MomCooks

Thanks to Jimmy Dean, I’ve got some tips for saving time in the kitchen and some holiday entertaining shortcuts from Lifestyle Expert Sissy Biggers to share with MomCooks readers!

Holiday Entertaining Tips

With the holidays comes the busiest cooking days of the year and the best hosts are those who are able to settle in on the couch and enjoy the quality time with their family. Below are some food prep and holiday entertaining shortcuts from Lifestyle Expert Sissy Biggers to ensure people spend less time slaving over the oven and more time with the people who mean the most.

1. Don’t be afraid to delegate!

- A good guest asks, “What can I do to help?!” Take them up on it! Whether its stuffed mushrooms, or apple pie, ask your friends and family to bring their favorite side dish or to prepare a recipe from their favorite food magazine.

2. Maximize trips to the supermarket by selecting key ingredients and holiday staples that can be used in multiple recipes.

- The same Jimmy Dean Sausage that adds traditional flavor to your stuffing can also be crumbled and stuffed into whole mushrooms for an easy hot appetizer that will keep your guest satisfied.

3. Save time by choosing recipes and side dishes that break down the process with DO-AHEAD steps that can be completed days in advance.

- Blanch green vegetables a day ahead and shock in an ice bath (to stop the cooking) and drain.

- Prepare the sausage topping for a Mushroom Bruschetta appetizer two days in advance, refrigerate and then heat before serving

4. Be sure your linens are table-ready well before the holiday and flatware is matching and polished

- NOW is the time to check your stash of cloth napkins and table coverings to be sure they are not crumpled or stained from last year’s festivities. Keep an eye out for discounted linens and choose a color scheme to compliment what you have on hand.

Holiday Recipes from Jimmy Dean

Click these links to get recipes for an appetizer, breakfast dish, and side dish all using Jimmy Dean sausage!

Sausage Cheese Balls

6 Layer Breakfast Casserole

Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Maple Sausage Corn Bread Pudding

Reprinted from TLC Cooking

Families come together at Thanksgiving to celebrate, catch up and feast. While you may be looking forward to seeing your favorite relatives and eating Aunt Caroline’s famous pumpkin pie, the crush of people and unfamiliar foods can overwhelm children. Bring the holiday down to their size with a kid’s table supplied with familiar favorites and kid-sized versions of traditional Thanksgiving dishes.

Let Them Eat Snacks:

It’s hard to be patient and good-natured when you’re hungry, especially when you’re only about waist-high. Rather than ask your juvenile guests to wait for the turkey and trimmings to be served, let them start the party early at a children’s table set with festive offerings of healthy finger foods. They can socialize and graze on cheese straws, raw vegetables, cheese cubes, grapes, nuts and, of course, popcorn. They’ll be happy (and not underfoot) while you cook the main meal.

Downsize:

The volume of food and the oversized portions of Thanksgiving dinner can be daunting to little appetites. In your menu, include a batch of chicken drumsticks or turkey nuggets as options to the super-sized turkey drumsticks.

Then, put your muffin pans to work to take other offerings down a size, too.

* Use the mini muffin pan to bake a batch of tiny cranberry orange muffins.
* In the regular size muffin pan, bake individual servings of dressing, blessed with plenty of crispy edges.
* Make cupcakes for the kids to decorate after dinner.
* To make miniature pies, cut five-inch (12.7-centimeter) circles out of pie crust dough. Press the dough circles into muffin cups and fill with pie filling. Trim the tops with leftover dough scraps and bake.

For active kids, provide take-and-go desserts like bite-sized cookies.

Ask for Help:

Kids will be more interested in trying foods they help prepare, so get them involved in the cooking. Younger chef-apprentices can arrange vegetable and cheese trays, even if they’re too young to wield a knife. Let them toast bread for stuffing and get their hands into the bowl to mix it all up.

To get older kids cooperating, ask them to name their can’t-live-without Thanksgiving dessert or side dish then, delegate the cooking of that item to them. Urge them to start early, maybe a day or two before Thanksgiving, and provide guidance appropriate to their age. Be sure to let them present the dish at dinner, and maybe brag a little.

Happy Endings:

When you fire up the coffee pot for dessert, don’t forget to brew up some happiness for the children, too. A mug of hot chocolate is the perfect ending to a busy day. To make it like Grandma did, in a sauce pan, heat one cup of milk with two tablespoons (12 grams) of cocoa and two tablespoons (12 grams) of sugar for each serving. When the cocoa is hot (but not boiling) pour it into kid-safe mugs.

My husband requested steak for Father’s Day, so this is the recipe I’m using:

1/2 cup A.1. Original Steak Sauce
1/2 cup KRAFT Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves
2 beef rib-eye steaks (1 lb.)

MIX all ingredients except steaks; reserve 1/4 cup. Pour remaining steak sauce mixture over steaks in resealable plastic bag; seal bag. Turn over to coat both sides of steak with sauce. Refrigerate 30 min. to marinate.

HEAT grill to medium-high heat. Remove steak with marinade; discard bag and marinade.

GRILL steak 4 to 5 min. on each side or until done (160°F.) Serve topped with reserved dressing mixture.

I’m serving it with corn on the cob, tossed salad, and ice cream cake for dessert.

Luck of the Irish Potato Stew

2 pounds lamb cut into chunks
2 pounds white potatoes cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 onions, chopped
3 to 4 cups water
Parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

Layer half of the potatoes in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Next add half of the onions. Place all the lamb on top of the potatoes and onions. Place the other half of the onions on top of the lamb and finish with the other half of the potatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Add a small amount of parsley to the top.

Add enough water about 3 to 4 cups to come 2/3 of the way up the pan. Place pan over high heat and bring to a rapid boil. Once boiling place heat on low temperature and cover pan. Cook approximately 2 hours or until potatoes are fork tender. Stew should become slightly thick. Water can be added during cooking if stew become to thick for your liking.

For more easy recipes like this, visit Dine Without Whine – Your #1 Source For Family Friendly Meal Planning!

Here are this week’s four questions. The theme this week is Thanksgiving.

#1. Stuffing. Boxed or from scratch?
#2. If you were served the perfect Thanksgiving dinner what would it be?
#3. What’s your favorite Thanksgiving leftover?
#4. Share a recipe using turkey.

#1- Boxed. I like Stove Top Cornbread stuffing, but if the store is out I use Chicken. Oddly, I don’t care for the taste of Stove Top Turkey stuffing.

#2- When I cook Thanksgiving dinner, I make MY perfect dinner! Turkey breast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, canned yams cut up and cooked in butter and brown sugar, and apple pie for dessert. Yum!

#3- I really like Thanksgiving leftovers. I can eat plates of turkey, potatoes, yams and stuffing warmed up for a good two or three meals.

#4-  TURKEY DIVAN

Casserole Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
2 cups milk (whole or 2% is best)
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing (light is okay, not fat free)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 boxes (9 oz each) frozen broccoli spears, thawed, drained
3 cups cubed cooked turkey
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 oz)

Topping Ingredients:
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tablespoon butter or margarine, melted

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. In 2-quart saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and bouillon granules. Gradually stir in milk, cooking and stirring constantly with wire whisk, until mixture boils and thickens. Stir in mayonnaise and mustard until well blended.
2. In ungreased 12×8-inch (2-quart) glass baking dish, arrange broccoli spears. Top with chicken. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with cheese.
3. In small bowl, mix topping ingredients; sprinkle over top. Bake about 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

For more answers to this week’s FFoF questions, visit Fun, Crafts and Recipes

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