Merry Rozar's Christmas in July

Two weeks ago I said to my hubby, "Lets have Christmas in July. Lets get out the tree and the lawn decorations and have Christmas." He said "OK" but that's as far as it went. We never gave it another thought. Then I came up with another idea. This past December I took a bundle of Christmas goodies decorated with Christmas cheer to a great friend of his. So I decided, "Why not. Let's have Christmas in July." And that is just what we did. I made a few things and off to Birmingham we went this morning with the trunk full of Christmas goodies to be delivered to Rozar's Auto Paint Supply.  All that was missing was the colder temperatures and Christmas music. Well, I could have gotten out the CD's but that was going too far. With the help of a few table decorations, and a Christmas tablecloth, I think I pulled it off.  An inviting chalk board sign wishing a Merry Christmas in July to the Rozar's family, a snowman complete with a black top hat seeming to make the temperatures chilly. There were warm biscuits and venison sausage, a cinnamon roll cake, a must have flavor for the holidays, kicked up crackers nestled in a sleigh ready for take off, chocolate toffee no bake cookies, creamy chocolate gravy, and broccoli salad. I hope everyone had as much fun as I did. Now I can't wait for Christmas in December.

Mini Meatloaf

My hubby loves meatloaf. He could eat it twice a week and have sandwiches with the leftovers if I made it that often. But I don't. Well, because I don't LIKE meatloaf. Maybe its the name, meat-loaf. Loaf.....what does that say for a food that most people love? My daughter-in-law says "what's wrong with you" and I have to respond "I don't like meatloaf." My family loves it when I take it right out of the oven, cold from the fridge, sliced, and made into a sandwich, extra ketchup please! But I have never been a fan. Now, have I said enough times that "I don't like meatloaf." But I will confess, I do like this meatloaf. I think its the sauce. You see, I'm not big on ketchup. And a lot of people I know put just ketchup on their meatloaf when they cook it. Or tomato sauce. What's up with that. Tomato Sauce? Really? It has absolutely no flavor until you mix it with other delicious products to make it good.

Now my sauce, its made with ketchup, Worcestershire, brown sugar, and vinegar. I believe that is what makes it extra special. Just a touch of sweetness from the brown sugar with a little tang from the vinegar. Yumm! Try it today. And be sure to save a little sauce on the side for dipping at the table.


Mini Meatloaves

1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup Italian style bread crumbs
2 tbsp ketchup
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Sauce

1 cup ketchup
2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. white vinegar

Stir together well and set aside.

Mix all ingredients together. Form into 4 patties. Brown on both sides. Remove from frying pan and place on baking sheet. Preheat oven to 400º. Coat each mini meatloaf with a generous helping of sauce. Bake 20-30 minutes until done. Check after 20 mins. Be sure not to over bake as they will become dry.

Leftovers are better the second time around!

Well, I haven't been on here in quite a while. Alot of things have been going on but I'm going to try to get to as much as possible. Since I was last here, I lost my job and been a stay at home wife and grandmother. Loving all my time with my sweet, precious grandsons. What could be better? But with extra time on my hands, and trying to be creative and save money on groceries, I am trying to come up with some new ideas for creations with leftovers. 

Now Pork Chops are my favorite meat on the entire planet. Whether they are fried, barbecued, ground into burgers (delicious) or one of my favorites, a southern thing, SMOTHERED! That simply means we lightly brown the meat, sautee veggies, add a little broth and simmer away. With a few simple ingredients you have 2 meals in one.

As you can see, my Smothered Pork Chops are full of onions, peppers, gravy, all kinds of deliciousness. But if you are like us, only 2 people to feed and having 4 pork chops, you will have leftovers. No need to throw away this pot of deliciousness or not look forward to having the same meal again. Turn your leftovers into Smothered Pork Chop Soup.

I started with a few diced potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. Then I added the leftover pork chops along with the delicious broth and peppers, added a little more broth until I achieved the desired consistency and let it simmer 40-45 mins. Serve with cornbread and  you have a meal that you will think was created from scratch, not leftovers.

So don't throw away leftovers. Create something delicious. It's even better the second time around.

And, you get to save money by using your leftovers up instead of throwing them away.

I hope you enjoy my post. Please leave me a message and let me know what you think.

Lunch With a Friend

Today a wonderful friend I haven't seen in years came over and spent the afternoon. We had great food and lots of gossip to catch up on. It was so good to see her.

 

 

We started with this. The beginnings of a most delicious club sandwich. Ham, Turkey, Bacon, Provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo/mustard mix, on toasted country white bread.

 

It was so big, I had to make it a single decker.

 

 

 

There had to be something healthy. Salad with all the fixins, lettuce, tomato, olives, carrots, cucumber, green onion, greek peppers, cheddar cheese. Oh yes, it was delicious.

 

 

Of course there had to be a dessert. How about a Blackberry Fool. So easy to make, and tastes like it took forever. Creamy and fruity. Try it. You won't regret it.

 



 

The final results. Can't wait to do this again.

 

 

This actually deserved another look.

 

 

Blackberry Fool

 

12oz pkg fresh blackberries (or your berry of choice)

1 Tbsp sugar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar (more or less, to you liking)

 

 

Wash berries. Take out a few for garnish.  Put remaining berries in a bowl with sugar and lemon juice and stir together. Set aside. Berries will give off their natural juices. After berries have set a few minutes, mash with a fork, leaving a few small chunks of berries. In a separate bowl, whip heavy cream with powdered sugar until stiff. Spoon berries on top of cream. Very gently, fold together. Not completely. Be careful to leave some whipped cream undisturbed so you will have pockets of cream and pockets of berries. 4 or 5 turns should do the trick. Spoon into pretty glasses. Garnish with whole berries. Spoon about 1tsp of the berry juice over the top. Do not stir in. You can garnish with a vanilla wafer or a broken meringue cookie if desired.

 



 

A Merry Rozar's Christmas

Yesterday my husband and I loaded up the truck and headed to Birmingham to Rozar's Auto Paint Supply where we were greeted by Chuck Nelson and his crew with Christmas cheer. It was a pleasure to meet everyone and to be able to present them with homemade goodies.

There was:

Gingerbread Icebox Cake

 



 

Cap'n Crunch Candy

 

Cranberry Orange Corn Muffins with Honey Orange Butter

 



Mint Chocolate Brownies

 



Homemade Fudge

 



Thank You Chuck Nelson at Rozar's Auto Paint Supply. It was a pleasure to see you and your crew. Merry Christmas to you and your family and work family.

 

 

 

Gingerbread Icebox Cake:

 

2 - 1lb bags gingersnap cookies

1 - 8oz package cream cheese, softened

2/3 cup brown sugar (or more if you like it sweeter)

3 1/2 cups heavy cream

Gumdrops

 

Line a 10-cup bundt pan with plastic wrap, leaving about a 2-inch overhang on all sides (it's okay if the plastic wrap doesn't go completely up the sides of the center column).Combine the cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium-high until smooth, about 3 minutes; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the cream and continue to beat, starting on medium speed and gradually increasing to medium-high as the mixture thickens and finally forms stiff peaks, about 4 minutes.Evenly spread about 1 cup of the whipped cream mixture on the bottom of the bundt pan. Top with 16 overlapping cookies to cover. Evenly spread about a third of the cream over the cookies and top with a ring of 16 overlapping cookies on the outside and then 6 halved cookies on the inside of the bundt to cover. Evenly spread out another third of the cream and top with a ring of 16 slightly overlapping cookies on the outside and about 10 slightly overlapping cookies on the inside of the bundt to cover. Finish with the remaining third of the whipped cream mixture, spread evenly, and loosely wrap the cake with the plastic wrap overhang. Refrigerate 12 hours or overnight.When ready to serve, unwrap the plastic wrap and invert the bundt pan onto a serving platter; remove the pan and plastic wrap. Press the remaining 15 gingersnaps against the bottom of the cake, wrapping around in a single layer, then decorate the top with gum drops. Cut into slices with a serrated knife.

Enjoy!

 

Recipe courtesy of the Cooking Channel.

 



A Food & Family Christmas

 

A fun time was had today with this great group of ladies. Thanks for all the fun, food, and laughs today.









front row left to right: Shenearia Jackson, Karen Jones, Amy Cusimano.
Back row left to right: Polly Cusimano, Sabrina Myrick, Tina Sanders, Alison Fleming, Jennifer Fisher, Judy Sanders

 

Started with a beautiful table setting.

 

 

Add a few snacks to start the day with.

 

Candy Cane Kiss Marshmallow dip. Thanks to Laurens Latest for the recipe.

 

Sausage Balls, Tomato, olive, feta skewers,

 

Spinach dip,

 

Fruit Santas,

 

more Sausage balls,

 

Cranberry Sauce,

 

Spicy Italian Crescent Ring, (opps, picture not too good)

 



Holiday chicken and dressing,

 



Baked Brie and cranberry topping,

 





 

Hashbrown casserole.

 

Unfortunately, I missed taking a picture of the delicious collard greens we had thanks to Sabrina Myrick. Also, missed our drink of the day, The Grinch. Thanks mixmaster Alison Fleming.

 

 

Candy Cane Marshmallow Dip

 

40 candy cane Hershey Kisses

4 oz softened cream cheese

7 oz container marshmallow cream

 

Melt candy cane kisses in microwave, 2-3 minutes, 30 second intervals. Stir in cream cheese until blended. Fold in marshmallow cream. Serve in pretty bowl. Serve with cookies. (I served with ginger snap cookies, graham crackers and vanilla wafers.)



 

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!

 

Peppermint Sugar Cookie Kisses

Christmas time calls for peppermint and sugar cookies.  Why not combine the two. What a delightful and refreshing snack. Have 2 or 3 or a dozen with a cup of your favorite coffee or a cup of rich and creamy hot chocolate.                   

All you need are 2 ingredients and 15 minutes then you can be enjoying this beautiful combination. You will thank me later.

1 package sugar cookie dough, you know, the kind is already cut into portions.
24 candy cane kisses

Using mini muffin tin, place a square of cookie dough in each of the 24 cups. Bake per package directions. As soon as you remove from the oven, place a candy cane kiss in the center of each cookie. The heat from the cookie will soften the candy slightly. As the cookie cools, the candy kiss will firm again. Cool in pan 2-3 minutes then remove and place on wire rack to cool completely.  Arrange on your favorite tray and serve. Makes 24 cookies.