Tracey's Artichoke Dip

This is a popular recipe that we first tried when my long-ago friend Tracey made it. It has become our New Year's Day traditional snack, though we try to remember to fix it whenever we're in the mood for a yummy, warm dip. We'll be "pigging out" on this tomorrow while we watch the Arkansas Razorbacks play in their bowl game. Woo, pig, sooiieee!

Artichoke Dip

14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 4-ounce can green chiles, seeded and chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup parmesan cheese

Mix everything together, pour into a small casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve with tortilla chips or triscuits.

Crockpot Creamy Cream Cheese Corn

The dishes have been cleaned up and put away, the candles blown out. Christmas dinner 2006 is gone, but not forgotten.

We had a wonderful dinner with good food and great fellowship. Mandy's Potatoes and Green Beans recipe lived up to its reputation; everyone loved it. The ham was just right, the marshmallows on the mashed sweet potatoes were browned to perfection, the rolls were fresh and hot. We had both pumpkin and pecan pies as well as a wonderful cake. We all enjoyed everything, including this new recipe, which my nephew Scott in particular really liked.

Crockpot Creamy Cream Cheese Corn

1 stick butter or margarine
6 to 8 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
4 to 6 cups frozen corn, thawed

Melt butter and cream cheese in the microwave. Add to corn in the crockpot or slow cooker; stir. Cook on low for 2 hours. Stir well and serve.

Trust me, it tastes as good as it sounds.

I hope your Christmas dinner was as good as ours was and that you were blessed with family around you, as were we. From our family to yours, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Chris's Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce

This may well be my husband's favorite meal.

Spaghetti with White Clam Sauce

2 flat cans minced clams
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup butter or margarine
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped (or more, see below)
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 package (8 ounce) spaghetti, cooked and drained.

Drain clams, reserving 3/4 cup liquid; set aside. Slowly heat olive oil and butter in medium skillet. Add garlic; saute until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stire in reserved clam liquid and parsley; bring to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add clams; simmer 3 minutes or until heated through. Serve hot over spaghetti.

One night many years ago, a day or two after I came home from the hospital after giving birth to our first child, my dear husband decided he would fix dinner. He chose this recipe, one of his very favorites. Of course I was taking it easy, but (fortunately as it turns out) I stayed close by for consultation.

We had garlic as well as the clams, the spaghetti, and all the other ingredients on hand, so the stand-in chef began preparations. It wasn't long before he consulted me, box of garlic in hand. (You know those packages of garlic that you find at the grocery store, the ones containing two heads of garlic? That's what he showed me.) "Do we have anymore garlic?" he asked. "The recipe calls for three cloves and we only have two." Oh, my goodness. Stand-in chef didn't know the difference between a clove of garlic and a head of garlic!

The story has a happy ending. Stand-in chef got a lesson in garlic, he did a wonderful job preparing the recipe, and we had a very nice meal. Plus we had a new family story that has been repeated many times, mostly by the main character himself, and that I still smile about whenever we enjoy a nice meal of spaghetti with white clam sauce.

Good Guacamole!

This recipe is for my mom, who has just recently become acquainted with the insides of the avocado.

Guacamole

1 medium tomato, peeled (I usually don't bother to peel it)
2 ripe avocados, black or green skin (about 2 lb)
3 Tbsp finely chopped, canned green chili peppers
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
Cauliflowerets, celery sticks, carrot sticks, or chips for dipping

In medium bowl, crush tomato with potato masher. Peel avocados, halve crosswise and remove pits. Slice avocados into crushed tomato. Crush with tomato until well blended. (We like ours a little chunky.) Add chili peppers, onion, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled, at least one hour. Serve guacamole with vegetables or chips for dipping, or use it to top a salad of shredded lettuce.

I've made this recipe for years, but until last week my mom had never prepared anything with an avocado. I was explaining to her on the phone what to do with it, the best way to take out the pit ("It's as big as a baseball!" she said), and that you can use toothpicks to suspend the pit with its end in a jar of water and let it grow pretty leaves ("How could you get toothpicks into those things?").

You know, you're never too old to try something new. I've never eaten a pomegranate, but now I am inspired to figure out exactly how to do that. I hear they're pretty good!

How to grow an avocado tree
How to eat a pomegranate

Banana Bread and Box Tops

Did you see my banana bread recipe post? Just wanted to give you an update - and make you an offer.

I bought flour and baked my banana bread, just a day later. I baked it during suppertime, cooled it, then wrapped it up and put it in the refrigerator for breakfast the next morning. Oh, my was it good! My husband spread a bit of cream cheese on his. Like icing on the cake, that topped it off perfectly and he highly recommends it. We had some again the next morning, too, and it tasted even better. That's the secret to banana bread; let the flavors ripen for a day or two and it gets even tastier.

When I was measuring the flour for the banana bread, I first used the tiny bit that was left in the old bag. As I was flattening the bag to throw it away, I noticed a pretty pink little coupon on the back that said "Box Tops for Education." Oh, good. A Box Top for Kellie. My friend Cheri is collecting Box Tops for Education for her granddaughter Kellie's class. In fact, Cheri has set up a web page asking for your help in collecting the Box Tops and, the best part, Cheri is offering to send you, as a thank-you for your Box Tops, a free scrapbooking item.

Cheri is into scrapbooking big time and has a scrapbooking blog with oodles of great ideas and resources. She also has lots and lots of scrapbooking embellishments. If you would like a free embellishment that you can use for your scrapbook, just visit Scrapbook for Box Tops and read how to go about making the connection with Cheri. Even if you're not into scrapbooking, Kellie would be thrilled to receive your extra Box Tops for Education, so contact Cheri through her website. If you're a scrapbooker like Cheri, visit her scrapbooking blog, Scrapbook Layout Ideas.

Then go bake some banana bread.

Peanut Butter Jam Gems

My brother e-mailed last night to let me know he had an urge for my peanut butter "jim jams." I remember the recipe as "jam gems" but no matter what you call it, they sure taste good!

Peanut Butter Jam Gems

1 tube "pop-n-fresh" biscuits
peanut butter
jam or jelly, your favorite flavor

Preheat oven as directed on the tube of biscuits. Pop open the can, remove and separate the biscuits and place on baking sheet. Flatten each biscuit slightly. Place a small dollop of peanut butter just off center on each biscuit; follow with a dollop of jam. Fold the biscuit over and press the edges to seal. Bake as directed, until done. Be careful when you serve these as the peanut butter and jam are very hot!

I first made this recipe in home economics class in junior high school. I brought the recipe home and everyone enjoyed it, so we prepared it often. Apparently it made an impression on my brother since he fixed it for himself last night and wrote to remind me about it.

Occasionally we varied the recipe by using some cinnamon and sugar in place of the peanut butter and jam. Mmmm, mmmm! I do need to fix this again soon. Thanks, brother dear, for the reminder!

Randy's Mother's Banana Bread

This recipe is from our former church's cookbook, put together years ago before we moved away, another one of those wonderful community cookbooks with "real" recipes. I've made this one many, many times and have never been disappointed.

Randy's Mother's Banana Bread

1/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 bananas, mashed

Cream shortening; add sugar, then egg. Combine flour and soda. Fold in mashed bananas. Dust with powdered sugar. Bake in greased loaf pan for 1 hour at 325 degrees.

I was planning on baking a loaf of this tonight, while supper was cooking. It's so quick and easy to mix together and pop into the oven. I have the bananas, perfectly ripe and ready, and even bought sugar when I went to the grocery store earlier since I knew I was running low. Guess what. I'm out of flour. I can't believe I ran out of flour. I never run out of flour! Well, no banana bread for breakfast tomorrow. I guess the bananas will wait another day.

I started a new grocery list tonight. First item on the list: flour. (Sigh.)

Janis' Famous Fudge

My sister and I make this recipe, which is a variation of an old Hershey's Cocoa recipe that is actually rather hard to find now, so I keep my copy safe for those times when I just have to have really GOOD fudge.

3 cups of sugar
2/3 cup Hershey's Cocoa
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 big spoonful peanut butter

Butter 8 or 9-inch square pan. (I have been known to use a pie plate.) Set aside. In heavy 4 quart saucepan combine sugar, cocoa, and salt; stir in milk. Cook over medium heat stirring consistantly until mixture comes to a full rolling boil. Boil without stirring to 234 degrees F (soft-ball stage is my method). Remove from heat, add butter, peanut butter, and vanilla. DO NOT STIR! Cool at room temperature to 110 degrees F. Beat with wooden spoon until fudge thickens and loses some of its gloss. Quickly spread into prepared pan; cool. Cut into squares.

There just is no better fudge than this, at least that's the opinion of our brother, the fudge expert, and the rest of us agree. We used to make this a lot when we were teenagers. In fact, when I had to call my sister for the recipe one time we were discussing it and she told me she usually pours hers into a glass pie pan. I do, too! Why, you'd think we grew up in the same kitchen!

This recipe is perfect any time of the year, but our family just can't have Christmas without it! Don't let the soft ball stage part intimidate you; it's really not difficult to make, and it's well worth the time.

Mandy's Potatoes and Green Beans

This is my dear daughter-in-law's recipe, very much a family favorite. It's also how she gets her husband, my son, to eat his vegetables, and she's much more successful at that than I ever was. He absolutely loves this dish!

Mandy's Potatoes and Green Beans

red or new potatoes, as many as needed
green beans, fresh or frozen
salt and pepper
garlic - fresh or powdered
pinch of sugar

How to do it . . .
Wash potatoes and slice or leave whole. Combine all other ingredients to taste and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are soft.

This is a great side dish or meal, especially in the cold! ENJOY!

Stephen and Mandy got engaged last Christmas, so it was the first year I had an almost-daughter to help me in the kitchen - and it was wonderful - so I'm really looking forward to this year, now that she's "official." In fact, from now on I think I'll make it her official duty to bring Potatoes and Green Beans for Christmas dinner. Yes, I really like that idea. Mandy, are you reading this? I'll bake the pumpkin pies if you'll bring the Potatoes and Green Beans!

Karen's Goodie Balls

My healthy friend Karen asked if I'd like one of her recipes for my blog. You betcha! Here's what she sent (it sounds wonderful!):

Here is one of our favorite snack recipes that also happens to be healthy and fun to make. I find that if you involve kids in making a recipe, they are much more likely to try it out. This was the favorite lesson too when I taught a healthy cooking class for our homeschool group.

Goodie Balls

This is a very versatile recipe and a great way to get extra Omega-3’s and veggie protein into your kids. If you are “marketing” them to teens, you could rename them “Power Balls!”

½ c each:
flaxseed meal
raw almonds or other raw nuts
raisins or dates
¾ c rolled oats

Chop the nuts, oats and raisins or dates by either blending in a strong blender or using a hand chopper or food processor. The younger the children you are serving it to, the more finely ground you want this mixture. Put in a bowl and add:

½ c peanut butter (natural without added sugar or hydrogenated oils best)
½ c honey

Mix well until mixture sticks together. Roll into small (less than 1” diameter) balls and then roll in either sucanat, wheat germ or oat flour. May be stored in the refridgerator in airtight container.

Feel free to adjust ingredients to taste. You can double the recipe but get help rolling out the little balls! I adapted this from a recipe in Whole Foods for the Whole Family. It had cream cheese and dry milk which was tasty but my family didn’t need the dairy.

~Karen Davis
Indian Trail, North Carolina
www.juiceplusrevolution.com
juicepluslady@carolina.rr.com

Pawie's Favorite Dessert

This isn't much of a recipe, but it's a great memory of my Pawie.

1 scoop vanilla ice cream (we like Breyer's best)
Hershey's chocolate syrup

Put a big scoop of vanilla ice cream in a bowl. Top with Hershey's syrup. Enjoy!

I don't know if Pawie ate this every night before bedtime, but he did when we were visiting and, of course, we grandkids had to have some, too. To this day, when I have a simple chocolate sundae like this one, I think of my Pawie.

We always liked it when Pawie would "beard" us. That's when he rubbed his face against ours, scratching us with his whiskers. Pawie had hair on his face, but not on his head. My brother, who is now a "Pawie" too, has a head like that but he just says he's taller than his hair. I guess that's one way of looking at it!

We have so many memories from Mawie's and Pawie's house and Pawie's Favorite Dessert is one of the tastiest!