Squash Casserole
2 lbs of small yellow squash (cooked) slice 1/4 – 1/2″ thick, boil and drain. set aside.

in large mixing bowl:
combine 2 medium grated carrots
1 can undiluted cream of chicken soup
1 medium chopped onion
1 cup sour cream
salt and pepper

mix together and fold in drained squash

in separate pan, melt 1 stick of butter
remove and stir one package of pepperidge farm stuffing

grease: 9 x 14 baking dish
put 1/3 of stuffing on bottom
add squash and top with rest of stuffing

bake uncovered at 350 for 40 minutes
if pre-cooking, bake for 30 minutes. at room temperate, reheat for 10-15 minutes at 350.

I really loved these chocolate-peppermint cookies I made a few years back.

Starbucks Pumpkin Bread
Adapted from Starbucks
Ingredients:

1 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground clove
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
¼ cup dark brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup canned pumpkin
¾ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup pumpkin seeds, chopped

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices, and salt and whisk to combine. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat eggs, sugars, and vanilla on high speed for about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and mix. Add pumpkin and oil, mix to combine. Pour batter into a 9×5 greased loaf pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until the top of the bread begins to brown.

When the bread is cool, slice into approximately 1 inch slices. Enjoy!

Try this Mels, you guys will enjoy!

I’m crossing my fingers that the next time I make these, I’ll be wearing a new apron ;O)

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Chocolate Truffles recipe, from Martha Stewart

INGREDIENTS

Makes about 3 1/2 dozen .

8 ounces best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon liqueur, such as triple sec or framboise (optional)
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for rolling

DIRECTIONS

1.) Put chocolate into a large heatproof bowl. Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; pour over chocolate in bowl. Stir in liqueur, if desired. Cover with plastic wrap; let stand 10 minutes. Stir until smooth. Let stand until thick, about 15 minutes.

2.)Pour chocolate mixture into a shallow 8-inch dish or pie plate. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until mixture is very cold and set but still pliable, about 30 minutes.

3.)Using a teaspoon or a 1/2-inch melon baller, scoop balls of chocolate mixture, transferring them to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper as you work. Refrigerate truffles 10 minutes.

4.)Using hands dusted with cocoa powder, dip each truffle in cocoa powder to coat, then quickly shape truffle into a rough round. Refrigerate truffles in an airtight container until ready to serve, up to 2 weeks; before serving, reshape into rounds, and roll each truffle in cocoa powder, if desired.

PART ONE: The Stock.
You need:
— One Xmas dinner turkey carcass, stuffing scraped out and extra meat reserved.
— One large stockpot with lid (or two depending on the size of the carcass — pasta pots with lift-out strainers are great for straining the stock later)
— One onion, quartered **
— Four ribs celery, broken into approx. 3-inch pieces**
— Four carrots, split and cut in half**
— Five peppercorns**
— Tablespoon coarse sea salt**
— 1-2 springs tarragon**
** per pot

Step 1: Break down carcass as best as possible (detach legs, wings, break off ribs from breast. Cooked turkey bones break easily, but they poke so tell hubby to make himself useful and do this part!) It helps the turkey fit in the pot(s). Make sure you take off as much meat as you can!
Step 2: Add veggies to pot, then turkey pieces on top (if you’re splitting between two pots, it’s good to evenly distribute dark meat [wings/legs] and white meat [ribs/breast] bits), then seasonings. Fill with water to cover everything — don’t worry if some pokes out; once everything softens you can push it under.
Step 3: Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and cover: simmer for 90 minutes. Uncover and simmer another 90. VOILA.

PART TWO: The easy part — er…I mean, the Soup!
You need:
— Reserved turkey meat, chopped
— Four MORE ribs celery and four MORE carrots, chopped**
— One cup celery leaves, chopped
— Two tablespoons tarragon (new), chopped**
— Egg noodles (I like NoYolks) or barley
** per pot

Step 1: Pull out turkey bones and place on large plate or cutting board. The fat and gristle will have dissolved to flavor your stock by this point, so any meat left on the bones will come right off! Pick as much as you want, and add it to your reserved meat.
Step 2: Skim out all the stock veggies, bone fragments, and scummy bits. See note re: pasta pot!
Step 3: Add your chopped carrots, celery and celery leaves. Bring stock to a boil and add noodles/rice/barley, cooking according to package directions (remember, barley and rice multiply and soak up a LOT more soup than noodles!), watching for foam.
Step 4: When noodles/grains are tender, add turkey and tarragon leaves, and cook until warm through, about 5-7 minutes. You’re done!

NOTE: This soup comes out bland on purpose, so you can season with salt and pepper to taste (or a little hot sauce if you’re feeling zazzy). I prefer to eat the first few bites unsalted so you can really savor those gorgeous veggie flavors in the stock, the richness from the turkey bones and the sweetness from the carrots and tarragon. You can also use rice instead of noodles/barley, but I’d recommend pre-cooking and adding to the soup when you’re ready to eat it.

Here’s a great recipe to make them from scratch!
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/gingerbread-cookies-ii/Detail.aspx

Christmas Cornflake Wreath Cookies

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup butter
* 4 cups miniature marshmallows
* 1 teaspoon green food coloring
* 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 4 cups cornflakes cereal
* 1 (2.25 ounce) package cinnamon red hot candies

Directions

1. Microwave marshmallows and butter on High for 2 minutes. Stir, then microwave on High for 2 minutes more. Stir. (This can be done in a double boiler if one doesn’t have a microwave.)

2. Add and mix quickly the coloring, extracts, then cornflakes. Drop by spoonfuls in clumps on greased wax paper and decorate with 3 red hots each.

3. Once cool, transfer to lightly greased serving/storage tray with lightly greased fingers.