holiday party Archives - The Midnight Baker

Slow Cooker Chex Snack Mix

Judith Hannemann — Wed, 12 Nov 2014 00:00:00 +0000

Slow Cooker Chex Snack Mix

This Chex party mix is the grandaddy of all party snack food. Watch this disappear at your holiday party!

This recipe, although slightly different, was posted on my Crazy for Crockpots group on Facebook by member and wonderful cook Linda Rozzano.

I haven’t made this in years, and I never used a slow cooker to do it. Her recipe sounded delicious and I decided to make some of it so I had plenty for the upcoming holidays.

Warm, spicy and yummy

Since I’m not a big lover of worcestershire sauce–and Linda’s recipe had quite a bit (she used 8 tsp in hers), I decided I’d use slightly less than half of that and top up the rest with soy sauce. The only deviation from her original recipe is my combo of soy sauce & worcestershire. So if you want the original, merely use the 8 tsp of worcestershire and omit the soy sauce.

The biggest crock pot I have is 5 quarts. My amounts of cereal filled it practically to the brim, and that made it hard to stir. I managed, but what I suggest with a 5 quart or smaller cooker, is either use less of the cereals, pretzels and nuts, or mix everything up in a large bowl, add the sauce, stirring to coat, then put it in the slow cooker and set it on warm. That way it’ll be nice and warm for guests and it won’t cook or burn.

Wonderful flavor combinations!

The ingredients I used and the amounts are only a guide. I love the taste of Wheat Chex and don’t much care for Corn Chex. So the dominating cereal is wheat in mine…use what you like! I used peanuts, but mixed nuts would be just as good. Another member, Emily Scott, makes this too and sometimes uses the smokehouse nuts–with adjustments in the seasonings.

This recipe is pretty basic, but you can make it your own with what you like. Like anything 5-alarm? Then add some of that hot sauce to the seasoning mixture!

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Slow Cooker Chex Snack Mix

This Chex party mix is the grandaddy of all party snack food. Watch this disappear at your holiday party!

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: American

Keyword: snack recipe

Servings: 8

Calories: 518kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

4 cups Rice Chex
5 cups the whole box Wheat Chex
3 cups any shape pretzels
1 cup lightly salted dry roasted peanuts

SEASONING

1/2 cup 1 stick preferably unsalted butter, melted
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2-1 tsp sugar

Instructions

Mix the cereals, pretzels and nuts in the crock of a large (6-7 quart) slow cooker.
In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Start with the 1/2 tsp of sugar and taste the sauce--if it is too tart, add the additional 1/2 tsp sugar (or to taste).
Pour seasoning over cereal mixture and stir. Cover and set to LOW and heat for 1 hr, stirring every 20 minutes.
If your slow cooker is smaller, mix in a separate bowl before adding to the crock. Set the cooker to WARM, stirring occasionally.

Nutrition

Slow Cooker Chex Snack Mix

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Holiday Lasagna

Judith Hannemann — Sun, 15 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Holiday Lasagna

Lasagna is a classic holiday-time meal. Also great to serve at a holiday buffet party.

Holiday Lasagna was a traditional Christmas Eve dinner when I was growing up.

Holiday Lasagna is loaded with cheese, meat and sausage

My mother always made turkey for Christmas Dinner and used to serve lasagna the night before because it was so radically different from turkey!

This classic casserole is also a buffet party favorite. Slice it up in serving portions, and let guests help themselves.

I tend to buy the solid lump of mozzarella and cut it up in chunks or thick slices. This melts EVER so much better than pre-shredded. Slicing it is also easier than shredding the lump, but if you don’t mind, then by all means!!! I try to save time and it’s so wonderful to get a nice melted lump of mozzarella….well, you know what I mean

And this one is loaded with meat–ground beef and sliced sweet Italian sausage! You can always use ground Italian sausage meat if your store carries it. Hot or sweet doesn’t matter…use what you like! This is a “man-pleasing” meal because of the good amount of meat and the combination of meat. Oh, and don’t forget the copious amount of cheese too!

Ground pork, chicken or turkey can easily substitute for the beef and you can certainly leave out the sausage or ALL the meat for that matter and go strictly vegetarian on this. If you do, try adding some spinach or broccoli to keep it interesting.

Like the baker? It’s Revol Belle Cuisine in Slate. My go-to pan!

You just can’t get too close to a great lasagna!

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Holiday Lasagna

Lasagna is a classic holiday-time meal. Also great to serve at a holiday buffet party.

Prep Time30

Cook Time1

Total Time1 30

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: holiday party food, lasagna

Servings: 9 people

Calories: 526kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

12 lasagna noodles no-boil (oven-ready) noodles*
15 oz ricotta cheese
1 tbsp parsley
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 cup grated parmesan or romano cheese
16 oz mozzarella cheese slices or 4 cups shredded
8 oz Italian sausage
8 oz lean ground beef
26 oz pasta sauce
1 cup water

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. You will need a deep 11 x 7-inch or 13 x 9-inch pan.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef, breaking up large clumps. Drain and set aside.
Place Italian sausage in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Drain and cool slightly. Slice in 1/8-1/4-inch slices. Set aside.
Mix ricotta, parsley, oregano and parmesan cheese in a small bowl.
Mix pasta sauce, water and ground beef in a large bowl.
Place 1 1/2 cups of sauce mixture on the bottom of the pan. Lay 3 lasagna noodles across the bottom.
Spread 1/3 of the ricotta mixture over noodles. Spread 1/3 of the mozzarella slices or shredded mozzarella over the ricotta mixture. Distribute 1/3 of the sausage slices over the top of the cheeses. Drizzle with 1/3 of the sauce mixture. Repeat 2 more times. Top with the last 3 lasagna noodles, spreading remaining sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle with additional shredded mozzarella if desired.
Cover with greased aluminum foil and place the baking dish on a baking tray and bake at 375 degrees for 55-60 minutes.
Remove foil and test noodle doneness with a knife. If noodles are soft, replace the foil cover and let stand for 10 minutes. If noodles are still "al dente" then return to oven for an additional 10 minutes.
Makes 9 servings.

Notes

*The same method should work with regular lasagna noodles. I used oven-ready in this but I've made this without cooking the noodles even with the "regular" lasagna. Of course you can cook the regular noodles first, but eliminate the 1 cup of water that is mixed with the sauce and it will only require about 30 minutes in a 350 (yes, different temp) oven.

Nutrition

A great lasagna should never be “neat.” ENJOY!

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Hot Jalapeno & Chili Popper Dip

Judith Hannemann — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Hot Jalapeno & Chili Popper Dip

Watch your guests dive into this hot popper dip. The ultimate party food!

It’s holiday party time folks! You can find no better appetizer than this hot dip recipe.

Dig In

This dip is very easy to make and even easier to eat! Make sure you serve it with plenty of crackers or tortilla chips, and be prepared…be VERY prepared to make a few more dishes of this dip during the party!

Only thing you have to do is watch you don’t overbake this, otherwise it will separate. What I do is set the timer for 15 minutes. That seems to do it for me and it’s nicely hot and the crumbs are golden–well, you can see the pics–but never more than 20 minutes!

If you want more heat, add double the amount of the canned jalapeno peppers.

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Hot Jalapeno Chili Popper Dip

Watch your guests dive into this hot popper dip. The ultimate party food!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Appetizers

Cuisine: American

Keyword: dip recipe, hot chili dip, hot dip, jalapeno poppers

Servings: 12

Calories: 367kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

16 oz cream cheese at room temperature
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Mexican blend shredded cheese*
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 oz canned diced green chilis
4 oz canned diced jalapenos
1 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter melted

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a shallow 2-quart dish.
Process the cream cheese, mayonnaise, shredded Mexican cheese, parmesan cheese chiles and jalapenos in a food processor (not necessary to drain the liquid from the cans of peppers). I used my Ninja for this.
Spread the dip in the prepared pan.
Mix the Panko, Parmesan cheese and melted butter in a small bowl, mixing well.
Distribute the crumbs over the top of the dip.
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes. DO NOT OVERBAKE as dip will separate. You want the crumbs browned and the dip hot, but not boiling hot.

Notes

*If you can’t find Mexican blend shredded cheese in your grocery store, a 1-to-1 mix of shredded sharp cheddar and shredded Monterey jack is a good substitute.

Nutrition

Jalapeno and Chili Popper Dip

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