Cheese Grits

Cheese Grits

4 cups water or broth
1 cup whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 cups uncooked quick-cooking grits
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded Gouda or Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons hot sauce

Bring first 4 ingredients and 4 cups water to a boil in a Dutch oven over high heat; whisk in grits, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat, and stir in cheese and remaining ingredients.

Melissa’s Best Deviled Eggs

In my opinion these are the simplest, best deviled eggs ever!

Melissa’s Best Deviled Eggs

7 large eggs, hard boiled and peeled
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
Salt and pepper, for taste
Paprika, for garnishing

Halve 7 eggs lengthwise. Remove yolks and place in a small bowl. Mash yolks with a fork and stir in mayonnaise and pickle relish. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Fill egg whites evenly with yolk mixture. Garnish with paprika. Store covered in refrigerator.

Tip: Often, I will boil a couple of extra eggs and treat my dog to the whites and add the extra yolks to the mixture to make the stuffed eggs even fuller. Add extra mayonnaise and relish to taste.

Phyllo Vegetable Pot Pie

I recently made this recipe and loved it. The process is a bit time consuming, but well worth the effort. I made it for no special occasion, but this pot pie would make an elegant entree for any holiday or company dinner. I made a number of changes to the recipe, using ingredients I had on hand – it worked! I noted the changes in the recipe below.

Phyllo Vegetable Pot Pie

8 ounces leeks (I used one cup chopped onion)

1 stick, plus 3 tbsp. butter

8 ounces carrots, diced

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced (I used a half-pint jar or home canned mushrooms)

8 ounces Brussels sprouts, quartered (I used a 10 ounce pkg. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed)

2 garlic cloves, minced

4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 block)

4 ounces Roquefort or Stilton cheese (I used 1/2 half cup shredded Parmesan and 1/2 cup swiss)

2/3 cup heavy cream (I used half & half)

2 eggs, beaten

8 ounces cooking apples, peeled and chopped (I used Granny Smith Apples)

8 ounces cashew nuts or pine nuts, toasted (I used chopped walnuts)

12 ounces frozen phyllo dough, thawed (I used a 10 ounce pkg.)

salt and pepper to taste

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut leeks in half through the root and wash them to remove any soil, separating the layers slightly to check that they are clean. Slice into 1/2 inch pieces, drain and dry on paper towels.
2. Heat 3 tbsp. of the butter in a large pan and cook leeks and carrots over medium heat for 5 minutes. (I used onions.) Add the mushrooms, Brussels sprouts (I added the broccoli instead) and garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. Wisk the cream cheese, blue cheese (or other cheeses), cream, and eggs in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over the vegetables.
4. Peel and core the apples and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Add them to the vegetables with the nuts.
5. Melt the remaining butter in a pan. (I melted it in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave.) Brush the inside of a 9 inch springform pan with melted butter. Brush two-thirds or the pastry sheets with butter, one at a time, and use them to line the bottom and sides of the pan, overlapping the layers so that there are no gaps.
6. Spoon in the vegetable mixture and fold the excess phyllo pastry over toward the center to cover the filling.
7. Brush the remaining phyllo sheets with butter and cut them into 1 inch strips, arranging them decoratively in a rough mound.
8. Bake for 35 – 40 minutes, until golden brown and crisp all over. Let stand for 5 minutes to cool, then carefully remove the pan and transfer the pie to a serving plate.
9. Enjoy!

Tip: Keep phyllo sheets covered with a damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out. Remove each sheet as you use them. Phyllo dough dries out quickly and becomes brittle!

You can see how pretty it looked! The filling held together nicely.

I served this with Roasted Beets with Gorgonzola Cheese and Walnuts and Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower and Strawberry Pretzel Salad for dessert. Yum!

We had enough leftover for lunch the following day. The potpie was delicious served at room temperature or heated.

I found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks – Vegetarian by Linda Fraser. I’ve had this cookbook for about ten years I think. Love it.

Roasted Beets with Gorgonzola Cheese and Walnuts

We love beets in our house. We usually eat them fresh, but every once in a while I will open a can and make Spiced Beets. This recipe or rather, method, is delicious and savory.

Roasted Beets with Gorgonzola Cheese and Walnuts

Trim tops from beets and wash. Place in a pot of water and bring to a boil, then simmer until tender. Cool.

I like to wear rubber gloves at this point and rub the outer skin off the beets, but you don’t really have to. Place beets in a casserole dish or roasting pan. Top with several pats to butter. Just eye-ball it. I like to give a good amount of butter over the top based on how many beets I am cooking. Sprinkle Gorgonzola and chopped walnuts over the top and roast for 20 or 30 minutes.

Delicious!

Love Bug Valentines

I found this adorable printable valentine this morning. If I had seen these earlier, I would have used them for my daughter Hannah who loves all things Bugs. However the cards she did make are super cute, and I am very happy with them. We had our Valentine social last night and it was a lot of fun!

However, if you are needing a last minute idea, these would be great for any boy or girl (in my house) who loves bugs.

Visit Dandee Designs to download the file.

Pear and Pomegranate Salad

This recipe would be lovely served for Christmas dinner or at a ladies luncheon any time during the winter months.

Pear and Pomegranate Salad

3 cups green leaf lettuce, rinsed and torn
1 Bartlett or Anjou pear
1/3 cup pomegranate seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons pomegranate juice
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon prepared Dijon-style mustard
1/2 tablespoon honey
ground black pepper to taste

Divide the lettuce between two bowls. Halve and core the pear, then cut each half in slices. Divide the pear slices and pomegranate seeds among the two bowls and mix gently. Combine the vegetable oil, pomegranate juice, lemon juice, mustard, honey, and pepper in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until the dressing thickens slightly, about 2 minutes. Pour the warm dressing over the salads and serve.

Note: A good blue cheese would be yummy on this. You could even add a handful of chopped walnuts.

Candy Cane Popcorn

This recipe would be perfect for gift bags. Make up a batch, divide them into baggies and pass them out to children at church, school, or put them on the buffet at your Christmas party!

Candy Cane Popcorn

1/2 cup popcorn kernels
4 ounces vanilla-flavored confectioners’ coating, or as needed
6 peppermint candy canes, crushed

Using an air popper, pop the popcorn, place into a large bowl, and discard kernels that didn’t pop. Melt the confectioners’ coating according to the package directions. Pour the melted coating over the popcorn, and sprinkle the crushed candy canes over the mixture. Using your hands, work the candy coating and crushed candy canes all through the popcorn. Let the mixture cool, and break apart into bite-size pieces.

Host a Gingerbread Party for Kids

Looking for ways to make this year’s Christmas celebration memorable for your kids? Why not host a gingerbread party? I bet this would be fun for moms, too! HGTV has some great ideas. Check them out! Not to mention the adorable invitations and recipe cards you can print for free!  Plus! More printables: a red and green banner, gingerbread party circles, fancy food labels, and more!

Holiday Wreath Appetizer

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sour cream

Remove crescent dough from packaging (do not unroll). Cut each tube into eight slices. Arrange in an 11-in. circle on an ungreased 14-in. pizza pan.

Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing to a serving platter; cool completely.

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese, sour cream, dill and garlic powder until smooth. Spread over wreath; top with broccoli, celery and red pepper. Form a bow garnish with celery leaves. Yield: 16 servings.

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

Lemon Cheesecake Squares

Crust:

3/4 cup shortening
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam

Filling:
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
1/3 cup lemon juice
4 teaspoons grated lemon peel

In a mixing bowl, cream shortening and brown sugar. Combine the flour, oats and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture. Press dough into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Spread with jam.

For filling, beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour until fluffy. Add the eggs, lemon juice and peel just until blended. Carefully spoon over jam. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and store in the refrigerator.

To cut into squares, dip knife in warm water and between each slice, cleaning as needed.

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