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Shaping Up Holiday Side Dishes

by: ARA

(ARA) - If dinner rolls and bread are usually guests at your holiday table, you can save a step and impress your guests by substituting savory stuffing loaves, muffins or balls. Molded stuffing is a tempting two-in-one side dish that is easy, too, since convenient packaged stuffing mix is the perfect foundation from which to start your adventure.

Wowing your guests this way isn�t a new idea, but rather based on a very old, tried-and-true one. The archives that span 60 years of recipes from Mrs. Cubbison�s Foods are full of stuffing balls, loaves and muffins from the early days when the company began publishing its recipes for home cooks. The company was started in the early 1900s by the late Sophie Cubbison -- an outstanding cook who invented packaged stuffing mix.

�Although these recipes take just minutes to make, because they are so interesting looking and tasting and different than what we traditionally serve today, they are showstoppers that draw �oohs� and �ahhs� from guests around the holiday table,� said Leo Pearlstein, a longtime friend of Sophie Cubbison, who now serves on the company�s board of directors.

Convenience is important for today�s cooks who want to emulate antique recipes to the delight of their holiday guests, but who don�t have time to slave over a hot stove. There has been a boon in sales of packaged homemade-style croutons in recent years from popular companies like Mrs. Cubbison�s Foods (prepared from freshly baked bread that is lightly toasted and perfectly seasoned, they are based on recipes invented by Sophie Cubbison in the early 1900s).

Our holiday side dish soiree includes stuffing muffin, loaf and ball recipes from Mrs. Cubbison�s Foods archives dating from the 1950s followed by a distinctive salad recipe:

Fig Stuffing Loaves

2 (6-ounce) bags of Seasoned Cornbread Stuffin�

1 cup melted butter or margarine

1 cup chopped celery, including leaves

1 orange, chopped, including peel (seeds removed)

1 cup chopped dried figs

2 eggs, well beaten

1 cup milk

Combine all ingredients and mix until well blended. Pack mixture into 8 small (4 1/2 by 2 1/2 by 1 1/2 inch) greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes, or until firm to the touch. Unmold and serve.

Yields 8 single-serving loaves.

Pumpkin Dressing Balls

1 (6-ounce) bag of Seasoned Dressing

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

1 cup mashed fresh or canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon allspice

3/4 cups water

6 to 8 walnut halves

In a large bowl, combine stuffing mix with melted butter or margarine. In a separate small bowl, blend pumpkin with allspice. Add pumpkin mixture to stuffing, reserving about 2 tablespoons for garnish. Blend in water, mixing well, but lightly. Shape dressing into 6 or 8 balls and place in greased casserole. Top each with about a teaspoon of reserved pumpkin and place a walnut half in center of each. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 325 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, or until firm.

Yields 6 to 8 dressing balls.

Apricot Stuffing Muffins

1 (6-ounce) bag of Seasoned Cornbread Stuffin�

1/2 cup melted butter or margarine

3 eggs, well beaten

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup crumbled crisp bacon

3/4 cup chopped dried apricots

In a large bowl, combine stuffing mix with melted butter or margarine, eggs, broth, bacon and 1/2 cup of the chopped apricots. Spoon mixture into 12 greased muffin cups. Top each muffin with a sprinkling of the remainder of chopped apricots. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes, or until firm. Cover muffins with aluminum foil if chopped figs on top brown too quickly.

Yields 12 stuffing muffins.

Spicy Cranberry Salad with Feta Crust

1 (6-ounce) box of garlic-flavored croutons

1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 cup feta cheese

3 cups mixed greens

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped Granny Smith apple, with peel

Italian salad dressing, to taste (approximately 1/4 to 1/2 cup)

Finely crush croutons. In a medium bowl, add croutons, olive oil and feta cheese. Combine well. Divide into six portions. Take each portion and mold as crusts into six individual small salad bowls. In a large bowl, combine mixed greens, dried cranberries, celery, apple and Italian dressing. Mix well. Place greens mixture in each salad bowl, slightly pressing greens into crust.

Yields 6 servings.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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14 Easy Cooking Tips for Meat and Poultry Slow Cooker Recipes
by: Anjali Dawson

The first Christmas we spent with my in-laws in their new country home, my mother-in-law wisely gave me a slow cooker. Her thoughtful gift helped Dan and I enjoy the most convenient of all cooking methods, even with our long work days and commute.

I'll always treasure the memories of delicious aromas wafting through the front door as we stepped into the house after a long day at work and a nerve-jangling commute in heavy traffic.

Most of the slow cooker recipes I used were based on meats and poultry. Here are 14 easy tips to make your slow cooker recipes tasty and safe:

Tip # 1 - According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bacteria in food are killed at a temperature of 165�F. Meats cooked in the slow cooker reach an internal temperature of 170� in beef and as high as 190�F in poultry. It is important to follow the recommended cooking times and to keep the cover on your slow cooker during the cooking process.

Tip # 2 - It is best not use the slow cooker for large pieces like a roast or whole chicken because the food will cook so slowly it could remain in the bacterial "danger zone" too long.

Tip # 3 - Always defrost meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker.

Tip # 4 - Meats generally cook faster than most vegetables in a slow cooker.

Tip # 5 - Trim all fat from meat and poultry. Fat can increase the temperature of the liquid in the slow cooker and decrease the cooking time. This will cause the food t be overcooked. Fats will also melt with long cooking times, and will add an unpleasant texture to the finished dish.

Tip # 6 - Cooking at higher temperatures will generally give you a tougher piece of meat. for all day cooking or for less-tender cuts of meat, you may want to use the low setting.

Tip # 7 - The slow cooker recipes are best used with the tougher cuts of meats.

Tip # 8 - For the best color and texture, ground beef is best browned before using, except in meatloaf or other similar dishes.

Tip # 9 - It is not necessary to brown meat before slow cooking, but it gives more depth of flavor in the food and removes some of the fat, especially in pork, lamb and sausages. If the meat is lean, well trimmed and not highly marbled, it doesn't need to be browned.

Tip # 10 - For roasts and stews, pour liquid over meat. Use no more liquid than specified in the slow cooker recipes. More juices in meats and vegetables are retained in slow cooking than in conventional cooking.

Tip # 11 - Dark meat takes longer to cook, so if a whole cut up chicken is used, put the thighs and legs on the bottom.

Tip # 12 - The slightly coarser texture of corn-fed, organic or free-range poultry is ideal for slow cooker recipes.

Tip # 13 - Most meats require 8 hours of cooking on LOW. Use cheaper cuts of meat - not only do you save money, but these meats work better for slow cooker recipes. Cheaper cuts of meat have less fat, which makes them more suited to crockpot cooking. Moist, long cooking times result in very tender meats.

Tip # 14 - Farberware FSC600 6-quart Oval Slow Cooker oval design accommodates oversize roasts, whole chickens, hams, and/or ribs. It features a large, 6-quart capacity stoneware liner, which nests inside a chrome slow cooker base and the auto setting switches to a lower 'keep warm' setting after cooking food.

For those who are not concerned about cooking in aluminum the West Bend Versatility 6-quart Oval Slow Cooker will work well to cook meats. It has a removable aluminum insert that can be used on the stovetop to brown meats and caramelize onions before slow cooking. The bottom unit can also be used on its own as a small griddle. Its dishwasher-safe insert has a nonstick interior and an included roasting rack.

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