Here are some of our favorite Holiday Recipes
Perfect to wow the Family
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Here are some of our favorite Holiday Recipes
Perfect to wow the Family
Just click the
​
And it take you to the Recipe.
Click the
​
and it take you back to the list.
Stuffing
Homemade
Hot
Chocolate
Ingredients:
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2 cups of milk - (of any kind)
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2 tablespoons natural cocoa
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4 tablespoons brown sugar or honey
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1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
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1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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some dark chocolate - chopped
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fresh spray - (optional)
Directions:
1. In a small pot put cocoa powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and vanilla. Add a little milk, then mix well with a teaspoon until you have a creamy composition.
2. Put the pot on the medium heat of the stove. Add the rest of the milk and mix well again. Bring to the boiling point and then quickly remove from the heat.
3. Pour hot chocolate into two cups, garnish with whipped cream and chunks of dark chocolate.
Hot
Apple Cider
Ingredients:
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8 cups apple cider
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1/4 cup brown sugar
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1 tsp. whole cloves
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1 tsp. whole allspice
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1 cinnamon stick
Directions:
1. Heat all the ingredients to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Strain and pour into a punch bowl. Serves 8.
Directions:
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In a large saucepan melt the butter over medium heat and add the raisins, dates, prunes, currents, brown sugar, molasses, spices, coffee liqueur (or coffee) and the orange zest and juice.
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Bring to a gentle boil and very slowly simmer for 10 minutes.
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Remove from heat and allow to cool for 30-45 minutes.
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When cool stir in the beaten eggs.
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Sift together, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda.
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Add the ground nuts and fold through the boiled mixture. Fold in cherries, citrus peel and pecans. Pour into prepared baking pan. You can decorate the top with additional pecan halves, cherries etc., if you like.
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Bake at 300 degrees F for 1 ½ to 2 hours depending upon the size of your pan. Mine took the full two hours in a 10 inch spring form pan.The cake should feel firm to the touch at the center and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. The cake should be cooled completely in the pan on a wire rack before removing.
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At this point you can poke small holes in the top and bottom of the cake with a fork and pour on 4 ounces of dark rum or your favorite whiskey, half on the top, wait ten minutes, then flip it over and pour the remaining half on the bottom.
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Soak several layers of cheesecloth in additional rum if you like and wrap completely around the cake, then cover with several layers of plastic wrap and store in a COOL place.
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When serving, you can add a layer of marzipan or if you have decorated the top with fruit and nuts, brush with a simple glaze of equal parts water and sugar boiled together for about 10-15 minutes.
Ingredients:
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1 1/4 cups chopped dried prunes (6 oz), chopped
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1 1/4 cups chopped dates (6 oz), chopped
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1 1/2 cups dark raisins (8 oz)
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1 1/4 cups golden raisins (6 oz)
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1 1/4 cups currents (6 oz)
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¾ cup butter
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1 cup dark brown sugar
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¾ cup molasses
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½ cup coffee liqueur, or ½ cup strong black coffee
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Zest and juice of 2 oranges
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1 cup chopped glace cherries
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1 cup candied citrus peel
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1 1/2 cups toasted pecans (7 oz), roughly chopped
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2 tsp allspice
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2 tsp cinnamon
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2 tsp powdered ginger
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1 tsp cloves
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2 tsp nutmeg
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3 tbsp cocoa
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3 eggs
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1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
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½ cup ground hazelnuts or almonds
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½ tsp baking powder
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½ tsp baking soda
Fruit Cake
Ingredients:
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8 oz cream cheese room temperature
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1/2 cup eggnog room temperature
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1 tsp vanilla extract
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1/2 tsp rum extract
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1/2 tsp cinnamon
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1/4 tsp nutmeg
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2 cups powdered sugar
Eggnog Dip
Directions:
1. Beat the soft cream cheese until smooth.
2. Mix in the vanilla extract, rum extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
3. Beat in the eggnog, and then the powdered sugar.
4. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
5. Serve with graham crackers or ginger snap cookies.
Cheesy Garlic Christmas Tree
Ingredients:
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6 string cheese mozzarella cheese sticks (0.75 oz each)
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5 extra-sharp Cheddar cheese sticks (0.75 oz each)
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5 Colby-Monterey Jack cheese sticks (0.75 oz each)
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2 cans (16.3 oz each) refrigerated Buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits each)
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2 tablespoons butter
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1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
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1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
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1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives or Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
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1 can (15 oz) pizza sauce
Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350°F. Line 18x14-inch cookie sheet with cooking parchment paper.
2. Cut each cheese stick into 4 pieces to make 64 pieces. Separate each can of dough into 8 biscuits. Separate each biscuit into 2 layers for a total of 32 biscuit rounds. Flatten each biscuit round into 4-inch circle.
3. Place 2 pieces of the same type of cheese on center of each round. Fold edges up and over cheese; pinch firmly to seal. Using photo as a guide, place biscuits randomly by assorted cheeses, seam sides down and next to each other in a tree-shaped pattern on cookie sheet, starting with trunk and working up to the top.
4. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High 30 to 60 seconds or until melted. Stir in garlic powder and Italian seasoning. Brush mixture on tops of biscuits. Bake 29 to 33 minutes or until golden brown and biscuits are no longer doughy in center.
5. Top with chives. In small microwavable bowl, microwave pizza sauce covered on High 60 to 90 seconds, stirring halfway through, until warmed through. Serve cheese-stuffed biscuits with pizza sauce.
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/gas 4. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and add the onions. Cook gently for about 20 minutes until soft and golden brown. Add the sage leaves, cook for a couple of minutes more and then spread out on a plate to cool.
2. With a sharp knife, slit the skins of the sausages and pop the meat out. Put it in a mixing bowl with the cooled sage and onion mix and the breadcrumbs. Add a good grating of nutmeg, then scrunch well with your clean hands to mix together.
3. On a floured work surface, roll the pastry out into a big rectangle as thick as a pound coin and cut it lengthways into two long, even rectangles. Roll the mixture into sausage shapes with your hands and lay along the centre of each rectangle.
4. Mix the egg and milk and brush the pastry with the mixture, then fold one side of the pastry over, wrapping the filling inside. Press down with your fingers or the edge of a spoon to seal the join.
5. Cut the long rolls into the sizes you want and space them out on a baking tray. Brush with the rest of the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes or until puffed, golden and cooked through. Serve with piccalilli and a cress salad.
6. Tip: Lamb or beef sausages work just as well in this recipe if you don’t fancy pork.
Ingredients:
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olive oil
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1 red onion , peeled and finely sliced
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1 sprig fresh sage , leaves picked
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6 higher-welfare pork sausages
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1 handful breadcrumbs
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fresh nutmeg , for grating
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250 g ready-made puff pastry
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1 free-range egg
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a little milk
Sausage rolls
Stuffing
Ingredients:
1 sourdough loaf stale crushed into breadcrumbs
½ cup grass-fed butter
2 cups onion sliced
1 cup celery chopped
2 teaspoons sage chopped
2 teaspoons thyme chopped
3 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare 2-loaf tins with wax paper.
2. Place a skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the celery and onion – cook, until soft for 5-minutes.
3. Transfer the contents of the skillet into a large mixing bowl and add the thyme, sage, and breadcrumbs.
4. Add enough of the stock to moisten the bread, toss in a pinch of salt and pepper – Mix until well-combined.
5. Add the stuffing mix to the loaf tins and bake in the oven for 30-minutes until the top browns.
Gravy
Ingredients:
Turkey gizzard, heart, and neck
1 medium carrot, chopped
1 medium onion, quartered
1 stalk celery, chopped
A few sprigs flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
6 peppercorns
Salt and pepper to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Directions:
1. Place the gizzard, heart, and neck in a medium saucepan.
2. Add the carrot, onion, celery, parsley, bay leaf, peppercorns, and 1/8 teaspoon salt and pepper to the pot and cover with about 6 cups of cold water.
3. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about 1 to 2 hours to make a light turkey stock that will be the basis of your gravy.
4. To finish the gravy, once you’ve removed the turkey from the pan, remove any excess fat from the pan by tilting it to one side and spooning it off, being careful not to remove any of the natural juices.
5. Place the roasting pan over two burners over moderate heat. Use a spatula to loosen any bits clinging to the bottom of the roasting pan.
6. Sprinkle on the flour and, using a whisk, mix the flour with the juices in the bottom of the pan.
7. Cook for 1 minute, stirring until the paste has come together and is beginning to turn a pale golden color.
8. Pour a little more than half of the turkey stock through a sieve into the pan and whisk to create a smooth gravy.
9. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly thickened and flavorful. Thin the gravy by adding additional stock as needed.
10. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep the gravy warm over low heat, stirring occasionally until ready to serve.
Cranberry
Sauce
Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 12-ounce cranberries
Directions:
1. Combine the sugar, orange juice, 1/2 cup water, the cinnamon, salt and cranberries in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring up to a simmer over medium heat and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Let cool completely before serving.
​Sweet
Potatoes
Ingredients:
3 pounds sweet potatoes
1/4 cup water
2/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons butter
​One bag mini marshmallows
Directions:
1. Skin the sweet potatoes and then cut into one-inch chunks.
2. Boil in a pan of water until soft.
3. To create your syrup, boil water, brown sugar and butter until reduced. It will be the consistency of maple syrup.
4. Once the sweet potatoes are fully cooked, layer them in the bottom of a casserole dish.
5. Pour the syrup over sweet potatoes and top with mini marshmallows.
6. Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes.
(Watch closely to make sure the marshmallows don't burn.)
Roasted Butternut Squash
Ingredients:
2 pounds butternut squash
¼ cup walnuts
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon dried sage
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon butter
¼ cup dried cranberries
​1 ½ Tablespoons maple syrup
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Rinse and peel squash. Cut off ends and discard. Cut squash at the neck, creating a narrow end and a round end. Cut round end in half and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Cut both ends into ¾-inch, even-sized cubes.
3. Coarsely chop walnuts. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, add squash. Toss with oil, sage, salt and ground black pepper.
5. Spread squash evenly on a baking sheet. Roast, stirring once, until tender, about 35 minutes.
6. In a small skillet over medium heat, melt butter or heat oil. Add walnuts and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cranberries and maple syrup.
7. Gently toss cooked squash with cranberry mixture.
Green Bean
Casserole
Ingredients:
2 cans (10 1/2 ounces) Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 cups cooked cut green beans
2 2/3 cups French Fried Onions
Directions:
1. Stir the soup, milk, soy sauce, black pepper, beans and 1 1/3 cups onions in a 13x9x2-inch baking dish or a 3-quart casserole.
2. Bake at 350°F. for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir the bean mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining onions.
3. Bake for 5 minutes or until the onions are golden brown.
Chocolate Pecan Pie
Ingredients:
1 unbaked pie shell
1 cup chocolate chips
3 Tbsp whole milk
4 eggs
3 Tbsp melted butter
1 cup light or dark corn syrup
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 cup pecan halves
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
1. Bake pie crust at 425 degrees for 5-7 minutes until golden brown.
Reduce temperature to 325 degrees.
2. Microwave your chocolate chips and milk on high 1-1-1/2 minutes until smooth and pour into pie crust.
3. Beat eggs in large bowl and add other ingredients, except pecans and mix well.
Slowly pour into the pie crust on top of your chocolate layer.
Add the pecans on top and put foli around the crust on edges.
Bake 55-60 minutes or until filling is puffed and center is still soft enough to move when shaken gently.
4. Cool completely on wire rack.
Pumpkin Pudding
Ingredients:
2 (3.4-oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice mix, plus more for garnish
Whipped topping, for garnish
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, whisk together pudding mix, pumpkin, milk, brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice mix according to package directions. Let sit 5 minutes to thicken.
2. Spoon into 6 small cups. Refrigerate until well chilled and pudding is set, about 1 hour.
3. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with more pumpkin pie spice mix.