Elementary Chef

I’ve decided to offer you my favorite 12 cookie recipes between now and Christmas! It seems like a good theme — and a good way to make me dig out and use those recipes! Today, peanut butter cups. I love these.

Peanut Butter Cups
Makes: 4 dozen

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
13 oz. pkg. miniature peanut butter cups, unwrapped (like Reece’s)

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray miniature muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Combine sugars, butter and peanut butter on med. speed until creamy. Add egg and vanilla, mix well. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix well. Shape dough into 1″ balls. Place each ball into prepared muffin cups. Bake 11-13 minutes till lightly browned. Remove from oven, press peanut butter cup in center of each cookie. Let cool 30 min. Remove from pan. Cool completely.

First of all, let me warn you that this recipe will feed a crowd. If you make it for your standard little family of four, you WILL have leftovers. That said, it’s great for a potluck or work Christmas breakfast. Very filling and very yummy. (And easy!)

Baked Oatmeal Casserole
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted butter
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 small chopped apples

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Beat in milk, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Stir in chopped apples. Spread into a 9×13 inch baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Serve hot!

Time to dust off that crockpot and make something other than turkey! My husband loves pork chops, and this family-friendly recipe is always a hit!

Crockpot Pork Chops Italiano
1-2 pounds pork chops or country-style ribs
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 Tablespoon dried basil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, minced, optional

Brown the pork, then add to the crockpot with remaining ingredients.
Cook all day on medium, or 4-6 hours on high.

As you’re planning for holiday parties, our friends at Bacardi have released this recipe for a holiday punch — with a kick! At our friends’ wedding, the caterer inadvertently spiked ALL the punch — including what was served to the kids! Do your guests a favor and label this one as high-test! (BTW — none of the kids complained.)

BACARDI(R) Party Punch
750ml bottle BACARDI(R) Gold Rum
1 L cranberry juice
2 L ginger ale, chilled
8 oz. orange juice
1 oz. lime juice
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
Extra citrus fruit for garnish
Ice
In large container, combine rum and fruit juices. Chill. Just before serving, pour into large punch bowl. Add ice and gently stir in chilled ginger ale. Garnish by floating orange, lemon and lime slices on top.

Makes 16 cups.

The folks at Honey Baked Ham have some good advice for picking the perfect holiday ham!

What would the holiday meal be without the ham? For many Americans, ham is the traditional centerpiece of
holiday celebrations. Yet, half of Americans admit they need help picking the perfect ham.

A Beautiful Presentation — Bone-in hams make an ideal meal centerpiece. They are attractive and offer outstanding flavor and
tenderness. You can purchase bone-in hams that you slice yourself or, for added convenience, you can purchase bone-in hams already sliced. All HoneyBaked Hams are spiral sliced and glazed fresh every day.

Taste and Texture — The amount of water contained in a ham will affect its taste, texture and price. Most hams will fall into one of these categories.

– Ham — A ham labeled just “ham” must be at least 20.5% protein in its lean area and have no water added. The original, spiral-sliced HoneyBaked Ham(R) falls under this category.

– Ham with Natural Juices — Contains at least 18.5% protein and has had a small amount of water added.

– Ham - Water Added — Contains at least 17% protein and has no more than 10% added solution. This ham is versatile and ideal for steaks and thin slicing.

– Ham and Water Products — This ham product is less than 17% protein and can contain any amount of water. Commonly found in the deli, this is a good choice for sandwiches.

Ham nutrition — Ham is relatively low in fat, coming from one of the leanest pork cuts — the hind leg. Pork in general is an excellent source of protein, thiamin and vitamin B-1, as well as iron, zinc, niacin, and vitamins B-6 and B-12.

How much ham do I need? — Determine in advance how many people you will be serving and for what meal occasion. The HoneyBaked Ham Company recommends 1/2 to 3/4 pounds per serving for bone-in ham. A bone-in ham yields 2 to 3 servings per pound. Ham will typically feed more people when served buffet- style than when served in dinner portions.

Keeping your ham fresh — Different varieties of ham will call for different storage instruction. A HoneyBaked Ham(R) will keep in the refrigerator for six to eight days and in the freezer for 45 days.

According to the National Pork Board, ham is the number one in-home lunch sandwich, a perfect option for taking advantage of those leftovers! And for my favorite way to use leftover ham, try this variation on Eggs Benedict!

Tired of traditional pumpkin pie? (I’m not. I love it!) Or, maybe just looking or a supplementary Thanksgiving dessert? How about trying these amazing pumpkin cheese cake tarts?

This pumpkin cheesecake tart recipe from VeryBestBaking.com/Libbys fits the bill. Start with versatile and easy to use canned pumpkin, with its mellow, sweet flavor which pairs especially well with citrus, spices, chocolates and nuts. Then, add your own simple touch to dress-up your pumpkin desserts.

Simply drizzle a ribbon of melted chocolate over a pumpkin tart. Or spoon a sweet, cinnamon-scented pumpkin mousse into puff pastry shells. Decorate a layer pumpkin torte with fragrant curls of fresh orange rind. Finish off a pumpkin pie with orange-flavored cream topping. These simple additions make your dessert even more perfect for the holiday table.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart Recipe:
2/3 cup (about 15) crushed gingersnap cookies
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
1 cup Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons sour cream (optional)
2 tablespoons Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels (optional)

PREHEAT oven to 325 degrees F. Line 12-muffin pan with paper cups.

COMBINE cookie crumbs and butter in small bowl. Press scant tablespoon onto bottom of each paper cup. Bake 5 minutes.

BEAT cream cheese, pumpkin, sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl until blended. Add eggs; beat well. Pour into muffin cups, filling 3/4 full.

BAKE 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove tarts from pan; refrigerate. Garnish with sour cream. If desired, place morsels in small, heavy-duty plastic bag. Microwave on HIGH (100%) power for 20 seconds; knead.

Microwave at additional 10-second intervals, kneading until smooth. Cut tiny corner from bag; squeeze to drizzle over tarts.

And for more Thanksgiving ideas, make sure to visit Let’s Talk Turkey–Carnival of Recipes!

We are well into the month of November, which means that most Americans are planning Thanksgiving feasts. For most of us, there will be much turkey consumed, a large number of pies, and a fair amount of green bean casserole.

This Carnival of Recipes issued a challenge to blog chefs everywhere to submit their favorite (or newfound) Thanksgiving recipes. I need something new this year, and judging by the assortment you’re about to see… I’m sure I’ll find at least one new favorite!

Thanks to all of our participants!

Men in Aprons’ Adam posted a recipe for a traditional smoked turkey.

Deb, over at Increase Metabolism & Live Healthy, provides a recipe for traditional, yet healthy, turkey stuffing.

I love this one! I know you have seen the bumper sticker “Give Whirled Peas a Chance” or some variation on the theme…? Well, El Capitan posted an actual recipe for Whirled Peas!! Love it!

Thrifty Mommy Karen posted a recipe for sweet potato casserole.

Amanda, from the Pajama Mommy Community (I love that name!), posted her favorite recipe for Lemon Cake Bread!

At Bean Sprouts, Melanie offers a great sounding recipe for Ginger Muffins. (I can’t wait to try these!)

Kevin, at Middle Age Mindset, offers a Slow Cooker Potato Soup recipe.

Karen, at Author Mom with Dogs, gives us her favorite zucchini recipes.

Our friends at Adventures in Daily Living sent in three different recipes! Feta Pie (Yum!), Cumin Black-Eyed Peas (Did you know that in the South traditional to serve black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day?), and Pumpkin Soup .

Good Doug also posted a recipe for Pumpkin Soup.

Silvia at Po Moyemu presents pictures and a link to a recipe for from-scratch brownies!

Cindy posted a great recipe for all of us, but especially for folks trying to acommodate food allergies! Flourless Dark Chocoloate Espresso Cake!

Summer at Mom is Teaching posted her Three Sisters Stew.

Stephanie posts her favorite cheesecake recipe along with her inability to cope with mixer envy. (I’m with you! I’m still waiting to have a kitchen big enough for a free-standing mixer!)

Christine posted a dessert recipe that sounds AMAZING! Cinnamon and Honey crepes!

Dr. Joel Fuhrman has posted a very non-traditional Thanksgiving recipe, but undoubtedly something we should all be mixing up — green smoothies!

Professor Bainbridge has posted an incredible sounding Scallop recipe, for those yearning to break the turkey tradition!

JennyAnyDots presents Filled Snail Shell Buns posted at The Common Room.

World Famous Recipes presents an assortment of Turkey Recipes posted at World Famous Recipes.

Turkey Recipes presents Thaanksgiving Turkey Cake posted at Turkey Recipes.

Bill presents Slow Cooker Turkey Breast Recipe posted at Slow Cooker Recipes.

And for the day AFTER, Kathee presents Leftover Turkey Recipes - Turkey and Stuffing Casserole posted at Christmas Recipes.

Bill presents TURKEY SALAD WITH APPLES AND ALMONDS posted at Diabetic Recipes.

Smarter Dollar presents Famous Recipes: Ground Turkey Chilli posted at Famous Recipes.

Famous Recipes presents Turkey Stuffed Peppers « Famous Recipes posted at Famous Recipes.

TheOldVic presents TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS PUDDING RECIPES MRS BEETON and Mrs Beeton’s Christmas Cake Recipe posted at MONEY FROM THE INTERNET.

We have some exciting stuff on going over here at Elementary Chef. Namely, I’m hosting a Carnival of Recipes for Thanksgiving recipes! Stay tuned and check back frequently this weekend for more details.

I chose this topic with very selfish motivations… I need something NEW to fix for our Thanksgiving dinner/Reunion. To submit your recipes, please click on the contact me link!

Yes, indeed. This press release summarizes them all. There is a new snack out. Great. It involves sunflower seeds. Really great!

They’ve added caffeine and energy boost to them!

So, next time you’re at your favorite convenience store, instead of grabbing the seeds AND a packet of energy pills, just grab energized seeds!

This is so wrong! The product is called Sumseeds, and their wholly worthless press release can be boiled down to this single line:

Sumseeds, the leading caffeinated and energized snack, will be attending the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) Show this November 6-9 in Atlanta, Georgia.

That’s it. All you need to know. What and where. Stick with an organic apple….

You’d THINK it’s too early. But it’s not. The Butterball turkey hotline is open!

About the Butterball Turkey Talk-Line
One of the first national, toll-free consumer help lines, the original Turkey Talk-Line staff of six home economists fielded questions from 11,000 turkey-troubled Americans during its first season in November 1981. On Thanksgiving Day, the small group took hundreds of calls — with only a rolodex of notes and their own knowledge to help them answer the nation’s questions. Today, professionally-trained home economists and nutritionists assist more than 100,000 callers each year in the United States and Canada during the holiday season. With 50+ staff members, the Turkey Talk-Line has the resources to answer questions from either English- or Spanish-speaking callers, as well as respond to questions via e-mail.

Yes, I’m still in a crockpot frame of mind! Here’s one of my favorite stand-bys!

Savory Turkey Breast

6 1/2-pound bone-in turkey breast, thawed if frozen
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 c.)
1 medium stalk celery, chopped (1/2 c.)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. coarsely ground pepper
1 tsp. chicken bouillon granules
1/2 cup water

Remove gravy packet or extra parts from turkey breast. Place onion, celery and bay leaf in cavity of turkey. Place turkey in 5-quart slow cooker. Sprinkle turkey with salt and pepper. Mix bouillon and water until granules are dissolved; pour over turkey. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 hours or until juice of turkey is no longer pink when center is cut. Remove bay leaf. Serve turkey now.