Sherry Robbin's Broccoli-Strawberry Salad

Millions of people will gather during the holidays to enjoy time with loved ones and a delicious holiday dinner. We reached out to our volunteers to get some of their favorite recipes to share with you. With cooking being the number one cause of home fires, check out these Red Cross fire safety steps: https://rdcrss.org/41hXvgS

Here’s a recipe for broccoli-strawberry salad from Sherry Robbins, who has been a Red Crosser for more than 30 years:

BROCCOLI-STRAWBERRY SALAD

6 cups Fresh Broccoli Florets 

2 cups Fresh Strawberries

¾ cups Dry Roasted Peanuts

1 cup Carrots (julienne style)

½ cup Diced Red Onion

1 cup Golden Raisins

Dressing:

1 cup Mayo

½ cup Powdered Sugar

2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar

Mix mayo, powdered sugar and vinegar until sugar is dissolved.  Mix all other ingredients into a large bowl.  Pour the dressing over and mix all together right before serving.   (I like to double the dressing just to make sure I have enough.)

NOTE:  There are many variations to this recipe…you can use regular sugar instead of powdered sugar, grapes instead of raisins, red wine vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar, cashews or pine nuts instead of peanuts.  If you are watching sugar-intake or someone is diabetic, you can substitute Splenda.

Julia McNeal's Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Millions of people will gather during the holidays to enjoy time with loved ones and a delicious holiday dinner. We reached out to our volunteers to get some of their favorite recipes to share with you. With cooking being the number one cause of home fires, check out these Red Cross fire safety steps: https://rdcrss.org/41hXvgS

Thanks to Julia McNeal for her chocolate chip pumpkin bread recipe. See details here: 

Chocolate chip pumpkin bread

- 2 c granulated sugar

- ½ c butter, softened

- 3 large eggs

- 2 tsp vanilla extract

- 15 oz canned pumpkin

- 2 ¾ c all-purpose flour

- ½ tsp baking powder

- 1 ½ tsp baking soda

- 1 tsp salt

- ¾ tsp cinnamon

- ¼ tsp ground cloves

- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

- ½ c milk

- 12 oz chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of two 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pans* with a piece of parchment paper. Spray all over with cooking spray.

Add the sugar and butter to a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs, pumpkin and vanilla and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

Alternately add flour mixture, then milk to pumpkin mixture, starting and ending with flour. Fold in chocolate chips at the end.

Pour the batter into prepared pans. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack to cool.

Mini loaves will bake for around 25-35 minutes.

Mona Huff's Rum Bars

Millions of people will gather during the holidays to enjoy time with loved ones and a delicious holiday dinner. We reached out to our volunteers to get some of their favorite recipes to share with you. With cooking being the number one cause of home fires, check out these Red Cross fire safety steps: https://rdcrss.org/41hXvgS

Thank you to Mona Huff for sharing her rum bars recipe!

Rum Bars

Ingredients

· 4 cups chopped pecans, divided

· 1 cup butter, softened

· 2-1/4 cups packed brown sugar

· 4 large eggs, room temperature

· 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

· 1 cup all-purpose flour

· 2-1/4 cups red candied cherries

· 1-1/2 cups chopped candied pineapple

· 1/2 cup chopped candied citron

· 1/3 cup rum

Directions

Sprinkle 3 cups pecans over a greased 15x10x1-in. baking pan; set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Gradually add flour to creamed mixture, beating well. Spread batter into prepared pan. Combine candied fruit and the remaining pecans. Spread fruit and pecans evenly over creamed mixture; press gently to help mixtures adhere. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Sprinkle rum over the top; cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.

Jacqueline Hunt's Candied Pecans

Millions of people will gather during the holidays to enjoy time with loved ones and a delicious holiday dinner. We reached out to our volunteers to get some of their favorite recipes to share with you. With cooking being the number one cause of home fires, check out these Red Cross fire safety steps: https://rdcrss.org/41hXvgS

Here is one of Jacqueline Hunt’s favorite holiday recipes to share, candied pecans. “You can get cute, inexpensive holiday tins at the dollar store to fill with these pecans and people love them. I usually make about 6 pounds of candied pecans each Christmas to leave as small gifts.” 


CANDIED PECANS 

This simple recipe for candied nuts only calls for 7 ingredients. They are perfect for topping various salads, entrees, and desserts. And they also make a delicious gift!

PREP TIME: 10 MIN
COOK TIME: 40 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 50 MIN

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
4 cups (12 ounces) pecans halves, unsalted
1 egg white, whisked

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

2. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and cayenne to a large bowl or ziplock bag. Toss or whisk until evenly combined. Set aside.

3. In a separate bowl, add pecans and egg whites, and gently toss until combined and the pecans are evenly coated. Add in the sugar mixture and toss until combined.

4. Spread the mixture out in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. (If your baking sheet is not that large, you may need to split the batch onto two baking sheets.) Bake for about 40 minutes, removing the nuts and giving them a stir every 20 minutes, until the pecans are fragrant, and the sugar coating is cooked. (The sugar will harden more once the pecans are out of the oven.)

5. Remove from the oven and let the baking sheet cool on a cooling rack until the nuts reach room temperature. Transfer them to a sealed container and store until ready to use.