Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! May you find peace this holiday season. I will be back in the new year with more recipes.

Egg Nog

This is not really a recipe, more like an embellishment to purchased egg (or soy) nog. Of course, if you like to make your own, don't let me stop you!

Egg (or Soy) Nog
Dark Rum
Creme de Cacao

You can make this according to your own tastes, but a good place to start is about 8 oz. nog, one shot of rum and about 1/2 shot of creme de cacao. Cheers!

White Bean and Kale Soup with Roasted Garlic

This has been one of our favorite soups for years. The roasted garlic adds a wonderful richness, as well as making the whole house smell of garlic as it roasts. If you don't like the smell of garlic, this one's probably not for you!

This recipe came from Cooking Light Magazine many, many moons ago. Here is my version.

White Bean Soup with Kale and Roasted Garlic

1 Whole Head of Garlic
2 tsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, Diced
Large Pinch of Salt
1/2 Cup Chopped Carrot
1/2 Finely Chopped Potato (red or yellow)
1/4 Cup Chopped Celery
1 Tbsp Finely Chopped Fresh Rosemary
2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
6 Cups Veggie or Chicken Broth
1 16 Ounce Can Cannellini Beans, Rinsed and Drained
One Bunch Chopped Kale (Or Chard, or Collard Greens - Cook longer if you are using Collards

Preheat Oven or Toaster Oven to 350

Remove the papery skin from the garlic but keep the head in tact. Wrap it tightly in foil and roast in the oven for one hour. Unwrap carefully and let cool for about 10 minutes. Separate the cloves and squeeze to extract the garlic pulp.

Heat the oil in large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and saute for 5 minutes. Add the carrot, potato, celery, rosemary and tomato paste. Cook 5 more minutes, stirring often. Add the broth and the beans and bring to a boil. Simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Stir in the garlic and kale and simmer 10 minutes or until the kale is tender.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

Print White Bean and Kale Soup with Roasted Garlic.

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

This is a great recipe for those winter afternoons when you have no place to be. A fire in the fireplace, writing holiday greeting cards, reading a good book, playing board games. The aroma slowly fills the house. Are you hungry yet?

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

Preheat oven to 300

2 tsp Canola Oil
Chuck Roast (You can use boneless or 7 bone) between 2 and 4 lbs depending on how many eaters
1 Tbsp Salt
1Tbsp Pepper
1 Large Onion, Large Dice
2 Cups Beef Broth
1/4 Cup Ketchup
2 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 14 Ounce Can Diced Tomatoes, Drained (Or a cup or so chopped fresh if they're in season)
1 1/4 Pounds Red or Yellow Potatoes, Cut up if Larger, Whole if they are small.
1 Pound Carrots cut into one-inch pieces

Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Sprinkle the roast all over with the salt and pepper. Brown the roast in the hot oil on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove the roast from the pan and the onions. Sautee until browned, about another 10 minutes. Return the roast to the pan. Combine the broth, ketcheup and Worcestershire sauce and pour over the roast. Stir in the tomatoes and bring to a simmer.

Cover and bake in the 300 degree oven until very tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven and add the potatoes and carrots. Return to the oven and continue cooking until the vegetables are done, about 30-45 minutes.

Painted Sugar Cookies

This is by far the easiest way I know of to decorate cookies with small children. Make a "paint" of corn syrup and food coloring, and paint the cookies before baking for beautiful holiday treats and gifts. I got this recipe from the Food Network website years ago.

Painted Sugar Cookies

For the Cookies:

1/2 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Shortening
1/2 Cup Sugar
1 Egg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Salt
2 1/2 Cups All Purpose Flour


For the Paint:

4 tsp Corn Syrup
1 tsp Water
4 Colors of Food Coloring

Cream the butter, shortening, and sugar with an electric mixer. Add in the egg and vanilla extract, and beat until lighter in color. In a separate bowl, combine the soda, salt and flour. Stir the dry ingredients into the butter mixture until well combined. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. Divide the dough in half, return half to the refrigerator with you work with the other half. Roll out the dough to about 1/8 inch thickness (mine are usually thicker, I think) on a lightly floured surface. Cut cookies with cookie cutters and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Put one tsp of corn syrup and 1/4 tsp water in each of 4 ramekins or other small bowls. Add food coloring to each bowl and stir well. Paint the unbaked cookies with paintbrushes.

Bake for 9-10 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. Move to wire racks to cool.

Simple Roasted Cauliflower

I got this beautiful cauliflower from the farm last week. I was inspired with many great ideas about how to use it. Sadly, I had neither great amounts of time nor energy, so opted for a simple preparation instead. Not that it turned out to be a bad thing! This roasted cauliflower is delicious. Sweet and nutty. Make some today!

Simple Roasted Cauliflower

Preheat oven to 400

Cauliflower Florets
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

That's it. Toss the cauliflower in a bowl with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer on a baking sheet. A lining of foil or parchment makes clean up super easy. Roast in a 400 degree oven until beginning to caramelize, but still retaining some crunch, 15-20 minutes. Stir 2 or 3 times during roasting for even cooking.

Oven Fried Chicken

What can I say? Crispy skin, juicy meat. Yummy Chicken. You can use any chicken pieces you like for this recipe. I usually use thighs, but my store was out this time, so I used leg quarters instead, with great results!

Oven Fried Chicken

For the Marinade:

6-8 Ounces Plain Yogurt (any fat content will do)
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
Black Pepper to Taste
Chicken Pieces (I cooked 3 leg quarters this time and there was a lot of marinade to spare, you could probably squeeze a whole cut up chicken into this marinade.)

Stir together everything but the chicken in a shallow bowl suitable for holding all of your chicken pieces. Add the chicken and turn to coat completely with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours.

Preheat Oven to 375

For the breading:

1/3 Cup Flour
2/3 Cup Dry Breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Dried Thyme
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1-1 1/2 tsp Paprika


Combine all of the breading ingredients in a plastic bag or a shallow dish. Remove the chicken from the marinade and get off as much excess as you can. Add the piece to the bag or the dish, and coat completely with the breading. Move to a rack inside a baking sheet. Continue until all chicken pieces are coated. Put in the preheated oven and bake until cooked through and nicely browned, 40-60 minutes.