Standing Rib Roast

Oh... this is a favorite in our house. It's absolutely delicious and well, almost magical!!!! We have made it a tradition to make it at Christmas time. Partly because it's when Publix puts it on sale for about $5.49 a pound--at least that's what it was this year--and you can't go wrong with that!!!

Here's how we do it:

3-5 lb Standing Rib Roast
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garlic Cloves, pressed/minced/crushed - one per pound of roast
Italian Seasoning (I use about 1/2 TBL per pound maybe more)
Salt
Pepper

Season Roast with salt and pepper. Combine garlic, italian seasoning, a little more salt and pepper, and some of the olive oil until it looks like a paste. Rub over the roast generously... and I do mean generously.

Heat oven to 450!

Place on a roasting pan with the fat side up. Cook at 450 for 20 mins and then drop the oven to 350(you don't have to take the roast out), and cook for about 18 mins per pound for medium rare.

You should *absolutely* use a meat thermometer for this because it can get too done sometimes even at the 18 mins per pound. If you do use a meat thermometer, take the meat out when it hits 127! Trust me on this. Every cookbook I've seen always says 145 or something crazy like that. If you let it go till then, you'll feel bad that you've just wasted your money. Unless of course you like your meat to taste like a leather boot...

Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 mins. Carve and serve.

I serve with both gravy and horseradish sauce. To make my horseradish sauce I use horseradish (a good 1-2 TBL), sour cream - double what I used of the horseradish, some dill(fresh or dried), salt, pepper, and lemon juice... Oh, so good!!!!

This is a wonderful wonderful glorious dish... trust me! (Even if I forgot to take pictures!)

Christmas in Pictures (Mostly)

We had a wonderful Christmas. We went to the Opryland with my family minus my sister and her husband/kids. We ate a lovely dinner at my house with my parents, opened presents that were situated under our very first Christmas tree, played Mexican train, watched my niece and nephew open gifts, helped aforementioned niece and nephew play with gifts, went to Kentucky to see Richie's family, had some awesome food there, opened more great gifts, and relaxed with family. We've since been to my nephew's 3rd birthday party, watched some football games, and donated about $1000 to Goodwill.


It was a wonderful holiday season! Here are some pictures to prove it!

Photos from the Opryland Hotel.

A gorgeous place to go for the holidays... or get married at like hubby and I did 6 years ago!

My niece dancing in the same spot where hubby and I said our vows :-)

The view from our room!

Our first Christmas tree... Finn sure liked it!

One of my favorite Christmas gifts... a handmade T-shirt quilt made from many of my Kappa shirts. My momma made it for me - that's here holding it up. Hi Mom! Thanks for such a special gift!


Watching my niece and nephew open and play with their Christmas gifts!

From my nephew's birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese! Happy Birthday sweet boy :-)

Thanksgiving: Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole

My mom decided to make this as one of our side dishes this year for Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed it and hope you will too. Sorry it's not exact - it is what it is...

Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole
4-5 Apples (Granny Smith, Gala, etc will work) peeled and diced
6-7 Sweet Potatoes - slightly cooked in the microwave and peeled, and diced
butter - a couple tablespoons
brown sugar - a couple tablespoons
1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped pecans...

Melt butter and combine with brown sugar. Toss with the peeled and diced sweet potatoes and apples. Cook covered at about 350 for 30-45 minutes until slightly browned. Put the pecans on top.

Thanksgiving: Stuffing

No Thanksgiving dinner is complete without stuffing... so, we of course had to have some... and we managed to find a recipe that was pretty darn good.

You can thank Hungry Girl for this recipe... if you haven't looked at her site, you should!



Save the day Stuffing
6 slices light bread)**
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup fat-free broth, chicken or vegetable; room temperature
1/4 cup Egg Beaters, Original
1 tbsp. LAND O LAKES Whipped Light Butter
2 cloves garlic; finely chopped
salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme

Directions:
For best results, leave bread uncovered for a night or two, until slightly stale. Otherwise, begin by lightly toasting bread. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread into 1/2-inch cubes. In a medium-sized pot, combine broth, celery and onion. Cook for 8 minutes at medium heat. Remove from heat and add mushrooms and garlic. Season mixture to taste with salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. Spray a medium-sized baking dish with nonstick spray, and place bread cubes in it. Once veggie-broth mixture has cooled slightly, add Egg Beaters and butter. Pour mixture evenly on top of bread. Mix gently with a fork. Bread cubes should be moist, but not saturated. If necessary, add 1-2 tablespoons of water. Cover with foil and cook for 20 minutes. Remove foil and fluff/ rearrange stuffing. Return to oven (uncovered) for 10 - 15 minutes, or until top is golden brown. Serves 5.

Thanksgiving: Mashed Potatoes

I do love Mashed Potatoes, and there's nothing better than the ones my mom makes... While I am giving you the regular recipe, it can be "litened" by using fat-free milk, and reduced fat or fat free sour cream and cream cheese... These are super yummy and everyone who tries them loves them... Try them and you'll understand.

MASHED POTATOES

6 medium potatoes
½ tsp. salt and pepper
¼ stick butter
¼ cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. cream cheese (optional, but really good)
milk to thin to right consistency

Peel potatoes and cut into ¾” slices. Put in pot and cover with water. Boil, covered until tender (about 20 minutes). Add all other ingredients and beat with electric mixer until fluffy. Add milk to thin if necessary.

Thanksgiving: Corn Pudding

I love Corn Pudding... It's a southern tradition, or at least I think so. We made this delightful side dish a tad less fatening by using less butter, fat-free milk and fat-free cream, egg beaters, and splenda blend rather than just sugar... It was yummy! I'm giving you the regular recipe because I think it's best if you try it the real way first :-)

CORN PUDDING

6 ears of sweet corn, cut off cob
½ cup butter, melted
6 eggs
4 Tbsp. flour
3 ½ cups whole milk
3/4 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Blend eggs well. Add flour and sugar, and blend well. Add milk and blend. Mix in corn and butter. Pour in casserole dish sprayed with Pam. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. When pudding is done, the center should be solid and the top should have a nice golden brown color. Let rest for 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Thanksgiving: Asparagus Casserole

Asparagus Casserole is a Thanksgiving tradition in our family. Not only is it awesome, it's also the recipe that I submitted to get my mom on the Today Show--If you haven't seen the video... it's a hoot!

It's not exactly the healthiest, but it's ever so yummy!!!!

You can make it healthier as we did by using less butter, fat free milk, and reduced fat crackers

ASPARAGUS CASSEROLE
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups Waverly Cracker crumbs
3 T. flour
3/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1 tsp. salt
2 lbs. fresh asparagus
8 T. butter
1 jar Kraft Old English Cheese

Cheese Sauce
In a saucepan, melt 4 T. butter over medium heat. Stir in flour and salt to make a paste. Add milk and cook until thickened. Add jar of Old English Cheese and stir until completely melted. Set aside.

Crush crackers and add 4 T. melted butter to cracker mixture. Spread layer of cracker crumbs on bottom of 9x13 pan (sprayed with Pam). Place raw asparagus on top of cracker layer. Sprinkle almonds over asparagus. Pour cheese mixture over top. Sprinkle remaining crackers on top. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes or bubbly.