Locals share favorite holiday treats

Whether it was something passed down from grandma or was something Betty Crockers taught you along the way, we all have those Christmas foods that are near and dear to our hearts.

Area residents decided to share some of their favorite Christmas-time recipes and why they are so near and dear to their hearts.

• Kristen Devereaux of Clovis has two favorite side dishes for the holidays. For her children, nieces and nephews, she likes to make mini pigs in a blanket with homemade honey mustard dipping sauce and for the adults, she likes to make a tater tot casserole.

According to Devereaux, she likes both recipes, because “They’re quick, easy and it’s something I can make that’s impossible to poison anybody with.”

Mini pigs in a blanket

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of Pillsbury crescent dinner rolls

• 48 cocktail weenies (Devereaux uses Hillshire Farms brand Lil’ Smokies)

Dipping sauce

• 3/4 cup Dijon mustard

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Unroll both cans of dough and separate into 16 triangles. Cut each triangle lengthwise into 3 narrow triangles. Place sausage on shortest side of each triangle and roll to opposite point. Place each point side down on ungreased cookie sheet.

• Bake 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheet and serve warm.

• For dipping sauce: Stir all ingredients together and wait 10 minutes before serving.

Tater tot casserole

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef

• 1 lb. Jimmy Dean sausage (mild or spicy)

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup

• 1-2 cans cut green beans

• 1 bag of tater tots

• Shredded cheddar or jack cheese

• 1 container French fried onions

• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to directions on tots packaging (typically 350°-375°). Brown ground beef and sausage, drain and mix together.

• Layer in a casserole dish: Meat mixture, 1/2 can mushroom soup, 1/2 - 1 can beans, repeat. After second layer or dish is full, cover mixture with tots

• Bake according to times listed on tots packaging (typically 35 minutes). When done, add shredded cheese to top, bake until cheese is melted. Remove again and top with French fried onions and bake again until lightly browned, about 10-15 minutes.

• Wendel Sloan’s favorite holiday dessert is a Coconut-pecan German chocolate pie because:

“It has dark chocolate, coconut, a crispy crust, is sweet but not too sweet, and, most importantly, makes life worth living.”

Coconut-Pecan German chocolate pie

Ingredients:

• 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 6 tablespoons cold lard

• 3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

Filling:

• 4 ounces German sweet chocolate, chopped

• 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

• 4 egg yolks

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 cup chopped pecans

Topping:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

• 1/4 cup butter, cubed

• 2 egg yolks

• 1 cup flaked coconut

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• /4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl, mix flour and salt; cut in lard until crumbly. Gradually add ice water, tossing with a fork until dough holds together when pressed. Shape into a disk; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.

• On a lightly floured surface, roll dough to a 1/8-in.-thick circle; transfer to a 9-in. pie plate. Trim pastry to 1/2 in. beyond rim of plate; flute edge. Line unpricked pastry with a double thickness of foil. Fill with pie weights, dried beans or uncooked rice.

• Bake 11-13 minutes or until bottom is lightly browned. Remove foil and weights; bake 6-8 minutes longer or until light brown. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven setting to 350°.

• In a microwave, melt chocolates in a large bowl; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. Whisk in milk, egg yolks and vanilla; stir in pecans. Pour into crust. Bake 16-19 minutes or until set. Cool 1 hour on a wire rack.

• Meanwhile, in a small heavy saucepan, combine brown sugar, cream and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat.

• In a small bowl, whisk a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to pan, whisking constantly. Cook 2-3 minutes or until mixture thickens and a thermometer reads 160°, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in coconut and vanilla; cool 10 minutes.

• Pour over filling; sprinkle with pecans. Refrigerate 4 hours or until cold. Makes 8 servings.

• Bonnie Johnson loves baking for the holidays. Her favorite holiday-themed dessert is pumpkin bars.

Pumpkin bars

Ingredients needed:

• 1 cup oil

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 cups pumpkin puree

• 4 eggs

• 2 cups flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 3 teaspoons cinnamon

Icing:

• 3 oz. cream cheese at room temperature

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup vegetable oil

• 2 tablespoons half & half

• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

Instructions:

• For bars: Mix all ingredients together. Place into a jelly roll pan that has been sprayed with Pam. Cook in oven that has been preheated to 325° for 25 minutes.

• For icing: Mix all ingredients together. Spread on cooled bars.

• Portales volleyball Coach Ruth Chavez enjoys making what she calls “the best cranberry salad” for the holidays. It’s a dish her mother, Mae Valdez, made for Ruth as a child, and Ruth has continued the family tradition.

Chavez likes this dish, because “it’s different. It’s a little tart but definitely tasty and pretty to look at on the table.”

Best Cranberry Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 (12 oz) package fresh or frozen cranberries

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 (8 oz) can crushed pineapple and its juices

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1 to 2 cups mini marshmallows

• 1 pint heavy whipping cream

Instructions:

• Chop cranberries with a food processor. Not too finely. In a bowl, mix cranberries with the sugar, crushed pineapple and walnuts. Place this mixture in fridge for one hour for flavors to meld and sugar to dissolve completely then remove cranberry mixture from refrigerator and set aside.

• Beat the whipping cream into stiff peaks. Add the marshmallows to the cranberry mixture, until thoroughly incorporated into the mix then slowly fold in the whipped cream, until it's completely pink.

• Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, however Chavez recommends refrigerating the salad overnight. Makes 10 servings.

Cherry Dump Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 can of cherry pie filling

• 1 can crushed pineapple

• 1 box of yellow cake mix

• 1 cup of yellow butter

Instructions:

• Put the cherry in first then place the pineapple on top of it. Add cake mix on top of that with the melted butter as the last topping. Do not mix.

• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour

— Compiled by Staff Writers Matthew Asher and Alisa Boswell