<<Disclosure: This post is forever long…just be happy you are the one doing the reading, not the writing >>

Get the party started with these apps.



Cranberry Pear Brie Packets
1 pear, chopped
1/2 c. cranberries
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 tbsp. maple syrup
1/2 a puff pastry sheet
2 oz. brie
Olive Oil

Saute onion, pear and cranberries in olive oil until tender. Stir in maple syrup and continue to cook a few more minutes. Cut the pastry into 4 even squares (about 2″ x 2″). On a foil or parchment lined baking sheet, place one square, then 2 tablespoons of cranberry topping, the brie cheese, and second square of pastry and then fold over the edges and seal in. Repeat with other squares. Baked at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

(Set aside remaining cranberry mixture for you cranberry sauce)

Best Stuffed Mushrooms….Seriously
Taken from my local paper over 10 years ago


1/2 a package of cream cheese (I use light)
2 tbsp. parsley
2 tbsp. chopped onion
1/2 lb. sausage (I like turkey)
8 oz. mushrooms

Start sauteing sausage in a skillet. Remove stems from mushrooms without breaking the the cap. Chop the  stems and add those along with the onions to the sausage and cook until tender. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until cream cheese is melted in. Place the mushroom caps on a foil lined baking sheet. Fill each cap with filling, then broil on high for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Next up, the side kicks.


Sweet Potato Gratin

2 sweet potatoes
2 tbsp. butter
4 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tbsp. milk (or OJ)

Slice potatoes thinly. Grease a 6″x9″ and place a layer of potatoes on the bottom. Top with 1/2 the butter and sugar. Repeat with the remaining ingredients. Pour the milk over the top. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the potatoes easily comes out.

Sausage Apple Stuffing

1/2 lb. sausage (Use the other half from the the mushrooms)
2 apples, chopped
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 tbsp. rosemary
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. butter
8 oz. chicken broth
2 c. cornbread, crumbled

Saute the first four ingredients together, until sausage is cooked through and onions are tender. Add butter, cornbread and chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Stuff your turkey….or your face

Cranberry Sauce

Remaining cranberry sauce from above brie recipe
1/2 c. cranberries
2 tbsp. maple syrup

Add the cranberries and maple syrup to the remaining sauce from the brie. Saute for about 20 minutes, or until the berries start to caramelize and juices thicken.

The Main Event


Stuffed Chicken Breast

2 chicken breast
Stuffing
Salt, pepper and olive oil

Butterfly the chicken breast. Brush with olive oil then place about 3 tablespoons of stuffing in the middle. Fold over the other half of the chicken breast, sprinkle the top with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake on a foil lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for about 12 minutes.

And last, but certainly not least, dessert.


This ice-cream is so ridiculously easy, you should make it every day…for real.


Pumpkin Ice -Cream

1 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. condensed milk
3/4 c. puree pumpkin
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
A dash of nutmeg

Whip the cream until stiff peaks form. Fold in the remaining ingredients. Spread into a freezer proof container and freeze, 4-5 hours or until solid.

Cranberry Pear Crisp

3/4 c. cranberries
4 pears, sliced
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. sugar

1/3 c. oats
1 c. flour
6 tbsp. butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
Dash of nutmeg

Mix together first four ingredients in an 8″ x 8″ pan. In a separate medium sized bowl, melt the butter. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed and crumbly. Sprinkle on top of fruit. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until juices begin to bubble. Cool and serve with pumpkin ice-cream.