Chinese New Year Cookies

This was one of the first recipes that I learned.. thank you Mom!  We made these for Christmas every year so when I made them this year, great memories of cooking with Mom in the kitchen came flooding back to me!  Sometimes these are called haystacks but they are Chinese New Year cookies to us!  They're easy with ingredients that you probably have on hand in your pantry and they are no bake!  That's a double bonus.  Since it's New Year's Eve, I made them today to welcome in the New Year!

Here's our recipe:

Ingredients:
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup peanuts
1 can Chow Mein noodles

Directions:
Melt the butterscotch chips and peanut butter in a double boiler over medium  heat.  Stir until smooth and stir in peanuts and chow mein noodles.

Drop by spoonfuls onto waxed paper.  Cool until set... and enjoy!

Variation:  you can make these with a combination of chocolate & butterscotch chips or just chocolate chips.

Almond Curried Fruit

Baked almond curried fruit is a great side dish for ham or pork... but we love it with almost anything!  It makes a beautiful presentation and is so yummy.  It's been a family favorite for many years.

Almond Curried Fruit

1 29-oz can sliced peaches

1 15 ½-oz can pineapple chunks

1 16-oz can pear halves

1 6-oz jar maraschino cherries

½ cup slivered almonds

1/3 cup butter, melted

¾ cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tablespoon curry powder

Drain all fruits and arrange in a 9x13x2-inch  baking dish. Sprinkle fruit with almonds. Combine butter, brown sugar, and curry powder.  Top fruit with brown sugar mixture.  Bake at 325 for 1 hour. Serves 8.

Upside Down Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Chicken pot pie is one of my all time favorite comfort foods... as is home made soup.  So what could be better than to combine the two into one yummilicious bowl!   If  you have left over soup & biscuits, toast the biscuit halves before placing them in the bowls of soup... delicious with just the right amount of crunch!

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 cups chicken broth

1 can cream of celery soup

1 bag frozen green peas

1 bag frozen corn kernels

1 bag frozen O’Brien hash brown potatoes

1+ Tablespoon Herbes de Provence

Fresh ground pepper to taste

½ cup half & half

Put all except half & half in slow cooker and cook on low for about 8 hours.  Thirty minutes before serving, remove the chicken breasts, dice or shred them and add back into the slow cooker.  Then stir half & half into the soup.

Make your favorite biscuits!  I used Pillsbury Southern Style frozen biscuits.  Slice each biscuit in half and place one half in the bottom of each individual soup serving bowl and ladle the soup over the biscuit!  Top with the other biscuit half.  Oh so yummy and comforting and warm!!!

Baked Creamed Spinach

When you want to serve a healthy green side dish, you can't go wrong with spinach!  As creamed spinach is one of my favorites, I started with a recipe by Sunny Anderson of Food Network.  I made a few changes to make it more to family taste and used ingredients that I had on hand.  The result was delicious!

Ingredients:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
1/2 red onion, chopped (I used sweet Vidalia)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons red chili flakes (I used about 1/2 teaspoon to reduce spiciness)
1 3/4 cups heavy cream (I used one cup half & half and 3/4 cup low fat milk)
1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream (I used light sour cream)
2 (10-oz) packages frozen chopped spinach. thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 cup packaged fried onions (recommended French's)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Butter an 8 by 8-inch baking dish.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high  heat.  Add the onion & a pinch of salt.  Saute for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and red chili flakes and saute for 2 more minutes.  Add the cream, Parmesan, and nutgmeg.  Heat until the cream is just beginning to bubble, stirring often.  Turn the burner off and stir in sour cream and spinach.  Adjust the seasoning with salt & pepper to taste.  Pour into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the top evenly with fried onions.  Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.