Holiday yummy food suggestions

We had our women's group over for a dinner party the other night, ladies and husbands. We had a blast!! Great food and conversations!!

I wanted to share with you what we had for food, it may give you some ideas for upcoming parties.

Cheese spread with crackers
Cheese spread -- President rondele's spinach cheese spread and pumpkin spice cheese spread, the pumpkin one is delicious!!! - from Sprout Farmers Market
Crackers -- good multi-graine ones from Cosco.

Potstickers (chicken with vegetables)
This is my favorite thing to keep in the freezer. Follow the instructions and cook them, they are everyone's favorites!!

Nathan's lil' smoked sausages
This is another easy item to make, just throw them in a small pot with some BBQ sauce and a little water and let cook for a little while.

Thin-crusted frozen pizzas-tomatoes and basil (I forgot the brand, it's from Cosco)

Gia Russa's Whole Wheat Rotini pasta (or Barillo) with fresh chicken basil sausage in Pesto Sauce
Bake 4-5 Chicken Basil Sausage (from Sprout) for about 1 hour until internal temp reaches 165 degrees, let cool, cut into small slices. Can be done a day or 2 before.
Saute chicken sausage slices until heated, add some crusted garlic, chopped tomatoes and red or orange bell peppers, then 1/3 jar of Kirkland's 22oz. Pesto sauce (in Cosco's cooler section, already made pesto sauce can be found elsewhere but can be pricey)until mixed well, then add cooked 16oz. (1 lb.) pasta, then mix until everything is heated through, add salt and pepper to taste.

For dessert, there's the Bumble Blossoms from Cosco's freezer section. These are puff pastries stuffed with apples and mixed berries and they look like blossoming flowers. So beautiful and delicious.

I hope you'll get to try some of these delicious items, they also make wonderful everyday treats too.

So, how about an easy meatloaf recipe?

I haven't made meatloaf in a LONG time... so, the other day, I found this amazingly easy recipe and it tasted so good. I have to pass it on, so here it is.

Turkey/Beef Meatloaf

1 1/2 lb. Ground Turkey/Beef
1 egg
1 onion, chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup Bread crumb
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all of the above and pour into a loaf pan (slightly sprayed with oil), then spread the mixture of the following on top.

2Tbsp Brown Sugar
2Tbsp Mustard
1/3 C Ketchup

Bake meatloaf at 350 degrees F, for one hour. Poultry needs to reach internal temperature at 165 degrees when done.

Tip: YOu can mix everything in ahead of time, then refrigerate it until when it's time to bake.
leftover meatloaf is great for sandwiches. Pan-fry sliced meatloaf with a little oil. They are delicious.

Chef-approved Banana Muffins....Yummy!!

Okay, I am in my baking season again... I get that periodically; just so drawn to bake, usually the easy stuff, that won't get my hands too dirty. I prefer the "not even have to get my mixer out" type of baking. I was tired of buying over-priced and un-nutritious muffins, and decided to make some healthy ones that are good enough to be healthful breakfast...


Well, here it is-- truly Chef-approved!! :)

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.
Mix all 4 wet ingredients:
-- 4 large (or 5 medium) ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 C sugar (I use evaporated cane juice... sugar, better for you)
1 egg
1/3 C butter, melted
Mix all 4 dry ingredients:
-- 1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 C flour (healthier version: unbleached wheat flour, replace a few teaspoons of flour with flax seed meal to give you some good Omega 3)

Then, mix the wet and dry mixture together. Add in 1/2 to 1 C chopped nuts if you'd like. Line medium-sized muffin tin with muffin liners. Pour muffin dough into muffin tin, and bake for about 20 minutes until toothpick comes out clean when you stick it in.

Voila! You have some amazing banana muffins. My kids and husband can't get enough of them. They are really easy to make, let me know what you think.