At the request of my friend Linda, who is collecting some Thanksgiving recipe suggestions, here are some of our family’s favorite holiday recipes. (Click on each title to download the PDF recipe).

Welsh Potato Stuffing – an Old Standby

My family has been making Welsh Potato Stuffing at Thanksgiving for generations. This recipe came over with my family from Wales, and has been handed down through the years. From my memories, it came down from my great-grandmother, Mary Hannah Wetzel, but of course I fondly remember my grandmother and my Mom making it, which is how I learned.

Grandma’s Ham Balls

This is another one that’s been around as long as I can remember, and it’s more of an appetizer or item for a party tray. My Grandma Cain’s ham balls are tangy, sweet and savory all at once! Just have to try them to love them – they’re usually the first thing to go when I bring them to any holiday gathering!

Corn Casserole

Some of my favorite cookbooks are local church cookbooks, and that’s where I got this recipe quite a few years ago, and it’s been a family favorite ever since! It’s on the sweet side (like a sweet cornbread), so not a “salty” corn recipe, like many are. Goes very well with ham!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Got this recipe from my friend and co-worker at Kennesaw State University, Jaimie Ward. Three words: Best. Poundcake. Evah!

Mock Mincemeat Pie and Hard Sauce

My grandmother, Virginia Doerr (aka “Grog”), used to make a mincemeat pie for my grandfather every Thanksgiving and Christmas. It always smelled *so* good, but the thought of eating a sweet pie with meat in it just kind of grossed me out as a kid. So… last year I saw this on Bon Appetit – a mock mincemeat pie, made totally with fruit. It smelled exactly like my grandmother’s pie, but no meat! Tasted great! The original Bon Appetit recipe did not call for hard sauce, but my grandparents would be rolling over in their graves if there was mincemeat pie and NO hard sauce! *GASP*! Not to mention that hard sauce is just excellent, cause you know, it has alcohol in it. 🙂

Enjoy! I’ll post more recipes if I think of them (and/or *locate* them)!

Hmm… I’m noticing that I seem to post approximately once a year, when I login to change over to the Digital Divas Halloween theme. My poor, poor languishing blog! Such is the life of a full-time Mom, full-time IT Project Manager, full-time graduate student…maid, cook…etc. Well, one day, I *will* actually finish grad school and hope to have some copious spare time. Meanwhile, don’t write me off yet – give me about another year to finish grad school and post again!

OK, *technically* there aren’t any “grinning ghosts” on my Halloween theme, but you get the idea – the Digital Divas Halloween theme is back! The “grinning ghosts” reference, though, is from the “Haunted Mansion” soundtrack, and I don’t mean the recent Disney movie, I mean the original Disney “Trick or Treat” record (as in album, as in vinyl) that I have. Yes – I still have that album, and thanks to my handy-dandy new Ion USB turntable, I have now taken that album, captured it into my computer, and burned to CD for my kids to enjoy!

So, enjoy the Halloween theme and happy All Hallows Eve to everyone!

Come on – you know the rest: “Ask any mermaid, you happen to see – what’s the best tuna? Chicken of the Sea!” Well, you know the rest if you’re somewhere in my age group and grew up in the U.S.

My husband and I watched with amazement as our almost 2-year-old daughter was singing to the Daisy Sour Cream jingle, “Do, do, do, do, do, do a dollop,” and this prompted us to remember many of the jingles we knew as kids, that for better or worse, still live in the crevices of our brains. And we remembered several:

“Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a relief it is!” (Alka Seltzer)

“When it says Libby’s, Libby’s, Libby’s on the label, label, label, you will like it, like it, like it on your table, table, table.”

“You deserve a break today…” McDonald’s jingle by Barry Manilow

“Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there.” Another by Mr. Manilow

“When you say Bud you’ve said it all…” Budweiser Clydesdale Commercial

“I am stuck on Band-Aid, ’cause Band-Aid’s stuck on me.” Yet another by Barry.

“Oh, I wish I were an Oscar Mayer wiener…”

“I’d like to teach the world to sing…” (Coca-cola)

In remembering these jingles, we also remembered the products, which seems rare today. Often, when someone at our dinner table says they saw a “cool commercial” for something, they can describe the commercial, but can’t remember what product it was supposed to be advertising. The jingle may seem simplistic and often annoying, but you have to admit – they get the point across, especially with name-brand recognition, which is half the battle in advertising.

So for better or for worse, which ones do you remember? And do they write ’em like they used to? Other than the Daisy Sour Cream jingle, no recent jingles came to mind (a few slogans, maybe, but no true jingles).

Of course, many of the jingles I remember may in part be because I was young and still hadn’t killed off too many brain cells yet. Oh well, let me know what you think – afterall, wouldn’t you like to be a Pepper too?

OK – I haven’t posted in ages, mostly because I have no free time anymore with grad school classes and increased physical therapy appointments for my son. So, there are really many things I could post about, but this important development in chocolate baking warranted at least a quick post on Digital Divas, which might alternately be called “Chocolate Loving Digital Divas.”

Ya know how those “edge” brownies are so good? A bit of crunchy edge, yet still a soft gooey middle? Imagine if you could get an edge brownie every time… imagine no longer! You can indeed get an edge brownie every time with the Baker’s Edge pan! Technology rules!

Here are some very positive reviews from buyers on Amazon.com, with suggestions for other uses, like breads and even lasagna! OK – now that I’ve made you think about brownies, bread and lasagna, you may now return to your regularly scheduled day. 🙂

Now that All Hallow’s Eve has passed, so has the *spooky* Digital Divas halloween theme. Eventually, in my copious spare time (ha, ha), I will make the themes “reader’s choice” so that you may select whichever theme strikes your fancy at the moment. But for now, enjoy being in the pink again!