Christmas Pasta

This is my very favorite pasta recipe EVER :) !!!! I so so so love this... even my husband who doesn't care much for pasta (can you imagine that??? LOL) said that this was the best pasta he's ever eaten... and my oldest son said the other day mom you haven't made Christmas pasta yet... I make this every year for Christmas... it is hearty, rich and oh so yummy...

The list for this pasta sounds very long, but this is so well worth it...
I buy a full pound package of ground chuck & Italian sausage links (I use only 1/2 lb of ground chuck, and only 2 sausage links in this recipe, the rest of the meat goes into a freezer bag and I have the makings for lasagna at another time :) might as well buy once & use twice, or if you have a fresh meat counter you can just buy the amount that you need for this recipe, your choice:)  Also, use what wine you like red, white it all works. 

I serve this with cooked Linguini, but any long pasta will work, spaghetti, fettucini use what you like.  I also serve this with shredded parmesan, but again use the cheese that you like.  Enjoy


Christmas Pasta

1/2 lb. ground chuck
2 sweet Italian sausage links, casing removed
6 slices bacon, thinly sliced
1 onion, chopped small
1 carrot, chopped small
1 stalk celery, clean and chopped small
1/3 cup red wine
1 T worchester sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 anchovy filets (or can use 1 T anchovy paste)
1 T olive oil
2- 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 28 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (or can use crushed tomatoes)
1 cup water
1 beef bouillon cube
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1/3 cup brown sugar

shredded parmesan cheese
cooked pasta

seasonings of your choice ( I used Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, dried onion, salt & pepper, bay leaf, pinch of cinnamon & red pepper flakes) salt & pepper


In large pan place olive oil over medium high heat. Add celery, carrot & onion sprinkle with salt & pepper.  Cook for about 3-4 minutes stirring often.  Add bacon cook for 3-4 minutes or until half done.  Add Italian sausage & ground chuck, season lightly with salt & pepper.  Break up meat with spoon and stir until done and no longer pink.  Make a well in the meat add anchovy filets, breaking up with spoon until dissolved.  Add garlic ontop of the anchovy paste and cook for 1-2 minutes stirring mixture into the meat.  Add wine & worchester sauce and deglaze the pan, scraping up any cooked bits from bottom of the pan, cook for just about a minute or two.  Add remaining ingredients (NOT pasta or cheese), stirring well.  Bring to rapid boil, turning heat down to low and simmering for around 30 minutes until thickened.  Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Remove bay leaf.  Serve sauce over pasta, sprinkle liberally with parmesan cheese.  Enjoy :)

Sweet & Spicy Meatballs

This recipe is from my Grandma Bories... she passed away several years ago but she taught me how to make these yummy meatballs.  It is so incredibly great that cooking and food can be share throught generations and handed down... I have had so many requests to write a cookbook and am very seriously contemplating it...anything I can hand down to my children and share with others would be awesome :)  I call it "food of love", sharing and caring... Hope you love these meatballs as much as me..and miss you Grandma :)


Sweet & Spicy Meatballs

4 lbs. frozen meatballs (or you can use homemade just precook them first)
1 12 oz. jar chili sauce (in the ketchup section of your supermarket)
18 oz. jar grape jelly


In large pan over medium heat add the chili sauce & grape jelly whisking together until somewhat mixed.  Add meatballs and stir (don't worry the sauce won't look like it is nearly enough but when it gets heated it liquifies).  Cover pan with lid.  Cook stirring often until meatballs are heated through and sauce is hot and bubbly.

**this can also be done in a crockpot, just made sure that you leave about 5-6 hours on high before you need them to make sure that the meatballs are heated thru and done.

Joelle's cheeseball

This is my famous cheeseball that I always get raves about and I always get people wanting the recipe. This is perfect for the holiday entertaining season or anytime.  It is simple, quick and inexpensive and tastes yummy.  I have even had people tell me that they serve it and if there is any left they re-roll it in nuts and cover it place it in the fridge and eat it the next day.  Leftovers of this are really great so much so,that I always usually double the recipe and take one to a get together and keep one at home... we love this:)
Use what you like, you can put whatever kind of nuts you like in it, and for a variation I sometimes  roll the cheeseball in nuts when it is done, sometimes I don't it is up to you... you can also add a few dashes of hot pepper sauce or cayenne pepper to give this a little more of a kick...
You can serve this with various crackers or crispy breadsticks.....Enjoy

Joelle's cheeseball

2 pkg. cream cheese, softened (I use 1/3 less fat kind)
1/2 cup chopped nuts
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup green pimento stuffed olives ( I used the sliced kind for salads, saves you from chopping them)
2 T. green olive brine
1 t. worhcester sauce
1 pkg. Carl Buddig thinly sliced beef (in the lunchmeat section), chopped small
seasonings of your choice ( I use garlic & onion powder)
Crackers/Breadsticks for serving

In bowl place all of the ingredients (except the crackers/ breadsticks).  Mix well.  Once I start mixing the cheeseball and get it about half mixed, I add a little more worchester sauce, and a little more garlic & onion powder, then I continue mixing until all is combined well.  Shape into a ball and place on serving place.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge.  Chill for 2-3 hours for flavors to blend.  Serve with Crackers/breadsticks.  Refridgerate any leftovers.  Enjoy

Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

This is another yummy super easy cookie recipe.  It doesn't get much simpler than this.  You can use any variety of Hershey kisses that you like, but I like the plain basic all chocolate traditional ones. I usually double this recipe cause in my house these go fast :)   Enjoy


Peanut Butter Kiss Cookies

1 cup peanut butter (can use smooth or crunchy)
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1-2 T. flour
Hershey kisses, (unwrapped)

Preheat oven to 350. In bowl place peanut butter, sugar, egg & vanilla.  Mix well with electric beater. (dough should be stiff, if not add a little more sugar). Roll mixture into balls and place on greased cookie sheet (I use silpat silcone liners instead).  Place flour into a bowl and using the tines of a fork, dip in flour then press down on cookie tops crisscrossing  the top of each cookie continuing to dip fork in flour so cookies don't stick to the fork. Continue until all of the dough is done.  Bake for around 10 minutes , you want cookie done but not browned on top.  Remove from oven, let cookies cool for just a minute then press a Hershey's kiss onto the top of each of the cookies.  Remove from pan immediately and let cool.  Enjoy

Chinese Reindeer Antler Cookies

I am so so so excited to start my holiday baking and goodie making :)  (no you can't tell I am a foodie can you)... my son was saying mom we haven't even had our Christmas pasta yet (which is coming in the next few days that stuff is the bomb:)  LOL... so tomorrow is the day..cannot wait to start

This recipe came from my son's first grade class they made these for the parents and he is now 19) so needless to say it has passed the staying around test.  These are quick, easy and oh so yummy. I have also made a variation where I added about a 1/4 cup peanut butter to the chip mixture, stirring until melted as well, also delicious :) Enjoy

Chinese Reindeer Antler Cookies

1/2 pkg. semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 pkg. butterscotch chips
1 cup salted peanuts
1 large can Chow Mein noodles
Wax paper

In a heavy saucepan place chocolate & butterscotch chips.  Melt slowly over low heat stirring very often and being careful not to burn.  When the mixture is smooth, add peanuts and chow mein noodles stirring quickly to coat all.  Place wax paper on your kitchen counter & using 2 spoon, spoon small amounts(like the size of a small cookie) into mounds on wax paper making sure that they are not touching.  Let cool completely and store in a covered container.  Enjoy.

No Bake creamy cheesecake

With the holidays fast approaching sometimes you need a quick dessert to take to a holiday party or just for yourself ;)  (or maybe that is just at my house lol )...but anyway this is just the thing.  Quick, easy and yummy.  It only takes about 5 minutes from start to finish to pull this together.  You can make a homemade graham cracker crust or use a store bought crust one....up to you with how much time or ambition you have.  I usually serve this with canned cherry pie filling, but have used blueberry sometimes or apple equally delicious. I usually put the can of pie filling in the fridge to chill when I put the pie in there to firm up.   Use what toppings you like, I have also drizzled chocolate syrup on it instead of pie filling and it is yummy as well :)  enjoy

No Bake creamy cheesecake
1 8oz pkg cream cheese (I use 1/3 less fat kind), softened
1 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
1 small container of cool whip
1 graham cracker pie crust

Pie filling of your choice to top.

In bowl place softened cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Mix well will electric mixer taking spatula and scraping down sides of bowl and remixing.  Add Cool whip and mix well, taking spatula and scraping down sides and up from the bottom mixing all well.  Place into prepared pie shell spreading evenly over crust.  Cover and place in fridge for a couple of hours to firm up (will still be soft and creamy).  Cut into wedges to serve and spoon some pie filling over the top.  Enjoy

Chicken with Baby Dumplings

I so love chicken and dumplings :)  My husband has been a little under the weather and wanted to make some chicken "something" for him... something hot, nourishing and steamy to help him beat this bug... Hmmm thinking soup, stew or I got it chicken and dumplings.... can you say yummy... Use whatever chicken you have on hand.  I usually cook this.  Let it cool completely, cover it and put it in the fridge overnight. Then I remove the skin & then take the chicken off the bone and shred it.  You could do this all in one day and skip the overnight process.  Use whatever veggies you have on hand, again remember use what you like... enjoy :)


Chicken and Baby dumplings
5-6 chicken thighs
1 onion, chopped small,
3 stalks celery, cleaned ends removed and sliced thin
1 cup carrots, chopped small
1/4 cup white wine
8 cups water
3-4 chicken bouillon cubes
1 cup frozen peas

(seasonings of your choice, I used garlic & onion powder, poultry seasoning, seasoned salt & pepper, chicken seasoning(from McCormick), parsley flakes, dried onion flakes,celery seed)

Dumplings
3 cups flour
6-7 T. Crisco
1 1/2 cups milk
4 t. baking powder
pinch of salt & sugar
parsley flakes, sprinkle of celery seed (optional)


In large stockpot add everything except the peas & the dumpling ingredients.  Bring to a boil and simmer for around 3 hours until chicken is tender.  Remove chicken from pan remove skin and take the bone out and shred chicken.  Place back in pot.  Bring mixture up to a boil add peas and simmer for around 5-10 minutes until peas are done.  While peas are cooking in large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt & sugar.  Add the Crisco and cut in using a pastry cutter, or a fork or a couple of knives until mixture is the size of small peas.  Add milk, parsley flakes and celery seed mixing well (mixture will be thick don't overmix).  While soup is boiling add small spoonfuls of dumpling mixture (about the size of a quarter or less) into boiling soup.  Keep pushing the dumplings as you spoon them into the broth covering with broth.  Cook for around 5 minutes, cover the pan turn heat down to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes until dumplings are done.  Taste soup and re-season if necessary.  Enjoy