(ENDED) Countdown Contest: 48 days till Christmas

[jenvance]

All these recipes sound yummy, I will have to remember to come to this thread when looking for things to make.

Tomato Bruschetta

INGREDIENTS
6 roma (plum) tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil, stems removed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 French baguette
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese


DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven on broiler setting.
In a large bowl, combine the roma tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper. Allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
Cut the baguette into 3/4-inch slices. On a baking sheet, arrange the baguette slices in a single layer. Broil for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly brown.
Divide the tomato mixture evenly over the baguette slices. Top the slices with mozzarella cheese.
Broil for 5 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

[jendon1997]

Ham & Potato Soup

INGREDIENTS
3 1/2 cups peeled and diced potatoes
1/3 cup diced celery
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
3/4 cup diced cooked ham
3 1/4 cups water
2 tablespoons chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper, or to taste
5 tablespoons butter
5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

DIRECTIONS
Combine the potatoes, celery, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.
In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.
Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Serve immediately.

[dparra]

since we are hispanic.. we have mexican food for christmas.. and I LOVE my moms enchilada casserole!

2 can cream of chicken soup
small container sour cream
green chilis (we use medium)
chicken (about a pound cooked/boiled and cut/shredded)
12 corn tortillas
shredded cheese
one diced onion


preheat oven to 350.. mix together soup, sourcream, chilis, chicken and warm on stove.. layer tortillas, soup mix, onions and cheese to fill dish(ending with cheese on top) in pyrex dish and cheat for about 30 minutes..

YUMMY!

[mmm611]

Pretzel Reindeer

I don't usually count out the pretzels. I just put a bunch of a sheet of wax paper and add more as I need them You do not need a full bag of anything.

bag of regular size UNBROKEN pretzel thin twists
1 bag pretzel sticks
1/2 bag white chocolate chips
1 red M&M each
2 green M&Ms each

Spread pretzels twists over a sheet of wax paper. Break several pretzel sticks in half -- you'll need 2 sticks or 4 stick halves per pretzel. I usually spread out some of the other ingredients as well.

Melt white chocolate chips. move very quickly once this is done because it hadens FAST.

Pour the chocolate into the three gaps in the pretzels.

Stick a red M&M in the bottom section for the nose.

Stick a green M&M in each of the top sections for the eyes.

Position two stick halves above each eye so they are sticking up in the chocolate, but still inside the pretzel.

Let the reindeer cool and harden before moving them.

[faithhope]

I love to make chocolate spritz cookies with my kids every Christmas. These are sometimes called press cookies..

You put the dough in the tube part and put a cutout design on the other... I have them in all sorts of Christmas shapes. and you press (or crank with the older models) the dough onto the cookie sheet.

It is alot of fun

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup sugar
2 squares (2 ounces) unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Preparation:
In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in chocolate, egg, vanilla and almond extracts. Beat well. Sift together the flour and baking powder; stir into the creamed mixture, blending well. Do not chill. Force dough through cookie press, forming desired shapes on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400? for 8 to 10 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen chocolate spritz cookies.

This recipe is from about.com...and is just like the one from joy of cooking.

[Arky]

Buffalo Chicken Dip

2 (10 ounce) cans chunk chicken, drained
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Ranch dressing
3/4 cup pepper sauce, such as Franks? Red Hot?
1 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Heat chicken and hot sauce in a skillet over medium heat, until heated through. Stir in cream cheese and ranch dressing. Cook, stirring until well blended and warm. Mix in half of the shredded cheese, and transfer the mixture to a slow cooker. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, cover, and cook on Low setting until hot and bubbly.

Serve with celery or tortilla chips.

This is so yummy!!!!

[jd3921fl]

You have to toy with it ot get more of what you like and less of what you dont, but here is the basic recipe:
BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

1 lb. sausage or cubed ham
6 eggs
2 c. milk
12 oz. hash browns, frozen
1 tsp. salt
1/2 lb. shredded cheddar or Colby cheese
1/2 c. diced green peppers
1/4 c. diced onions
Mushrooms, as much as you want

Brown sausage, drain well. Thaw hash browns to room temperature. Mix mushroom pieces together with onions and peppers. Beat eggs and milk together, then add ham or sausage. Put in greased 13 x 9 inch pan, cover with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool for 5 minutes before serving.

[leelee9878]

I go for the sweets around the holidays....

Easy chocolate delight pie

2 pkgs (4 oz each) BAKER'S German's Sweet chocolate
1/2 cup of milk
1 pkg. (8 oz) Philadelphia brand cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. sugar (optional)
3 1/2 cups (8 oz) COL WHIP-non dairy whipped topping thawed
1 chocolate wafer crumb crust 9"

heat all but 3 squares with 1/4 cup of milk in large microwaveable bowl at high 1 1/2-2 min. Stir until completely melted or heat in heavy saucepan over very low heat.

beat in cream cheese, sugar and remaining milk. gently stir in whipped topping until smooth. Spoon into crust. Freeze until firm

Remove from freezer let stand 30 minutes at room temperature until pie can be cut easily

melt remaining chocolate about 15 secs, drizzle over pie

[Belle]

Sausage Cheese Puffs

1 pound sausage
3 cups biscuit/baking mix
4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup water

In a skillet, cook and crumble sausage until no longer pink. Drain. In a bowl, combine biscuit mix and cheese. Stir in sausage. Add water and toss with fork until moistened. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks.

[pattip03]

I really wish these contests wouldn't end so early for us on the west coast. It's 9:00 and I'm ready with my recipes but now its too late! I'll save them for later. They are really good and different. I love reading everyone's favorites for the holidays. So tomorrow we'll be down to 47 days - they are going fast......