Christmas Eve Soup

Christmas Eve Soup
Since there was a considerable amount of ham left over from Christmas brunch, Joan made this hardy soup.

2 c. potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 c. carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 c. celery, chopped
1/4 c. onion, chopped
2 c. water
1-1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1 c. cooked ham, cubed
1/4 c. margarine
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
2 c. milk
8-oz. pkg. shredded Cheddar cheese

Combine vegetables, water, salt and pepper in a large soup pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Stir in ham; set aside. In a separate saucepan, melt margarine; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes, until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted; add to vegetable mixture and heat through.

Serves 8.

Recipe can be found in Gooseberry Patch Co. 101 Christmas Recipes.

Standing Rib Roast ala Paula Deen

Standing Rib Roast
Terry emailed us this morning with a cooking question. Terry and Terrilynn have decided to have a standing rib roast for Christmas and are inviting Don & Kathy over to enjoy it. Terry's question was how did we use to cook our roast? Terry remembers mother telling him that we would take the stove up to around 500˚ to start it. Terry also wondered what seasonings we used.

It has been sometime since we have served a standing rib roast and we could not recall exactly how we did it. Not wanting to ruin Terry's good piece of meat we were reluctant to offer advice. Then we recalled that a couple of years ago Aunt Dorothea has also asked us for our cooking method for a standing rib roast. At that time we shared with her Paula Deen's Foolproof Standing Rib Roast. She shared it with Cindy and it turned out well.

So here it is:

Ingredients
1 (5-pound) standing rib roast
1 tablespoon House Seasoning, recipe follows

Directions:
1. Allow the roast to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
2. Rub roast with House Seasoning. Place roast on a rack in a roasting pan with the rib side down and the fatty side up. Roast for 1 hour. Turn off oven and leave roast in oven; do not open oven door.
3. About 1 hour and 10 minutes minutes before serving time, turn oven to 375˚F and reheat the roast for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the roast from the oven and tent with foil. Allow the meat to rest for 25 to 30 minutes before craving.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Serves 8 to 10.

Recipe courtesy of Christmas with Paula Dean (p.120)

Mushroom Meatballs

Following the adage that you can never have enough meatballs, Joan made this appetizer for Michael & Emily's Christmas party.

INGREDIENTS:
1 10 3/4 oz. cans cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 oz. pkg. onion soup mix
1 onion, chopped
2-pound pkg. frozen meatballs, thawed

DIRECTIONS:

Mix together soup, soup mix, and onion in s slow cooker. Add meatballs and stir to coat. Cover and cook on high setting for 2 hours. Reduce heat to low setting; cook an additional 2 to 4 hours. Garnish as desired.

Serves 6 to 8.

Recipe can be found on page 87 of Gooseberry Patch Co. - 101 Easy Entertaining Recipes.

Ultimate Party Meatballs

In preparation for Michael & Emily's Christmas get-together, Joan prepared this party favorite.
 
INGREDIENTS:

1 14-ounce can Ocean Spray® Jellied Cranberry Sauce
1 12-ounce bottle Heinz® Chili Sauce
1 2-pound bag frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail-size meatballs

DIRECTIONS:

Combine sauces in a large saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Add meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.

Makes 30 appetizer servings.

Slow cooker Preparation: Place meatballs in a slow cooker. Combine sauces and pour over meatballs. Cover and cook 4 hours on HIGH.

Mr. Casaubon's Chicken Noodle Soup

With the thermometer reading 5 degrees, Joan chose to make soup heart-warming chicken noodle soup.

Ingredients:
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 14 1/2-ounce cans fat-free chicken broth
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces uncooked spaghetti, broken into smaller lengths

In a large pot, lightly brown the chicken on all sides in melted butter over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and cook an additional 2 minutes until tender. Add the broth, carrots, corn, and seasoning, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer for 3 hours. Add spaghetti (Joan did not have any spaghetti so she substituted linguine) and cook an additional 15 minutes.

Makes 8 servings.

Recipe can be found on page 148 of The Book Lover's Cookbook.

Chicken Cacciatore

With the temperatures dipping Joan made this heart-warming dinner. The recipe is from a new cookbook, Gooseberry Patch 101 Christmas Recipes Cookbook (p. 57), that Heather had sent her. Joan used Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes that added even more flavor to this dish.

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cubed
1 T. oil
28-oz. jar Italian-seasoned diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
28-oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 t. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish: grated Parmesan cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown chicken in oil. Drain; stir in remaining ingredients except cheese. reduce heat; cover and simmer until vegetables are tender. Serve over pasta or rice, sprinkled with cheese.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.