Hi there, Mrs. 1500 today, looking for your favorite holiday recipe.
But let’s go back to last week and talk about adding extra guests to birthday parties.
Mrs. PoP has a great point, “If the extras are easy to accommodate, I would say sure. But if it’s a more choreographed affair, or where the extras would be out of place (ie kids at an adult party – or in your case boys at a girl party), I would not hesitate to say no.” It was very easy to accommodate the most recent add-on, because the party was in our home. I spent an extra dollar on a Matchbox car for his goodie bag. The TCBY party was equally easy to add one more kid, but cost an additional $10. Not really the end of the world.
As more and more of you responded, it seems like this happens frequently. Reader Zaxon had people ask to bring extras to his wedding! So did Mrs. Frugalwoods and Michelle from Making Sense of Cents!
Even Steven just says yes, because “it’s probably less taxing to pay an extra $14 a head than to tell them no and deal with the backlash and such. Maybe I’m soft on this stuff, idk.” That is why I ended up saying yes both times…
Reader Christeen tells the story of a friend who takes her younger daughter along anyway, in the hopes that there will be room. Yikes. I should be glad that people ask ahead of time. At least I know the total that way. Thanks, Christeen!
Savvy Financial Latina shared that this is completely expected in the Hispanic community. I didn’t know that, and am really glad she shared.
Thank you for all your stories and advice. I really appreciate your sharing your opinions and experiences with me!
So let’s talk about that yummy picture above…
In the 1980’s, my mother noticed a recipe on the inside of the packaging of the Baker’s German Sweet Chocolate bar. She thought it sounded good, so she whipped one up and a family tradition was born. This is the most request dish to come from my mother’s kitchen, and she makes at least two when the whole lot of us get together.
It is a frozen pie, and here is the recipe:
German’s Sweet Chocolate Pie
1 (4 ounce) bar German sweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup milk
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 (12 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (9 inch) prepared graham cracker crust (We use an oreo crust)
- Microwave chocolate and 2 tablespoons of the milk in large microwave-safe bowl on HIGH 1 1/2 to 2 minutes or until chocolate is almost melted, stirring halfway through heating time. Stir until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.
- Beat in cream cheese, sugar, and remaining milk with wire whisk until blended. Refrigerate 10 minutes. Gently fold in 3 1/2 cups of the whipped topping until no streaks remain.* Spoon into crust.
- Freeze pie 4 hours. Before cutting pie, let stand at room temperature 15 minutes**. Serve with remaining whipped topping. Store pie in freezer.
*It is impossible to remove all streaks, so now I don’t even try. Still delicious.
**Once pie is frozen, it becomes almost impossible to cut. Take it from the freezer for about 30 minutes before the meal begins.
We are always looking for new recipes to try. Please share with us your favorites!
Oh wow…that chocolate pie looks fantastic! I almost ate my monitor…haha!
This is going to sound a bit odd, but it’s very good. My family’s Christmas tradition is Potato Chip Cookies. Unfortunately I don’t have the recipe in front of me, but it’s much easier to make than it sounds. It’s basically a normal butter cookie, but instead of adding salt you add crumbles of your favorite potato chips into the batter mix, and a little bit of powdered sugar on top of the cookie once it is done.
Danny, that pie tastes even better than it looks! The recipe is located inside the box that the chocolate bar comes in, should you not be around internet connectivity but still want to make it. Literally, you stir stuff together, then spoon into a pie crust, then freeze. Give it a go, and impress your family at Thanksgiving. Also, help me impress mine and send me that potato chip recipe! That sounds so good!!!
Oh, I can imagine. Anything with sugar, cream, and chocolate is a victory in my book! I’ll have to give it a try.
As for the potato chip cookie recipe, I wasn’t able to find it last night 🙁 . As of right now, the recipe has not yet been put into digital form. I know my mother has a paper copy of it. When I go to my parents’ home for Thanksgiving I’ll make a copy of it so you can give it a try during the holidays (which it’s more intended for). Sound good?
One I added to my holiday recipes many years ago:
http://www.thekitchn.com/homemade-gift-recipe-skillet-toffee-5521
You don’t have to do the parchment paper lining if you have a really good nonstick pan. The one I have (can’t remember the brand) is a heavy dark metal that looks like a cookie sheet but has almost a 1 inch depth (perfect for this) and the toffee just comes right out with no residue.
Super easy, as long as you remember to stir and watch carefully – that’s the hard part! The toffee is the kind that just sort of melts in your mouth too… sooooo good, and makes great teacher/work gifts too (using a pretty festive dollar store cello bags).
Oh Frankie’s Girl! That looks so good. Mr. 1500 was a toffee-shunner for the longest time, then discovered the deliciousness that is toffee. Don’t know why he didn’t like it before. Butter and sugar – yum!
I have never made it before. Looks like I’m putting a candy thermometer on my wish list…
Thanks for sharing!
#1 Favorite – Beef Stroganoff
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1-2 can of water (if you prefer thinner but more sauce use two)
2 tbs worcester sauce
Pepper to taste (i like with 5 twists of a grinder)
1 tbs minced garlic
1 package of onion soup mix
1 package of No Yolks “extra broad” egg noodles
1.5-2 lbs cubed stew meat (works with both sizes since grocery stores suck)
Lightly brown meat and drain.
Mix all contents except noodles into crockpot, add drained beef cubes.
Cook low 6 hours or high 4 hours (low is better!)
Boil noodles and drain
Combine contents of crockpot and noodles in whatever container fits both
Let stand ~15 minutes to thicken a bit
Serves lots, goes great with any roll or bread, freezes well 🙂
#2 Favorite – Pork and Sauerkraut
http://www.food.com/recipe/crock-pot-pork-and-sauerkraut-149675
I’ll use thick cut porkchops as well.
And i reduce the brownsugar by half since i like stronger saurkraut
Thanks, Zaxon! I am going to change the cream of mushroom to cream of celery because mushrooms have no place in my house, but the rest of it sounds awesome! Thanks for sharing.
That pork/sauerkraut thing looks great!
Raspberry Ribbon Pie. My mom makes it every Christmas (and ONLY for Christmas). It has layers of raspberries/raspberry jello and some kind of whipped cream/cream cheese stuff in a pastry crust. I don’t have the recipe but I’ll need to get it since I won’t be going home this year. I can’t have Christmas without it!
When you get it, please please please share. The littlest 1500 LOVES raspberries.
My favorite has got to be my grandma’s sweet potato casserole as a Thanksgiving side. So good. My grandma was an Alabama woman, born and raised, and MAN, she could cook.
When I get home, I will reply to this comment with the actual recipe (I need to pull it out for a Friendsgiving event coming up anyway!)
Dave @ The New York Budget.com recently posted…Our Priorities Have Been Pre-Programmed
Here’s the recipe!
Sweet Potato Casserole
3 c. sweet potatoes, baked 1 c. brown sugar or molasses
3 eggs 1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 stick butter 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger
Bake the sweet potatoes until soft, at least an hour. Peel. Place chunks in mixer or, preferably, a food processor. Add all other ingredients. Blend. Taste to check seasonings. Pour into greased baking dish. Add topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 min. (Can freeze without topping. If frozen, bake for 15 min., add topping, bake 30 min. more.)
topping:
Mix by hand: 1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
Dave @ The New York Budget recently posted…Our Priorities Have Been Pre-Programmed
Mr. 1500 won’t touch sweet potatoes with a 10-foot pole, so I guess this is all for me! This looks great. And if it’s a recipe from an Alabaman Grandmother, you can bet money it will be amazing. Thanks!
Wow that chocolate pie looks amazing. Would have to give that a try one of these days. Thanks for sharing.
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It is also really easy to make. It’s the one thing my sister requested for Thanksgiving this year.
I have a great all-grain strong ale recipe! I pint make family tolerable for the afternoon; two pints makes everyone your best friend.
Once the house is finished, Mr. 1500 is going to start fiddling with beer brewing. Would love to share that recipe…
Yum! Our favorite holiday recipe is an unusual one: Shoo Fly Pie. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a very traditional dish for Mr. FW’s family and fortunately, I love it too. If you like hearty, not-too-sweet pies that taste like molasses, then this is for you!
Frugalwoods Shoo Fly Pie
2 deep dish pie crusts
3 c flour
1 c sugar
3/4 c part Crisco/part butter
Pinch salt
Mix together and set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture for the top of the pies. Use remainder for the filling and mix in:
1 c molasses
1 c boiling water
1 tsp baking soda
Pour into pie shells and sprinkle remaining crumbs on top.
Bake at 350 for 35 minutes (or until the middle doesn’t wiggle).
Enjoy!
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Thanks Mrs. FW. I have seen Shoo Fly Pie’s on the menu before, but never knew what it was. Thank you for sharing. Not everyone likes super sweet so this will be a great one to try.
Chocolate Kahlua Cake – I can get the exact proportions if you want it (they’re in the X-mas box in the attic!) But it’s basically just boxed Chocolate Cake mix prepared with espresso, sugar, and kahlua. Bake it in several loaf pans or a bundt pan.
Then as the cakes are cooling mix more kahlua with powdered sugar to form a syrupy glaze. Poke holes in the cakes so that when you pour the glaze over the cakes it seeps in and the cake soaks it up like a sponge.
Slice thin – freezes REALLY well. Mmmmm…
I HATE chocolate cake, but I love this stuff and have been eating it since I was a kid. Which in hindsight maybe wasn’t the best idea my parents had since the alcohol mixed in prior to baking cooks off, but the alcohol in the glaze definitely doesn’t. =)
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OK, I’m showing my husband’s Jewish roots here, but for Passover and Hannukah, we make chocolate covered carmelized matzah: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2008/01/chocolatecovere/
Just don’t store in an airtight container!
We double the recipe and make two batches and it tends to be gone within 2 days….
Mom @ Three is Plenty recently posted…Framed House
Oh yeah – from personal experience – don’t try the margarine version – we did that for one year for family members that keep kosher on Passover. Now we just tell people there’s butter in it and let them make the call (so far, no one’s refused…)
Mom @ Three is Plenty recently posted…Framed House
That recipe sounds a lot like chocolate mousse, except for the cream cheese.
My favorite holiday treat is a desert called Krumkake. It is basically a cookie that is like a waffle and comes from Norway (although this side of the family is originally Swedish so there must be some crossover.) You cook it in a special iron, which looks a lot like a waffle iron, which gives it the design. You can have them flat, but traditionally they are then rolled around a wooden cone. Rosettes are another Scandinavian cookies which is traditional in my family.
Thank you for posting the German chocolate pie recipe. I made it yesterday, and it was a big hit with my husband’s family. I inadvertently bought the 8 oz. Cool Whip container instead of the 12 oz, so I used all of it for the filling and used shaved chocolate to give it a “finished” look. Delicious!
Nice, glad you liked it. Do you have any leftovers? 🙂