Let the baking begin!

Those of you that know me well are aware that I normally don't do my holiday baking until Christmas eve. I am a freshness freak and like to have everything "out of the oven" fresh for Christmas day.....which also makes me just a plain old freak because that means that I am baking for six or seven hours and never get to really enjoy the day. This year, however, I am changing things up a bit. Our daughter and son-in-law are coming in next week from California and we haven't seen them since their wedding in August, our son will also be here from Iowa City for a couple of days, plus we have the whole family coming here, to our tiny little house, for Christmas dinner, so I have a lot to do and I don't want to spend all of my time chained to the oven. It hurts me to say this, but I am baking some things ahead of time and putting them into the <gasp> freezer! I know, I know, it's hard to believe that word is even in my vocabulary....I must be mellowing with age.

I make a variety of scrumptious desserts for the holidays, some new, some tried and true, but there are a few 'must haves' that we absolutely can not do without. One favorite is a coveted recipe that my mother got from one of my aunts before I was even born. My mother guarded this recipe with her life. Over the years, she would make it for friends and neighbors, but when they would ask for the recipe....well, let's just say things got ugly! After my sisters and I were grown mom passed the recipe on to us...this old family recipe, which I, in turn, guarded with my life and passed on to my daughter. You can only imagine my horror and dismay when, one day as I was flipping through an old Betty Crocker cookbook, I saw a photo and description that bore a striking similarity to our secret family recipe. I studied the page, went down the ingredient list line by line, measure by measure...OMG, it was the exact same freakin recipe! Unless we are somehow related to Miss Betty Crocker we have been living a lie for some 50 years....we stole our family recipe from Betty Crocker.....does it count as stealing if she is a fictional character??

In an attempt to redeem our good name and share the deliciousness, I will pass this recipe on to you.


Nut Cups (or as Betty likes to call them-Pecan Tassies, call them whatever you want Betty, you're not real so who is going to listen to you? Whatever).

Crust:

1 Cup softened butter ( if you use margarine don't tell me about it)

6 oz. softened cream cheese (2 small packages-please don't use fat free...I don't even know what that means)

2 Cups flour

Cream together butter and cream cheese, gradually add flour until well combined. Mold dough into mini muffin tins to form the crust. Bring the dough all the way up the sides of each tin making sure not to get it too thin along the sides or bottom.
Filling:

1 Tablespoon softened butter

1 teaspoon Vanilla

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg slightly beaten

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix all filling ingredients together and fill crusts with mixture to about 3/4 full. I know, this doesn't look very appetizing, but trust me you will like it. Bake at 325 degrees for 25 minutes.

Be careful not to do this when you fill the crusts...

Any little bit of filling that goes over the edge of the crust does this (below) and makes it really hard to get the little buggers out of the pan.......and then they fall apart...
Like this (below). When they fall apart you have to eat them to hide the evidence...it's the law....OK, not really, but it isn't really an old family recipe either now is it?????

Enjoy!

Food glorious food!

I looked at the calendar this morning and it dawned on me that there are only 3 weeks 'til potential lambage....THREE WEEKS! I still have shearing to do, CDT shots and deworming, and as is my usual fashion, I haven't thought of even a single name for any of the forthcoming lambies....what am I thinking???

Perhaps some comfort food will help me get through this. As my faithful readers know, I froze a lot of corn last fall...a LOT. Some of the corn I purchased from friends at the Farmers' market at the very end of the season last year, so it was a tad on the overripe side and I was not thrilled with the texture once it was frozen. Being the frugal (cheap) person that I am, I had to find some kind of use for it. Ah ha! Corn chowder. So I mixed up a big batch of it today, while it is still chilly outside...what can I say, I am a comfort food kinda gal.
Of course, if you make chowder, you have to make some kind of bread to go along with it! I am a carboholic. If it is starchy, I gotta eat it, so I made some Italian bread to round out my carbo overloaded soup.
Here is the chowder recipe ( or chowda as my parents would say in their New England accents).

Warning: this recipe is not for sissies. I suppose, if you feel you must, you could substitute margarine for the butter and maybe use milk instead of cream, and perhaps not add the Parmesan....just don't tell me about it.


INGREDIENTS
2 cups water
2 cups diced peeled potatoes
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk

1 cup cream
3 cups corn (I threw a whole quart of frozen, thawed corn and it came out fine)
1 1/2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, combine the first five ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender (do not drain).
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth; gradually stir in milk and cream. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir into the vegetable mixture. Add corn and Parmesan cheese. Cook 10 minutes longer or until heated through.

BTW, my husband is still a little puzzled by the fact that I photograph our food.....you'd think that he would know better than to question things by now.