Joanne Fluke Christmas Bundle: Sugar Cookie Murder, Candy Cane Murder, Plum Pudding Murder, & Gingerbread Cookie Murder (90 page)

Lisa’s Aunt Ida used to say that if it was inside the turkey, it was stuffing. If it was outside the turkey, it was dressing. This dressing recipe is from her.

1 cup minced onion

1 cup finely chopped apple with the peel on
(cored, of course)

1 chicken bouillon cube dissolved in ¼ cup hot water
(or
¼
cup chicken broth)

½ teaspoon sage

½ teaspoon ground Mexican oregano

½ teaspoon thyme

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 beaten eggs
(just whip them up with a fork)

1 six-ounce package herb seasoned stuffing mix

1 stick butter
(
½
cup,
¼
pound)

Grease
(or spray with non-stick cooking spray)
the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker.

In a large mixing bowl combine the onion and apple.

In a small bowl, dissolve the bouillon cube
(or measure out the chicken broth.)
Add the sage, oregano, thyme, and black pepper. Mix everything up and then add it to the onion and apple in the large bowl. Mix well.

Add the eggs and then the stuffing mix, stirring until everything is moistened.

Shape the mixture into 8 balls and place them in the crock. Melt the butter and pour it over the top.

Cover and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours.

Sprinkle the stuffing balls with paprika or chopped parsley before serving.

You can use the crock-pot for any dressing. Just grease it, turn it to LOW, sprinkle the top with parsley or paprika and dot it with butter, and it’ll be ready in 3 to 4 hours.

If your guests are late, the way Aunt Ida’s grandchildren always are, she says to tell you that the dressing will hold for at least an hour longer.

Grease or spray the inside of a 4-quart slow cooker with cooking spray

Kathy Purvis gave us this recipe. She says her family has been serving it for Thanksgiving dinners for as long as she can remember. She also says there’s probably a way to make it in the oven, but no one remembers how to do it.

One package
(8
½
ounces)
corn muffin or corn-bread mix

2 beaten eggs
(whip them up in a glass with a fork)

¹
/
₃
cup brown sugar

8-ounce package cream cheese
(regular, not whipped)

16-ounce can cream-style corn
(14.5 ounce can will work, too)

2
¹
/
₃
cups frozen sweet corn kernels
(a 16-ounce package)

1 cup frozen tri-color peppers, chopped

1 cup whole milk
(evaporated will do fine, or light cream will work also)

½ stick
(
¼
cup,
¹
/
₈
pound)
melted butter

1 teaspoon Season Salt
(see Mrs. Knudson’s recipe on backmatter)

1 teaspoon pepper
(freshly ground is best)

½ teaspoon nutmeg
(freshly grated is best)

Soften the cream cheese in the bottom of a microwave-safe bowl on HIGH for 30 seconds. Stir it up with a spoon. Let it cool until it’s warm to the touch.

Add the beaten eggs and brown sugar. Mix thoroughly.

Add the corn muffin or corn bread mix. Stir to incorporate.

Add the can of cream-style corn, the frozen corn kernels, and the tri-color peppers.

Stir everything up and add the milk and the melted butter. Stir in the Season Salt and the pepper.

Spray the crock of a 4-quart slow cooker with Pam. Put in the corn pudding mixture. Grate ½ teaspoon of nutmeg on the top.

Put the cover on the slow cooker, turn it to HIGH, and let the corn pudding cook for 3 to 4 hours.

Serves 10 to 12 people as a side dish.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F., rack in the middle position

Eleanor Cox made up this variation on the classic green bean casserole. She always brings two casseroles to our potluck dinners, but they’re gone in a big hurry.

16-ounce bag frozen cut green beans

16-ounce bag frozen yellow wax beans

One can
(10
¾
ounces)
cream of mushroom soup

One can
(10
¾
ounces)
cream of chicken soup

1 cup shredded cheese
(Cheddar or Jack)

¼ cup dried chopped onions

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 six-ounce can French-fried onions
(I used French’s)

salt and pepper to taste
(I used 1 Tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper)

Spray a disposable half-size steam table pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set it on a cookie sheet so the bottom will be supported.

Thaw the beans in the microwave, but don’t cook them. Dump them in the pan. Pour the two soups over the top, add the cheese, dried onions, and garlic powder. Add salt and pepper, and half of the French-fried onions. Mix it all up right there in the pan.

Cover the pan tightly with two layers of foil, and bake it at 325 degrees F. for one hour.
(An hour and a half is fine, too—this dish holds well for guests who come late.)

Take the foil off the top and dump on the other half of the French-fried onions. Bake uncovered for an additional half hour or until the onions are brown and crispy.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position

This recipe is from Pam Baxter, Jordan High’s Home Economics teacher. She gives it to all her students.

1 pound
(approximately 2 and
²
/
₃
cups)
uncooked mixed rice***

3 and
¹
/
₃
cups boiling chicken stock
(or beef stock)

one envelope dry Onion Soup
(1-ounce, I use Lipton’s)

¹
/
₃
cup dried onions

1 sixteen-ounce package frozen tri-color bell peppers
(or a sixteen-ounce package of frozen corn & peppers, or one cup fresh chopped bell peppers)

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

½ cup butter
(one stick,
¼
pound)

*** Pam uses a one-pound package of Trader Joe’s California Rice Trilogy. If you can’t get that, use 1 cup long-grain brown rice, 1 cup wild rice, and
²
/
₃
cup brown Basmati rice.
(Or any other combination you wish, as long as it adds up to 2 and
²
/
₃
cups of dry rice.)

Rinse off the rice in a strainer and pat it dry. Mix rice and all ingredients except butter together in a large bowl. Transfer mixture to a greased casserole dish. Cut the butter into 8 pieces and put it on top of the casserole. Cover the casserole with heavy-duty foil if it doesn’t have a cover. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 2 hours. Take off the foil and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes.

This is a slow cooker recipe, but you can also do it in the oven

Edna Ferguson contributed this recipe. She says every new bride should be presented with it, right along with her wedding ring.

Approximately 8 pounds potatoes, peeled

3 packages
(8-ounces each)
cream cheese

½ cup heavy cream

salt

pepper

1 cup dried, chopped onions

1 stick cold butter parsley and/or paprika to garnish

a packet of dry instant mashed potatoes
(just in case you need them)

more cream or milk
(just in case you need it)

Boil the potatoes in salted water until they’re tender enough to mash. Drain them. Soften the cream cheese in a bowl in the microwave. Then mash the potatoes with the cream cheese and the cream.
(A hand masher works just fine—Edna says you want a few small chunks so people can tell they’re homemade.)

Mix in salt and pepper to taste. Mix in any other seasonings you’d like
(garlic powder, onion powder, etc.)
Add a cup of dried onions and mix them in.

Spray the inside of a 5-quart slow cooker with Pam or other non-stick cooking spray. Spoon in the potatoes. Garnish with parsley or paprika. Cut the stick of butter into eight pieces and press the pieces down a little on top of the potatoes. Put the cover on the crock-pot. You’re all done.

Plug in the slow cooker and set it on LOW. Cook for a minimum of 4 hours, but as long as 5 or 6 hours. Check a half hour before serving to see if they’re the right consistency. If there’s too much liquid, sprinkle in some instant mashed potatoes and stir them in. If there isn’t enough liquid, add more cream and stir it in. When the potatoes are perfect, you can add a little cholesterol by cutting another stick of butter into chunks and putting them on top, if you wish. Even if you don’t, the potatoes will be delicious when you serve them.
(I put mine up around noon for an evening dinner.)

Edna says that if you don’t have a slow cooker and you’re too cheap to buy one to make your life easier, you can put these in a pan, cover them tightly with two layers of foil, and heat them in a 300 degree F. oven for 3 hours. She also says to tell you that they’ll hold in the oven for another hour if your guests are late.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position

This is Gail Hansen’s recipe. It’s really wonderful!

12-ounce package uncooked wide egg noodles

8 eggs

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup white
(granulated)
sugar

1 cup sour cream

½ cup whipping cream

3 cups whole milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup cornflakes

½ cup melted butter
(one stick,
¼
pound)

(I added a cup of dried cranberries to this dish when I made it for Thanksgiving—everyone loved it that way.)

Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam. In a large bowl, beat the eggs with the salt and sugar until they’re a uniform yellow color. Add the sour cream, whipping cream, milk, and vanilla and whisk it all up.

Dump the uncooked noodles in the cake pan. Pour the egg mixture over the top. If there isn’t enough liquid to cover most of the noodles, add more whole milk until only a few are sticking up.

Crush the cornflakes by putting them into a baggie and squeezing them with your hands.
(When they’re crushed, they should be approximately a
½
cup in volume.)
Sprinkle the crushed cornflakes evenly on top of the noodles and liquid.

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe container and drizzle it over the top of the cornflakes.

Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F. for approximately an hour and a half, or until the top is golden brown.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position

This is another recipe from Vera Olsen (“Hot Stuff”) who’s engaged to marry Andrew Westcott (“Silver Fox.”)

¹
/
₃
cup flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon paprika

4 eggs

1 large grated onion

½ cup melted butter
(1 stick,
¼
pound)

5 cups frozen hash browns or frozen Potatoes O’Brien

2 cups grated cheese
(any kind will do)

Spray a 9-inch by 13-inch cake pan with Pam or other non-stick spray.

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, and seasonings in a large bowl with a fork. Add the eggs and whisk it all up. Stir in the onion, melted butter, grated cheese and potatoes.

Dump the mixture into the cake pan, cover it with foil, and bake at 350 degrees F. for one hour. Remove foil, turn the oven up to 400 degrees F., and bake for an additional 15 to 30 minutes, or until the top is crusty and golden brown.

If you want to make this into what Vera Olsen calls “Party Potatoes,” take the potatoes out of the oven, let
them cool for about ten minutes so that the eggs and cheese hold them together, cut them into serving-size squares,
(you can get about 12 from a pan,)
transfer the squares to a platter, and top each one with a generous dollop of sour cream and a sprinkling of caviar
(or crumbled bacon for those who don’t like caviar.)