:::{Rum Balls}:::

This is another of my momma's recipes... She has been making these every year around Christmas time for as long as I can remember!  When I was younger, my brother and I would snoop in the fridge to find the hidden container of these cookies to snitch a couple... Now that I'm of age, I understand that there is a minimal amount of acutal alchol, but they are still a holiday favorite! They are pretty quick and easy, as well as being very tasty and just a little rummy ;)  I'm warning you now, you'll probably want to go ahead and make a double batch...

Rum Balls

Ingredients
1 (12 oz) box of Nilla Wafers
1 cup powdered sugar (plus ~ 1 cup for rolling)
1 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4-1/2 cup rum
1 cup pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Smash, bash, or food process the Nilla Wafer cookies; it is fine if there are still small pieces of cookie in the mix.
2. Combine the ground Nilla Wafers, powdered sugar, brown sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and pecans (if desired) in a large bowel or mixer.
3. Add the corn syrup.  Add 1/4 cup of the rum and mix well.  At this point, check the consistency; the dough needs to be wet enough to be rolled into balls, but not too wet or it will be too sticky and gooey.  Slowly add the other 1/4 cup of rum, until desired consistency is reached.  Mine only took 1/2 the second 1/4 cup of rum (so, 1/4 + 1/8 cup = 3/8 cup rum in total).  The resulting dough should look about like the picture...
4. At this point, you can chill the dough in the refrigerator for a few hours or even over night, which allows the rum to really reach its full potential in the dough...
5. When ready to rolls your rum balls, use a spoon or cookie scoop and roll ~ 1 inch balls, then roll in powdered sugar.
6. Enjoy!

~Rachelle

:::{Mock Almond Roca}:::

Last night I had a major sweet tooth (actually this is probably a nightly-post-dinner occurrence...), and I remembered a yummy little treat recipe that a friend had shared with me several years ago.  It has become one of the Christmas treats that my momma and I make every year because it is so tasty, and actually quite easy!  So, before hubby and I popped in a movie (side note, we watched "Lawless," and it was so good!  Pretty violent and plenty of foul language, but if you can get past that, it was a very well made and interesting movie!), I whipped up a mini-batch of the below recipe... I made about 1/4 of a batch because I didn't have very many Saltines and I knew hubby wouldn't help me eat it, and it was about perfect!  But if you are making Christmas goodies, and have people to share it with (this would be a great treat to bring to a Christmas party...), go ahead and make a full batch!

Mock Almond Roca
(recipe from Danika)

Ingredients
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
~40 saltine crackers
1-2 cups slivered/sliced/chopped almonds 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a 12x17-inch cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
2.  Lay a flat layer of crackers out on the foil; if they don't perfectly go to the edge of the pan, break them in half or fourths to completely cover the bottom of the cookie sheet. 
3. Melt the sugar and butter until a boil is reached. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 5-6 minutes or until mixture is thickened and sugar is completely dissolved. 
4. Pour this mixture over the crackers and spread to coat evenly. 
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until the toffee becomes bubbly. 
6. After removing the pan from the oven, let it sit for 3-5 minutes, then sprinkle on the chocolate chips, let them soften and melt, and then spread them into an even layer with a spatula. 
7. Before the chocolate hardens, sprinkle the top with almonds.
8.  Stick the sheet in the refrigerator and let cool until hardened. 
9. Break into pieces the size of your choice. 
10. Enjoy!

:::{Ham & White Bean Soup}:::

This recipe is adapted from one my momma made frequently when I was growing up.  It is hearty, and tasty, and a great way to make use of some left-over Thanksgiving ham!  My mom would use a ham hock, and boil all the meat off the bone; but I just had a big ol' hunk of cooked ham, so that was what I used!  My mother is an amazing cook; so anytime I can emulate her cooking style, I do!  I feel very fortunate to have grown up with a mom who loves to cook and always tries new things; I would say it is a pivotal factor in my love for making good, hearty, healthy foods!
This is a recipe you will want to start early in the day, because the longer it has to simmer, the tastier it will be!  Plus if you are using dried beans like I did, they take several hours to cook and become soft...  But it is well worth the time it takes, and the stove does most of the work!

Start with your beans.  For the two of us, I used 2 cups, which will allow for plenty of leftovers...
Rinse and sort your beans (picking out any gross looking ones, or pieces of dirt or rocks).  Then place them on the stove in a pot with 2-3 inches of water covering the beans.

Bring them to a boil, and boil for 2-3 minutes.  Then cover and remove the pot from the heat.  Allow them to sit for 1 hour.  During this time you can start chopping your vegetables (onion, garlic, carrots, and celery).

Once the beans are done soaking, drain them and put them back in the pot with some fresh water.  At this point only use as much water as you want broth, I covered the beans with ~1 inch of water, and turn the stove on Med-Low heat.  I then chopped up some onion and garlic and simmered with a little bit of butter.

I then added the diced carrots and chopped celery, and simmered for ~5mins, allowing the veggies to cook a little.

I then added the veggies to the beans, and allow them to start soaking up the flavor.  Side note, when my mom makes this soup, she does not add carrots and celery; they just sounded good to me!  This soup is easy to manipulate and make as simple or complicated as you wish.
I then diced the ham, and added it to the mix.  (See the tasty pile of fat I trimmed off... gotta love pork!)

Cover and allow the soup to simmer for at least 1-2 hours (the longer the better), and season with salt and pepper to taste.
While the soup was gently boiling away, I whipped up a batch of corn bread, which pairs nicely with this soup...  I like to serve this soup as my momma does, with a dish of thinly sliced onion in white vinegar, which can be spooned into your soup.  Or you can eat it like my dad likes to, with Ketchup... Either way, this is a pretty well rounded, tasty meal!

Ham and White Bean Soup

Ingredients
2 cups Great Northern white beans
1 onion (diced)
2-3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons butter
2-3 carrots (peeled and diced)
1 heart of celery (chopped)
~1/2 a ham (diced) or 1 ham hock (boiled)
water

Directions

1. Rinse and sort 2 cups white beans.
2. Place rinsed beans in pot with enough water to cover by 2-3 inches, bring to a boil.
3. Boil for 2-3 minutes; cover, remove from heat, soak for 1 hour.
4. Drain the water from the beans.
5. Place the beans back in the pot with ~1 inch of water covering them.
6. Saute the onion and garlic with butter.  Add the carrots and celery.  Simmer for ~5 minutes.
7. Add the veggies to the beans.
8. Dice your ham and add to the soup.
9. Bring to a simmer (med-low heat), and simmer for 1-2 hours; at least until beans are soft.  Salt and pepper to taste.
10. Enjoy!

Corn Bread

Ingedients
1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 large egg

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease 8x8 inch pan.
2. Mix corn meal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl.
3. In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg, then add milk and oil; mix well.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until blended.  Pour into prepared pan.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
6. Serve warm with butter and honey (yum!).
7. Enjoy!

~Rachelle