It’s another fun day for Oh What Fun It Is To…

My friend, Molly, from Duchess of Fork is the hostess today. She is an incredible food blogger, an adorable person and a terrific mother with a darling new baby girl. If you’re not already reading her blog, you should definitely add it to your list.

I’m super excited about today’s topic because who doesn’t love food? Even if cooking isn’t your thing, you can find a great recipe and give it to someone else to make for you!

I wanted to share some of my favorite must-have recipes during the Christmas season.

Around this time every year, I start pulling out my favorite cookbooks and making my grocery lists and planning the meals. Most of the time we keep the meals the same, but we may throw in a curve ball with a side dish or try a new dessert.

My favorite cookbooks out there are the Junior League cookbooks. I have about 20 different cookbooks from various Junior Leagues across the country. These recipes have been tested by many. They come from homes like ours. They’re amazing!

The ones I use the most are Talk About Good, River Road Recipes, Cotton Country Cookbook, and Charleston Receipts. I also use my recipe binder that has lots of tear out and print-outs from different magazines and websites.

(If you want to give the gift of any of these cookbooks, visit www.cookbookmarketplace.com and use the code BEB-Holiday to receive 50% off your order!)

Some of my favorite recipes for this year’s menu are available here for you! Please share them with your friends and family this year!

My mom found these sausage balls on Pinterest and shared them with me. These cream cheese sausage balls from Plain Chicken are a new hit and I am so excited about just having them around the house this year!

via

Every year, on Christmas Eve, we eat gumbo. TC’s mom is allergic to shellfish, so we usually have a seafood gumbo and a chicken and sausage gumbo. I think this year we may just have chicken and sausage. It is so delicious. Get a little green salad and some French bread and you’re set!

On Christmas morning, we pop a breakfast casserole in the oven (that we made ahead of time) and in 30 minutes it’s ready and we can eat! We’ve been eating this casserole for years. It tastes like Christmas morning to me!

For Christmas dinner, we usually have beef tenderloin (and sometimes pork tenderloin) with roasted vegetables and mashed potatoes. This year, we’re also going to have one of my favorites, Spinach Madeline. Yum!

Can’t wait to see what all of you are sharing from your kitchens today! Don’t forget to link up with Molly at Duchess of Fork!

I mentioned yesterday that I was making a couple of casseroles and a couple of desserts for Thanksgiving. I got a few requests for the recipes, so I thought I’d share them here. I’ve put a couple of these on my blog before, but here they are, once again! Enjoy!

I decided to mix in some pictures of Hudson and Hayes in their turkey tees from Lulu McGee. I am finally able to get them sitting together for just a little bit. Long enough to take a picture! But their expressions completely crack me up!

*Broccoli, cheese and rice casserole is seriously one of my favorite things. I love it so much and Thanksgiving isn’t Thanksgiving without this casserole.

Broccoli, Cheese, and Rice Casserole

Ingredients
1/2 c. chopped onions
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 lg. package of frozen broccoli
1 large jar of Cheez Whiz
4 cups of cooked white rice
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 package of sliced almonds

Directions
Precook broccoli and rice separately. Broccoli may have to be chopped up finely in a food processor. In microwave, melt butter and saute onions and celery (about 2 minutes) in 2 qt measuring cup. Add cream of chicken and cream of mushroom soup and cheese; stir until melted. Make sure broccoli is finely chopped. Fold in broccoli. Layer rice in large, ungreased casserole dish, top with broccoli mixture, and sprinkle almonds on top. Heat for 30 minutes or until bubbly on 350 degrees. Serves 8-10.

*This sweet potato casserole recipe is so yummy and so sweet. You may as well save it for dessert. It’s just so good and the crust/topping is the best part.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients
3-4 cups cooked sweet potatoes (or canned yams)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup half and half
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon vanilla
(may add dash of bourbon if the Baptists aren’t coming for dinner)

Topping: (I always double this)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup chopped pecans

Mash potatoes. Mix in sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and half and half. Put in 9×13 baking dish.

Topping: Melt butter and mix in remaining ingredients. Sprinkle on top of potato mixture. It’s okay to make more if you need more to cover the potato mixture. The topping makes this recipe– it’s better than dessert.

Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 8-10.

*This “salad” recipe is what my friend, Emily made for the “You Are My Sunshine” baby shower. It was such a hit at the shower and now I can’t wait to make this for Thanksgiving. Again, it’s called “salad,” but it could definitely be dessert. Wow! (recipe courtesy of my friend, Emily) I’m putting this in an 8×8 glass baking dish instead of a trifle bowl.

Pineapple Pretzel Salad

2 cups pretzel sticks, broken into one inch pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter, melted
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1/2 cup powdered sugar
20 oz pineapple tidbits, drained
8 oz cool whip

Preheat oven to 400. Put pretzel pieces in a large mixing bowl. Pour sugar and melted butter on pretzels. Mix until pretzels are coated well. Pour mixture onto a foil-lined cookie sheet and spread evenly. Bake for 7 minutes. Remove from oven, stir and allow to cool. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together powdered sugar and cream cheese. Stir in cool whip.

Layer the following in a trifle bowl (or other dish- layers look pretty in trifle bowl!): drained pineapple, cream cheese mixture, pretzels (add this right before serving so it doesn’t get soggy). Best made and eaten on same day.

These next four pictures are completely out of focus and not good at all, but they made me laugh out loud because Hudson is freaking out because Hayes has latched onto his shirt. This is what it really looks like when you try to get pictures of two little boys.

I’m so sorry it has taken me two weeks to post the winner of the Blessed Be The Name giveaway! Congratulations to Rachel from The Haney Life!

The two winners of the 33 Miles autographed CDs are (#40) Misty and (#26) Caroline! Congratulations!

All giveaway winners should email me at eeakin11 {at} gmail {dot} com before Wednesday.

I mentioned on Twitter earlier this week that I was making my favorite Chicken Tetrazzini recipe for our household and was also making it for a friend who recently had surgery. I got a few requests for the recipe, so I thought I’d post it and another family favorite. Unfortunately, I don’t have pictures for either recipe, but you can use your imagine that both will look absolutely delicious when you’re finished!

Bow Tie Fiesta

Ingredients:

8 ounces bow tie pasta

1 pound ground beef

½ onion, chopped

½ green bell pepper, chopped

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

Salt to taste

1 cup sour cream

1 cup salsa

½ cup sliced black olives

¼ cup sliced jalapenos (optional)

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

Cook the pasta using package directions and cooking for 7 minutes; drain. Brown the beef in a skillet, stirring until crumbly; drain. Add the onion and green pepper and mix well. Cook until the onion is tender, stirring constantly. Stir in the tomato sauce, chili powder, and salt.  Combine the pasta, ground beef mixture, sour cream, salsa, black olives, jalapenos, and tomato in a bowl and mix well. Spoon into a 9×11-inch or 9×9-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly. Yield: 8 servings

Chicken Tetrazzini

Ingredients:

1 (8-ounce) package spaghetti, cooked and drained

3 cups of cubed chicken

1 (6 ½ ounce) can mushrooms, drained

1 to 1 ½ cups crumbled cooked bacon

8 ounces Velveeta cheese, chopped

White Sauce:

½ cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

¼ cup all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (or 4 cubes)

Dash of pepper

3 ½ cups plus ½ cup milk

2 ounces sliced almonds for garnish

Directions:

In a lightly greased 9×13 inch baking dish layer the spaghetti, chicken, mushrooms, bacon, and cheese. Preheat the oven to 350. For the white sauce, melt the butter in a medium-size pan over low heat; stir in the flour, bouillon, and pepper. Add ½ cup milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Add the remaining 3 ½ cups milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly. Pour the white sauce over the chicken mixture. Bake for 45 minutes. Garnish with the sliced almonds. Yield: 8 to 10 servings