January 1: Lentil Pasta Sauce

Good luck foods for New Year's Day. Around the world, people eat certain foods on New Year's Day that are thought to be symbolic. Noodles are eaten to bring long life, black-eyed peas for prosperity, cabbage for luck and fortune, and lentils also for good fortune, pomegranate for abundance and fertility and fish represent moving forward in the new year. Today I will post a favorite dish using one of these food items.  This recipe comes from "Good Morning America". 

Saute:
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 green pepper, opt


Add:
15 oz tomato sauce
1/2 c tomato, chopped
1 c water
1/4 c dry lentil


Add:
1/4 tsp oregano
1/3 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp thyme
dash Tabasco sauce


Bring to a boil. Cover. Simmer on low for 45 minutes. 


Serve over pasta. Top with Mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese.  

December 31: Egg Rolls

New Year's Eve! In celebrating this day, we often have Chinese food so I am sharing my favorite egg roll recipe.

2 lbs ground pork
3 1/2 c diced carrots
4 c shredded cabbage
3 c diced mushrooms
3 c diced celery
1 medium diced onion
4 1/2 c bean sprouts
60 lumpia wrappers
2 or more TB soy sauce

Cook in order of ingredients. Brown pork. Drain fat from pork before adding vegetables. Add carrots, cook 3 minutes. Add celery and onions, cook 3 more minutes. Add cabbage and mushrooms, cook 3 more minutes. Add bean sprouts and soy sauce. Cook 1 minute. Spoon 1 TB mixture into each wrapper (follow directions on package of lumpia to fold.) Deep-fry 4 to 6 minutes til golden brown and heated all the way through. 

Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

December 30: Cream Cheese Appetizer

Are you preparing for New Year's eve parties? Try this recipe my sister Robyn gave me.

8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 jar jalapeno jelly


Place cream cheese on plate. Spoon jelly over cream cheese. Serve with Wheat Thins or Club Crackers.


Variation:
Use cocktail sauce instead of jelly and put imitation Krab on top.

December 29: Brown Sugar Muffins

Love these muffins. Thanks Becky for the recipe.

½ c butter 

1 c brown sugar 

1 egg

1 c milk

¼ tsp salt

1 tsp soda

2 c flour

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg. Add other ingredients alternating flour with milk. Mix. Bake in muffin tins at 350 for 15-20 minutes.

December 28: Quiche

From the kitchen of my friend, Liz comes this wonderful recipe.

1 unbaked 9” pastry shell

8 slices bacon, fried, crumbled, spread in bottom of pastry shell

Onion and parsley, opt. spread over bacon

2 c. grated Swiss cheese

4 beaten eggs, mixed with 1 can evaporated milk, salt and pepper to taste

Pour over cheese.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes or until done. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Variation:

Use Cheddar cheese instead of Swiss cheese and add a layer or two of fresh spinach. Or omit the bacon for a vegetarian dish. 

December 27: Quick and Easy Breadsticks

From my favorite food blog "Jamie Cooks it Up"

1 1/2 c warm water
2 TB sugar
1 TB yeast 
1/2 tsp salt
3 1/2-4 c flour
1/4 c butter 
3/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
Johnny's Garlic Seasoning


Mix the water, sugar and yeast together in a measuring cup or in the bottom of your mixer. Let it set for 5 minutes. Add the salt and the flour, one cup at a time, until it is well incorporated. Mix on high for 5 minutes. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes. Melt the butter and pour half of it into a jelly roll pan. Place the dough in the center of the pan. Let it sit for 2 or 3 minutes. Letting the dough rest makes it much easier to shape.Spread the dough out flat onto the pan until it reaches all of the edges. Pour the other half of the butter onto the dough. Spread it around with your hands. Sprinkle Johnny's Garlic Seasoning over the dough and then the Parmesan cheese. With a pizza cutter cut the dough into three rows lengthwise, and then into about 12 rows the other way. Put the pan into a 170 degree oven for about 7-10 minutes. The bread sticks should rise about 1 inch. Turn the oven up to 350 and bake for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown. When they come out of the oven let them sit and rest again for about 5 minutes. Then redefine the cutting lines with a pizza cutter. 

December 26: Cranberry Jello

Another recipe from Brenda, my friend in Boise.

8 oz crushed pineapple
6 oz raspberry jello
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 c chopped nuts
16 oz whole cranberry sauce
1 c whipping cream, whipped
Drain pineapple. Save liquid. Add water to make 2 cups. Bring liquid to boil and use to dissolve gelatin. Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add to cooled jello. Fold in whipped cream. Add cranberry sauce, pineapple and nuts. Let set.
Topping:
1 c pineapple
2 TB flour
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
8 oz Cool Whip
nuts, to taste

Boil all but Cool Whip until thick, stirring constantly. Cool, then fold in Cool Whip. Spread on top of salad, sprinkle with nuts.