Christmas Casserole - Using Leftovers

I love the holidays and all the food that goes with it, but when Christmas is done, after a few days I'm a bit tired of all the leftovers in the fridge.

There's only so much heating up of ham and potatoes a person can stand before getting sick of it.  One thing I like doing with leftovers, is to make it into a casserole, add a few spices here and there and make a new dish that won't have everyone turning their noses up at.....not to mention, it's a great way to use up the leftovers and not throw anything away.

Just use whatever you have on hand.  I've done similar one for Thanksgiving leftovers too.

Christmas Casserole

Leftover baked ham
Leftover mashed potatoes
Leftover veggies (this time I had a green bean casserole)
Shredded cheese
Heavy cream 

In a baking dish, layer half of the potatoes, top with diced baked ham, and the green bean casserole.  I seasoned it to my liking with some more salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Next I sprinkled on some shredded cheese and poured about a cup of heavy cream over.

Top with the remaining potatoes, smooth out and pop in a 375 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until heated through and bubbly.

{ Christmas Fruit Cake }

 It's that time of the year.  By now, if you're going to be making Fruit Cakes for Christmas, you need to start baking them or at the very least figuring getting all your ingredients ready to go.  The sooner you make them, the better they turn out.

I actually made my first in October, and today I made another two.  I'm using a completely different recipe, one which I got from one of my favorite vloggers Helen from Wright At Home on Youtube.

This is her grandmother's recipe, and I truly believe that the best recipes are those handed down from generation to generation.  Too often I see people trying to create shortcuts or substitute this for that ingredient in an attempt to make things more glamorous, but it doesn't always turn out well.  It's been my experience that the simplest of ingredients and the simplest of recipes are often the best ones.

This was my first time using Helen's recipe, and I think it may just become my go to and favorite for the holidays.

Christmas Fruit Cake

Source: Helen Wright

200 gr flour
200 gr butter
200 gr sugar (I used half light brown sugar and half white)
4 eggs
800 gr fruit
half tbsp salt
4 tbsp spice and cinnamon
1/4 cup chopped cherries
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup raisins
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


In a bowl, mix all the ingredients, until well incorporated.  I used my kitchenaid which made it easier to mix everything.

Line a cake pan.  The recipe didn't specify the size, but I used a round 8 inch pan for mine.  Make sure to line the bottom and sides of the pan.  Most fruit cakes require you to then wrap the pan in newspaper or brown paper and tie it, but this recipe didn't say to do that.

I was wondering if it would affect the bake, but it didn't and it baked up beautifully.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for one hour and a half to two hours.  The cake is ready when you insert a wooden skewer and it comes out completely dry.  Helen actually makes it a point to say that is what her grandmother used to say, so it needs to be absolutely dry which will help it keep for a long time once it's out of the oven.

Once baked, removed from oven and allow to cool completely, then poke holes with a wooden skewer and pour over either whiskey, brandy or rum. 

I use rum in my cakes, that's our preference.  There really is no measurement but if you need to measure then I would say about 2 tablespoons or so.

Allow it soak in, then double wrap the cake in saran plastic wrap, then double layer of aluminum foil.  You can keep the cakes in a tupperware cake box, or as they are, but keep them out of sunlight and in a dark spot.  I keep my cakes in the pantry.

Every week, until Christmas, unwrap them and feed them again with more drink of your choice.  These cakes will keep for a really long time.

Enjoy :)

Homemade Mincemeat Pies!!!

Mincemeat Pies, for me one of the staples of Christmas food.  For others, gag worthy.  Truly, I've met people who think they are absolutely vile to eat.  I however love them and grew up with them in South Africa, thing is, here in the States they are not very well known and you can't find them as easily available as back home, or in England for instance.

Another thing that seems to turn people off these little pies, is that they seem to think that they are very hard to make at home, but I'm here to tell you that it really is not and they taste so much better than store bought.

You can also make the filling at home, though I usually buy the big jar.  I'm pretty certain that homemade is way tastier too but I haven't had the chance to try that yet, maybe next year.

Anyway, I got the recipe for the pastry from one of my favorite Youtubers, Rebecca from Percy and Grace.  This is such a quick and easy recipe and the result is a buttery tasty flaky dough, perfect for these pies.

The recipe IS in grams and I'll see if I can convert it for you all, but I would highly suggest getting a kitchen scale that uses both grams/kilos and ounces/pounds, they are a life saver, really.

Homemade Mincemeat Pies

Source:  Percy and Grace

This recipe makes 12 mince pies but you could just increase or decrease the quantities to make more or less mince pies.

280g plain flour (about 2 and a 1/3 cups)
195g softened unsalted butter (about 3/4 cups)
95g caster sugar (white sugar)
2 medium eggs
1 large jar of mincemeat
Icing sugar for dusting (powdered sugar)



In a bowl, add the flour and the butter, mix with your fingertips or a knife to get a crumbly mixture. Add in one egg and mix well, dump onto a floured surface and fold the pasty dough over itself a few times, knead a little until it comes together well, try not to overmix though.

Wrap in plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 10 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 200 Celsius/425 Farenheit.

Roll out your dough to about 3mm about an 1/8th of an inch. Using a big cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles. Butter a muffin pan, and pop one circle in each, then press and mold to size. Drop in 1 and a half tablespoons of mincemeat filling.

Beat the other egg, and using a pastry brush, brush the edges of the pies. Roll out the dough again, cut out another 12 circles, top each pie with a circle, pressing down to seal. Glaze with the rest of the egg, sprinkle on some sugar and make a cut in the middle of each pie.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until nice and golden. Let cool and then pop them out of the pan and dust with icing sugar.

To store, place them in an airtight container, they will keep for about a week, but you can also freeze them for up to 3 months.

Enjoy!!!

Christmas Fruit Cake

About a week or two ago, I mentioned on Facebook that I really was craving fruit cake, and I was flooded with wonderful recipes from my friends.

I decided to try one right away, and the recipe I picked came from my sweet friend Lindsay at Rocking Chair Reflections. She actually gave me two recipes, and I've made both since then, so I'll share them here for you and if you're going to make one, you can pick whichever appeals to you the most.

Fruit Cake #1

1 and a half pounds of mixed fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants etc)
I lb dates (chopped and stoned)
half lb cherries
half lb walnuts
half lb butter (I use marge)
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
2 heaped cups flour -plain
4 eggs
1 teasp bicarb (baking soda)
2 teasp mixed spice
half teasp ground ginger
quarter teasp cinnamon
quarter teasp nutmeg
quarter teasp cloves (ground)

Cook all the fruit except the cherries and nuts with butter and sugar and 1 cup of water for 5 minutes. In very large pot (I mix the whole cake in this pot)
Allow to cool.
Add cherries and nuts.
Dissolve bicarb in one cup water.
Sift all dry ingredients.
Add eggs to mix, then bicarb, then dry ingredients.
Mix well and pour into greased lined pan.
I roll up newspaper and tie it around the outside of the cake tin as well.
Bake at 180C (350F) for half an hour, then drop the temp to 160C (320F) for about 2 and a half hours.

Once the cake is out of the oven, and still warm, poke holes in the top of it with a skewer, and drizzle/pour brandy over it to soak in. You can do this every now and then from now till Christmas.

Fruit Cake #2

Double this recipe at Christmas.

1lb mixed fruit
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
quarter lb marge
1 teaspoon bicarb (baking soda)
1 teasp mixed spice
dash cinnamon

Mix all the above in a large pot and boil for 10 mins

Add 2 cups flour - plain
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 beaten eggs
cherries
2 pieces of chopped glace pineapple
2 pieces of chopped glace fig
chopped walnuts.

Greased, lined pan + newspaper and string around.
Bake at 180 (350F) for quarter of an hour and then 160C (320F) for 1 and a quarter hours.

Eggnog Pancakes!

Oh Christmas, it seems like we always wait so long for it and then within a few hours it's all over and done with.

One of the things I most look forward to during this holiday, is the food, and you can't think of Christmas in the States without thinking of Eggnog.

Truthfully I had never tried it until I moved to the USA back in 1998, the only reason I even knew it existed was from all the hollywood movies we would watch.

But, it's since become one of my favorite Christmas pleasures.

Apart from drinking it, one of my favorite ways to serve eggnog is in pancakes and these are SO fluffly and airy, they rise up beautifully.  We have it for Christmas morning breakfast or even for dinner if we're too full from the Ham or the Turkey.

It doesn't mean you're only allowed to have it at this time of the year, go ahead and try it ANY time, they are delicious.

Eggnog Pancakes

Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 cups eggnog
* 2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Directions

1. In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg if desired. In another bowl, beat eggs, eggnog and butter; stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Pour batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto a lightly greased hot griddle. Turn when bubbles form on top; cook until second side is golden brown.

Notes:  I use the Shamrock Farms or Southern Comfort Eggnog

Leona's Whipped Short Breads

Another great recipe from Marie at A Year From Oak Cottage, honestly if you've never visited her blog you don't know what you're missing. I've made so many of her recipes and they're all keepers.

I didn't add the cherries to mine, I kept them plain because we're not cherry lovers here at home.

*Leona's Whipped Short breads*
Makes about 36

What can be easier than dumping everything into a bowl and then beating it together? Low on effort, but mighty big on flavour. Use the best butter that you can, these are well worth it.

1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sifted icing sugar
To decorate:
bits of candied cherries and fruit
icing sugar to dust over the finished cookies

Pre-heat your oven to 180*C/350*C. Line two baking sheets with some parchment paper and set aside.

Place the butter, flour and icing sugar into a large bowl and then turn on your electric mixer. Beat for 10 minutes. At first it will seem all lumpy and you won't be able to imagine them ever being a cookie, but persevere. After a bit they turn into a lovely silky mass.

Drop by teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets, about an inch apart. Decorate the top of each blog with a bit of candied cherry or fruit.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes until the bottoms of the cookies are lightly browned. Remove from the oven and scoop onto wire racks to finish cooling. Dust with some icing sugar just before serving.

Chocolate Peppermint Cookies!

I got this recipe from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog.

These came out SO good, if you're a chocolate peppermint fan you will enjoy these.

CHOCOLATE PEPPERMINT COOKIES
Lovella - Mennonite Girls Can Cook

• 2/3 cup butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 farm fresh egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup cocoa
• 1/2 cup hot coffee. . or water
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of semi sweet chocolate chips
• 3 tablespoons crushed candy canes

Cream the butter with the sugar.
Add the egg and the vanilla and beat well.

In a small bowl, combine the hot coffee and the cocoa and stir until no lumps remain.

After it has completely cooled, add to the sugar mixture.

Combine the dry ingredients and add to the creamed mixture.

Add the chocolate chips and the crushed candy canes.

Drop by a small ice cream scoop onto a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

Bake for about 8 minutes for little cookies at 350. The shiny spot in the middle of the cookie should have gone dull. . .but don't wait longer than that to remove them from the oven.

Melt 1 cup each of chocolate chips and white chocolate chips.

Put the melted chocolate in a zip loc bag or cake decorating bag and cut a small hole in the corner to squeeze the chocolate onto the cookie as shown.

Sprinkle a little bit of crushed candy cane on top of each cookie while the chocolate is still melted.

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen small cookies