Staff favorite holiday recipes

From old family recipes to favorite online finds

These are the recipes that Susie’s Place staff turn to every holiday season. Browse for some of your new favorites below.

Pumpkin Bread

Dianne Wilson, Child and Family Advocate Avon

“Tineke’s Mac & Cheese”

Caitlyn Pratt, Forensic Interviewer in Terre Haute

1lb cavatappi pasta (or macaroni)
16 ounces mozzarella cheese (not pre-shredded)
16 ounces colby jack cheese (not pre-shredded)
8 ounces cheddar cheese (not pre-shredded)
1tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3 tablespoon butter
3 tablespoon flour
1 can evaporated milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon dijon mustard

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish
Cook noodles according to package, drain thoroughly and set aside
Shred all the cheese. Combine all three shredded cheeses, divide into two bowls. Set one bowl aside.
Combine garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, divide into two bowls. Set one bowl aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add half of the season mixture and flour. Stir until the mixture is paste-like (about 3-5 minutes). Add evaporated milk and whisk thoroughly until thick. Add heavy cream and the rest of the seasoning mixture and mix until combined. Whisk in dijon mustard until mixture is combined and thick. Slowly add in the cheese from one bowl, allowing the cheese to melt (still saving the other bowl of cheese). Taste mixture, adjust seasonings if needed.
Gently stir in cooked noodles until coated in the cheese sauce.
Add a layer of the coated noodles to the pan, then top with a layer of shredded cheese from the bowl that was set aside. Repeat layers.
Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 25-30 minutes.
Finish dish by broiling until the top is golden brown, about 1-2 minutes.
Enjoy!

Mashed Potatoes

Caitlyn Pratt, Forensic Interviewer in Terre Haute

Ingredients:

1 5lb bag russet potatoes
1 chicken bouillon cube
2 cups heavy cream
2 sticks of butter
1 head roasted garlic
2-3 sprigs rosemary
1-2 sprigs thyme
salt to taste
pepper to taste
bundle of fresh, chopped chives

Instructions:

Scrub clean potatoes. For skin on/off preferences, see #5. Cut into even size cubes, then add to a large pot with cold water. Heavily salt potato water, add chicken bouillon cube then bring pot to a boil.
In a separate pot, add your heavy cream. Infuse the cream by adding thyme, rosemary, and roasted garlic. Bring mixture to almost boiling, then turn it down to leave uninterrupted at a low temperature. Take care to not let the cream mixture burn.
Once potatoes are fork tender (typically about 25-30 minutes). Strain and set aside.
Strain the herbs and garlic from the heavy cream mixture. Add in cubed chunks of butter to heavy cream, saving a few cubes of butter to set aside.
For smooth potatoes- use a potato ricer to run the cooked potato mixture through. This will eliminate the skins. For “lumpy” mashed potatoes with skin on, use a potato masher to preferred consistency.
Take the warm butter/heavy cream mixture and add to the mashed potato mixture, slowly mixing in a little at a time.
Add in chopped chives, pepper, and salt to taste.
Mix well, then transfer to serving dish. Add chives and the cubes of butter that were set aside earlier to the top.

Red Wine Braised Chuck Roast

Caitlyn Pratt, Forensic Interviewer in Terre Haute

Ingredients:

Chuck Roast
salt
pepper
head of garlic
3 stalks celery
4-5 carrots
1 whole yellow onion
all purpose flour
olive oil
tomato paste
1 bottle red wine *if not using wine, substitute with equal amount of beef broth
bundle of rosemary
bundle of thyme
beef broth
butter

Instructions:

Cube chuck roast into even large chunks. Pat dry on all sides, then season each side generously with salt and pepper. Take seasoned cubes and dredge evenly in flour.
Evenly dice carrots, celery, and onion. Halve the head of garlic. Set aside in a large bowl.
Heat oil in a dutch oven (or other large cooking dish), then sear chuck roast on all sides. Once they have a nice sear, set meat aside.
Add diced vegetables to the dutch oven, season well with salt and pepper. Cook down until vegetables are translucent.
Once vegetables are cooked down, create a space in the bottom of the pan to add in a generous amount of tomato paste. Toast tomato paste for a minute or two, then mix it into the cook vegetables.
Add in bottle of red wine (or if not using wine, add beef broth)
Bring liquid + vegetables to a boil, then add in chunks of seared meat.
Add in halves of garlic, and bundles of rosemary and thyme.
If meat + vegetables are not covered, top with beef broth.
Add cover to dutch oven and let simmer for 2-3 hours, until meat is falling apart.
Once meat is ready, remove herbs and garlic head. Serve with the braising liquid and cooked vegetables.
OPTIONAL: Strain out vegetables, herbs, and garlic head. Leave braising liquid in pan, bring to simmer. Once liquid is reduced by half, turn down heat and slowly add in some cubes of cold butter. Whisk until combined. Sauce should be silky and smooth, ready to be served on top of the braised chuck roast.

Banana Bread

Kelly Hunckler, Forensic Interviewer Bloomington

Carrot Cake

Anna Cope, Direct Service Program Manager

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
1.5 cups oil
4 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
3 cups grated carrots
1/2 cup pecans
Frosting:
2 8oz package of cream cheese
1 lb of confectioner sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300
Mix all cake ingredients together in a large bowl
Pour all cake ingredients into a 13×9 pan
Place pan in oven for 50 minutes, once the cake is ready, remove from oven and let cool.
While cake is cooling, mix all ingredients together for icing
Once cake is completely cooled, spread icing all over

Cranberry Cherry Relish

Erin Freund, Child and Family Advocate Bloomington

Holiday Cranberry Jalapeno Dip

Evy Peterson, Administrative Coordinator Terre Haute

Ingredients

12 oz fresh, uncooked cranberries
1/4 cup green onion
1-2 fresh jalapeho peppers
2 Tbsp. cilantro (optional)
3/4 to 1 Cup sugar (according to taste)
1 Tbsp. lemonjuce
I/S tsp. salt
16 oz. Ck (whipped)

Instructions:

Use food chopper to chop cranberries.
Chop green onion, jalapeho peppers and cilantro.
In a medium-sized bowl, add chopped cranberries, green onion, cilantro and jalapehos.
Add sugar, lemon juice and salt on top of cranberry mixture and stir gently until
blended.
Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight.
Take cranberry mixture out of the refrigerator and stir all ingredients together Strain
out all liquid using a collander with small holes. (Pro Tip: Save the liquid for a
cocktail simple syrup – it’s delicious!)
Whip softened cream cheese with hand mixer until smooth (about 2 minutes) and
spread cream cheese over bottom ofa pie plate or 9×9 dish.
Pour cranberry mixture atop cream cheese and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Vse a spoon to spread over Ritz crackers and enjoy! !

Grete’s German Pancake

Charlotte Willian, Child and Family Advocate in Bloomington

Grete’s Dinner Rolls

Charlotte's mother, Grete Margit Leed Johnson — *Charlotte’s mother, Grete Margit Leed Johnson*

Hot corn

Candace Balzano, Education and Outreach Program Manager

This recipe can also be made in a crockpot.

2 tablespoons butter
4 oz. cream cheese
3 cups corn (2 or 3 cans, drained)
4 oz. can of fire roasted diced green chiles
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
black pepper

Directions:

In a cast iron skillet (at least 8 inches) melt butter and cream cheese over medium heat and stir until smooth.
Add in corn, green chiles and stir to combine.
Add cheddar cheese and stir until fully melted.
Season with a sprinkle of black pepper and serve hot.

Dressing

Robert Denton, Forensic Interviewer Terre Haute

1 Skillet corn bread
1 box each of chicken, turkey, sage, herb, cornbread stuffing mix by StoveTop
1 bottle of Wesson or vegetable oil
1 container of sage spice, salt
3 eggs(whole–all of them)
Mustard, 2 to 3 TABLESPOONS (dressing should be
yellow
1 to 2 bags of diced frozen onions (thawed)
2 containers of chicken or turkey broth or can use water
1 bag of diced green peppers
1 bunch of celery or chopped frozen if you can find it. Can put cooked turkey neck, gizzard in dressing. Mix all this together and put in a precoated pan. Cut pieces of butter over dressing, and cook in oven on 350, keeping an eye on the browning process.Cover for 1 hour, then uncover to let it brown. Cook slowly so eggs can cook in dressing. This can be cooked a day ahead. Enjoy!!!!

Vegetable Medley

Robert Denton, Forensic Interviewer Terre Haute

Brown 1 # [Pound] Ground Meat
Add 1 [16 Oz] Package Of California Blend [Vegetable Medley] Raw [Don’t Cook Vegetables Ahead Of Time]
In Separate Bowl Mix:
1 Cup Cream Of Chicken Soup
1 Cup Cream Of Mushroom Soup
1 Cup Cheese Soup Or 2 Cups Shredded Cheese.
Mix Well
Add Ground Meat, Vegetable Medley To Cheese Mixture.
Can Top Also With More Shredded Cheese. Bake 350-375 Degrees For 45 Minutes Till Cheese In Lightly Brown On Top. Enjoy!!

Aunt Dottie’s Grape Salad

Allison Stone, Accountant

Big Biscuits

Nana’s Sausage Balls

Duke’s Thanksgiving Sausage Stuffing

Sharon Tufano, Direct Service Administrative Coordinator

Ingredients

18 oz. Herbed seasoned cubed stuffing (Pepperidge Farm)
1 Medium onion finely diced
2 stalks of celery finely diced
1 lb. ground pork sausage
1 stick of butter
4 cups chicken broth
3/4 tsp. salt (or to taste)
½ tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. celery salt
¼ tsp. poultry seasoning

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Spray 9”x13” pan with nonstick spray.

Brown sausage, onion and celery in butter. Saute until sausage is cooked through, onions are translucent, and celery is soft.

Combine sausage mixture with cubed stuffing in large bowl. Add chicken broth, salt, garlic powder, celery salt and poultry seasoning. Let the mixture rest for a few minutes to allow stuffing cubes to absorb chicken broth. Pour mixture into pan, cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes covered, then remove foil and bake an additional 30 minutes until the top gets crispy.

Jean’s Easy Cookies

Emily Perry, Executive Director and Founder

Coca-Cola Cake

Emily Perry, Executive Director and Founder

Green Bean Casserole

Jennifer Newman, Child and Family Advocate Terre Haute

4 cans of green beans (8-ounce cans)
1 tub of sour cream 8 ounce
half block of cream cheese
6 pieces of cooked bacon
half an onion
2 bags of cheddar cheese
2 bags of French fried onions

In a 9 X 13 baking dish dump all 4 cans of green beans in the dish. Mix in the whole container of sour cream and mix in the cream cheese (make sure it is softened) cook the bacon strips and onion and cut them up and mix them in the dish. Cook for 30 mins on 350. Pull out put cheese and fried onions on top cook for another 5 to 8 mins or until cheese is melted.

Eilieen’s Special-K Bars

Peggy Schultz, Lead Administrative Coordinator

(made by her mother-in-law Eileen for every holiday!)

6 cups Special K cereal
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup peanut butter
6 ounces chocolate chips
6 ounces butterscotch chips

Directions:

Butter large bowl.
Measure cereal into bowl.
Melt chocolate chips in bowl in microwave. Follow melting instructions on the bag.
Melt butterscotch chips in bowl in microwave. Follow melting instructions on the bag.
Stir melted chocolate chips and butterscotch chips together in a bowl
Combine sugar and corn syrup in medium saucepan and cook over medium heat to boiling. Stir
continuously.
Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter.
Pour over cereal and mix well.
Press into 9 x 13 inch pan which has been buttered.
Frost with melted chip mixture.
Slice into squares.

Can keep in refrigerator if you want topping cold or on the counter.
Note: if you keep them in the refrigerator they will be hard and you will need to microwave them at
power 3 for 20-30 seconds to make them soft and not hurt your teeth.