Swedish Meatballs

Swedish Meatballs are becoming a tradition for Christmas dinner at our house. The kids love them and it is one way to get them to eat green beans. We  serve it with hot rolls and homemade applesauce so everyone gets their fruit in too! Add a little sparkling grape juice for the kiddos and a glass of wine for the adults, and we are all set. I have yet to find a recipe online or otherwise that even compares to my mom's recipe for Swedish Meatballs, so I will share it here.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Beat together 2 eggs and 1 cup of milk and pour over 2 cups of breadcrumbs

Add:

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup grated onion

2 lbs. ground beef

Mix together and shape into 40 balls

Roll in flour

Fry slowly until well browned and remove from skillet

Add to pan drippings:

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cans of green beans or equivalent fresh green beans

2 Tablespoons parsley

Pour over meatballs and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. 

I usually make it a day ahead and put it in the crock pot on Christmas morning.

Krissy's Creations--Button Pretzels

Sometimes it's fun to let the little ones make their own snacks. This one is so simple--my four and five year-olds can do almost all the work. Krissy (age five) and cousin Grady (age four) made these today.

Take square pretzels and place a Hershey's Hug on the center of each one. Place in 200 degree oven for four minutes. They will retain their shape, but will come out soft. Place an M & M on the center of each and press down slightly. I usually stick them in the fridge for a bit to harden them up because the kids want to eat them right away. You can use Hershey's Kisses too, but they don't get as shiny and are not quite as pretty.

Salted Chocolate Caramel Turtles

I made these this afternoon and they turned out so good!

Here is the recipe for these fabulous looking treats:

Ingredients

8 ounces pecans
14 ounce bag of caramels
1 tablespoon milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
10 ounce bag of dark chocolate chips
3-4 ounces white chocolate
Fleur de Sel (Sea Salt)

1. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange in clusters of 5-6 pecans. Place under broiler for 90 seconds to toast.
2. Unwrap caramels and heat with milk and vanilla until melted. I used a double boiler to avoid burning them.
3. Spoon caramel mixture over pecan clusters and let stand until caramel hardens, at least thirty minutes.
4. Melt chocolate chips. I used the double boiler for this again. Reserve 1/4 cup of chocolate. Spoon the rest over caramel layer.
5. Let stand until firm--about thirty minutes again.
6. Chop up white chocolate and melt in microwave. Spoon over chocolate layer.
7. Put reserved chocolate in a sealed plastic bag and cut a tiny hole in the corner; then drizzle over white chocolate. I did it this way, but I think next time I will just drizzle it with a spoon.
8. Sprinkle with Fleur de Sel. 

Easy Beer Bread--1 Hour from Start to Finish

Are you running late and would like to have warm home-baked bread for dinner? You can make this bread in the time it takes to pre-heat the oven. Bake for 50-60 minutes and it's done!

Ingredients:

3 cups self-rising flour*
1/4 cup sugar
12 oz. beer

*If you do not have self-rising flour, you will need to add 1 T. Baking powder and 1 1/2 tsp. salt.

Directions:

Mix ingredients together and place in greased bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes. The crust will be hard and the inside soft.

The kind of beer you use will change the flavor, so experiment a bit. I have made this with Mike's Hard Cranberry Lemonade and put 1/2 cup of craisins in it for a sweeter taste. It's really good and so easy to make in a pinch!
 

Almond Tarts

These almond tarts taste just like Dutch Banket, but are half the work! Plus if you decorate with maraschino cherries they are great for Christmas.

Crust:

2 cups flour

2 sticks butter

6 oz. cream cheese

Divide into 48 balls and press into tart pans. I use a little flour on the tart press to keep it from getting too sticky.

Filling:

Mix in food processor:

 2 cups of almond paste

1 cup sugar

1 ½ T. flour

¼ tsp. salt

In separate bowl, beat 3 eggs

Add almond mixture to eggs and blend adding 1 tsp. each of almond extract and vanilla extract.

Put filling into tarts, but don’t overfill. You may have a little left.

Bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes or until browned on top.

Glaze or frost when cool. I use the leftover 2 oz. of cream cheese, 2 cups of powdered sugar, a few drops of almond extract, and add milk to get to the right consistency. Top each with half of a maraschino cherry.  

Best Ever Sloppy Joes

When I was at Calvin Christian elementary school in South Holland, IL, we had one day a month when the women served these sloppy joes. They are the best-tasting sloppy joes I've ever had. We used to eat this along with potato chips and chocolate milk. Yum!

2 lbs. ground beef browned
2 cups catsup
2 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vinegar
1 Tbs. mustard
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. dry onion

Mix together, heat, and serve on buns.

Almond Coffee Cake

Ingredients for cake:

1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 cup grated almond paste to be used as filling

Dutch Banket

This recipe is part of my Dutch heritage. My mom and grandmothers made it every Christmas as a special treat!

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter cold

½ cup ice water

1 ½  cups almond paste

2 eggs

¾ cup white sugar

¼ tsp. almond extract

Pinch of salt

1 egg white beaten

Ollie Bollen Recipe –Thank You Barb Hoekstra!

Q: What goes better with a cup of coffee than fresh Ollie Bollen?
A: Nothing

Ollie Bollen*

Ingredients:
3.5 cups flour
3.5 cups lukewarm milk, divided
dash salt
1½ cups raisins or currants
¼ cup candied citron (diced apple is better)  (15 grams)
3 T melted butter
1 egg
1 oz (2 pkg dry) yeast w/ 3 T sugar

Bud's Butterscotch Pie

This recipe is one that my dad used to serve in his restaurant. I believe the recipe originally came from his sister who baked the pies for him. I have never had butterscotch pie like this anywhere else. It's a taste of heaven...

1 cup minus 1 Tbsp. flour
3 cups brown sugar
9 Tbsp. butter
4 1/2 cups milk
6 egg yolks beaten
1 Tbsp. vanilla

Combine flour, sugar and melted butter in large saucepan.
Add milk and cook until thickened stirring constantly.
Pour a small amount of mixture over eggs stirring vigorously.
Return to pan and continue cooking ten more minutes.
Add vanilla
Cool

Divide between 3 regular or 2 deep dish pre-baked pie crusts.
Keep refrigerated and serve with whipped cream on top.

Easy Ice Cream Pie

2 ready made oreo pie crusts
1/2 gallon ice cream any flavor
1 stick butter
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups powdered sugar
1 package chocolate chips

Cherry Almond Cake to Die For

If you are Dutch, you will love this recipe. You can also do the recipe with other kinds of dried fruit like apricots and then change the juice in the glaze to lemon juice. Enjoy!


2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
7 oz. almond paste
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
6 oz. dried cherries (about 1 1/2 cups)
3/4 cup butter
5 large eggs lightly beaten
2 tsp. almond extract
8 oz. sour cream at room temp.
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1-2 Tbsp. cherry juice (You can use juice from maraschino cherries.)