Gaia Christmas recipes

We want everyone to have a happy and tasty holiday this year, and in that spirit offer you these delicious, tested-in-our-own-kitchens recipes.

From the kitchen of Sandi
I would like to submit a few recipes for Hanukkah.

Apricot Chicken

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1-1/2 (1 ounce) packages dry onion soup mix
1 (10 fluid ounce) bottle Russian-style salad dressing
1 cup apricot preserves
Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 Place the chicken pieces in a 4 quart casserole dish.
Mix the soup mix, dressing and jam together, and pour over the chicken.
3 Cover dish and bake for 1 hour in preheated oven.

Carrot Pudding

1 cup grated carrots
1 cup peeled and shredded potatoes
1 cup white sugar
1 cup raisins
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup white sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Directions
1 In a large mixing bowl, combine carrots, potatoes, sugar, raisins, flour, baking soda, ground cinnamon, all spice, and ground cloves.
Transfer mixture to a clean 1 pound coffee can.
Secure wax paper over the top and place the filled can in a large pot with 2 to 3 inches of water.
Cover the pot and bring the water to a simmer.
2 Steam the cake for 2 hours. Serve warm.
3 Buttery sauce:
In a medium-size pot, combine butter or margarine, cream, sugar, and vanilla.
Heat until the mixture is liquid.
Spoon mixture over the warm carrot pudding to serve.

Potato Latkes

2 cups peeled and shredded potatoes
1 tablespoon grated onion
3 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup peanut oil
Directions
1 Place the potatoes in a cheesecloth and wring, extracting as much moisture as possible.
2 In a medium bowl stir the potatoes, onion, eggs, flour and salt together.
3 In a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil until hot.
Place large spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the hot oil, pressing down on them to form 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick patties.
Brown on one side, turn and brown on the other. Let drain on paper towels.
Serve hot!

Sweet Potato Latkes

2 sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Directions
1 Place potatoes in a colander.
Place a cheesecloth over the potatoes and squeeze the potatoes to release as much liquid as possible.
Let the potatoes sit to release more liquid, squeeze again.
2 Combine potatoes, eggs, brown sugar, flour, cloves and cinnamon; mix well.
3 Form mixture into pancake size cakes and fry in a large frying pan in hot oil.
Flip cakes over after 2 to 3 minutes (when bottom is browned) and brown other side.
Drain on paper towels and serve piping hot!

No Guilt Eggnogg
From the kitchen of LadyCat

When I was a kid, my mom made eggnogg with fresh whole milk and cream from the farm, and lots of fresh eggs and sugar. I can remember helping her crack all those eggs and then beating them with a hand rotary egg beater. No thoughts of cholesterol or salmonella...lol...how times have changed!!! Most of my family is lactose-intolerant, and no one dares eat raw eggs or heavy cream!!!! Well, I have made an "eggnogg" that is wonderfully close to Mom's but it is GOOD for you!!! I use the Dairy-Eze milk because I prefer its flavor to the Lact-Aid milk...but which ever you prefer... You can't taste the "funny" taste of the "funny" milk, as my daughter calls it, and EVERYONE seems to be able to drink it!!!! Enjoy!!!
1 quart lactose-reduced (1% or skim) milk (like Dairy-Eze or Lactaid)
8-10 "funny" eggs (like Egg Beaters)
¼+½ Tblsp. vanilla extract
½ to ¾ cup sugar
1 can skim evaporated milk
Combine everything in a large pitcher and stir or shake well.
Chill several hours or overnight and serve with the usual toppings or additions.
Recipe can be doubled or tripled as needed.
Makes about 1½ quarts.

Friendship Bread

This is a gift that keeps on giving. When you've had enough, you can "kill" it off, give away ALL the batter, or use ALL the batter for the sweet bread which freezes well. When you are making this bread, be sure that you do not use any metal utensils or bowls. I find that it is easiest to make the starter in gallon-size freezer bags. As the recipe ferments, the bag will fill with air. Burp the bag on a daily basis as necessary.
Starter:
2 cups warm water
1 envelope yeast
2 cups plain flour
Day One: Mix the three ingredients together. Place in a bag and let set overnight on the counter to ferment. DO NOT refrigerate. (If you have received the starter, do nothing on day one.)
Day Two: Mash the bag to mix the starter. Burp the bag if needed.
Day Three: Same as day two
Day Four: Same as previous two days
Day Five: Same as previous three days
Day Six: Add 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk to the bag. Mix with a wooden spoon. Place back on the counter.
Day Seven: Mash the bag to mix the starter. Burp the bag if needed.
Day Eight: Same as day seven
Day Nine: Same as the previous two days
Day Ten: Dump the batter into a large bowl and add:
1 cup of flour,
1 cup of sugar,
and 1 cup of milk.
Stir thoroughly and pour four 1-cup starters into large ziplock bags.
Keep one starter for yourself and give the other 3 to friends with instructions.
To the remaining batter in the bowl, add the following and mix well.
(You can also add nuts at this time):
1 cup oil
3 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla
½ tsp. baking soda
1 large box vanilla (or lemon) instant pudding
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups flour
Preheat oven to 325°.
Pour batter into two greased and sugared loaf pans.
Use additional sugar and cinnamon to coat loaf pans.
The sugar and cinnamon can be sprinkled over the top of the batter in the pans also.
Bake 1 hour.
Cool 10 minutes and remove from pan.
Makes 2 loaves.