Scarecrow Cheese Ball

I created this scarecrow cheese ball for FamilyCorner.com. As their kids' recipe creator, I've had so much fun cooking up fun, whimsy foods for kids...and adults!

This guy is all dressed up and ready to appear on your Thanksgiving table. This is one time that you won't have to worry about a scarecrow shooing away the birds!

Scarecrow Cheese Ball

What You Need

1 - 8 oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 small can of deviled ham
1/2 C. shredded cheddar cheese
1 1/2 tsp. garlic powder (not salt!)
1 1/2 tsp onion powder (not salt!)
1 lg carrot
black olives
thin wheat crackers
1/2 C. pecans or walnuts, finely chopped
1 celery stalk


Getting Ready

Gather ingredients for the cookies according list above.

Make sure that children use pot holders and have some handy wipes or a sink nearby to wash hands.

Now you are ready to start making a scarecrow cheese ball...


Now that your supplies are at the ready and your work surface has been prepared, let's begin!

What You Do

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, deviled ham, cheddar cheese, Garlic and onion powder until well combined. Remove approximately 1/4 of the mixture for the "shirt collar" and set aside. Using the remainder of the cheese mixture, shape it into a ball and place it on the platter that you will be using to serve it on. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, gently flatten the circle to 3/4 inch thickness and smooth out the top top of the cheese ball. With the extra cheese mixture that you set aside, form it into a rectangle and lay it underneath the circle. Shape to form the collar of a shirt.

For the face:

1. Clean and peel carrot. Slice 2 round circles from the carrot for eyes. Grate the remaining carrot to use for "straw" on the scarecrow.
2. Slice off the ends of 2 black olives to use as pupils on the carrots. Chop up 1-2 olives to use for a mouth.
3. Clean and trim the stalk of celery. Slice of one piece for the nose

Assemble the face.

Cover the "shirt collar" part of cheese ball with chopped nuts. I've found it easiest to use a butter knife or small spatula to gently press the nuts into the cheese ball. Easily wipe up any nuts that may have fallen with a wet paper towel - the nuts will stick to the wet paper.

Sprinkle some shredded carrots around the top of the collar and around the hairline on the scarecrow.

Use the thin wheat crackers to form his hat. **Refer to the picture for a pattern.

This is a kid-friendly recipe. For a spicier version, you can add Tabasco sauce or cayenne pepper to the cheese ball mix.

If you will not be eating this right away, you should refrigerate the scarecrow without the crackers until you are ready to eat it. Allow to come to room temperature before eating for easier spreading.

Serve with extra celery and carrots, if desired.

Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing w/ "Olive Garden" Salad

This is a variation on a recipe that I've made several times but I've never made it in my crockpot. Everyone really liked it so the recipe is a keeper.

I've been trying to use my crockpot at least once a week to give me extra time in the evenings to spend with my kids. We usually use this extra time to catch up on reading or working on the computer but also to just hang out and talk about what's been going on in school.

Crockpot Chicken & Stuffing

1 package (6 ounces) seasoned stuffing crumbs (a "stove top" type stuffing mix)
1 large potato, cut in small dice - I did not add this to the stuffing. Instead, I cooked potatoes seperately as a side dish.
1 bunch green onions, chopped - I used 1 small white onion, diced small
2 ribs celery, chopped - I didn't not add
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons butter, divided
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning, divided
1 to 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenderloins or boneless breasts
1 jar (12 ounces) chicken gravy, such as Heinz Homestyle Chicken Gravy - I used 2

Instructions

In a lightly buttered or sprayed crockpot (Important!), toss stuffing crumbs with diced potato, green onion, celery, 2 tablespoons melted butter and 1/2 cup water. Sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of poultry seasoning. Top stuffing with chicken pieces; drizzle with remaining butter and poultry seasoning. Pour gravy over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours.

I cooked potatoes to add as a side dish, along with an "Olive Garden" salad.


I found this "Olive Garden" salad recipe on the But Mama, I'm Hungry blog. It is such a cute blog with lots of great recipes.

I made the salad as per the recipe instructions. Although my son, daughter and I really liked the dressing, the mayo threw it off for my husband. I didn't think that the dressing was a dead ringer for Olive Garden but it was good.

Just Like Olive Garden Salad

1 large bag of romaine lettuce salad mix or desired amount of lettuce
1/4 red onion, sliced thin
1/2 can black olives, drained and refrigerated
10 peperoncinci pepper rings
1 tomato, cut into slices
1/2 cup croutons (optional)

1/2 cup garbanzo beans (optional)
desired amount of dressing (recipe below)

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl, tossing until everything is coated with the salad dressing. Serve and enjoy!

Just Like Olive Garden Salad Dressing

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons corn syrup
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon dry Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix all ingredients in a blender until well mixed. Refrigerate any leftovers.

The crockpot chicken and stuffing was found on Alicia's recipes. It's going to be entered into the November Blog Event at Cooking with Alicia & Annie's.


I'm also linking it to Crockpot Wednesday @ Dining with Debbie

Pumpkin Smoothies

Trick or Treating was pretty much a wash out for my kids this year. They were able to go door-to-door for about 25 minutes before getting drenched. On Sunday, we decided to keep Halloween going for just a little longer by whipping up some pumpkin smoothies from Family Fun Magazine.


A word of warning when you first sip this smoothie, you might be surprised to taste that it isn't as sweet as biting into a piece of pumpkin pie. The plain pumpkin used in the recipe gives it more of a "pumpkiny" flavor.

Everyone in my family really surprised me by liking it. I wasn't sure if they would like the flavor or not. Serve it in a small glass - it's a rich drink. I used yogurt instead of the milk but the next time I would use 1/2 milk & 1/2 yogurt so that it's not so thick. I ended up thinning it out a bit with some milk.

Pumpkin Smoothie

1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup milk or vanilla yogurt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
2 tsp. brown sugar
4 ice cubes


Directions

Combine ingredients in blender and puree until smooth.

Pour the smoothies into small glasses (this drink is rich)
and garnish each with a dollop of vanilla yogurt or whipped
topping.

For a fun touch, add a pinch of cinnamon or a few
sprinkles.

Serves 2 or 3.

Raisin Jumbles

This soft, chewy cookie goes great with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee.

My husband is a raisin cookie fanatic. I knew that he would like these little cookies. I left out the nuts and doubled the raisins, making them even better. The recipe suggests sprinkling the baked cookies with powdered sugar. Instead of doing that, I scooped out the cookies using my littlest cookies scoop and then sprinkled the unbaked cookie dough with granulated sugar. Perfect!

Raisin Jumbles

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Cream together margarine or butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and mix until well incorporated. Blend in sour cream.

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to butter mixture and mix until well blended. Stir in pecans and raisins.

Drop dough by teaspoonfuls, onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake 12-15 minutes. (My cookies were light brown in 10 minutes)

Optional: Sift confectioners' sugar over cookies when cool.

I found this recipe at Annie's Recipes.


I'm entering it in the November Blog Event at Cooking w/Alicia & Annie.

I have a feeling that I will be making these quite for my husband. There couldn't be a more simple cookie out there to make. They will go great packed into lunches, too!

*** UPDATE*** Both, my son and my husband, came home today asking me to make these cookies again real soon. My son even gave some to one of his buddies who said that he really liked them, too!

Southwestern Macaroni

Here's a quick meal that can be served in under 45 minutes. I grew up calling this type of dish "chili mac". This is a good recipe for those tweens who want to help out in the kitchen.

Southwestern Macaroni

1 lb ground beef
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 C chopped green bell pepper
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
2 C tomato juice
2 C water
1-1/2 C uncooked elbow macaroni

Instructions

Brown meat, onion and bell pepper in large skillet.

Drain off fat.

Stir in the remaining ingredients.

Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat, cover and simmer about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and add more water is necessary. Cook to desired consistency. Serves 6

** I doubled the recipe to make sure that I had enough leftover for my husband's lunch. I also used 6 C. (one large can) of tomato juice and 2 C. of water to start off with - instead of the 4 C. of tomato juice and 4 C. of water. I ended up adding another cup of water toward the end of cooking.


This recipe comes from Alicia's Recipes.

I'm entering it in the Cooking w/ Alicia and Annie Blog Event for November. Click here for more info on how you can enter this contest! (Nov. entry spot isn't up yet but you can read the directions)