2011 Holiday Recipe Guide
24 maraschino cherries with stems
Waxed paper
1 Packag of Chocolate or White Candy Coat
24 milk chocolate Hershey’s Kisses
48 almond slices
ICING:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Black, red & blue food coloring (Black & Red for White Mice – Blue for Christmas)
Icing bags or 2 plastic sandwich bags
Drain the cherries and dry them off with a paper towel.  Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Unwrap the Hershey’s kisses.
Melt the candy coat squares as needed in a double boiler or microwave until smooth
Holding a cherry by its stem, dip it into the chocolate and swirl it around to completely cover the fruit. Set it on its side on the waxed paper (twist the stem so it sticks up). Immediately press a Hershey’s Kiss onto the cherry for the head. Then immediately press (gently) two almond slices in between the cherry and the kiss for the ears. Repeat to make each mouse.
Make a thick icing by mixing 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar with a teaspoon of water. If the mixture is too dry, stir in more water, a few drops at a time, until you have a thick, smooth icing. Divide the icing among three small bowls.
Tint one bowl of icing black or blue. Spoon each of the three icings into a plastic bag and snip a tiny corner from each. Pipe white eye dots on the mice for eyes, let them set for 10 minutes. Pipe blue or black dot on each of the white dots (animate them to look different ways!), let set & serve. For white mice, pipe red eye dots on the mice, let them set for 10 minutes then pipe black pupils onto eye.

Connie Myers, Star-Herald, Marketing Representative

4 slices bacon finely cut
¼ cup onion, chopped
½ cup ketchup
1-Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
¼ cup brown sugar
2 cans green beans, drained

Brown bacon and onions. Mix with remaining ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Check Out Our Holiday Recipe Guide Sponsors!

Bytes Computers
Carr-Trumbull Lumber
Century Lumber
Compliments
The Flower Basket
Frame Masters
Johnson Cashway
Panhandle Coop
Platte Valley Bank
Table Mountain Vineyard
Western Nebraska Community College

Patty Lessman, Tracy, MN,
Mother of Kyle Lessman, Star-Herald Copy Editor

1 C flour

½ C butter

⅔ C chopped, salted peanuts

Blend flour and butter, add peanuts. Press into 9×13 pan. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Let cool.

Cream:

⅓ C peanut butter

8 oz cream cheese

Add: 1 C powdered sugar

Blend in: 2 cups whipped topping

Spread on top of crust.

Mix:

1 pkg instant vanilla pudding

1 pkg instant chocolate pudding

3 C cold milk

Mix until thickened and spread on top of second layer. Let set in refrigerator 20 minutes.

Top with 1-2 cups whipped topping. Garnish with half cup chopped peanuts and shaved chocolate bar.

Check Out Our Holiday Recipe Guide Sponsors!

Bytes Computers

Carr-Trumbull Lumber

Century Lumber

Compliments

The Flower Basket

Frame Masters

Johnson Cashway

Panhandle Coop

Platte Valley Bank

Table Mountain Vineyard

Western Nebraska Community College

Connie Myers, Star-Herald Marketing Representative

4 slices bacon finely cut

¼ cup onion, chopped

½ cup ketchup

1-Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

¼ cup brown sugar

2 cans green beans, drained

Brown bacon and onions.  Mix with remaining ingredients and bake at 350° for 45 minutes.

Check Out Our Holiday Recipe Guide Sponsors!

Bytes Computers
Carr-Trumbull Lumber
Century Lumber
Compliments
The Flower Basket
Frame Masters
Johnson Cashway
Panhandle Coop
Platte Valley Bank
Table Mountain Vineyard
Western Nebraska Community College

Connie Myers, Star-Herald Marketing Representative

1½ C all-purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

Dash salt

3 T sugar

3 T shortening

Milk to spread

Mix everything but the milk together with a pastry blender or fork.  Add enough milk to allow you to spread the batter in an 8-9 inch pie pan.  Bake at 375° until done. 

Double the recipe for a larger batch.  To serve cut into 6 to 8 pieces, split and add sweetened strawberries and whipped cream.

Check Out Our Holiday Recipe Guide Sponsors!

Bytes Computers
Carr-Trumbull Lumber
Century Lumber
Compliments
The Flower Basket
Frame Masters
Johnson Cashway
Panhandle Coop
Platte Valley Bank
Table Mountain Vineyard
Western Nebraska Community College

Star-Herald Holiday Recipe Guide Archives

2 Boneless rainbow trout (about 9 or 10 inches long)

2 Cedar planks soaked in water at least 4 hours or overnight, drained

3 Tablespoons butter

4 Tablespoons bourbon

1 Tablespoon coarsely crushed black peppercorns

½ Cup maple syrup

Preheat grill to medium hot.  Flatten trout skin side down on the planks.  Sprinkle trout with peppercorns.  In a small saucepan over low heat, combine butter, bourbon, and maple syrup.  Stir often until butter is melted and mixture is well combined but not boiling.  Generously brush trout with maple syrup mixture and place on the grill, plank side down.  Cover the grill and brush frequently with maple syrup mixture.  Fish is done when it flakes easily with a fork.  Serve trout on the plank.

WINE:  Pinot Noir from Washington State

NOTE:  The cedar plank must be NON-treated.  Treated planks of any kind are poisonous.  Non-treated cedar planks can be found at most home improvement stores and can be cut to length.  The wood may catch fire a little bit and char around the edges while cooking.  This is normal and adds to the trout’s flavor.

You can also use salmon steaks for this recipe.

Star-Herald Holiday Recipe Guide Archives

3 Boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

½ Teaspoon salt, divided

2 Tablespoons olive oil

½ Teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

¼ Pound sliced fresh mushrooms (more if you like)

1 Cup heavy whipping cream

½ Cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

1/3 Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

½ Pound penne pasta, cooked “al dente” and drained well

Parsley sprigs for garnish

Sprinkle chicken with ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper.  Cut chicken into bite size pieces.  Heat oil in large  (12”) skillet until hot.  Add chicken pieces and cook until edges start to turn brown.  Add mushrooms and cook until softened.  Stir in cream and reduce by half.  Stir in ¼ of the Gorgonzola cheese crumbles and all of the Parmesan cheese.  Simmer, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt.  Stir in remaining salt and pepper.  Toss chicken mixture with hot pasta and top with remaining Gorgonzola cheese crumbles.  Garnish with parsley sprigs and enjoy.

OPTIONAL DIRECTIONS:

Instead of sautéing the chicken in a skillet, you can grill the whole breasts on your BBQ grill before cutting them into bite-sized pieces.  Proceed as above once the chicken breasts have been grilled.

Star-Herald Holiday Recipe Guide Archives

Ingredients to be divided:

8 Tbsp. butter

1 1/4 c. powdered sugar

3/4 c. honey roasted peanuts, ground in a food processor

Crust:

1 c. graham cracker crumbs

6 Tbsp. melted butter

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. ground peanuts

Combine graham cracker crumbs with melted butter, powdered sugar, and ground peanuts. Mix well and press into a 10″ pie plate.

Filling:

1 c. peanut butter

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. heavy cream

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. powdered sugar

2 Tbsp. butter

Cream together peanut butter, cream cheese, and butter.  Mix together the heavy cream, vanilla, and powdered sugar.  Blend into peanut butter mixture.  Pour filling into crumb crust.  Sprinkle 1/4 c. ground peanuts over the top of the pie and chill several hours or overnight.

Optional:  Serve each pie slice with a dollop of whipped cream.