Festive Cranberry Cheese Triangles.

I like cranberry. It's tart and tangy and tastes good in all kinds of baked goods! I especially like it paired with oatmeal. And how about when it is easy to make! Yum.

Festive Cranberry Cheese Squares

(recipe from "Eagle Brand - Simple 1-2-3)

2 cups all-purpose flour (I think replacing one-cup with whole wheat flour would add a richer taste...will definitely make that change next time I make these)

1 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar (plus 1 tablespoon)

1 package cream cheese

1 14-oz. can of sweetened condensed milk

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 16-oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce

2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Line 9x13 baking dish with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, beat flour, oats, butter, and sugar until crumbly. Reserve 1/2 cup crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture firmly on the bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in milk until smooth; stir in lemon juice. Spread over baked crust.

Combine cranberry sauce, cornstarch, and remaining sugar. Spoon over cheese layer. Top with reserved crumb mixture.

Bake 45 minutes or until golden. Cool and cut into bars.

These are good and easy. They would be a nice addition to work potluck or any other holiday gathering. And of course, I'm sure they would be even better served with a side of ice cream - isn't everything better with ice cream? Must remember you are talking to a farmer's daughter and another farmer's wife. Yeah, we like our ice cream. And butter!

Cranberry Citrus Relish.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Did you forgot to get cranberry sauce? It's OK! Don't go making a special trip for it. You can do better than that...grab four simple ingredients you are sure to have on hand (and if you don't, try your neighbor!)

And the blog title, Mom Taught Us. SO appropriate here. I'm sure this was my first contribution to our family's Thanksgiving meal. When was that? Probably sometime before I was actually able to reach counter. That's right - it's that easy. And obviously that good that we are still making it!!

Cranberry Citrus Relish

(recipe from Mom)

1 pound fresh (or frozen) cranberries

2 medium oranges (rind and all)

1 medium apple (no need to peel, but you will want to take the seeds out)

2 cups sugar

Cut oranges and apple into chunks. Grind fruit, add sugar, mix, and enjoy! I like to top my turkey with this delicious relish.

And don't worry - as a child my mom would take care of the cutting for me!

Pumpkin Dessert

I obtained this recipe from a girlfriend in Rochester, MN. It is one of the desserts her family makes every Thanksgiving. It is so good I make it once or twice a year and always end up sharing the recipe. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 cans pumpkin or equivalent in homemade pumpkin

1 lg can evaporated milk

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1 yellow cake mix

1/2 cup butter melted

1 cup pecans

Directions

Mix together first 9 ingredients and put in a greased 9 x 13 pan or two small brownie pans. Mix cake mix and melted butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of first mixture. Add pecans.

Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. May serve with Cool Whip.

This makes a very large dessert. I usually split it in half and pour into two small brownie pans. It is great to take one to a party or work and leave the other at home.

Hot Buttered Rum

Oh the weather outside is frightful but the Hot Buttered Rum is soooo delightful! Being in the farming industry I was checking out the website we sponsor (Wisconsin Milk Marketing) and found this recipe. I made it for one of our cookie exchanges and all liked it so I am passing it on for you to enjoy this up coming winter season because you know it's coming...

Hot Buttered Rum~

1 c. softened butter

1 c. brown sugar

1 c. granulated sugar

1 t. ground nutmeg

1 t. cinnamon

2 c. softened New York Vanilla Ice Cream

In a mixing bowl cream both sugars, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg until light and fluffy.

Beat in softened ice cream until well blended. Transfer to covered container and freeze.

To serve: Scoop out 1/3 c. of ice cream mixture into a mug.

Add 1 shot of Rum and 1/2 c. boiling water, mix well.

Optional: Add 1 cinnamon stick and dust with nutmeg.

I would like to Thank Holly and Heidi for inviting me to be a guest blogger, it is always a challenge for me to come up with something that isn't already on here. I hope everyone has a Happy and Safe Holiday Season! Maybe when I make the Hot Buttered Rum they will help me put up a picture for all to see! Soon very soon:)

Enjoy!

Rocky Ledge Bars

Thanks for letting me share!



When Holly emailed me asking if I wanted to be a guest blogger for as part of the 12 Guest Bloggers of Christmas, I was honestly thrilled. I have never guest blogged before, so the invite was quite the honor. I was not sure what I was going to make, but I knew it had to be something delicious because I did not want to disappoint. Conveniently my fiance bought me a copy of Martha Stewart's Cookies for my birthday a couple weeks ago which gave me plenty of options. I wanted to bake just about everything in the cookbook, but these bars were screaming to be made. The original recipe calls for caramel, but I did not start baking these until 9pm and did not feel like running to the store. I left out the caramel, added some peanut butter chips, and halved the amount of white chocolate. These bars are perfect for any baker who has several opened bags of miscellaneous chips stored in the pantry. You can really throw anything in them and they are incredible! They stayed fresh for several days and because they are bars, they will ship well if you plan to ship holiday goodies.

Thanks for letting me share!

Rocky Ledge Bars
Adapted from Martha Stewart Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups packed dark-brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix butter and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla; mix until well combined. Mix in flour mixture until combined. Fold in half of each of the marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter chips.

Spread batter in prepared pan. Scatter remaining marshmallows, chocolates, butterscotch chips, and peanut butter chips on top. Bake until top is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before serving.

Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 1 week.

Partridge In A Pear Tree

First of all, thanks Holly and Heidi for letting me share a recipe on your cooking blog. I feel so famous now. :)

No, my recipe does not have anything to do with a partridge, but you will need a pear off a tree for this wonderful Winter Salad!

This dish is a great salad to make in the Winter or for the holidays. I usually make it for my family Christmas get together but have decided to try it for Thanksgiving this year, as if for either holiday we need more food. But it's salad, so it's healthy right, there's always extra room for healthy?!

No picture yet, but I will try and get some shots when I make this Thursday. But, believe me it's delicious. Make it and you will not disagree.

Winter Salad

* 1 large bag of romaine lettuce (chop into bite size if needed)
* 4 oz shredded Swiss cheese
* 1/4 cup Craisins (but I like to sprinkle extra in)
* 1 cup chopped cashews
* 1 apple cubed
* 1 pear cubed

You should mix all these ingredients together and refrigerate.

Dressing:

* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/3 cup lemon juice
* 2 tsp finely chopped onion (optional)
* 1 tsp Dijon honey mustard
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 2/3 cup oil (canola of veg.)
1 Tbsp poppy seed

Mix and add the dressing just before you serve the salad.

Enjoy and Happy Holidays!

The Twelve Guest Bloggers of Christmas.

Christmas. I know it seems early, but let's be realistic.

Christmas will be here before we know it!! One of the Christmas-y things that my mom has been doing for many years is a cookie exchange.

To carry on that tradition in our virtual world Heidi and I have decided to bring you the next best thing - the twelve guest bloggers of Christmas! We've invited twelve people to bring you a holiday recipe. A cookie, a bar, a beverage, an appetizer, anything!

We are starting before Thanksgiving to give the bloggers time to post and you time to re-create their wonders!

Our twelve guest bloggers of Christmas are...

Our Mom - Barb! (creater of all tasty things!!)

Our Aunt - Janet! (she has been the originator of many tasty things you've found on this blog!)

Another of Our Aunt's - Julie! (she's a cheesecake maniac - everyone at work loves this about her!!)

Our Cousin - Karla! (she brings a killer platter of goodies to our grandma's each year - yum!!)

My Sister-in-Law - Teresa! (most recently made a platter of pumpkin treats - still need to get those recipes from her!!)

My Sister-in-Law-To-Be - Morgan! (her cookies always have the cutest packaging at the cookie exchange and the taste good too!!)

My Friend - Robyn! (she's gonna be a momma!! i hope her babe allows her to start feeling better and want to cook/bake!)

My Friend - Nicole! (who is living through a kitchen remodel!! ahh!! you are one brave women!)

My Friend - Angie! (she is a new momma with one sweet little babe!)

My Husband - Gary!! (he doesn't know yet, but I didn't hear back from his mother so it's all him. i can only imagine what he'll want to post....)

Food Blogger - Risa from Baked Perfection! (she is so good she has had recipes on Betty Crocker!! recently engaged, she is busy planning her wedding!)

Food Blogger & "Celebrity" - Emily from Sugarplum! (you may recognize her from The Food Network and other recipe challenges! working toward her goal of going to culinary school - donations are welcome!)

Pumpkin Pie Dip.

Does anyone else prefer their pumpkin pie without the crust? So.much.better.that.way.

My first move upon receiving a slice of pumpkin is to remove the pumpkin from the crust. I then indulge in the season's best flavors. Luckily for me I have a husband with a sweet tooth who is willing to gobble up my crust along with his own selection of pies. And, yes, I say selection, because if there are five choices, he will have a piece of each.

Too bad for him I don't make pie too often. But, this Pumpkin Pie Dip is a good reason that I don't have to make pumpkin pie. This has all the flavors of pumpkin pie without the crust. I'm good with that.

Pumpkin Pie Dip

(recipe unchanged from my mom!!)

1 15-ounce can of pumpkin puree

1 8-ounce package of cream cheese (I use reduced fat/fat free)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 ground ginger

Beat cream cheese until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat until combined. Chill and enjoy with ginger snaps, graham crackers, or any other favorite dipping food.

And stay tuned for an exciting announcement coming soon!!!