Yule Salad

Recipe by Althaea
1/2 bag fresh cranberries
3 lg stalks celery
3-4 large carrots
1 large orange
1 can crushed pineapples
1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts, your preference)
1 large (or 2 small) box raspberry, or raspberry-cranberry Jello
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
Open can of pineapples and drain, saving the juice. Put aside. Mix the saved juice from the pineapples and 1 cup of cold water together.
Prepare Jello according to directions, but where the directions call for 2 cups cold water, use the 1 cup cold water/pineapple juice mixture. Before you add the cold mixture to the hot, add the sugar to the hot Jello mixture, and dissolve, then add cold water/pineapple juice mixture, combine well and refrigerate. Be sure to put into a large salad or mixing bowl.
Shred the carrots finely - put aside.
Finely chop celery with a knife or food processor. (I only like the flavor of celery, not the texture, so I use the blender to chop it up very fine)
Chop or crush walnuts
Grate orange peel with fine grater (a cheese grater will do).
Peel orange and clean as much of the pith (the white stuff) away as possible, and section by hand.
In a blender put the cranberries, one handful at a time into the water and chop finely. Add the orange sections and chop more coarsely (using the pulse button on your blender). Add to the Jello mixture. Add all other ingredients to the Jello mixture and mix well. Refrigerate over night.

Topping for salad:
You may top with whipped cream or Cool Whip, but I love this topping the best, it is a nice accent to the sweetness of the salad.
1 cup sour cream
1 cup real mayonnaise
Blend well and place by the tablespoonful on top of the gelled salad. Enjoy!! Happy Yule!
Joanna L. Davis (aka Althaea)

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COTTAGE PIE
2lbs of hamburger browned
1 med onion chopped
1 package of froxen peas and carrots
3 beef buillon cubes or 2 tsp of the powdered
pkg of brown gravy mix
3-5 lbs of potatoes mashed and creamed..
1-2 cups grated cheddar cheese…
Directions:
After you have browned the hamburger…
add the onion– cook till tender– add the peas and carrots..
Take 1/12 c. of water with the buillon cubes and gravy mix…
simmer till thick, then add to meat mixture.
Simmer another 5 mins….
Put this mixture into a pyrex pan –13. x 9 size
Top the mixture with the mashed potatoes and then the cheese on top..
Bake in an oven set @ 350 for 20 mins….
Serve with warm french crusty bread with lotsa butter on top
and a green salad.

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EASY ROSEMARY BEER BREAD

ingredients

12 oz wholewheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 oz sun dried tomatoes, chopped finely
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 fl oz real ale
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

method

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. Line a 1 lb 9 oz loaf tin with non stick baking parchment.

3. Place the wholemeal flour in a bowl and stir in the baking powder;
chopped sun dried tomatoes, rosemary and salt.

4. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Add the ale and olive
oil, and mix to a firm dough.

5. Press the dough into the loaf tin and score the top.

6. Bake for 30 minutes, until well risen and the base of the bread sounds
hollow when tapped.

serving amount

makes 10 slices.

Courtesy of CatDancing @ Witch’s Brew on MSN

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GARLIC-HERB CHEESE SPREAD

1 cup ricotta or farmer cheese
8 ounces cream cheese, softened and cut up
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tblsps. chopped fresh herbs (marjoram, oregano, rosemary,
sage, savory or thyme)
2 tblsps. fresh basil, chopped
1 tblsp. fresh chervil or chives, chopped
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. hot pepper sauce
Fresh herb sprigs
assorted crackers

Place first 9 ingredients in blender container or food
processor with metal blade. Cover and process until smooth.
Cover and refrigerate at least one hour. Garnish with
fresh herb sprigs and serve with crackers. Makes 2 cups.

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Brown Sugar Candy

3 C. light brown sugar

1 C. water

1 t. white vinegar

2 egg whites - beaten stiff

1 C. nuts - chopped

Boil the sugar, water and vinegar until it forms a string. Beat in the beaten egg whites. Beat together until cool. Add the nuts and drop on waxed paper.

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It is Time to get the grills out and BBQ!!!!

Horn-Honking BBQ Sauce
1cup Ketchup
1/2 cup beer or non-alcoholic beer
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup Worcesteshire sauce
1 Tbsp. steak seasoning
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. Cajun seasoning
Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan.
Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Use as a basting sauce while grilling.
Makes about 3 1/2 cups.

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“A LUSTY BREW FOR BELATINE”
by Edain McCoy

1 liter ginger ale
1 pound honey
1 cup orange juice
2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup passion fruit juice
1/2 cup lime juice
1/2 cup papaya juice
1 cup alcohol of choice for “spiking” (optional)
1 spacious punch bowl

In a medium-sized sauce pan, blend the honey and
the orange juice over medium heat. Keep stirring
until the honey is completely blended into the
liquid. If you can still feel “heaviness” in the
bottom of the pan, keep stirring. Remove from heat
and allow to cool completely. In another bowl,
combine remaining ingredients. Pour honey mixture
into the punch bowl over crushed ice or ice cubes.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

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• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup unsprayed marigold petals
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 to 2 inch piece vanilla bean
• 3 egg yolks, slightly beaten
• 1/8 tsp. allspice
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. rose water
• Whipped cream

Using a clean mortar and pestal reserved for cooking purposes, pound marigold petals. Or, crush with a spoon. Mix the salt sugar and spices together.

Scald milk with the marigolds and the vanilla bean. Remove the vanilla bean and add the egg yolks and dry ingredients. Cook on low heat.

When the mixture coats a spoon, add rose water and cool. Top with whipped cream. Garnish with fresh marigold petals.

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Easter Bonnets
Easy to make and delicious, these beautiful Easter Bonnets will give your Sunday celebration a stylish flare.
Prep time: 15 min.
Baking time: 12 min.
Decoration time: 40 min.
Difficulty: Challenging

What you’ll need:

1 bag each of M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies for Easter, STARBURST® Brand Jellybeans, SKITTLES® Brand Bite Size Candies for Easter, STARBURST® Brand FUN SIZE® Fruit Chews for Easter
10 medium cupcakes (2-1/2-inch) , store bought or homemade
1 package refrigerated sugar dough, or ten 4-1/2-inch cookies
2 16-oz. containers prepared white frosting
Food coloring

Step by step
–> What to do:

Roll the sugar dough to 1/4-inch thickness. Press out ten 4-1/2-inch cookies. Bake the cookies according to directions on the package. Set aside.

Remove the paper cupcake liners from the cupcakes. Trim the rounded top of each cupcake to square it off.

Ice the top of each cupcake with 1 tablespoon of frosting. Turn the cupcakes upside down and place them on the cookies. Set the “cookie hats” on a wire rack.

Divide the icing into 4 bowls. Beginning with a few drops of food coloring, tint the icing in each bowl to a desired pastel shade. One at a time, place the bowls into the microwave for 15 seconds. Stir the icings to achieve a consistency that’s easy to pour but not too runny—like a milkshake.

Spoon icing over the hats, completely covering them. Set aside for 10 minutes to let icing firm up. If necessary, spoon icing over the hats again to coat them completely.

Decorate each hat using M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies for Easter, STARBURST® Brand Jellybeans, and SKITTLES® Brand Bite Size Candies for Easter.

To make hat ribbons, unwrap STARBURST® Brand FUN SIZE® Fruit Chews for Easter. Soften them in the microwave for 5 seconds. Then thinly roll them, cut them into thin ribbons, and wrap them around the hats.

Makes 10 bonnets.

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Easter Bunny Bundt Cake
Enjoy a fun, colorful Easter with this creative bunny cake!
Prep time: 15 min.
Baking time: 55 to 65 min.
Decoration time: 25 min.
Difficulty: Moderate

What you’ll need:

Cake:

1 bag MILKY WAY® Brand MIDNIGHT® Minis
1 bag DOVE® Chocolate Eggs
1 bag STARBURST® Brand Original Jellybeans
1 box (18.25-oz) devil’s food cake mix
1 box (3-oz.) chocolate instant pudding
1 can (16-oz.) milk chocolate frosting
1 can (16-oz.) vanilla frosting
Green food coloring
1 12 cup bundt pan
Re-sealable plastic bag

Cookies

1 bag M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Minis
1 roll (18-oz.) refrigerated sugar cookie dough
2/3 cup flour
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/8 cup decorating sugar each pink, orange and yellow
1 tube white decorating frosting
2 cookie sheet pans
Parchment paper
Printable template or bunny cookie cutters

Step by step
–> What to do:
Cake:

Prepare cake mix according to package instructions. Stir in chocolate pudding powder.

Fold 2 cups of chopped MILKY WAY® Brand MIDNIGHT® Minis into batter before pouring into a grease and flour bundt pan.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove and cool completely.

Invert cake, remove from pan and cover completely with chocolate frosting.

Tint vanilla frosting green and spoon into a resealable plastic bag with a snipped small corner. Pipe “grass” on top and a few patches at the base of the cake.

Bunny Cookies:

Meanwhile: knead flour into cookie dough and roll to scant 1/4-inch thickness. Press out 12 large and 12 small bunnies with cutters or with out printable template. Transfer to a parchment lined cookie sheet.

Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Remove and cool completely.

Lightly brush corn syrup on cookies and sprinkle with desired color of decorating sugar. With a dot of frosting, attach M&M’S® Brand Milk Chocolate Minis as eyes.

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Baked Sweet Potato Thins
(makes 4 servings)

canola oil cooking spray
2 8-ounce (240 g) sweet potatoes, peeled and very thinly sliced
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat the to 375°F (190°C), Gas Mark 5.
Spray a non stick cookie sheet with cooking spray. Place the thin potato
slices in a single layer on the sheet and spray with the cooking spray.
Sprinkle with pepper to taste.

Bake, turning once if necessary, until the potatoes are cooked through.
The time will depend on the thickness.

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Candlemas Crescent Cakes

1 1/4cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup finely ground almonds

3 drops almond extract

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1 tablespoon honey

1 egg yolk

In a large mixing bowl, combine the first four ingredients.

Add the butter, honey, egg yolk and mix together well.

Cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and then chill for

1½ to 2 hours in the refrigerator.

When ready, pinch off pieces of the dough (about the size of plums)

and shape them into crescents.

Place the crescents on a well-greased cookie sheet and bake

in a 350-degree preheated oven for approximately 20 minutes.

The recipe yields about one dozen crescent cakes

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Imbolc Cream Cheese Pound Cake 

3 cups sugar

3 sticks butter

3 cups cake flour

2 tsps vanilla

6 eggs

1 8-oz cream cheese

Cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add sugar; cream well. Add eggs 

one at a time and beat well. Add vanilla, then add cake flour slowly, 

creaming well. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 325° 

for 1 hour 10 minutes.

 ~author unknown ~

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Crisp Rosemary Herb Dipping Potatoes Recipe

This is an easy, delicious recipe to prepare and is a perfect side dish for a variety of main courses. Use also for serving with your fresh vegetable Dips or spicy Salsa. Serves 4 for dinner or special party gathering. (See Party Hint Below) Crisp Rosemary Herb Dipping Potatoes Recipe Ingredients: Follow safe food handling procedures:
2 to 2-1/2 lbs. fresh dug organic garden red potatoes, cut into 1/4-inch thick slices.

2 Tablespoons olive oil.

2 Tablespoons fresh organic herb garden picked rosemary - chopped or dried rosemary if out of season.
Sea salt to taste.

Freshly ground mixed colored peppercorns to taste.

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Fried Honeycakes

These cakes are not unlike those made on the night before Beltane by
women around the turn of the century. These cakes were left in the
garden to please Faery visitors.

1/2 cup sweet white wine
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1 cup honey
2/3 cup flour
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
Oil for frying
1/8 teaspoon salt
Beat the wine & egg in a medium bowl. Combine the flour, cinnamon,
salt & sugar in a small bowl. Stir into the egg mixture. Let stand
30 minutes. Combine the honey & nutmeg in a small bowl. Heat 1/2-
inch of the oil in a frying pan until hot, but not smoking. Drop the
batter into the oil 1 tablespoon at a time; fry until golden brown.
Drain on paper towels. Dip into the honey.

Yield: 1 1/2 Dozen.

Can also be eaten on Lammas and the Day of the Dryads.

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