Best of 2008: Part 3: Keepers from the Recipe Box

photo from Country Home magazine
Here are some of my new or revisted keepers from the recipe box from 2008. I put links at the bottom of the of favorites I have already posted.

I love an overnight egg dish I can pop in the oven in the morning when company is staying. I tried the Greek variation of this casserole and found it yummy!

Cheddar-Bacon Wake-Up Casserole
4 oz. dry french bread, cut into 3/4-inch cubes (4 cups)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 slices bacon, crisp-cooked, drained, and crumbled, or 1 cup diced cooked ham
2 cups milk
4 eggs, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. snipped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1/2 tsp. mustard
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. onion powder In a large bowl toss together the bread cubes, cheddar cheese, and cooked bacon or ham. Divide among six 10-ounce individual casseroles or place all of the mixture in one 2-quart rectangular baking dish. In a medium bowl whisk together milk, eggs, parsley, mustard, pepper, and onion powder. Pour over the bread mixture in the casseroles or dish. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or up to 24 hours. Bake, uncovered, in a 350° oven for 25 to 30 minutes for individual baking casseroles (about 40 minutes for 2-quart dish) or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 6 servings. Per serving: 374 cal., 26 g fat (12 g sat. fat), 194 mg chol., 595 mg sodium, 15 g carbo., 1 g fiber, 20 g pro.
Greek Variation: Omit bacon or ham and substitute 6 ounces feta cheese and 1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese for the cheddar cheese. Stir 1 cup drained and chopped canned or marinated artichoke hearts, 1/4 cup chopped green onions, and 2 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives (optional) into the bread mixture before putting into casseroles or baking dish. Continue as above.
Mushroom-Sweet Pepper Variation: Cook 2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms and 1/4 cup chopped onion in 1 tablespoon hot olive oil over medium heat for 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Stir mushroom mixture and 1/4 cup chopped roasted red sweet pepper into bread mixture before putting into casseroles or baking dish. Continue as above.
Sausage and Provolone Variation: Substitute 1 1/2 cups shredded Provolone or Italian cheese blend for the cheddar and 1 1/2 cups chopped fully cooked turkey Italian sausage links for the bacon. Substitute basil for the parsley.
countryhome.com

Summertime Quencher
This is a refreshing summer sangria-like drink that looks very pretty in the pitcher! It looks a bit lighter in color than this picture illustrates. Feel free to vary the fruit depending on what is in season.
1 lemon
1 orange
1 750-ml bottle white zinfandel wine ( 3 1/4 cups), chilled
2 cups carbonated water or lemon-lime carbonated beverage, chilled
1 unpeeled kiwifruit, sliced
1/4 cup fresh blackberries, raspberries, huckleberries, or other berries
8 dark sweet cherries, pitted
8 fresh strawberries
Cut lemon and orange in half crosswise. Cut one lemon half and one orange half into 1/4 inch-thick- slices. Squeeze juice from remaining halves. Place juice in a 2-quart pitcher. Stir in wine, carbonated beverage, lemon and orange slices, and remaining fruit. Serve over ice. Makes about eight 5-oz. servings. This can be made using juice instead of wine.
photo from A Taste of Home

Festive Crab Cups
A woman at our church brings these whenever we have a "finger food potluck". Many think they are a dessert at first, but then discover the rich flavors.

1/3 cup cream cheese
1/4 cup canned crabmeat, drained, flaked, and cartilage removed
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 package (2.1 oz) frozen miniature phyllo tart shells
1/3 cup whole-berry cranberry sauce
In a small bowl combine the cream cheese, crab and onions until well blended. Place the tart shells on an ungreased baking sheet. Drop 1 tablespoon of the crab mixture into each shell. Top each with 1 teaspoon cranberry sauce. Bake at 375 for 12-15 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 15 appetizers.
Taste of Home, Dec. Jan. 2005

other favorites already posted:
Scarlett Autumn Salad and JBelle's Pacific Northwest Cranberry Chutney here.
Williamsburg Orange Cake here.

Best of 2008: Part 2: Keepers From the Photo Album

Inland Empire sky trees in the fog

icicles add texture to the window a quiet spot on Veteran's Day our Garden Valley Church with a new roof, new siding, and a lovely steeple


reflecting on the beauty of Sullivan Lake
Christmas cactus blooming at Thanksgiving
a window hanging from a window here comes the sun... December 2008

the wedding garden in October
Annie and Isabelle saying hello

Best of 2008: Part 1: Best Places to Visit

When a new year begins it is always nice to reflect on the past year and do an inventory of highs and lows, hits and misses, and put together my Best of 2008 lists.

Best Places to Visit in 2008:
Lake Chelan

Our Lake Chelan trip over spring break was exactly what we hoped for. It was quiet at the campground, the scenery was spectacular, the bookstore in Chelan was awesome, and we had wireless at a remote tent trailer! We hope to return to this place when the temperatures are warmer another time.


Litte Pend Oreille Wildlife RefugeThis place was right under our noses for years. The first time we decided to drive there we were amazed that we hadn't discovered it sooner. Once we saw the beauty of the area and free campsites we packed up our tent trailer and off we went to get away for a few days. I think we saw about five other people the whole time we were there.

Priest LakeIt is hard for me to explain how I grew up in northern Idaho and never visited Priest Lake. My parents weren't big on spur-of-the-moment drives or trips so we had a comfort zone of places we always went. That didn't include any location north of Coeur d'Alene.Visiting Priest Lake in the fall was nice. The beach was great for walking, the lodge with a restaurant and gift shop were close to our cabin, and we had lovely drives on the two routes we took to and from. We had thought about going back in the winter until the snow that never seems to end hit our area. Now I am content to stay home and gaze at photographs!

Canyon Creek Campground
We always try to camp here at least once a year. It is close to home, quiet, and perfect for learning more about your camera. I studied camera techniques and found lots of things to experiment with on this camping trip. Best of 2008 to be continued....

Delayed Christmas Celebration Finally!

A break in our snowy weather pattern finally allowed us to traveled to Idaho for a much delayed Christmas celebration. The roads were in good shape and other drivers on the road were taking their time and being cautious also.The snow made the drive beautiful, especially around Coeur d' Alene Lake. Even when the skies are gray Beauty Bay is a beauty.Mom chose to use a smaller tree this year, but the lights and decor made it just as beautiful. First things first. I finally got to sample the traditional treats of 516 w. Cameron Christmas... fruit cake, spritz, popcorn balls, nuts and bolts, and 7-Layer cookies. Next,we had to open our gifts !Shelby is always excited to see SVG and Silver Valley Girl loved the pear mincemeat Shelby gave her ( Shelby commissioned me to do the canning).Annie couldn't contain herself at the thought of having Christmas all over again. It was fun to watch everyone be surprised at their gifts. We were also very excited about the books we opened from Raymond Pert.JEJ thanked SVG and was eager to begin studying his gift Where Jesus Walked, photographed by Ken Duncan. Mom wanted to make sure it was her turn before she began opening another gift. Mom outdid herself with a delicious dinner. The evening ended with relaxing conversation and plans by my nieces to perform a beauty makeover on Kiki Aru as the headed out the door for home. We were greeted with safe roads again today as we headed over Fourth of July Pass toward home. I caught a gorgeous shot of Blue Creek Bay as we crossed the bridge toward CdA. Returning home we found a plowed driveway, a frozen door, and five cats eager to see us again. Even though we didn't get five golden rings or seven swans a swimming, it does seem like we have celebrated the twelve days of Christmas this year.

Snowbound Project: Getting Organized

One advantage to not being able to go far the last two weeks is that I have worked at getting myself organized. I felt like chaos was beginning to take over in places in my house.
One big project was to organize digital pictures. Backing them up on an external drive, doing a better job of labeling, knowing where to find them on a disk, and figuring out a better organization system was a tedious task, but I am glad I have taken it on. One hundred pictures of Kit- off to the Recycle Bin. You can guess I had way too many pictures of the lake from my deck. It was difficult, but some bouquet pictures had to go also. Perhaps I should spend another week and make collages like the one above... oh wait! I have to go back to school! I also worked on music downloads... not as tedious!!I also tackled the closets and cupboards. The nice part about reorganizing closets and cupboards is that you find things you forgot you had. Another advantage is it gives you an opportunity to check the strength of your giant garbage bags. Good night... where does the stuff come from? I am convinced now that some of the items in my closet reproduced when I wasn't looking. I was so happy to find some very cute snowman thank-yous that will come in handy this week-end!
The "Christmas stuff" also got an extreme makeover. Once I threw out the half pieces of ribbon, the faded bows, and the torn bags I had an amount I could work with. Is it too late to find after Christmas sales to restock my tubs?The recipe files also got purged. I am old-fashioned when it comes to recipes. I still use my cookbooks and recipe cards. I was at the store buying more recipe cards and a box and the clerk explained proudly how she organized all her recipes on the computer and then can just bring them up when she needs them. First of all something would surely get spilled on my laptop if I had it anywhere near my cooking counter. Also, what joy is there in knowing where the recipe is? Isn't part of the creative pleasure of cooking rifling through three cookbooks and a basket of newspaper clippings trying to find the right recipe? I do download recipes and I do have a file on the computer, but I also have my "hard copy" cookbooks, the original recipes written by my mom, notes in a cookbook from my grandmother, and personalized recipe cards from neighbors and friends.

I love recipes, but these are my rules for throwing out a recipe:
If I have had the recipe for three years and still haven't tried it, it goes.
If the recipe has at least three ingredients that I have never heard of or can't buy in my area, it goes.
If the recipe requires complicated pans, thermometers, cheesecloth, parchment paper, and three types of strainers, it goes.
If the directions are three pages long and use at least five cooking terms I have never heard of , it goes.
I said bye-bye to a pile in my collection. Believe me though , I could still do a macaroni and cheese cook off with all the versions of the recipe I still kept!I am off now to begin the home office shelves. Hopefully spring won't arrive before I finish! I'm sure you have guessed that the house pictures are not my own. I couldn't find the camera under the pile of wrapping paper tubes and old magazines! Plus, my clutter areas weren't quite as photo perfect.

Now don't get me wrong. I am not one of these perfectionists that alphabetizes her home library and organizes sticky notes by color, but sometimes it is nice to just find things again. I was ready to say good-bye to clutter, find the top of my desk again and find a place to sit!Now where did I file all those cords?

How Are the Pets Doing?

Our furry friends have adapted well to being snowbound. Annie loves the snow and will go out and run, roll, and doesn't seem to be bothered with getting cold. Can you tell what this is? We did not decide to attach cotton balls to Annie's fur. All of Annie's "feathers" turned into tiny snow balls when the cold snow and her fur collided. When she pranced in she looked like she was wearing a pom pom sweater!
Shelby is another story." Do I have to go outside?" she asks. Her breed is used to that hot Australian outback so she stays inside and lays by the fire if she has a choice.
I shared in recent post how our cats love the greenhouse. Here is another shot of Kit hiding among the Christmas cactus. Annie leaves Shelby inside and heads back out into the snow! I hope you are enjoying your New Year's Day and are warm and cozy wherever you are!