Share Your Favorite Holiday Recipes!

I’m not much of a cook; I’m not disastrous in the kitchen, and I can follow a recipe well, but in the past, I haven’t done a ton of cooking–especially nothing complicated!  I always did love to bake, though.  I’m always at a loss as to what to make, because I only want to spend the time if the results are amazing!  This was totally a spur-of-the-moment kind of post; I have always wanted to do it, because I consider the Temptalia community an excellent source of knowledge!  And it’s Friday, so I think I can slide this post through  

Since this was spontaneous, I jut sent an email over to my mom to ask her if she would share some of her fantastic recipes (now my mom is a fabulous cook!)  I usually look for and use recipes from AllRecipes.com, and sometimes I’ll head over to Food Network as well.  Do you have any favorite recipe sites or collectives?  I’m totally looking to the community to help me find some good things to cook this holiday season  And maybe you even have a really good recipe for a holiday doggy treat…

Share your favorite holiday recipes in the comments!

And… I am pleased to share two recipes I love that my mom does

Cherry Bombers

If you have the craving for a cheesecake but don’t have time to make it or you don’t want to feel guilty eating a big slice of a cheesecake then a cherry bomber might be just the ticket. It is quick and easy – 15 minutes to prepare, and 10 minutes to bake. Don’t ask me why our family calls this recipe, a cherry bomber… must be because it is so good and it has cherry on top. The recipe below makes 24. My mom also says you can vary the recipe by replacing the wafer with other cookies, like sugar cookies, as long as they are easy to bite into. You can also use a graham cracker crust (like a traditional cheesecake) or use a different pie filling.

• 16 oz. of cream cheese (Philadelphia is preferred), softened
• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup of sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract
• 24 vanilla wafers
• 2 cans of cherry pie filling
• 24 baking foil baking cups (regular size is okay)

Steps

1. Preheat oven at 375o F.
2. Fill 2 muffin pans with baking cups
3. Fill 1 wafer into each baking cup
4. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, mix the softened cream cheese and the sugar
5. When the mixture is thickened, stir in the eggs and vanilla. Mix thoroughly.
6. Using a small ice cream scooper, fill each baking cup with the mixture, leaving ~1/2 inches from the top (for the cherry)
7. Add 3-5 cherries per baking cup.
8. Bake for 10 minutes
9. Store in the refrigerator immediately, on a wire rack, uncovered, once removed from the oven.
10. Cover for storage, once the bombers are all chilled.

Turkey Stuffing

I look forward to our turkey feasts just for the stuffing. I don’t say Thanksgiving, because my mom actually cooks the whole feast three or four times a year. She says to use a large, non-stick pot using medium heat. My mom recommends adding more broth or water if the bread cubes look dry. She also says to make sure the bag of bread cubes doesn’t contain a packet of seasoning, because the flavor still seeps outside of the packet and into the cubes in the bag. The stuffing can also be frozen and reheated.

• 1 stick of butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 lb. country sausage
• 1 c. celery, chopped
• 1 can (14.5 oz.) chicken broth
• 1 bag (12-16 oz.) unseasoned bread cubes

Steps

1. Melt 1 stick of butter
2. Add 1 onion, chopped in small pieces, stir until fragrant or soft (about 1 minute or so)
3. Add 1 lb of country sausage, stir and break into small bite sized chunk
4. Stir in and mix 1 cup of celery, chopped small.
5. Stir in 1 can (14.5-oz) of chicken broth.
6. Add 1 bag (12-16oz) of unseasoned bread cubes.
7. Stir once or twice, adjust salt to taste.
8. Beat 1 egg and add to the mixture. Stir a few more times until bread cubes are soft but not mushy.