Month

I am super excited about this Christmas pudding recipe. It’s a traditional British dessert that I guess is a part of most English holiday dinners. I’ve heard that some British families will enjoy this pudding on Christmas Eve as a tradition or prelude to Christmas Day. I think that sounds lovely. Do you have any Christmas food traditions? If so, please tell me about them in the comments below. i always love hearing your stories and feedback.

As a young 13-year-old girl, I went to London with my dad. We were on our way to Romania on a mission’s trip and our flight had a layover in London. One of the best things about the city was the food. British desserts are quite different than American desserts so I had a good time sampling them all. It’s the American way lol! I have high hopes for this yummy Christmas pudding 🙂

Recipe and photo courtesy of Group Recipes.

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Quick Tip: Feel free to use leave the ale out if you want too. Some people have substituted the beer for strong, black coffee.

I have two very food-driven dogs at my house. There is Baxter, a 92-pound coonhound/lab mix, and little Wendy who is a 9-pound Shoodle. if you don’t know what a shoodle is it is a poodle and Shi Tzu mix. These guys love their food. I am always scolding them from trying to dig stuff out of the garbage can. It’s insane! Mealtimes can be quite annoying at my house because the dogs will sit and watch you eating with drool dripping out of their mouths. it’s pretty gross. My guess is that my children feed them from under the table and that is why they keep coming back for more goods.

I am hosting a huge family holiday dinner at my house and I need a way to keep my dogs from bothering people while they eat. Since people will pretty much be grazing on appetizers and what not all day long I can’t kennel the pups because they’d be in lockup the entire time. That’s not very nice for the dogs. So, I decided to make them some wholesome, yummy Christmas treats. This recipe is super easy to follow and bakes up a batch of really cute dog biscuits. Enjoy!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Group Recipes.

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Quick Tip: Use any Christmas cooker cutter that you have to cut these yummy dog treats out into festive shapes.

I searched for 20 years to find the definitive ginger cake recipe – this is it! So easy to make and full of flavor it keeps well and can be frozen – iced or uniced. This cake is ideal for morning or afternoon tea. I also like to take it on picnics. If you prefer a lighter gingerbread, substitute golden syrup for the treacle. If you have a food processor this recipe is even quicker – simply process the dry ingredients until mixed then, with the motor running, pour the wet ingredients through the hopper. Process until well combined and pour into the lined tin.

If you are a big gingerbread fan then you are really going to enjoy this cake. It’s moist, decadent and very sweet with the yummy icing on top. I have made this cake in both square pans and circular baking tins. The cake always tastes the same no matter what dish you bake it in so don’t spend to much time fussing over it. Enjoy!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Food.Com.

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Quick Tip: I used light corn syrup instead of golden syrup and it worked great. Exactly what I was looking for.

I have always enjoyed eating pasta salads but when I married my husband the tendency to make pasta salad and other dishes like it increased, significantly. You see, my husband is a pasta salad junkie. His favorite kind is classic macaroni salad but he really likes this tuna fish seashell conglomeration, too. I’ve made it both as an entree and as an appetizer. When we eat it as an entree it’s usually for a light and quick lunch. Mark my words, there has never been a backyard BBQ without this salad on the table.

One of the best things about this pasta salad, other than it’s amazing flavor, is how easy it is to make. The hardest part is allowing the salad to chill in the fridge for a few hours before eating any. I wouldn’t skip this step no matter how hungry you are because you want those flavors to really soak into the seashells. Stifle your hunger with a banana or something. You’ll be ok, honey 🙂 This is a great salad to take to church potluck meals or any type of gathering where a dish to pass is needed.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Group Recipes.

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Quick Tip: If you don’t like tuna fish you can replace it with canned chicken meat.

7-layer salad is one of those side dishes that never gets old. I can recall the first time I had it. It was during a church potluck back in Michigan, where I used to live. It wasn’t made in a trifle bowl as the picture shows but rather in a rectangular casserole dish. I’ve made it both ways. Anyway, the stuff was good! I think all I ate was 7-layer salad and just skipped right over the entree. Which, if you want a light lunch, you must certainly can do. Nobody ever said that 7-layer salad has to only be eaten as a side dish lol!

One of the ingredients that stood out most to me were the peas. You have to use frozen green peas as canned won’t work. The texture of frozen peas are much crisper than canned and the taste is fresher. I am a bargain shopper through and through but I prefer to use Bird’s Eye frozen green peas as they have such a great flavor. Make sure you use real mayonnaise, too. You can also use salad dressing but I prefer the real mayo. The flavor is just so robust! This 7-layer salad is very easy to make and you should give it a shot, today 🙂

Recipe and photo courtesy of Group Recipes.

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Quick Tip: To save time, purchase pre-cooked bacon.

Hot Crab Dip Is A Thing That Makes You Go, “MMMM!”

The holidays are officially upon us and this means it is the season of eating haha! I don’t know about you guys and gals but my family tends to host a lot of parties. if I am not hosting a party than my mother-in-law is and if she isn’t hosting a holiday party than her sister is. The list just goes on and on. One thing that all of these parties have in common, besides wonderful fellowship with family and friends, is a variety of awesome food. From amazing desserts to savory appetizers that bring you to your knees, we’ve got ’em all.

I came across this lovely recipe for hot crab dip the other day and thought it looked amazing. Now, if you are a regular follower of my recipes you will know that my youngest son has a tree nut and shellfish allergy.

So, I rarely, if ever, get to make things like this dip. However, we are hosting a no-kids Christmas party at our church in a week and so I’m taking the opportunity to make this hot crab dip for the event since my little guy won’t be there. Yum!

Recipe and photo courtesy of Group Recipes.

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Quick Tip: I sometimes add a bit of sauteed onion into this dip and it tastes remarkable.

The other day, sally and I were chatting over hot coffee and homemade cookie bars. I had looked into my pantry and noticed that I had an abundance of baking supplies like M&Ms and chocolate chips. I decided to bake up a batch of colorful cookie bars to use up some of the ingredients. As my wonderful neighbor and I sat eating and sipping we discussed how some appetizers are more like entrees. I brought up potato skins because to me they are definitely more of a meal than they are a prelude to a meal.

Sally and I discussed all of the different ways potato skins can be prepared. I think my favorite way is fully-loaded but Sally said she enjoyed Mexican potato skins. I love Mexican food so I asked Sally to please tell me more about this yummy recipe. She told me what Mexican potato skins entailed and my mouth was watering. So, I of course had to go out and fetch the ingredients to make these remarkable Mexican potato skins. And yes, my family and I ate them as an entree and not as an appetizer 🙂

Recipe and photo courtesy of Group Recipes.

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Quick Tip: I like using Yukon Gold potatoes when making these Mexican potato skins.