Happy New Year

HAPPY NEW YEAR to ALL of YOU!  I hope 2009 brings you much love, happiness, kindness, health and  prosperity. 

Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving the great messages.  I also appreciate your sharing your blogs with me too.  I've enjoyed meeting you through them and learning a lot of great things along the way too.  

TAKE CARE!

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to ALL of you!

I will be busy the next couple of days getting ready for Christmas and the gatherings we will be having with friends and family. I may not get to visit and do my Entrecard drops. I will return as soon as I'm able to. Take care.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose/plain flour
1 to 2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (if desired)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit.  Cream together first 7 ingredients.  Mix in remaining ingredients.  Drop by teaspoonsful, 2 inches apart, onto greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Makes approximately 5 dozen cookies.

Mincemeat Cookies

1 cup butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 1/3 cup mincemeat
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
4 cups plain/all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped nuts

Cream sugar and butter. Add eggs. Add remaining ingredients. Blend well. Drop by teaspoon on greased cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool on rack.

Bean and Other Vegetables Dip

1 can black eyed peas (drained and rinsed)
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 can shoepeg corn (leave in liquid)
1 can Rotel tomatoes (mild)
1 small can chopped black olives
1 small can of chopped jalapenos (I used about 1/2 of the can. You can use as many as you want depending on how hot you want it.)
3/4 - 1 cup of Zesty Italian salad dressing
Mix together and serve with tortilla chips. It taste best if you let it sit for several hours or overnight and then serve.
I like using the Tostitos Scoops so the dip stays on the chip and doesn't fall off.

Bacon & Cheese Fritata

Last Sunday I wanted something different to eat...other than Thanksgiving leftovers. I was doing recipe searches on Saturday and found something similar to what I made on Sunday. This is what I did.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
I cut about 1/4 pound of country style bacon into pieces about 1 to 1 1/2 inches long and cooked it in a large oven proof skillet. After the bacon was cooked, I removed it from the pan but did not take out the bacon drippings. (There was very little from this bacon.)
I peeled and shredded 6 potatoes. I evenly placed them on the bottom of the skillet. (You can use prepared frozen hashbrown potatoes if you prefer.
Return the bacon to the skillet.
Next I broke and whipped 6 eggs. I added 3/4 cup of sour cream, 1/4 cup milk, and salt and pepper to taste to the eggs. I poured this over the potatoes and bacon.
Last I shredded 2 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese and 2 ounces of swiss cheese and placed it over the egg mixture.
Place the skillet into the oven and bake for 1 hour or until set.

Chilly really enjoyed this. I served it with toast and jelly. It would also be great with fruit or a salad and can be served for any meal of the day.