cranberry salad

wow. thanksgiving is really already here! love, love it. can't wait to stuff my face. i just wish we were all stuffing our faces together! james, here is what i am making this year. i think i've had it with my thanksgiving meal as long as i can remember.



1 pkg. fresh cranberries, grind in blender, cover with 1 cup sugar and refrigerate 1 hour.
1 pint whipping cream-whip until very thick. add sugar and vanilla to taste.
Add: cranberries after standing 1 hour
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 large can crushed pineapple, drained

i just realized there's no jello, but it definitely fills that category, haha!

pretzel jello

this stuff is so good it kind of doubles as dessert! (kind of like our bavarian dessert in layers)

2 C. crushed pretzels
1/4 C. sugar
3/4 C. melted butter
8 oz. (1 block) cream cheese, softened
1 C. powdered sugar
9 oz. cool whip
16 oz. strawberry jello (lg. box)
2 C. boiling water
10 oz. bag frozen strawberries/raspberries

combine first three ingredients as the crust and press into a 9x13 pan. bake at 400 degrees for 6 min. cool to room temp.

blend the cream cheese and powdered sugar until smooth, then add the cool whip and spread over cooled crust.

dissolve jello in boiling water and stir in frozen fruit right after. chill until partially set (about 45 minutes). spoon over cream cheese layer. cool until firm. cut into squares and serve!

jello salad

this is what i'm making for thanksgiving james!

1 lg. box raspberry (or strawberry... both are yummy) jello
about 1 1/2 C. frozen raspberries, mostly thawed
about 1 C. cool whip

make jello as directed on box (you can put the raspberries in the jello while it's setting up, but i just throw them in at the end)

once jello is set up add the raspberries and cool whip (i just add both until it's the right consistency) and blend everything together with your beaters.

YUM!

sorry for the nasty picture that i found on the internet, but this is what it kind of looks like. no i do not put my jello salad in the plastic part of a longaberger basket, nor do i recommend it.

ooo that just reminded me of pretzel jello... do we have that on here?

thanksgiving

Hey ladies i need a good thanksgiving jello salad recipe, I know you guys are good for it!!

pumpkin cookies

i've gotten several requests for these from family members who i point to this blog, but the recipe was no where to be found. my bad! i posted it on my own blog last year, so follow this link to get the yummy recipe!

in the meantime, here is the cream cheese frosting recipe i use:

1 (8 oz.) block cream cheese, softened

1/4 C. butter softened

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2-3 C. powdered sugar

Cream first 3 ingredients together and add the powdered sugar until it reaches the desired consistency.

The Stuffing

Sorry for tiny-ness of the picture

It's turkey day this week!  We'll be out of town and sort of swapping the traditional dinner for grabbing some grub after the Macy's parade.  But you know I can never truly skip Thanksgiving dinner, especially the stuffing!  So I made a mini version before FHE last week with my own take on grandma's stuffing and a little help from Rachel Ray in the turkey department.  :)    And so, I now can give you:  Apple Sausage Stuffing, the recipe!

12 oz sausage, crumbled
 1 medium white onion, diced
4 ribs celery, sliced up
2-3 small apples, diced (I like golden delicious and I don't peel them but you can do whatever you want)
1 forkful minced garlic (I buy the pre-chopped but my best guess would be about a clove)
tiny pinch of nutmeg
2 T butter
2 bags croutons (I use "Fresh Gourmet" butter & garlic but again, just pick)
2 dried bay leaves
2 cups chicken stock

Brown and crumble sausage, transfer to plate w/ paper towel to drain.  In the same skillet saute onion, celery, apples and garlic, then add in nutmeg and salt n' pepper when everything's starting to get soft, set aside.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Put butter in a rectangle cake pan and let melt while oven preheats.  When butter is melted, pour in croutons and coat.  Then add in sausage and onion/celery/apple mixture and toss until evenly distributed, lay bay leaves on top.  Drizzle chicken stock over all of it until everything is pretty moist.  Bake 15-20 minutes.  I pull it out at 15 to fluff it a little and see how it's coming.  Pull out bay leaves and serve!

Whoops!  I forgot, I always toss in a couple handfuls of craisins before I bake it.  Just p.s.