Black-Eyed Peas for New Years

Old times never come back and I suppose it's just as well. What comes back is a new morning every day in the year, and that's better. ~George E. Woodberry


Plan on cooking a black-eyed pea dish on New Year's Day for a little added luck and healthy fiber!

Black-eyed Peas, Ham and Sausage

Ingredients:
1/4 pound bacon, diced
1 lb. Italian or other sausage, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 lb. cooked ham, diced
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1-15 oz. can black-eyed peas
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy saucepan, cook the bacon till it's starting to crisp. Add the sausage and ham and saute until browned. Add the onion, bell pepper and jalapeno, cook until the pepper begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the can of black-eyed peas and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes. Serve over rice or eat with cornbread.

Black-eyed Pea Salsa

Ingredients:
1 (16-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained
6 green onions, thinly sliced -white and green
One 14 to 16-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3/4 cup chopped green pepper
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 to 2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to taste

Rinse black-eyed peas under cod water and drain. Set aside. In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients. Stir in drained black-eyed peas. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.

Black-Eyed Pea Soup

Ingredients:
1 pound dried black-eyed peas, sorted and rinsed
8 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 thick slices bacon
2 large sweet onions, chopped
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 whole bay leaves
1 dried thyme, crumbled
5 cups chicken broth
3 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce

Place peas in a 5-quart Dutch oven or large pan, add cold water so it covers, and bring to a boil over high heat; cook for 2 minutes.Remove peas from the heat and let stand, covered, for 1 hour. Drain peas and rinse; return to pan, add water and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Drain peas into a bowl, reserving 1 cup liquid. Purée 1 cup peas,adding 1 to 2 tablespoons of the reserved liquid, if necessary. Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch strips, add to the pan the peas were cooked in, and cook till crisp. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper toweling to drain. In bacon drippings, sauté onions, carrots, garlic, bay leaves, and thyme over medium heat, until vegetables soften, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add reserved cooking liquid, broth, peas,and pea purée and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to moderately low and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes. Mix in lemon juice, red pepper sauce, and reserved bacon. Heat til warmed through. Discard bay leaves and serve. Makes 8 servings.

Why are black-eyed peas a New Year's favorite? On OFL:
www.oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/blackeyedpeas.html

Merry Christmas

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas full of special memories. ~Brenda

(I'll be back on Monday!)

Last Minute Christmas Recipes

Gifts of time and love are surely the basic
ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.
~Peg Bracken.

jdsmom shared this recipe with us previously and I made them last year. I used the square grid pretzels I found at Sam's Club instead of twists and topped it with the M&M. They were a HUGE hit. We also made a "pretzel sandwich" with 2 white chocolate chips and 2 semi-sweet chocolate chips on each pretzel. I put them in the oven for 2-3 minutes as in the recipe below and then topped them with a second pretzel, which I pressed on and it smashed the melted chips down. I then sprinkled red/green sugar on the top.

Candy-Kissed Twists

1 bag small pretzels (twisted)
1 (13 ounce) bag Hershey's Kisses Milk Chocolates
1 (10 ounce) bag of Hershey's Holiday Bits

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Unwrap the chocolates kisses. Place 1 unwrapped chocolate on top of each pretzel. Bake 2-3 minutes or until the chocolate is soft, but not melting. Take the pan out of the oven and gently press Holiday Bits on the top of the soft chocolate. Cool and serve. *Instead of the Hershey's Holiday Bits, I pressed in an M&M candy on the top.

Simplycindy's note: A lady I work with brought some treats to work. It was the same idea you have here. She put a Rollo candy on top of the pretzel, put in a 250 degree F. oven for 4 minutes or so and then topped with a pecan, they were so good!


FAMOUS BUCKEYES
Denirae shared her Buckeye recipe!

Peanut Butter Balls (sometimes called Buckeye Balls)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons shortening

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper; set aside. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar with hands to form a smooth stiff dough. Shape into balls using 2 teaspoons of dough for each ball. Place on a prepared pan, and refrigerate. Melt shortening and chocolate together in a metal bowl over a pan of lightly simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth, and remove from heat. Remove balls from refrigerator. Insert a wooden toothpick into a ball, and dip into melted chocolate. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Repeat with remaining balls. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to set. Enjoy!

EASY ALMOND COOKIES
We love these cookies and they're soooooooooo easy!

Almond Cookies

Makes 4 dozen

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup lard/Crisco
1 egg
1 teaspoon almond extract
96 almonds

Sift flour, sugar, baking soda and salt together into a bowl. Cut in the lard until mixture resembles cornmeal. Add egg and almond extract. Mix well. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Set them 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Place an almond on top of each cookie and press down to flatten slightly. Bake in a pre-heated 325 degrees F (165 degrees C) oven for 15-18 minutes. Cool on rack.

jdsmom also shared this yummy recipe!

GOOEY COCONUT BARS
1 (18.25 ounce) box French Vanilla cake mix
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 (16 ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13x9 inch baking pan with Pam. Combine the first 3 ingredients. Press into bottom about 1 inch up the sides of prepared baking pan. Mix together the next 6 ingredients and pour over crust. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Let cool completely to set and cut into small squares.

Cooking With Herbs for the Holidays

It is the personal thoughtfulness, the warm human awareness, the reaching out of the self to one's fellow man that makes giving worthy of the Christmas spirit. ~Isabel Currier

Today I have some elegant, but easy recipes using fresh and dried herbs for the holidays.

Lemon Basil Cookies

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
3 ounces cream cheese
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons dried basil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon peel
1 package lemon cake mix
1/2 cup crushed walnuts or pecans

Mix together the butter, cheese, yolk and juice. Add the cake mix, and blend well. Stir in the nuts, peel and basil.Chill for 1/2 hour or more. Roll into small 1/2 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Parchment paper works well. Flatten with a fork dipped in sugar. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. Place in a pretty tin with parchment paper in between layers of cookies. A lovely gift on it's own or given in a gift basket with tea, a pretty mug and an herb recipe book.

Caramelized Onion Dip

Ingredients:
1/3 cup herb or wine vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1 large clove garlic, or two small, minced
2 cups sweet onions, diced
1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup plain yogurt, low fat or nonfat
1/3 cup mayonnaise, regular or light
1/3 cup sour cream, light or regular

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and garlic. Cover and cook on low for about 8 minutes or until soft. Watch so the garlic does not scorch. Add the vinegar, honey and pepper-stir well. Bring to a boil over medium heat, and cook for 10 minutes without the cover or until the onion is caramelized and turns a golden brown. Stir occasionally. Combine the onion mixture with remaining ingredients in a bowl. Cover and chill to develop flavors.

Marinated Mushrooms

Ingredients:
1 pound button mushrooms
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 cup scallions
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
3 tsp. minced fresh parsley

Pack the mushrooms into a sterile glass jar. Combine the remaining ingredients with a
whisk. Pour over mushrooms and seal the jar. Chill for several hours or overnight shaking occasionally.

Parsley Butter Balls

1/2 cup butter
1 tablespoon fresh minced parsley
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. chopped fresh basil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 cup minced parsley

Cream butter until light. Blend in all ingredients except for 1/2 cup parsley. Chill until firm. Shape into small balls and roll in parsley. Place these on a pretty plate covered with cellophane or plastic wrap that has been twisted at the top and tied with raffia. Give along with a baguette or French rolls and a set of holiday or herb themed spreaders.

Can you have too many fudge recipes? Look here:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/fudge.html

Decorating the Christmas Table

A Christmas candle is a lovely thing; It makes no noise at all, But softly gives itself away; While quite unselfish, it grows small. ~Eva K. Logue

Today I have some easy and pretty ideas for the Christmas table and kitchen.

Cranberry Centerpiece

You'll need:
Two tray--one larger than the other by 3 inches or so
Fresh greens
Fresh cranberries
4 holiday colored/scented tea candles
Small colored glass ornaments

Place smaller tray on top of the larger tray. Spread the fresh cranberries (you can freeze them first if you wish for a shiny look) on the smaller tray. Place a tea light in each corner-nestled in the cranberries. In the middle you can place a grouping of ornaments, or a holiday figurine of some sort-even a pillar candle. On the larger tray, using the part that is around the first tray-arrange fresh greens, and a few more cranberries. This is best done right before using, and keep the greens misted and make sure they aren't touching or near the tea lights.

Inexpensive Floral Centerpiece

You'll need:
Wicker basket
Fresh greenery from your yard--boxwood, holly, pine etc.
one inexpensive holiday bouquet
doily or lace cloth of some type

Lay the doily or piece of cloth in the basket so that a nice bit of it hangs over the front of the basket. On the bottom of the basket place a piece of plastic or paper to protect the cloth from sap, etc. Cover this with the greens you collected. Take your bouquet and cut the flowers down under running water and stick in with the greens making a nice arrangement. Notes: I get these bouquets for as little as $3.99 from floral departments fresh, but you can also use silk flowers. This doesn't last long, so make it before your dinner and mist it. You can soak some floral foam and place the greens and flowers on top of that to give it some moisture.

More Simple Ideas:
Buy a bag of natural raffia and use it to tie up the napkins inserting a sprig of rosemary, lavender, sage or a fresh bay leaf. Do the same on several large pillar candles. Make place cards out of simple card stock, writing the guests name on with a gold gel pen. If you have decorative edged scissors you can cut the paper with those. Think simply...but when you are done it will look elegant.

Using raffia again, you can combine it with gold for a very elegant look. Gold apple ornaments, floral picks with gold accents, gold ball ornaments...Target has a great selection of gold accents and ornaments, and most are only $2 or so.

Decorate wreaths, candles, fill baskets with greens and gold,use gold bows on the back of chairs....use your imagination!

You can use fresh fruit to decorate platters,tables and mantles. Here are some suggestions:

-Pomegranates and kale or other leafy vegetables surrounding your main meat platter.

-Use a gold pen to write your guests names on pomegranates or dark green leaves such as magnolia greens.

-For a whimsical look try using red and green chili peppers,along with corn husks and greens in baskets, on wreaths or swags.

Try this easy simmering potpourri to scent your house during a dinner or open house:

Simmering Potpourri

Mix together:
2 broken Cinnamon sticks
4 tbsp. whole cardamom seeds
2 tbsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground ginger

Place two tablespoons of potpourri in two or more cups of water, allow to simmer or steep slowly.Be sure the water doesn't evaporate while heating. Add more if necessary.

On OFL we have tips for using fresh greens to decorate this season:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/greens.html

~Brenda

Holiday Open House Favorites

Christmas is for children. But it is for grownups too. Even if it is a headache, a chore, and nightmare, it is a period of necessary defrosting of chill and hide- bound hearts.
~Lenora Mattingly Weber


I don't know about you, but I always have gatherings to bring dishes to during the holidays-- open houses,potlucks, family dinners etc. The recipes below can all be used if you are having an open house or any one of them are great potluck dishes as well.

Cinnamon Praline Scones

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 1/2 tablespoons butter, chilled
1 extra large egg, beaten
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
1 cup pecans, finely chopped or crushed
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and prepare baking sheet with parchment paper. Chop the chilled butter into small pieces. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons sugar. Using a pastry blender or your finger, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles crumbs. In a small bowl, combine the egg and cream and add to the flour mixture. Mix until just blended. Turn out the batter onto a lightly floured board and knead for 1 minute. Roll dough into a rectangle approximately 8 x 12 inches. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Combine filling ingredients and spread on the dough. Roll up, jelly-roll fashion, and seal the long seam by pinching it together lightly with your fingers. Cut the roll into twelve 1-inch thick slices. Lay slices on the baking sheet and bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden.

Hot Cranberry Franks

Ingredients:
2 pounds cocktail franks
1 can whole cranberry sauce (15 1/2 oz.)
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. dry mustard

Combine cranberry and soy sauce, ginger and mustard in a 2 quart saucepan. Bring to a boil; turn heat down to medium. Add franks and let simmer 20 to 25 minutes. Serve with toothpicks. This can also be transferred to a slow cooker after the boiling step. This can also be made with smoked kielbasa that is cut into round slices about 1/2 inch thick.

Cream Cheese Tarts

Ingredients:
Tart Crust:
48 graham crackers crushed
1 1/3 sticks butter, melted
6 tbsp. sugar

Tart Filling:
2 pounds cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Optional toppings:
Fruit pie fillings
Drizzled chocolate, white and milk chocolate
Fresh fruit
Crushed chocolate graham cracker or Oreo crumbs

For crust: Blend all ingredients together well. Press about 1 tsp. mixture into mini muffin tins, lined with muffin papers.

For filling: Blend all ingredients together well. Place about 1 tablespoon filling over crust. Bake 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and refrigerate. Before open house remove all of the tarts from the refrigerator to add toppings.

Suggested toppings:
Cherry, blueberry or lemon pie fillings-sprinkle very lightly
with confectioners' sugar after adding a small spoonful of
filling over the top of the tart.

Crushed Cookie Crumbs: Oreos, gingersnaps, vanilla wafers
or cinnamon graham crackers.

Drizzled Toppings: Melt milk or white chocolate, caramel or almond bark gently over a double boiler and drizzle with a tsp. onto each tart.

Crockpot Hot Apple Cider

Ingredients:
1 gallon apple cider or juice
12 whole cloves
3 sticks cinnamon
2 whole nutmegs
2 large pieces crystallized ginger

Place all ingredients in crockpot. Heat on high for 2 hours,and on low to keep warm until ready to serve. This makes about 20 servings. Keep another batch ready to go in the kitchen in a second crockpot or in a large pan on the stove simmering at the lowest temperature.

On OFL we have cookie exchange tips and recipes:
http://www.oldfashionedliving.com/cookie-exchange.html

Frugal Gift Wrapping Ideas

May the star that shone in Bethlehem brighten our path each day. ~Theresa Mary Grass


Wrapping gifts each year is always a challenge for me because I just can't bring myself to spend a lot of money on fancy wrapping paper that gets torn and thrown away. I'm always looking for creative alternatives. Try these fun and easy felt bags this year:

Easy Felt Gift Bags

You'll need:
green and red felt
green or red yarn
large needle
scissors

Cut two 6x7 pieces out of green or red felt or another color if you wish. Sew the sides and bottom of the pieces together to create a bag. Turn the pouch right side out. Thread the large needle with yarn in a different color than the felt and weaving the yarn in and out the felt about 2 1/2" from the top of the bag. Cut the yarn leaving enough length to tie a bow. At this point you can decorate the bag with fabric paint or cut-outs made from the felt, or my favorite--old buttons! You can glue on ric-rac, sequins or other decorative items. Use the bags to put gifts in, or line it with a plastic bag and fill it with cookies.

You can make the bags smaller or larger depending on your needs. If you don't have a sewing machine you can easily hand stitch the sides and bottom and still make the bags. I did this one year by stitching on the outside of the bag with a contrasting thread and kept the stitches a little longer and even. It made it look decorative! You can also use other material and ribbon instead of yarn to create fancier bags.

Some other creative gift wrap ideas:

-Photocopy a collage of family photos on paper and wrap smaller gifts with the copy.

-Use last years Christmas cards for your gift tags. Cut out rectangles from the cards, fold in half, punch a hole and attach a piece of raffia or a skinny silk ribbon to tie it to a gift bag or tape it to a package!

-Wrap kitchen, tea, coffee or cooking related gifts in pretty tea towels, or if you are giving kitchen gadgets place them in an oven mitt and tie a gift tag to it!

-Garden themed gifts can be placed in a pretty planter, then wrapped with colored plastic wrap, fabric or tulle---gather at the top and tie with a matching ribbon. You can also place a small amount of rubber cement on the back of seed packets, allow it to dry and then stick the packet to a gift bag or card for a neat gift.

On OFL we have tips for creating a memory album:
http://oldfashionedliving.com/holidays/cmasalbum.html

~Brenda