Fix-It and Forget-It Holiday Main Dishes and Sides (10 page)

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter

1½ cups chopped celery

1 small onion, chopped

12-oz. pkg. bread cubes,
or
about 15 slices stale bread

½-¾ tsp. salt

⅛ tsp. pepper

1-2 Tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped

2 eggs

1½ cups milk

1. Melt butter in skillet. Sauté celery and onion in it.
   
2. Meanwhile, spray interior of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Place bread cubes, salt, pepper, and parsley in cooker.
   
3. Pour in sautéed vegetables, eggs, and milk. Stir together gently until well mixed.
   
4. Cover. Cook on High 1 hour. Stir.
   
5. Cover. Cook on High 4 more hours.
   

Tip:

This is delicious and an easy way to free up oven space for the rest of your meal.

Sweet Potato Stuffing

Tina Snyder

Manheim, PA

Makes 8 servings

Prep. Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 4-qt.

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped onions

half a stick (4 Tbsp.) butter

6 cups dry bread cubes

1 large sweet potato, cooked,* peeled, and cubed

½ cup chicken broth

¼ cup chopped pecans

½ tsp. poultry seasoning

½ tsp. rubbed sage

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

1. Sauté celery and onions in skillet in butter until tender. Pour into greased slow cooker.
   
2. Add remaining ingredients. Toss gently.
   
3. Cover. Cook on Low 4 hours.
   

*
To prepare a cooked sweet potato, wash, dry, and prick it at about 4 different places with a sharp fork. Lay on a paper towel in the microwave. Cook on High 1½ minutes. Turn over. Cook on High another minute. Jag with fork to see if it’s tender. If not, continue cooking for 30-second intervals on High, turning over each time, until tender.

Allow to cool. When you’re able to handle it, gently peel and cube.

Scalloped Pineapple

June Groff

Denver, PA

Makes 8 servings

Prep. Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 3 hours

Ideal slow cooker size: 2- to 3-qt.

1 stick (8 Tbsp.) butter, softened

½ cup sugar

4 eggs

20-oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

5 slices fresh bread, cubed

1. Cream butter and sugar together in a medium-sized mixing bowl.
   
2. Add eggs. Mix well.
   
3. Add drained pineapple. Blend.
   
4. Fold bread into mixture.
   
5. Pour into slow cooker.
   
6. Cover. Cook on High 2 hours and then on Low 1 hour.
   

This is a good accompaniment to
turkey
,
ham
, and
chicken
, especially at holiday-time. Small individual servings add a bright sweetness to special meals.

Tips

• I like to keep a basket full of small gifts by the door to give to guests as they leave. These are simple gifts like home-made dip mixes in jars or freshly baked cookies, wrapped in colorful papers or gift bags. Sending friends home with a little something extra is a fun way to end a get-together.
  

  Mary Rogers
  

  Waseca, MN
  

• Bauer 24-Day Countdown to Christmas: Our family hangs a string of our own stockings in our living room each December. There are three of us, so we each choose eight socks and hang them using clothes pins. Each morning we take turns checking a sock for a surprise. We may find a small gift or something as simple as a note that says “Will cook supper for Mom tonight.” We have fun thinking of unique ideas for each other, and before you know it, Christmas is here.
  

  Amy Bauer
  

  New Ulm, MN
  

• I have made fabric gift bags for my friends. They each know which one is theirs (the bags are all different). I get them back every year at the end of the holiday season, ready to use again the next year. It sure saves on wrapping paper.
  

  Sharon Easter
  

  Yuba City, CA
  

• Make sure your party invitations inform your guests about whether your party is informal or formal. It’s really uncomfortable to be over-dressed at an informal party or vice versa.
  

  Anita Troyer
  

  Fairview, MI
  

• Picking a color theme and re-purposing everyday items makes holiday decorating easy. Fill glass flower vases with candy (red, green, white) and tie red ribbons around knobs and handles. Your kitchen will look festive without losing work space.
  

  Susan Tjon
  

  Austin, TX
  

• Sometime between Christmas and New Year’s we have a neighborhood dinner, which we follow with singing hymns or Christmas songs. One neighbor brings her autoharp and another brings her accordion.
  

  Sara Kinsinger
  

  Stuarts Draft, VA
  

• I put up a small tree in my kitchen and decorate it with my mother’s old cookie cutters and some of her recipe cards. I enjoy it while I’m in the kitchen during the holidays—which is a lot of time!
  

  Carol L. Miller
  

  Lockport, NY
  

• Our out-of-state relatives always bring gifts specifically made in their states to share with others.
  

  Annie C. Boshart
  

  Lebanon, PA
  

• We call the local assisted-living facility and ask for names and a list of gift ideas for 3 people who live in the facility but who don’t usually get visitors at Christmas-time. Then on Christmas Day, our family delivers the gifts and visits with each person. Our kids are learning that Christmas is not all about them.
  

  Kendra Dreps
  

  Liberty, PA
  

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