonful chicken salad into each bread basket. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours. Just before serving, sprinkle with parsley. Yield: 20 appetizers.

This next recipe my daughter-in-law shared with me and I just love it.

Chicken Bundles

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1-13 oz. can chicken
1 Tbs. sesame seeds
1/4 tsp. parsley
1 can Pillsbury Cresent Rolls
1 Tbs. finely chopped onion or diced minced onion

Combine above ingredients except crescent rolls. Mix well.

Open can of crescent rolls. Do not divide into triangles. Keep every 2 triangles together, forming 4 rectangles.

Pinch the seams closed and pat each one out into a larger square.

Put a spoonful of chicken/cream cheese mixture into the center of each square. Fold the corners up into the center, layering like flower petals so the roll is sealed.

Place on a lightly greased cookie sheet and bake at 375 degrees until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.

This is super easy and pretty cheap. To make the minis, I just cut each square into fourths. The baking time went down to 10-15 minutes with the smaller bundles.

A good friend shared this recipe with me a while back and I must say on the cool/cold days fix this along with a pan of cornbread and dinner is ready.

Black Eye Pea and Sausage Stew

1 pkg smoked sausage
halved and sliced
1 sm onion
2 cans black-eyed peas ( drained and rinsed
)

1 can (14-1/2 oz) diced tomatoes
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1c beef broth
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp hot sauce
1 1/2 c frozen corn ( thawed)

In Dutch oven or soup kettle, cook sausage and onion over medium heat; stir is peas, tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and seasonings. Cook and stir for 10-12 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Stir in corn and cook 5 min. longer or until heated through

Jiffy Cornbread Casserole

This is my favorite Jiffy cornbread corn casserole recipe. As far as I'm concerned, you can never have too much corn, and this recipe uses it three ways: Regular, creamed, and Jiffy mix. It is so moist and delicious, it will make your mouth water as soon as you smell it beginning to bake!

1 can (17-ounce) whole corn
1 can (17-ounce) creamed corn
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup melted margarine
1 (8.5-ounce) package Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
2 eggs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Be sure to drain cans of corn. Then combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly.

Pour into a 2-quart casserole dish.

Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 hour 40 minutes.

Notes

For some added zing, add prepared green or hot chiles to the mixture.

This recipe came from Mr Food but it is so good I wanted to share it, it is so moist and stays that until all gone..

Fruit Cocktail Cake

Some recipes never go out of style; want proof of that? Canned fruit cocktail is the surprise ingredient in our moist and melt-in-your mouth Fruit Cocktail Cake. It's our Test Kitchen's version of the delicious 50's and 60's classic.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (15.25-ounce) can fruit cocktail, undrained
Whipped topping for garnish
Maraschino cherries for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in eggs, vanilla, and fruit cocktail; mix well. Spoon into prepared baking dish.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick comes out dry. Let cool. When ready to serve, add a dollop of whipped topping and a cherry.