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Holiday Recipes by the WAR Woman


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The women in our office wanted to share some of their favorite holiday recipes this week in place of the Reporter Roll Call.  Please enjoy and eat at your own risk — or until you have to go out a notch on your belt.

 

Gingerbread Kiss Cookies

“These cookies are so tasty and a hit at any holiday party!” — Donna Harrell, WAR Classifieds

Ingredients:

  • ¾ c. unsalted sweet cream butter, softened
  • ¾ c. packed light brown sugar
  • ½ c. molasses
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 c. flour
  • 2 t. ground ginger
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • ½ t. ground nutmeg
  • ½ t. allspice spice
  • ½ t. kosher sat
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1 t. vanilla extract
  • 1 container white sanding sugar
  • 1 bag chocolate stripped Hersey Kisses

Instructions:

  1. Preheat over to 350° and line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, baking soda, and salt.
  3. Using another bowl or standing mixer, beat together the brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Mix in the molasses, egg, and vanilla extract.
  4. Add in the dry ingredients gradually until the dough forms.
  5. Pour your sanding sugar into a bowl and form small balls of cookie dough then roll them in the sanding sugar.
  6. Place the cookie dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, then bake for 8-10 minutes.
  7. Pull the cookies from the oven and allow them to cool for 2-3 minutes before adding a Hershey’s kiss into the center.
  8. Allow them to cool completely before serving.

 

Ground Beef Kebabs

“Tasting everyone’s special recipe or experiencing cuisine that belongs to different cultures is my favorite thing to do when it comes to holiday cooking.  So, I get really excited when I get the opportunity to share a dish from my culture.  One of my favorite recipes, Ground Beef Kebabs, is a sure favorite in any crowd and will make people clean their plates.  Making Ground Beef Kebabs like they are served in restaurants is a laborious and time-consuming process.  However, I will give you a recipe where you can find the same taste effortlessly and without wasting time.” — Gencay Genc, WAR Graphic Designer

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 4 t. butter
  • 1 red bell pepper (instead of cutting the pepper, I use the blender so it gets easy to mix and it becomes softer so the meat doesn’t dry out while cooking)
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 medium onions
  • 1 t. sumac
  • 1 t. lemon juice
  • 2 t. red pepper flakes
  • 2 t. ground coriander
  • 2 t. cumin
  • 1 t. tomato paste
  • 2 t. black pepper
  • 2 t. salt
  • 2 t. sumac (a mildly sour spice that can be found in online stores; or you can omit this step… it prevents the onion from smelling)

Instructions:

  1. Put all the ingredients in the same bowl. After the mixture is finished, leave it in the fridge for 1-2 hours until it is firm enough to put on the skewers.
  2. If you use metal skewers, don’t forget to lubricate with butter or oil; if you use wooden skewers, soak them in water so the meat won’t stick. The most important part of putting the mixture on the skewers is soaking your hands in cold water constantly.  That way, the meat will stick together and stay stable on the stick.
  3. Press it with your thumb to give it shape.
  4. Throw them on the barbecue. While barbecuing them, keep flipping them so they don’t get dry.
  5. Right before serving, put pita bread or wrap on the barbecue and flip them every 4 seconds. You cannot believe how much better it tastes toasted than untoasted.

 

Honey Oat Bread

“This is my favorite bread to make.  It’s delicious toasted with honey!” — Jessi Erickson, WAR Production

Ingredients:

  • 3 c. all-purpose flour (can use half whole wheat flour)
  • ¾ oats; instant or old fashioned
  • 1 T. instant yeast
  • 1 ½ t. salt
  • 1 c. milk
  • ¼ c. lukewarm water
  • 2 T. butter
  • ¼ c. honey
  • Topping:
  • 1 ½ to 2 T. warmed honey
  • 1 ½ to 2 T. oats

Instructions:

  1. In a large bowl, or the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the flour, oats, yeast, and salt.
  2. In a small bowl, or a two-cup measuring cup, warm the milk so that it’s hot enough to melt the butter, but not boiling. Add the butter, stirring until melted, then stir in the water and honey.
  3. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, mixing with a dough hook until it just comes together to form a dough. Knead in the mixer, with the dough hook attachment, for 7-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic (if you’re making this recipe by hand, the dough will be very sticky at first; flour your hands and work surface generously and be patient).  If the dough is still very wet and sticky after 5 minutes of kneading, add more flour, 1 T. at a time, until the dough is barely tacky.  If the dough is too dry, add water, 1 t. at a time, to soften it up.
  4. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise until doubled, about ½ to 1 hour.
  5. Once doubled, place the dough on a clean, dry work surface. If the dough is too sticky, lightly flour the surface before continuing.  With your fingers, flatten the dough into a 9 by 12-inch rectangle.  Tightly roll the dough, tucking the ends as needed, into a loaf.  Place the shaped dough into a 9×5-inch loaf pan and brush the top with the warmed honey and sprinkle with the oats.  Allow loaf to rise in a slightly warm location until doubled, about ½ hour.  (It’s winter, so I find my bread rises best in the oven.  I turn the oven on 350 for a minute or two, then turn it off, and place loaf on the oven rack with the light on.)
  6. When dough has doubled, preheat oven to 350 degrees. (I just leave the dough in the oven while preheating.)  Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the bread is deep, golden brown and the internal temperature is about 190 degrees.  Transfer to a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.
  7. Toast and serve with honey.

 

Aunt Deb Rolls

“I’m not usually a big baker but by some miraculous mistake, I whipped up some rolls for a Thanksgiving years ago that everyone loved.  Ever since, when my family has any holiday meal, it’s usually assumed I’m on roll duty.  I borrowed the recipe from my aunt who used to make these for me when I stayed at her house to help lamb in the spring, so I appropriately renamed what she used to call ‘air buns’ to ‘Aunt Deb rolls.’  The best part about this recipe is it’s easy, fairly quick, and it hasn’t flopped on me yet.” — Kayla Sargent, WAR Editor

Ingredients — To Be Proofed:

  • ½ c. warm water
  • 1 t. sugar
  • 1 packet yeast

Ingredients — To Be Mixed:

  • ½ c. sugar
  • ½ c. melted shortening
  • 1 t. salt
  • 2 T. vinegar
  • 3 ½ c. warm water — be sure this is warm and well mixed, then add the proofed yeast mixture
  • 8 to 10 c. flour

Instructions:

  1. Mix and proof the first three ingredients.
  2. Mix sugar, shortening, salt, vinegar, and warm water.
  3. Add the proof yeast mixture.
  4. Add 2 c. of flour and let mixture rest for about 15 minutes.
  5. Then add remaining flour (enough so it’s just barely sticky) and let rise until dough has doubled in size, approximately 2 hours.
  6. Deflate dough and form buns.
  7. Rise the buns until doubled again, approximately 1 hour.
  8. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

 

Beef Burgundy

“This is one of my favorite recipes my mom cooks!” — Kelly Fraser, Vermilion Ranch Bookkeeping

Ingredients:

  • 2 lbs. sirloin, cubed
  • 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
  • 12 boiled pearl onions
  • 5 carrots, sliced
  • 3 beef bouillon cubes
  • 2 mashed garlic cloves
  • 1 qt. burgundy wine
  • Salt & pepper
  • ½ t each or seasoned to taste oregano, thyme, tarragon, sage, basil, bay leaf

Directions:

  1. Flour meat and brown.
  2. Add burgundy and other ingredients.
  3. Simmer for 1 ½ hours until sauce thickens.
  4. Serve over brown and wild rice.

 

Pu-Cahn Pie

“My favorite holiday food is pecan pie.  I’m not sure if I just enjoy the taste of it that much, or if I get a bit nostalgic when taking a bite of pecan pie and think about digging pecans out of their hulls with my great-grandpa as a kid… but nonetheless, nothing can compare to pecan pie in my book.  Back home, we pronounce pecan like ‘pu-cahn.’  So, here’s my family’s never-fail pu-cahn pie recipe!” — Mayzie Purviance, WAR Assistant Editor

Ingredients:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 T. flour
  • ½ c. sugar
  • 1 c. Karo syrup
  • Lump of butter (my Nana said this “lump” really means 2 T.)
  • ½ t. vanilla
  • 1 c. pecans

Instructions:

  1. Stir all ingredients together and pour into unbaked pie crust.
  2. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

 

Praline Marshmallow Sweet Potato Casserole

“Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite holiday dishes.  Here’s a recipe I found and will try this year!” — Nikki Ostrum, WAR Accounting

Ingredients — For the Sweet Potato Part:

  • 4 c. cooked & mashed sweet potatoes (about 4-5 large sweet potatoes)
  • ½ c. white sugar
  • 2 T. vanilla extract
  • 4 eggs beaten
  • 1 c. heavy cream

Ingredients — For the Praline Topping:

  • 1 stick of butter softened
  • 1 c. packed brown sugar
  • ½ c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ c. chopped pecans
  • 1 t. vanilla extract

Additional Topping:

  • 1 c. mini marshmallows, or more to your liking

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
  2. Whisk together the cooked (and mashed) sweet potatoes, white sugar, vanilla extract, beaten eggs, and heavy cream. Spread into a casserole dish.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, flour, pecans, and vanilla extract. I like to use my hands for this part, it makes it so much easier in my opinion.  Crumble the topping all over the sweet potatoes.
  4. Bake for 30 minutes. Sprinkle on marshmallows and return to the oven for 3-5 minutes, until your marshmallows are golden.

 

 

Chipped Beef Dip

“I’m sure we can all agree that Holiday appetizers are THE BEST!   The recipe I am sharing is a classic appetizer, Chipped Beef Dip, and always is one of my favorites that my mom makes.  It’s a cracker spread or dip full of flavor.” — Tracy Kern, WAR Production Manager

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 2 T. milk
  • ½ c. sour cream
  • 1 jar dried beef, chopped into small pieces
  • ¼ c. chopped green pepper
  • 1 t. Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ t. garlic salt
  • ¼ t. pepper
  • ½ c. sliced green onions

Instructions:

  • Grease pie pan, pat mixture in, top with chopped pecans
  • Bake for 350 degrees for 20 minutes
  • Serve with toasted baguette slices, fresh cut vegetables, or crackers.  Naan bread is also great option.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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