6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL December 23, 2015
Cook's Corner
Holiday favorites
“On this Christmas day, may the good
Lord bless you
as your dear ones gather ‘round. May
your laughter be hearty,
love and joy abound.”
— An Irish Christmas Blessing
BY BETTY KAISER
For the Sentinel
It’s two days before Christmas, and I’m
running behind. That means I’ve made my
lists and checked them twice, but there’s
still a lot more to do before the big day ar-
rives. Will I get it all done? Probably.
Every year it is more diffi cult to get the
basics checked off. Things like getting the
house decorated take longer. Trimming
the tree doesn’t happen (no tree this year).
Less is more when entertaining. Writing
our annual family Christmas newsletter
happens at New Year’s. But the biggest
job of all is choosing, wrapping and mail-
ing gifts.
Christmas gift buying was easier when
our children were at home. And it was a
lot of fun when the grandsons came along.
Now, it’s a different story. As our grand-
sons get older (can you say college age?)
gifting is more of a challenge than a joy.
What do you buy teenagers that doesn’t
cost a zillion dollars? Gift cards to the
rescue. Of course, then I have to make
the decision of who gets what, address
and put them in their proper envelope and
mail them on time.
One thing that’s always on time is
Christmas dinner. The menu choices are
predictable and everyone is happy with
the meal: shrimp cocktails, baked ham
(not a spiral cut), a potato dish, a vegeta-
ble, yeast rolls and cranberry sauce. Des-
sert is almost always pumpkin pie unless
we’re having the Sweet Potato Casserole
below. Then it’s likely to be cherry-topped
cheesecake.
One thing that is never, ever on the
menu is Campbell’s green bean casserole.
Unlike some of my friends none of us like
it. However, I am thinking of changing
things up this year with Paula Deene’s
fresh green bean, onion and mushroom
version. After all, the others mostly ig-
nore vegetables on holidays and I love
mushrooms.
Christmas morning always begins with
Pat Huff’s delicious sweet rolls. They are
put together the night before and left to
rise on the counter. Christmas morning
they are baked and served with some pro-
tein-laden scrambled eggs. We start the
day on a sugar high.
On this last column of the year 2015,
please know that I count the readers of my
columns among my blessings and I wish
each of you a very merry Christmas! Sha-
lom.
PAT HUFF’S PULL-
APART-ROLLS
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1 package frozen yeast rolls
1 3 ounce package butterscotch pudding
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can cream of mushroom
soup
1 (2.8-ounce) can French-fried onion
rings
Pinch House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 cup grated Cheddar
Melt butter with brown sugar and cin-
namon. Pour over top of rolls.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a large skillet. Sauté
the onions and mushrooms in the butter.
Boil green beans in chicken broth for
10 minutes and drain. Add the green
beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, and
House Seasoning to the onion mixture.
Stir well. Pour into a greased 1 1/2-quart
baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then
top the casserole with the Cheddar and
bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the
casserole is hot and cheese is melted.
Leave out on counter overnight — un-
covered. Bake the next morning at 350°
for 30 minutes. Allow to cool for 5 min-
utes. Invert on serving dish. Topping will
ooze over the top. Scrumptious! Serves 8
generously
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.
SWEET POTATO
CASSEROLE
LIBBY’S PUMPKIN
PIE
Butter bundt pan well. Sprinkle with
chopped nuts. Arrange 18-24 frozen
Parker House rolls on top of nuts.
Sprinkle package of butterscotch
pudding(cooked type) dry over rolls.
(Jennifer
1999)
Mullins,
CG
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3 cups mashed sweet potatoes (I use
yams)
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
Brown sugar topping (see recipe below)
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Mix all ingredients together and pour
into a greased 9x12” casserole dish. Cov-
er with brown sugar topping. Sprinkle
with reserved chopped pecans and bake
30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
Serves 8.
BROWN SUGAR TOPPING
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup fl our
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cup pecans, chopped (reserve)
Mix brown sugar, fl our and butter with
fork until medium crumbly. Add more
fl our if still not crumbling well (about 1
tablespoon at a time).
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (original recipe
calls for ginger)
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 large eggs
1 can (15 oz.) Libby’s Pure Pumpkin
1 can (12 fl . Oz.) Carnation Evaporated
Milk
1 unbaked 9-inch (4 cup volume) deep
dish pie shell
Whipped Cream
PRACTICING THE ART OF TRANSMISSION REPAIR SINCE 1991
Preheat oven to 425° F.
Mix sugar with spices in small bowl.
Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin
and sugar-spice mix. Gradually beat in
evaporated milk.
Pour into pie shell. Bake in preheated
oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature
to 350° F. Bake 40-50 minutes or until
knife inserted near center comes out
clean. Cool on wire rack 2 hours. Serve
immediately or refrigerated. Top each
serving with whipped cream.
Note: This is the best and quickest recipe
for pumpkin pie. Use Libby’s pumpkin
and Carnation milk for best results.
PAULA DEEN’S
GREEN BEAN
CASSEROLE
Keep it simple and keep it seasonal!
Betty Kaiser’s Cook’s Corner is dedi-
cated to sharing a variety of recipes that
are delicious, family oriented and easy
to prepare. Contact her at 942-1317 or
email bchatty@bettykaiser.com
1/3 stick butter
1/2 cup diced onions
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
2 cups sliced green beans
3 cups chicken broth
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