Holiday Cheer - Blacked-eyed Peas

Let's ring out the year with a recipe party....post your must have dish or recipe for New Year's Day. I'll pull names for periodic winners during the day AND one lucky winner will receive the grand prize - a virtual book bag full of Roses of Houston's electronic romances.* I'll draw the grand prize winner after I ring in the new year, so don't delay in getting your recipe up!

"Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day. "~ From the website Wilstar.com. Learn more about our New Year's tradtions at Wilstar.com.



Southern Blacked-eyed Peas

Ingredients

1 1-pound pkg dried black-eyed peas
2 quarts water
1 onion, chopped
¼ green pepper, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
Ham bone, piece of salt pork or
several slices of bacon

Directions

Wash the peas; soak overnight or at least five hours in fresh, cold water. Drain off soaking water; put peas in a large pot containing at least 2 quarts of fresh water. Add onions, green pepper, celery and ham bone or bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook about 2 hours or until peas are tender to mash easily. Add water as needed while cooking.

Serve will freshly cooked rice and cornbread.

*The vitural bookbag will contain an electronic copy of: His Ship, Her Fantasy by Emma Lai, Spell of the Killing Moon by Skhye Moncrief, Her Reluctant Rancher by Anne Marie Novark, Learning to Let Go by Elizabeth Pina, and The Priceless Gift by Anna Kathryn Lanier.

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland

Holiday Cheer - Mexican Pinwheels and Osyter Cracker Snack

I couldn't decide between these two recipes, so you get them both.

Mexican Pinwheels

Ingredients

8 oz cream cheese, softened
8 oz sour cream
8 0z cheddar cheese, grated
1 small can chopped black olives
1 small can chopped green chilies
Garlic and seasoned salt to taste
1 pkg large flour tortillas
Picante sauce

Directions

Combine all ingredients. Spread evenly on tortillas and roll up. Place in refrigerator, covered, overnight. When ready to serve, slice into 1-inch sections and served with picante sauce.

Oyster Cracker Snack

Ingredients

1 large box oyster crackers
1 pkg Ranch dressing
1 cup oil
1 tsp garlic salt

Directions

Mix all ingredients and place in a 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 450° until all oil evaporates, about 5-10 mins, stirring occasionally.

Tomorrow's recipe: Black-eyed Peas

The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months! ~Edward Payson Powell

Holiday Cheer - Weekly Winner

Congratulations to weekly winner Joan M. Joan won a copy of Texas Morning Glory: Memorable Breakfast Recipes from Lone Star Bed and Breakfast Inns and a Smart Women Read Romance t-shirt.

This week's prize is a Mary Balogh Bookbag....ARCs of the last three of her Huxtable series and mass market copy of the first in the series. Just leave a comment between now and Midnight New Year's Eve (including the during the all day Ring Out the New Year Event on the 31st....commenting for that party of prizes will still make you eligible for Mary's set).

You can still enter to win a DVD of Jewel of the Nile on my website. Just go to my guestbook and answer the question the by Dec. 31st. The link to my guestbook is at the bottom of my HOME page. http://www.aklanier.com/

Anna Kathryn Lanier
http://www.aklanier.com/

Holiday Cheer - Angels on Horseback

In A COWBOY'S DREAM, Leah hosts an annual Christmas party for her friends. One of the items she serves is Angels on Horseback.


A Cowboy’s Dream
Excerpt

Hot cider simmered on the stove filling Leah’s condo with its spicy scent. A crescendo of voices nearly drowned out the orchestrated Christmas music filtering through her stereo speakers as Leah glanced into her living room and smiled.
Nearly a dozen of her friends milled around, waiting to help her decorate her home for the Twelve Days of Christmas. She watched her friends mingle, delighted that the tradition, started several years ago, continued. Though it had sprung up because she and several girlfriends discovered they’d be alone for Christmas Eve, the gathering had grown to include boyfriends and husbands.
The timer on the oven went off and Leah removed the Angels on Horseback. She put the oysters wrapped in bacon on toasted bread, then carried the platter to her dinning room table, already laden with an array of food.
“Leah,” Betsy called. “When do we get to exchange the gifts?”
She grinned at the short, plump brunette who was impatient when it came to the gift opening.
“You know we don’t do that until the tree is decorated.” Leah glanced at the still bare evergreen. “And if you want to get to the good stuff before midnight, I suggest you get the guys busy putting on the lights.”
Betsy grinned and hurried back to the group of men, who inevitably congregated together to talk sports and cars.
Tessa, a good friend since their freshman year of college, filled a plate with food and stopped beside Leah. “You’ve been pretty quiet tonight. What’s up?”
She knew Leah better than anyone, so it wasn’t surprising she couldn’t hide her upset over Marcus from Tessa. Still, she straightened the forks on the table to delay her reply. “I haven’t had time to tell you, but I had dinner with Marcus Slade the other night.”
Her friend’s plate of food tipped and a couple of olives rolled onto the floor. “What? Oh my God! You’ve been trying to snag a date with him for a year now. What happened?”
Leah glanced around to see if anyone was listening. Satisfied they wouldn’t be overheard, she gave a quick run down of the disastrous evening. When finished, Tessa gripped her by the arm and dragged her into the relative quiet of the kitchen.
“What the hell do you mean he stopped because of your body?”
Leah gave her a scathing look. “Come on, you’ve seen pictures in the society pages of the women he’s dated. Well, I saw several of them up close and personal. I’m not built like they are and he was reminded of that when he, uh, felt me up. That’s when he stopped the seduction.” She felt the heat of a humiliation brush over her as she remembered how he’d pulled away from her less than perfect body.
Tessa put her untouched plate of food on the counter top. “So, you think he stopped seducing you because he was reminded that, what is it you always say, ‘your IQ is bigger than your bra size?’”
“Why else? My gosh, if he’d asked me, I’d have invited him into my bed right then and there. But he didn’t, he pulled away and told me we had to stop. With the constant reminders of his other dates, can you blame him?”
“You’re saying, he just wants to be friends?” Tessa pulled a glass and bottle of wine off the granite bar and poured a drink.
Leah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “So it seems. You know guys, it’s sex or friendship...no mixing.”
She grabbed the drink out of Tessa’s hand and gulped half of the Charbonneau down.
“That was for me,” Tessa said dryly.
“I needed it more.”
“Yeah, you may be right there.”

Buy A COWBOY'S DREAM here.

A COWBOY'S DREAM is part of The Wild Rose Press' Miniature Bundle. Six holiday romances at 33% the regular price. A Cinderella Christmas by Stacy Dawn (Sweetheart); A Cowboy's Dream by Anna Kathryn Lanier (Yellow); Dragonfly Dreams by Stacey Joy Netzel (Champagne); Home For Christmas by Pam Champagne (Champagne); I Love You a Latte by Bronwyn Storm (Last Rose of Summer); Lighting The Tree by Carol Ann Erhardt (Last Rose of Summer)


Angels on Horseback

Ingredients

1/2 cup dry white wine
1 garlic clove minced
salt and pepper
12 shucked oysters, washed and dried
6 slices lean bacon

Directions

Mix the white wine, garlic, salt and pepper together. Add the oysters and marinate 10 to 20 minutes.

Preheat the broiler. Cut each bacon slice in half, and wrap each oyster with a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Broil on both sides until the bacon is crisp.Keep warm on a heating tray.

Tomorrow's Recipe: Mexican Pinwheels and Oyster Cracker Snack

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. ~Oprah Winfrey

Holiday Cheer - Shrimp Sandwiches

Today's the last day to enter to win a Smart Women Read Romance T-shirt and TEXAS MORNING GLORY: Memorable Breakfast Recipes from Lone Star Bed and Breakfast Inns. To enter, all you need to do is leave comment. I'll draw for a winner tomorrow.

Shrimp Sandwiches

Ingredients

1 8-oz cans shrimp pieces
or ½ pound fresh boiled shrimp
8-oz package Swiss cheese, shredded
1 medium onion, minced
Salt and black pepper to taste
Mayonnaise to blend
26 pieces of bread

Directions

Chop shrimp, Swiss cheese and onion. Add seasonings and mix well. Add mayonnaise to spreading consistency. Spread on bread to make sandwiches. May also be spread on crackers and dusted with paprika.

Tomorrow's recipe: Angels on Horseback

A New Year's resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. ~Author Unknown

Holiday Cheer - Honey-Glazed Chicken Wings

Now through December 30th, I'm going to post 'appetizers' so that you'll have a nice list of recipes for your New Year's Eve Party.

CONTEST: On December 31st, I'll post my favorite black-eyed peas recipe. Pull out your own special 'must have' New Year's Day dish for a special contest (wait until December 31st to post though!!!) Post the dish or the recipe--either one--to be eligible. Just tell us what you have to have for New Year's Day. I'll draw names throughout the day for periodic prizes and one lucky person will win a virtual book bag full of Roses of Houston electronic books.

Honey-Glazed Chicken Wings

Ingredients

3 lb chicken wings
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp chili sauce or ketchup or barbecue sauce
¼ cup honey
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp garlic powder or 1 clove garlic minced
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

Directions

Separate wings at joints and put into a glass pan or plastic baggie. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover and refrigerate at least one hour (or overnight) turning occasionally to coat all chicken.

Heat oven to 375°. Drain chicken, reserving marinade. Place chicken on rack in foil-lined broiler pan. Bake 30 minutes. Brush chicken with reserved marinade and turn chicken. Bake for another 30 minutes.

Tomorrow's recipe: Shrimp Sandwiches

Youth is when you're allowed to stay up late on New Year's Eve. Middle age is when you're forced to. ~Bill Vaughn

Holiday Cheer - Cocoons

Cocoons

Ingredients

1 ¼ stick butter
3 tbsp powdered sugar
1 ½ cups flour
1 tbsp water
¾ cup chopped nuts
1 tsp vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven 275° (Yes, two hundred seventy-five). Thoroughly mix all ingredients. Shape cookies like a cocoon. Place on cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake 1 hour 40 minutes. When cool, roll in additional powdered sugar.

Tomorrow's recipe: Honey-Glazed Chicken Wings

Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each new year find you a better man. ~Benjamin Franklin

Holiday Cheer- Cracker Jack Cookies

Sexy Comments & Profile Graphics

Cracker Jack Cookies

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 ½ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup coconut
2 cups Rice Krispies


Directions

Preheat oven 350° and grease cookie sheets, if needed.

Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla together. Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add to butter mixture. Stir in oatmeal, coconut and Rice Krispies. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until nicely browned.

Tomorrow's recipe: Cocoon Cookies

Behold, a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son,
and they shall call his name Imman'u-el,
which being interpreted is, God with us.
Matthew 1:23

Holiday Cheer - Sparkling Cranberry Punch and Texas Ranger Baked Eggs

Today, you get two recipes, one for Christmas Eve and one for Christmas Morning. Merry Christmas!



Here's something for your Christmas Eve get-together. Okay, I haven't made this before, but it looked good and different. Anyone who makes it, needs to let me know how it turned out!





Sparkling Cranberry Punch

Ingredients

1 1-lb can jellied cranberry sauce
2 ¼ cup hot water
½ cup sugar
½ cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract
1 ½ cup ginger ale
Fresh mint
Clove studded lemon circles

Fresh cranberries

Directions

Heat cranberry sauce and water until sauce is melted. Add sugar and allow to cool. Stir in lemon juice, extract and one cup ginger ale. When ready to serve, add remaining ginger ale. Garnish with mint, clove studded lemon circles and fresh cranberries.


And for your Christmas morning brunch: Texas Ranger Baked Eggs

Texas Ranger Baked Eggs
From Mariposa Ranch Bed and Breakfast
Brenham, TX

Ingredients

7 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tsp sugar
4 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces
2 cups Monterey Jack cheese
¼ cup green bell pepper
2/3 cup butter, melted
½ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
Dash paprika
Dash ground mustard

Directions
The night before: In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, and sugar together. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spray a three-quart baking dish with vegetable oil and pour mixture in. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven 350°. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Serves 12.

Tomorrow's recipe: Cracker Jack Cookies

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. ~W.T. Ellis

Holiday Cheer - Cinnamon Pan Cookies

Sexy Comments & Profile Graphics

Cinnamon Pan Cookies


Ingredients

2 sticks butter, melted
1 cup sugar
½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 egg yolk
2 ½ cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts
1 egg yolk
Powdered sugar

Directions

Preheat oven 350°. Mix butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon egg yolk, flour and nuts (in order). Batter will be very dry. Pat into an 11x15-inch cookie pan. Beat egg white until foamy and spread thinly over batter. Brown in oven 25-30 minutes. Sprinkle with sugar and cut cookies while still hot.

Tomorrow's recipe: Sparkling Cranberry Punch

Every time we love, every time we give, it's Christmas. ~Dale Evans