Awesome Spinach & Artichoke Dip 

Ingredients:

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1/4 cup mayonnaise  1/2 teaspoon sour cream 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced

salt and pepper to taste 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a small baking dish.
2.	In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.
3.	Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella cheese. Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes, until bubbly and lightly browned.

Christmas Cookies (Sugar Cookie Cutouts)

Fruitful Friday ----- Ye Old English Fruit Cake

(we like our's all natural without all the candied fruits)

5 lg. eggs
1/2 lb. real butter
1 c. sugar
1 3/4 c. flour (plain)
1/2 tbsp. baking powder
3/4 lb. dried cranberries or cherries
1 lb. drained pineapple tidbits

1 cup diced dates

1 cup golden raisins
4 c. pecans 

4 tablespoons vanilla

1 teaspoons lemon flavoring 

 Toss fruit and pecans in 2 cups of flour; set aside.

Cream butter and sugar on medium high speed of electric mixer until light and fluffy; add flavoring and continue beating. Beat egg and add to creamed mixture. Dissolve soda in water. Add remaining 3 cups of flour and soda mixture to creamed mixture. Blend thoroughly. Fold in coated fruit and pecans.
 Pour into well greased and floured pans. Bake 3-3 1/2 hours at 250 degree oven. Will keep for 30 days in the fridge.

Thrifty Thursday ----- Mulled Orange Cider

        Here it is, December 1st, and Christmas is just around the corner. We thought is would be fun to share some our favorite holiday recipes we all of you.  So... to kick off the Holiday season, we would like to share an old traditional favorite.

• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup sugar 
• 2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
• 4 whole cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 cups apple cider 
• 2 cups orange juice 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 
• 1/4 cup pineapple juice 

Preparation

1. Bring 1 cup water and sugar to a boil in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 3 minutes. Add apple cider and juices; bring to a boil. Add cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger; reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, 10 to 20  minutes.
2. Pour mixture through a wire-mesh strainer into a Dutch oven, discarding spices and 
3. Serve hot with sliced "Ye Old English Fruit Cake" (Recipe posted Dec.2, 2011)

Wordless Wednesdays... Apple Pear

What is it?........   

Pyrus pyrifolia or better known as "Asian Pear"
 

Where does it grow?......... 

They are native to China, Japan, and Korea, but are grown here and in New Zealand.

How do you prepare it?....

They are commonly served raw and peeled. The fruits are generally not baked in pies or made into jams because they have a high water content and a crisp, grainy texture, very different from the buttery European varieties.

What does it taste like?..... 

The ones that we tasted didn't have much flavor.

Have you ever tried it?......

Yes

What recipe would you suggest using this mystery Ingredient?.....

besides eating them raw, I added them to our Fall Medley. (See the recipe on Saturday, 10-8-11)

Toss Together Tuesday's ---- Cereal Bars

If anyone is familiar with FlyLady, she is my hero! Next to my hubby of course. Anyway, if you are a flybaby then you will know that our mission today, if we choose to accept it, is the counter tops. It is also a free day so I choose to clean out one set of cupboards. In doing so, I came to the cereal section and you know all those little bits of cereals that nobody seems to like, or is that just my house? Well, I decided they would make a great after school treat... So I tossed them all together with melted marshmallows, just like rice crispy squares.

• 6 cups of assorted cereals from pantry
• 3 tablespoons of butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows (we use 6 cups for extra mallow, as my son calls it)

melt marshmallows and butter together until melted and runny, pour over cereal and mix well. pour onto greased cookie sheet and cool. Cut into bars and serve. These make a great breakfast treats too.

Toss Together Tuesday's

As most everyone knows "Tuesday's with Dorie" has come to the end of the book, but not the end of some fabulous recipes, friends or cooks. So in the interim, here at the Pantry, we have decided that we are going to dedicate Tuesdays as "Toss Together Tuesday's". Because of our busy schedules right now, our time in the pantry on Tuesday's is very short. We have found ourselves feasting on yummy left-overs or in-taking the quick grab and goes from the freezer. Sometimes yummy, but not good for those of us who are trying to lose weight or eat healthy.

So starting next week we will be featuring a new week day special... We would love to have everyone play along. These are the rules:

• You can't think about or plan the meal or food item ahead of time.
• You have to use what you have, you can not go to the store. 
• Using fresh stuff from your outside garden is okay.
• The whole meal or food item can only take 30-40 minutes to prepare from start to finish
• Try to make it as low-cal as possible.
• Post each Tuesday in comments with a link back to your post.

New Beginning....

        It has been a long time since I posted anything here. Now that I am done being angry that someone stole most of my recipes and printed them in a new book that seemed to have got her rave reviews and an earned short stay in the lime light... I have once again found the desire to SHARE!!!

       But in the event that someone tries to once again beg, barrow or steal my recipes for anything other than personal enjoyment..I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN and BLEND YOU WITH MY green HANDLED SPATULA! :)  And I WON'T BEG to DIFFER with YOU!!!!

With that being said... I would love to share with you (starting tomorrow) another one of my awesome blogs. It is entitled "A RUN ON THE BEACH". It is my new quest for self improvement and well deserved adventure. Here is the Link... www.arunonthebeach.com

Happy New Year!!!