Sparkling Grape Juice

1 quart homemade grape juice
1/2 bottle of 7-up or sprite

Eggnog - December at Korrie's house

Homemade Eggnog

Day 1:
6 eggs
1 14-oz. can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 c. milk
1 pinch salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
4-6 whole cloves
2 tsp. vanilla (or to taste)

Day 2:
2 c. milk
1 c. half & half

Beat eggs; mix in condensed milk, 2 c. milk, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Cook this mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from heat. Stir one minute, then cover and refrigerate over night.

The next day, strain the mixture to remove cloves and any curdled egg bits. Put custard mixture in blender with half & half, and as much milk as you can fit in! Blend until completely homogenized. Pour in a pitcher, and stir in any remaining milk. Serve well-chilled.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup - December at Korrie's

YES, you can use gnocchi you buy at the store. Some are lousy; some are not so bad. It won't be quite as good as homemade, but I freely admit the making the gnocchi is the most time consuming part of the process! If you're going to make gnocchi, make a double batch and freeze half. You'll have enough for another BIG batch of soup. (I freeze them in a single layer on a cookie sheet *after* they have been cooked. They won't survive uncooked.)

Gnocchi

6 oz. flour
2 eggs
2 lbs russet potatoes
Salt
Garlic salt

Wash potatoes and place in heavily salted water. Cook until potatoes are soft. Drain and then peel. Push potatoes through a fine grater or a ricer.

Combine potatoes, flour and eggs in mixing bowl. Mix well with hands until dough does not stick to hands (add small amounts of flour at a time if needed)

Divide dough into 4 sections. Roll out each section into a long rope. Cut each rope into ½” pieces. Push fork tines on each piece for the classic gnocchi appearance.

Bring water to a boil in a sauce pot. Drop in several gnocchi at a time and cook until they float. Pull out with a slotted spoon and place in a shallow dish. I then salted mine with garlic salt because otherwise they are pretty bland. I refrigerated mine overnight and pulled out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes to 1 hour before adding to crock pot.

Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Cooked chicken; cut up (I at least one whole chicken--Costco rotisserie chicken is great!)

8-10 cups of chicken stock

2-4 cups heavy whipping cream

2 large stalks celery, chopped small

Garlic (I used most of one whole bulb, minced)

2-3 large carrots shredded

1 small onion diced small

1-2 cups fresh spinach, chopped

1-2 T. olive oil

Thyme (I used one whole pkg. of fresh thyme; you could use dry)

Salt and pepper

Garlic salt

Red pepper flakes

1-2 lbs gnocchi (pre-cooked)

Potato pearls to thicken

Sauté the celery, onion, garlic and carrots in the olive oil. Poured the chicken stock into the crock pot and put crock pot on high. Then add the chicken and the sautéed vegetables. Season it with the thyme, garlic salt, salt and pepper. Let this just do its thing for a couple of hours. Now after this has cooked nicely for a couple of hours and before adding the cream and the gnocchi, add the spinach and after it has wilted add the cream and the gnocchi. After adding the cream and gnocchil put the crock pot on low and then leave for a while again. Taste for seasoning and add the red pepper flakes and any other salt, pepper, garlic salt if you like. If not thick enough to your liking, add a few handfuls of potato pearls to thicken.

Sausage Cheese Balls

I didn't care for these but I think I used too much sausage (I used the whole pound).

• 1 pound shredded Cheddar cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 pound butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black or cayenne pepper
• 8 ounces pork sausage, cooked and drained

In large mixer bowl, combine cheese, butter, flour, salt and pepper. Beat with electric mixer on medium-low speed. Stir in cooked sausage. Form dough into 1-in. balls; place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. Serve warm or cold. Store in refrigerator or freezer.

French Bread (November at Maria's House)

This recipe is Marci Petersen's from the latest version of the Major Meadows Ward cookbook.

2 1/2 cups warm water
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp dry yeast
1 tbsp salt
2 tbsp oil
6 cups flour

In a large mixing bowl combine water, sugar, and yeast.  (I use my Kitchen Aid.)  Let stand for 5 minutes.  Stir in salt, oil, and 3 cups of flour.  Stir vigorously.  Add remaining flour slowly as needed and mix well.  (You may or may not need all the flour.)  Let rest in bowl for 5 minutes.  Stir down.  Repeat this process two more times.  Place dough onto a floured board.  Knead only enough to coat dough with flour so it can be handled; divide in half.  Flatten out into rectangles, roll up from the long side.  Pinch seam to seal.   Arrange both loaves lengthwise on a large, well greased cookie sheet.  Place seam side down.  Let rise about 20-25 minutes until doubled in size.  Use a very sharp knife to gently make 3 diagonal slashes in the top of each loaf.  Bake at 375 for 23-25 minutes.  Cool on racks.

Note:  If you want a crisper crust, you can use a spray bottle to spray a fine mist of water onto the loaves.  Also misting the sides of the oven with water will create steam which will help make the crust crustier.  You can also place an empty pan on the bottom shelf of the oven while the oven is preheating.  After adding the bread to the over, pour cold water into the hot pan on the bottom shelf.  Again, this will create steam which will make a crustier crust.

Chili's Chicken Enchilada Soup

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. chicken breast fillets (approximately three fillets)
1/2 cup diced onion
1 clove garlic, pressed
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup masa harina (corn flour NOT corn meal)
3 cups water
1 cup enchilada sauce
16 ounces Velveeta (shredded cheddar works just as well)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Remove any fat from chicken and cut into bite-size pieces.  Heat oil in a large pot and add cut up chicken to hot oil.  Cook until browned and cooked through.  Add onions and garlic and saute over medium heat until onions become translucent.  Add chicken broth.

Combine masa harina with 2 cups of water in a medium bowl and whisk until blended.  Add to soup pot.  Add remaining water, enchilada sauce, cheese and spices to pot and bring mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes or until thick.  Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, crumbled tortilla chips, and pico de gallo.

Note:  I used three cloves garlic and three cans of chicken broth.  This is a really thick soup and will easily take the extra chicken broth.  For the chicken, you can also use a rotisserie chicken.

Spiced Yogurt Pound Cake

2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup vanilla yogurt
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees or 325 for dark pans. Grease and flour one 9x13 inch baking pan or bundt pan. In a large bowl, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the flour, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, ground cloves, salt and baking soda.

Mix until combined then beat at high speed for 2 minutes. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees (325 for dark pans) for 30 to 35 minutes for the 9x13 or 50 – 60 minutes for bundt pan or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, remove from pan and continue to cool. Delicious!

My sister likes to make this for breakfast and eats it hot with a tall glass of milk. :) YUM!

Cookie Salad

2 cups buttermilk
2 small packages instant vanilla pudding
12 oz Cool Whip
1 20oz can chunk pineapple
2-3 cans mandarin oranges
1/2 package fudge striped cookies, crushed

Beat buttermilk and pudding together until creamy. Fold in Cook Whip. Pour over drained fruit. Gently mix in crushed cookies right before serving.