KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The FOX 4 Morning Show team has celebrated a lot of holidays together! And, back by popular demand, the FOX 4 Morning Show is sharing some of the recipes they’ve come to love around holiday time. Maybe they’ll become a tradition around your house, too.
For the Twelve Days of Christmas leading up to the holiday, we’ll share 12 recipes with you.
And better still, after the team explains their recipe, we’ll give away a $50 Price Chopper gift card so you can get the specific ingredients. Be the fourth caller into our contest line, and you win. Click here for the rules.
We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
To access the recipes, click through the page numbers below.
Mobile users, click on the links here:
Shawn’s Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls
Rob Collins’ Texas Mud Bean Dip
Kerri Stowell’s Powdered Sugar Cookies
Katie’s Super Simple Peppermint Bark
Monday, Dec. 8 — Loren Halifax: Fabulous Pecan Bars
CRUST:
1/2 cup cold butter
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup ice water
Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour. Mixture should resemble cornmeal. Add water and stir with a fork to make dough. Gather dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours. Butter and flour a 9×13 inch pan. Press dough into prepared pan (you can roll it out or press with hands). Let it come up about 1 inch on all sides. Pierce dough with a fork. Chill while you make the filling.
FILLING:
1 1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup butter
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup sugar
1 pound pecans, roughly chopped (not too fine)
1/4 cup whipping cream
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Mix brown sugar, butter, honey and sugar in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil until thick and dark, about 3 to 4 minutes. You must stir constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in pecans and whipping cream. Pour over dough in pan. Bake for 25 minutes.
Check after 15 minutes. If the filling is browning too much, reduce heat to 375 degrees and keep baking.
Cool in pan. Cut into small bars.
For best results, be sure to use cold butter, chill the dough and chill the crust while you make the filling. The coldness and chilling time is what makes the crust light and flaky.
From The Recipe Hall of Fame Cookbook II, available at quailridge.com
Tuesday, Dec. 9 — Mark Alford: 1-2-3 Family Fish Dip
Alford’s 1-2-3 Family Fish Dip
- 1 block cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 small packets of ready-to-eat salmon
- 3 tsp. liquid smoke
- Saltine crackers
- jalapeno slices to top on the crackers
Wednesday, Dec. 10 — Kathy Quinn’s Chile Con Queso
Ingredients:
2 cans of whole tomatoes
2 garlic cloves
2 onions
8 cups of all natural, shredded cheese
1 Jalapeno
1/4 Bell Pepper
2 24 packs of very thin corn tortillas
1 cup virgin olive oil
4-5 cups of corn oil
2 cubes Chicken Bouillon
Teaspoon of salt
Directions:
Heat olive oil in large skillet.
Chop onions, 1/4 jalapeno, 1/4 bell pepper and add to already-heated oil. Continue heating until all present ingredients appear ‘glassy.’
Take one can of whole tomatoes and put it in the blender with a pinch of salt, 2 cubes of Chicken Bouillon.
Scoop out all of the ingredients from the olive oil, and put it in the blender.
Blend all ingredients.
Keep heating the olive oil.
Next, put all of the tomato mixture into the skillet, and put on a low heat.
Then, add cups of cheese at a time, adding more based on the texture you desire.
In another pan, heat up two cups of the corn oil on high heat, and toast your tortillas. Leave in the pan until they’re brown and crunchy.
Then, take the flat tortillas, and pour the cheese mixture on the top, and add the rest of the jalapenos on the top, based on taste. Feel free to add cilantro and salsa if you’d like.
Friday, Dec. 12 — Kim’s Christmas Crunch
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
35 to 40 saltine crackers
2 sticks (1 cup) butter
1 cup light brown sugar
8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips (about 1 1/3 cups)
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Line 1 large or 2 small jelly-roll pans with aluminum foil, spray with nonstick spray and arrange the saltines salt-side down in a single layer. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar together and boil until it turns a caramel color, a few minutes. Remove from the heat and pour over the crackers, covering them evenly.
You can add a little vanilla if you want after taking the butter/sugar mix off the heat for 30 seconds or so.
Put the jelly-roll pan into the oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes, or until just bubbly, watching carefully. Remove from the oven and pour the chocolate chips over the crackers. When the chips melt a bit, spread them over the crackers with a knife.
Transfer the pan to the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, or until completely cold. They will form one big sheet. Break up into pieces. Store in an airtight container.
Matt Stewart’s grandmother’s Jello Fluff Salad
- 1 box (3.4 oz.) instant Pistachio pudding
- 1 20 oz. can of crushed pineapple with juice
- 1 cup of mini marshmallows
- 1-1/2 cups Cool Whip, thawed
Mix first three ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in Cool Whip. Refrigerate one hour. Serve and eat!
Michelle Bogowith’s Italian Meatballs
- 1/2 lb Ground Beef
- 1/2 lb Italian Sausage
- 1 Egg
- Italian Bread Crumbs
- 1 Onion
- 2 Cloves of Garlic
- Salt & Pepper
- Olive Oil
- Optional: Parmesan Cheese
In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef, Italian sausage, egg, onion, garlic, and Italian bread crumbs. (If you would like, add in some Parmesan cheese) Sprinkle salt and pepper to your liking. Roll into balls.
Coat a pan with some olive oil and let it heat up. Place the meatballs in the pan, turning on occasion until thoroughly cooked.
Balsamic Glazed Steak Rolls from Shawn Edwards
Ingredients
1 1/2 – 2 lb flank steak/ 8-10 thin sliced sirloin
Salt & Pepper (according to taste)
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Any steak seasoning you like
1 tbsp olive oil
For the Veggie filling
1 carrot
1 bell pepper
1/2 a zucchini (depending on size)
5-6 green onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
For the Balsamic glaze sauce
2 tsp butter
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 cup beef broth
Instructions
Season the steak pieces generously on both sides with salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. And let them sit in the marinade for at least 30 mins if not a couple hours.
While the steak is marinating you can prep the filling for them. Chop up the carrot, bell pepper and zucchini into matchstick size pieces, little longer than the width of the steak strips.
Use a mandolin slicer to jet thin sliced and hand cut them to make matchsticks. Then cut the green onion in a similar size and sliced them in half length wise. For the garlic, simply peel
and crush the cloves with the flat side of your knife, just enough to bruise them.
Now for the sauce, melt the butter in a small sauce pan on medium heat.
Add the finely chopped shallot and sauté it for a minute or 2 until they turn soft and translucent.
Add the balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and beef stock and stir to mix everything well.
Allow the sauce to come to a boil and reduce to almost half its volume. You’ll notice it starts becoming thicker and have the consistency of syrup.
The butter also starts separating and comes to the top. Turn the heat off and transfer the sauce to a bowl.
In the same pan (no need to wash it) add a touch of olive oil and toss in the garlic cloves to allow them to flavor the oil for a few minutes.
Turn the heat up to high and toss in the carrots, bell pepper and zucchini (there’s no need to cook the green onion) and stir fry the veggies for no longer than 2-3 minutes.
Season them with the the Italian herb seasoning and salt and transfer the veggies to a bowl.
To assemble the steak rolls, simply take a strip of the marinated steak and lay it with the short side towards you. Place the veggies (don’t forget the green onion!) in the middle and
roll the beef up over the filling, securing it with toothpick. Repeat the same with the other rolls.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a touch of oil swirling to coat bottom. When hot, add beef rolls, seam side down, not touching and pan fry for a couple minutes. Then turn
roll and cook it on all sides in the same way. Cook until you’re desired done-ness. I cooked mine medium well and seasoned it with some mesquite seasoning for a touch of a smokey flavor.
Remove the toothpick and serve with the balsamic glaze sauce spooned over the top of each roll.
Holiday Ham Balls from Russ Simmons
Prep: 30 minutes to an hour (mostly dependent on if you grind your own ham – most stores do not carry ground ham and may not grind it for you. We get ham steak and grind our own at home with a stand mixer attachment)
Cooking time: 2 hours
Meat:
1 lb ground ham/pork mix (2/3 ham, 1/3 pork)
3/4 c graham crackers, crushed to a fine consistency
1 egg
1/4 c evaporated milk
Sauce:
1 10 oz can tomato soup
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard
Preheat oven to 350.
Make the meat mixture
Mix 1st list together by hand just enough to blend thoroughly- first eggs & milk, then pork/ham, then graham crackers. Don’t overmix.
Shape into balls and bake
We use an ice cream scoop with a lever to get a consistent size and shape – one person scoops and the other shapes and puts them in the pan, so it’s really fast. Bake in un-oiled foil roasting pan in 350 deg oven for 90 minutes, turning once about halfway through so you get a good crust on the outside with some browning.
Make the sauce
About 60 minutes after putting the meat in the oven, mix the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Let it reduce some (about 30 minutes), until the consistency is slightly thinner than barbeque sauce. It will thicken more after you bake it in the next step. If it gets thick sooner, turn the heat down to simmer until you’re ready to add it to the pan in the last step.
Bring it all together :)
At 90 minutes, remove ham balls from oven and drain off grease. Pour sauce over balls and cook another 30 minutes.
You can make this as a loaf as well, but part of what makes this so great is you get more browned parts with the smaller size.
“Texas Mud” bean dip from Rob Collins
Ingredients:
- I pkg 16oz. spicy “Velveeta”
- 2 cans of “Ranch Style” beans
- 2 cans of refried beans
- 1 16 oz. jar of jalapenos
- 1 8oz. jar of “Tabasco Sauce”
- “Slap Ya’ Mama seasoning”
Directions:
- Spray crock pot with cooking spray.
- Combine all ingredients
- Still frequently until thick consistency
Serving: Spoon in bowl, eat with chips, wash down with beer
Baked Brie from Karli Ritter
Ingredients:
- 1 can of crescent rolls
- 1 circle of brie
- drizzle of honey
- walnuts (optional)
- cranberries(optional)
Take the crescent rolls and make a star at the base with all the individual pieces of the roll. Place the circle of brie in the middle of the star then wrap the crescent roll around the brie to completely cover the cheese. Bake according to the directions for your rolls. During this time that you cook the rolls the brie will soften/melt inside. Drizzle with honey and walnuts or cranberries for a festive look.
Serve with apples or crackers.
Powdered Sugar Cookies from Kerri Stowell
Cream together:
1 cup shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
Add to above mixture:
2 cups flour
1 tsp. cream of tartar
Stir in:
1 egg-beaten
2 tsp. vanilla
-Make quarter size balls and press with glass dipped in sugar.
-Bake at 350* for ten minutes.
Frosting
Cream together:
4oz. cream cheese
3/4 stick margarine
Add remaining ingredients with mixer:
1 tsp. vanilla
3 cups powdered sugar
Katie’s Super Simple Peppermint Bark
All you need:
6 oz. milk chocolate
12 oz. white chocolate or vanilla flavored almond bark
1 box of candy canes
3 tsp vegetable oil
Direction:
1. Line a baking pan with non stick aluminum foil or wax paper
2. Melt white chocolate and 2 tsp of vegetable oil in double boiler, pour half of melted chocolate into the pan in even layer
3. Put in fridge until cool (20 minutes)
4. Melt milk chocolate and 1 tsp of vegetable oil in double boiler, pour all the milk chocolate on top of the cooled white chocolate layer
5. Put in fridge until cool (20 minutes)
6. Pour the rest of the white chocolate on top of the milk chocolate layer
7. Crush up candy canes in ziploc bag
8. Sprinkle candy canes evenly over the white chocolate
9. Put in fridge until cool
10. Break and serve
*If desired, split 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract between the white and milk chocolate after melting.