Hi Kathleen,

Sounds like you all managed to have a good Christmas, even though the weather didn't cooperate. My Nephew's wife is originally from Upstate, NY, up around Syracuse, so she's used to the Snow and Ice, but it seems that it was worse than usual, even for them. They should be able to fly back in, sometime this coming weekend, hopefully in time for New Years.

Those Meatballs sound better than what I had for Christmas Dinner. We'll be having some of my favorite Meatballs at this year's New Year's Eve party. Cranberry sauce and brown sugar create a tangy glaze for moist meatballs, which makes these equally as good as an appetizer or as a main dish over rice.

Christmas Meatballs

Ingredients

• 3 eggs

• 1-1/2 envelopes onion soup mix

• 3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs

• 1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons chopped dried cranberries

• 3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

• 2-1/4 pounds lean ground beef

• SAUCE:

• 1-1/2 (16 ounce) cans whole berry cranberry sauce

• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons ketchup

• 3/4 cup beef broth

• 1/4 cup and 1 teaspoon brown sugar

• 1/4 cup and 1 teaspoon finely chopped onion

• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Preparation

1. In a bowl, combine eggs, soup mix, bread crumbs, cranberries and parsley. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1-in. balls; place 12 to 14 balls on a microwave-safe plate. Cover with waxed paper; microwave on high for 3-4 minutes or until no longer pink. Remove to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining meatballs.
2. In a 2-qt. microwave-safe dish, combine sauce ingredients. Cover and microwave on high for 3-4 minutes or until heated through.

Have A Very Happy New Year My Friend,

Phil

Hi Myrna,

Yes, Christmas was quite busy, however, I had almost all of my Family together to Celebrate, so it was well worth the Hustle & Bustle. Hopefully, with temperatures down here in NC predicted to be in the 60's on New Years Day, the Snow will be an unpleasant memory. Not a Big Fan!

Here's a little something that was originally inspired by a description in the novel, "The Godfather." It is also a favorite with my "family" as well. Serve with a crusty bread, such as the Potato Bread below, a green salad, and a robust dry red wine, such as Barbera or Dolcetto, for a very satisfying meal. Of course, the amount of oil and garlic can be adjusted to your taste.

Mama Corleone's Sausage and Peppers

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package thin spaghetti
• 4 (4 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage
• 5 assorted bell peppers, seeded and cut into strips
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup minced flat leaf parsley
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add spaghetti, and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
2. While the pasta is getting started, slice sausages lengthwise, and remove the casings. Brown sausages in a large skillet over medium-high heat with a drizzle of the olive oil. Remove sausages to a platter, and keep warm in the oven. Add the bell peppers, garlic, oregano and basil to the skillet, and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. Saute over medium heat until peppers are tender.
3. Toss the pepper mixture with the drained spaghetti until well blended, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a serving platter, and arrange the sausages on the top. Garnish with Italian parsley and Parmesan cheese.

WHAT A BREAD! This is the most fabulous bread I have tasted. It's very moist inside and the inside has a slight texture of sourdough, but it's not sour.

Crusty Potato Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups bread flour
• 1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast

Directions

1. Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select White Bread Cycle; press Start.

Wishing You A Terrific New Year,

Phil

Hello Phil and Friends,

Finally getting back over here after I finally got my pictures uploaded to PB!

It was a lot of cooking and I had no time to take pictures until on Christmas Eve we began to slow down a bit. Here is our ham for Christmas that we served CE with snacks, so everyone could just eat when they felt like it.

Yes, I have butterfly plates!!

Gus fixed up a snack tray, we opened gifts and just enjoyed!!

More later,

Sara

Hi Sara,

Thanks for stopping by and Thanks for the lovely pictures. Sounds like a wonderful Christmas to me my Friend, plenty of Good Stuff to eat and still with time to enjoy what's really important at Christmas, spending some quality time with Family. Speaking of Snacks, here's one my family always likes at the Holidays.

You won't find breadcrumbs in these unique mushroom caps; here, a cream cheese and Parmesan based filling will get you stuffed. These delicious mushrooms taste just like restaurant-style stuffed mushrooms, only in my opinion, a little bit better.

Stuffed Mushrooms

Ingredients

• 12 whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.
3. When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.
4. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Have A Wonderful New Year My Friend,

Phil