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Friday, January 1, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

Good morning!!! Does my screaming give you a headache? LMAO! Hope your parties went great and let me wish all my readers a very Happy New Year! Its gonna be a great 2010! I’ve set my yearly list of 20 goals and set up my planner already. Dinner is brewing in the slow cookers, the table is full of munchies, and I’m already planning my crafts and gifts for the upcoming year. One thing I have to do is make another fleece tied blanket for my cats as they have taken over my blue camo one!! Darn cats LOL! I saw some cute black fleece with white paw prints that I think I am gonna go get for them and make them a kitty blankey LOL! Maybe just half the normal size though… after all they aren’t as big as I am LMAO! Gotta keep the furry kids warm too!

Ok, so yesterday we talked about New Years food “traditions… If you have come here looking to dress up the “same old boring foods”… well you came to the right spot LOL! I got a great recipe for each food you should be partaking in today! First off, I’m not sure what type/cut of pork you are making, but lets assume it is traditional ham… all kinds of fruit goes real well with baked ham, especially apricots, apples, and pineapple. You could also beer glaze ham… so try this on for size:



Beer-Glazed Ham

Ingredients

1 boneless fully cooked ham (3 pounds)
1 can (12 ounces) beer or nonalcoholic beer
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons ground mustard

Directions

Place ham on a rack in a shallow roasting pan. Score the surface of the ham, making diamond shapes 1/2 in. deep. Set aside 2 tablespoons beer. Pour remaining beer over the ham. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 1 hour.
In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar, vinegar, mustard and reserved beer; spread over ham. Bake 40-45 minutes longer or until a meat thermometer reads 140°, basting occasionally.

Ok, so there’s your ham… now what to do with your cabbage? Here is a yummy recipe that even people who don’t care for cabbage should try because it just might surprise you!



Cheddar Cabbage Casserole

Ingredients

1 large head cabbage, shredded (about 12 cups)
1 onion, chopped
6 tablespoons butter, divided
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
8 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions

1. Cook cabbage in boiling water until tender; drain thoroughly. In a large skillet, saute onion in 5 tablespoons butter until tender. Stir in soup. Add cheese; stir until melted. Remove from the heat. Stir in the cabbage, salt and pepper.

2. Transfer to an ungreased 2-qt. baking dish. In a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Cook and stir crumbs in butter until lightly browned; sprinkle over casserole.

3. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20 to 30 minutes or until heated through.

Now for your last component… the peas. Many people don’t care for black eyed peas, but here is something to put the bang in your New Years meal!



Black Eyed Pea Chowder

Ingredients

1 pound bacon
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 cans (16 ounces each) black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
1 can (10-1/2 ounces) beef consomme
2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) stewed tomatoes
1/4 cup diced jalapeno pepper

Directions

In a saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon; crumble and set aside. Discard all but 2 tablespoons of drippings; saute celery, onion and green pepper until tender. Add bacon and all remaining ingredients; heat through.

Then of course you need a dessert… try some:



Better Than Sex Cake (hey I didn’t name it! LOL)

Ingredients

1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
6 ounces caramel ice cream topping
3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee, chopped
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions

Bake cake according to package directions for a 9x13 inch pan; cool on wire rack for 5 minutes. Make slits across the top of the cake, making sure not to go through to the bottom.

In a saucepan over low heat, combine sweetened condensed milk and caramel topping, stirring until smooth and blended. Slowly pour the warm topping mixture over the top of the warm cake, letting it sink into the slits; then sprinkle the crushed chocolate toffee bars liberally across the entire cake while still warm. (Hint: I crush my candy bars into small chunks as opposed to crumbs - I like to have pieces I can chew on!)

Let cake cool completely, then top with whipped topping. Decorate the top of the cake with some more chocolate toffee bar chunks and swirls of caramel topping. Refrigerate and serve right from the pan!

Well I hope you enjoyed our New Years dinner. Tomorrow will be taking down the last of the decorations, and shooting them to storage, more cleaning, cooking of course, and getting everything ready for them to go back to school Monday YAY!!!! If you venture out today, be safe… and see you tomorrow! HUGS!

1 comment:

  1. My god, I've got to stop reading your recipes and drolling over the photos of the food you prepare. Do you want me to gain 20 pounds in 2010? Seriously, this looks awfully good and if I wasn't preparing my Alaskan Halibut meal today, I'd be seriously tempted to try the cheddar cabbage casserole with the ham. Good eating for sure!

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