These dishes will add flavor to your holidays

Submitted by JNOW READERS

In our October edition, we put out the call for your favorite dishes for the holidays, and we appreciate those of you who responded. Try making one of these dishes to add to your holiday table, and we think you’ll be pleased. Thanks again for sending them to us.

Sweet Garlic Slow Cooker Chicken

Ingredients:

2 pounds organic chicken breast

Dash of sea salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 tomato, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons chili in adobo sauce

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon sea salt

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

Rinse the chicken breasts and pat dry. Butterfly cut the chicken, opening each breast up like a book. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place the chicken in a baking pan and set aside in the fridge as you prepare the sauce. Place the coconut oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and continue to cook for about 10 minutes. Use a hand blender to puree the sauce until smooth. Coat the chicken with half of the sauce and marinate for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cover the chicken with foil and bake chicken for 30 minutes in the preheated oven. Serve warm with a spoonful of the reserved sauce. Makes 8 servings.

— Andrew Campbell Marinated Beef Tenderloin

Ingredients:

1 beef tenderloin (about 4-6 lbs.)

½ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

¼ cup dry sherry

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sugar

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon black pepper

Directions:

Prepare marinade by mixing together all ingredients. Pour marinade over tenderloin. Cover and refrigerate 2 to 8 hours, or overnight. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Remove tenderloin from marinade. Place tenderloin on rack in open pan. Tuck small end under so meat will cook evenly. Roast in 425 degrees Fahrenheit oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until internal temperature of beef is 145 degrees Fahrenheit (medium-rare). NOTE: Cook longer, if you prefer tenderloin to be cooked to medium. Wait five minutes before slicing.

— Charlotte Anne Temple Classic Angel Flake Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

1 package (2-layer size) yellow cake mix

2-2/3 cups Baker’s Angel Flake coconut (7-oz. pkg.), divided

1 package (3.4 oz.) Jell-O Vanilla flavor instant pudding

¼ cup powdered sugar

1 cup cold milk

1 tub (8 oz.) Cool Whip whipped topping, thawed

Directions: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cake batter and bake as directed on package for 2 (9-inch) round layers, stirring 2/3 cup coconut into batter before pouring into prepared pans. Cool cakes in pans 10 min.; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Beat pudding mix, sugar and milk in large bowl with whisk 2 min. (Pudding will be thick.) Stir in COOL WHIP. Refrigerate until ready to assemble cake. Stack cake layers on plate, filling layers with 1 cup pudding and ¾ cup of the remaining coconut. Frost top and side of cake with remaining pudding mixture. Press remaining coconut into pudding mixture. Refrigerate 1 hour.

— Charlotte Anne Temple Delicious Deviled Eggs

Ingredients:

12 hard cooked eggs

½ cup Kraft Real Mayonnaise

2 teaspoons finely grated onion

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/8 teaspoon each ground black pepper, ground red pepper and salt, Paprika on top

Directions:

Cut eggs in half. Remove yolks, mash in a bowl, stir in remaining ingredients. Spoon in.

— Charlotte Anne Temple Rice Krispie Doodles

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cup Rice Krispies cereal

2 teaspoons smooth peanut butter (I use extra smooth)

1 cup plain M&M’s

1 cup Spanish peanuts (cocktail peanuts are OK too)

1 1/2 cup mini marshmallows

1/2 package of vanilla almond bark

wax paper

Directions:

Put almond back in big bowl (enough to hold all the ingredients). Microwave almond bark 3-4 minutes. Make sure you heat it enough to make it soft all the way through but not too much, or it will scorch and turn brown/black. As soon as you get it out of the microwave, add peanut butter and mix until blended well. Next, add cereal and mix. Finally, add the peanuts, M&M’s, and marshmallows and mix until everything is well-coated. Drop by spoonfuls on wax paper. Candy should be set after at least 30 minutes. Makes 30-plus. Cocoa/Oats Micro Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 stick margarine

2 1/2 cups quick oatmeal

2 tablespoons vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

4 tablespoons cocoa

Directions:

Combine ingredients in microwave-safe bowl and cover with paper plate. Microwave 6 minutes. Cool and drop with teaspoon on foil. Makes 35 cookies.

— “Minnie Pearl” in downtown Smithfield Buffalo Sammies Ingredients:

1 pound of chicken, cooked and shredded (while still hot)

1 bag of cheddar cheese

1 block of cream cheese

1 package of ranch seasoning

Buffalo Sauce to taste

Directions:

Stir until cheese is melted and the ingredients are blended. Stir and serve with king Hawaiian sandwich buns or use as a dip.

— Heather Earp Hungry Jack Beef & Bean Casserole

Ingredients:

1 can of hungry jack flaky biscuits - cut in half and line the edge of 9 x 13 baking pan (stand up on the edge)

1 can of baked beans

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

1 pound ground beef

2 cups of cheese

Directions:

In a frying pan, brown ground beef and drain. Once brown, add a tsp of minced onion. Add baked beans, brown sugar and BBQ sauce and mix together until sugar melts. Pour beef mixture in the middle of biscuits and bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes and then cheese to the top and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until biscuits brown and the cheese is melted.

— Amy Stanley Mike’s Special Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 can cranberry sauce

Directions:

Open can, turn upside down. Carefully place contents on plate in order to preserve the decorative mold. Serve.

— Mike Bollinger Banana Pudding

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

6 egg yolks

1/2 stick margarine

7 bananas

1 cup self-rising flour

1 quart sweet milk

1 tablespoon vanilla

1 box vanilla wafers

Meringue:

6 egg whites

1/4 cup sugar

Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add and beat in sugar. Beat until peaks hold.

Directions:

Mix sugar, flour, salt and milk. Cook until sugar is dissolved. Beat egg yolks. Dip up a little of the hot mixture and mix with the yolks, then pour back into mixture. Cook until mixture thickens. Remove from heat and add vanilla and margarine. Put a layer of wafers, bananas and mixture. Use a 9x13 casserole dish. Cover with meringue and brown for about 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

— Mary Ann Yansom Blueberry Delight

Crust ingredients:

1 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 stick butter

Cream ingredients:

9 ounces Cool Whip

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

8 ounces cream cheese

Topping:

1 can blueberry pie filling

Directions:

Melt butter. Add flour, sugar and nuts. Press into bottom of 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown. Cool. Pour cream on top, then add topping onto entire mixture. Chill before cutting. Can also be made with cherry pie filling.

— Mary Ann Yansom Turkey Cornbread Dressing

Ingredients:

1/2 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced celery

1 stick butter

1 pound sausage

1 large back Pepperidge Farm cornbread stuffing mix

1 sleeve crushed saltine crackers

1 pan of Jiffy cornbread, crumbled (cooked according to package)

2 cans chicken broth

Directions:

Saute onion, celery and butter. Do not drain. Brown sausage, drain off grease. Mix sauteed vegetables, sausage and dry ingredients together. Add chicken broth to mixture. Mixture should be very moist. If not, add water until it is the consistency of oatmeal. Spread into a greased 9x13 pan and bake 20 minutes covered in aluminum foil. Remove cover and continue baking until golden brown at 350 degrees (approximately 10-15 minutes). Trigger’s Steak Marinade

Ingredients:

Soy Sauce (Kikkoman)

A1 sauce

Chef Paul Prudhomme’s Blackened Steak Magic

Seasoned Salt

Garlic powder

Onion powder

Everyone should have to spend a few months working in a restaurant. You can learn so much there. One of my many lessons learned in the kitchen at Ichabod’s Eatery in Uptown Shelby was the secret to making good steaks. Starting with a good marinade is key. It can cover up a so-so piece of meat, or take a prime cut to the next level.

Directions:

To marinate two steaks, use a gallon ziploc bag. Add half a bottle of soy sauce, four shakes or so of A1, three shakes of steak magic, three shakes of seasoned salt and two shakes each of onion powder and garlic powder. Close bag and shake contents well. Open bag and add two thawed steaks. Remove as much excess air from the bag as possible and reseal it. For best results, allow the steaks to marinate for at least 24 hours.

— Randy Capps

Christmas Crack

Ingredients:

Saltine crackers

2 sticks of butter

1 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 bag chocolate chips (milk chocolate or white chocolate)

sprinkles or chopped pecans (optional)

Directions:

Line the bottom of a cookie sheet or 9x13 pan with saltine crackers. Melt butter, sugar and vanilla in saucepan to make a syrup. Once the sugar is completely dissolved, pour the syrup over the crackers. Add chocolate chips over the syrup mixture, and be sure to cover the whole pan. Place in 350 degree oven just long enough to melt the chocolate. Remove and add sprinkles or chopped pecans if desired. Let it harden and break into pieces. You can’t eat just one piece!

— Pam Batchelor Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 16-ounce box of macaroni

2 large bags of extra sharp cheddar cheese

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of milk

salt and pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook the noodles on top of the stove until done. Whisk the eggs and milk together. Then put one layer (half of the noodles) in the bottom of a casserole dish, then a heavy layer of cheese, salt and pepper. Then add another layer of noodles and cheese and pour the milk and eggs over the top. Add more salt and pepper and two pats of butter. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

— Terri Atkinson