Sweet Crockpot Meatballs (from Dessert Diva)

It's January! Do you know what that means for the Dinnertime Divas? It's our annual balls themed Supper Club. Here is the recipe for my contribution this month.

This is one of the easiest and most delicious appetizers or dinners around. I came across this combination for the sauce by accident. My mom always makes her meatballs with BBQ sauce and grape jelly. Unfortunately, I didn't have any grape jelly one time so I substituted cherry preserves instead. The result was an even sweeter sauce that we liked even more than the original. I've never made it with grape jelly since!

Ingredients
1 - 1 lb. bag of frozen meatballs
1 jar of your favorite BBQ sauce
1/3 jar cherry preserves

I usually don't even measure out any of the ingredients so add or subtract according to your own taste.

Directions
Place the frozen meatballs in a slow cooker. Add the BBQ sauce and cherry preserves. Give it a stir. Cook on low for about 4-5 hours or until meatballs are heated through.

I hope you enjoy this as much as we do. It is definitely a go-to meal when I need something in a pinch, since I usually have all the ingredients on hand.

Momma Carver's French Toast Casserole (by Cheesy Diva)

This is Dessert Diva. I'm posting this recipe for the Big Cheese. This was her contribution to our December Supper Club. The theme was Breakfasts and Appetizers.

Ingredients
1 stick of butter or margarine
1 c brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
6 slices of bread
5 eggs
1 1/2 c milk

Directions
Melt butter in a saucepan on the stove. Stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Spread in the bottom of a 9x13 pan.

Halve the slices of bread diagonally. Place in pan on top of brown sugar mixture in a double layer.

Beat eggs; add milk and whisk together. Pour over bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Uncover and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Enjoy! This makes a delicious breakfast!

Cranberry Cake (from Saucy Diva)

Good news and even better news! Good news...this cake is delicious!! Better news...This will be my last blog post without pictures! I'm getting a really nice camera from my really nice husband for Christmas!

Ok, back to this cake. This is my December Cake Slice Bakers cake from the book "Cake Keeper Cakes" by Lauren Chattman.

I did not have much luck with last month's cake. It was a downright disaster. So I was really nervous about this month. Was I not cut out to bake with these talented ladies? Was the book selection a nightmare? Fears were calmed when this warm strueulsly cake cake out of the oven. Here is the recipe. I suggest eating it with a big mug of coco.


Ingredients:
For the streusel:
1 cup of sliced almonds
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

For the cake:
2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks butter, melted
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 bag fresh cranberries (12 oz) - I substituted a 12 oz bag of craisens I had left over from the big cookie bake.

Prep:
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 10 inch round spring form pan.
streusel:
Combine all ingredients for the streusel until large crumbs are formed. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cake:
Whisk together dry (except white sugar)ingredients in a medium bowl.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, white sugar with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low, add the butter and vanilla. Turn the mixer to medium and beat another 2 minutes.
Gently fold in the flour mixture and the cranberries.
Scrape batter into the prepared pan.
Sprinkle the streusel on top.
Bake until golden brown about an hour and 10 minutes.
Release the sides of the pan and cool completely before slicing into wedges.


LikeI said, this cake is delish. I love it's simplicity. Oh, and I love streusel. Streeeeuuuuusssssseeellll. It is even fun to say. One thing though...this cake is dying to be in muffin form!

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 10 inch round spring form pan.

Egg Souffle (by Dessert Diva)

This souffle is my contribution to our December Supper Club night. The theme this month is Appetizers and Breakfast. This delicious souffle is a tradition at my house. I have eaten this every Christmas morning for as long as I can remember. My mom always prepared two of them for our family, as Christmas morning was the only time she would make it, and we all loved it! We would always eat it after opening our presents. This souffle brings back so many great memories for me...I hope you and the Divas agree that it is delicious! Enjoy!

Ingredients
6 eggs
2 cups milk
4 slices of bread, cubed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 cup grated cheese (whatever kind you want; I use cheddar)
1 lb. sausage or ham, browned (use whatever you want here)

Directions
Beat eggs; add milk, bread, salt and mustard. Stir. Add cheese and meat. Put in a greased 9x12 pan. Refrigerate overnight. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.

Feel free to adjust the ingredients to fit the taste of your family. This is such a versatile recipe!

2nd Annual Diva Cookie Day (by Dessert Diva)

A few weeks ago, we held our annual Cookie Day! Unfortunately, a couple of the divas had other plans and couldn't make it, but there was still no shortage of cookies!

The night before, my kitchen looked like a disaster as I prepared cookie dough and appetizers...

The next morning, the Divas showed up with bags of cookie dough, ingredients, pans and utensils in tow. We had plenty of food to munch on as we worked...

Saucy Diva made her famous Chocolate Mints, as well as some delicious fudge!

Spicy Diva also made Saucy's famous Chocolate Mints (there was a little mix-up!) and some Pistachio Cranberry Cookies! The only bad thing about there being twice as many Chocolate Mints is that there were twice as many balls to roll and Andes Mints to unwrap.

But we rolled...

and we unwrapped...

and we rolled some more...

and we kept rolling. Meanwhile, Baby Diva got bored and went to sleep...can you blame her?

She woke up in time for the important part, however! Here she is checking out her mommy's (Gourmet Diva) Peanut Butter cookies and Dessert Diva's Chocolate Oatmeal bars. We also made Truffle cookies and Heath bars.

We make so many cookies that they were literally cooling everywhere! I actually found some a few hours after the Divas left outside on my patio table...ha!

We hope you get to enjoy some holiday baking with friends and family like we did! Happy Holidays and Happy Baking from the Dinnertime Divas to you!

Lemon Cheese Logs (by Dessert Diva)

Today was our annual Diva Cookie Day! We made hundreds of cookies to share. The following is a recipe for cookies I made at last year's Cookie Day. These are a favorite in my house during the holidays. I grew up making these with my mom and sister. I have absolutely no idea where the recipe originated, but they are absolutely delicious!

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter
3 oz. cream cheese
1 egg yolk
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. lemon rind
6 oz. chocolate chips
Sprinkles

Directions
Combine first 3 ingredients. Cream until light and fluffy. Add egg yolk; beat well. Stir in flour, nuts, salt and lemon rind; mix well. Cover and chill at least 2 hours. Shape into 2 inch logs; place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Dip half of the cookie into melted chocolate and immediately decorate with sprinkles.

Yield: 12 dozen

Paula Deen's Chicken and Rice Casserole

I am the queen of efficiency!

Ok, not really. Things just worked out really well for me this month. Not only was this recipe the October Cookbook Club recipe (chosen by my fellow MCHS alum, Molly) but the theme of DTD this month was comfort food.

This recipe is definitely comfort food! The ingredients were simple, the preparation easy, and the outcome was delicious. I'll admit that I was a little nervous about adding water chestnuts to a casserole, but it adds a whole new dimension of texture.

I'll be adding this recipe to my regular rotation!

Oh! And it's pretty too! You'll have to trust me on this one. I totally forgot to take a picture before we scarfed this one down. My apologies.

Ingredients:
3 cups diced, cooked chicken
1 medium onion, diced and sauteed
1 - 8oz can of water chestnuts, drained and chopped
2 - 14 oz cans french cut green beans, rinsed and drained
1 - 4 ounce jar of pimentos, rinsed and drained
1- 10.5 ounce can condensed cream of celery soup
1 cup mayo
1- 6oz box of Uncle Ben's long-grain and wild rice, cooked according to directions on the box
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese


Prep:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients together and pour into a 3 quart casserole dish.
3. Bake for 25 minutes.

WARNING! This recipe makes ALOT of casserole! It can easily serve 6-8 people. I halved the recipe for DTD and it was still plenty for 3-4 people.