Holiday Recipes

Here are some recipes that I love to use during the holidays. I usually make the desserts a couple of days in advance and prep the side dishes the day before our holiday dinner. We'll start with cranberry sauce.


Cranberry Sauce


1 -lb bag of fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar (more sugar if you like it sweeter)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tsp. orange zest


Place all the ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil then lower the heat to medium. Cook until cranberries pop. It should be done when they pop. Place in a serving dish. Can be served warm or cold.


Garlic Mashed Potatoes


10 potatoes, peeled
1 head of garlic, roasted and peeled
1/2 stick of butter
2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped
milk


Cook the potatoes and place in large bowl. Mash using a potatoe masher. Toss in the garlic, butter and rosemary. Add the milk a little bit at a time and mix until desired consistency.


Bacon & Garlic Green Beans


1-lb green beans
8 oz. bacon
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced


Cook green beans for a couple of minutes and place in cold water to stop the cooking process.
Cook the bacon until they are nice and crispy. Drain off bacon grease, reserving just enough for cooking the garlic and beans. With the skillet on medium-high add garlic and saute for a minute or until light brown. Add the green beans and cook for a minute or two, don't overcook the beans. Add the bacon, remove to a serving platter.


Pumpkin Cheesecake


1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
5 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. sugar
3-8 oz pkgs. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup pumpkin
3 eggs
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. allspice


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small bowl, add graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar. Mix until crumbly. Press mixture into bottom of spring form pan. Bake for 5 minutes, remove from oven and let cool.
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar. Add vanilla and mix until smooth. Add pumpkin, eggs, nutmeg, and allspice. Beat until smooth.
Pour into prepared crust. Bake for 60-70 minutes until top turns a bit darker.
Remove from oven and let sit cool. Refrigerate and serve the next day.


Kim's Note: I usually test to see if cheesecakes are done by giving the pan a little shake to see if it's too jiggly in the center. If it gives just a slight jiggle and not loose, it's pretty much done. I don't really depend on the time given because most of the time it's not really that accurate.


That's all I have for my favorite holiday recipes.

Happy Thanksgiving!!