Looking for a Christmas morning casserole?

Here's a great one!

I made this for my ward's Christmas party a couple weeks ago, and added it to the mix of 25 or so others on the serving table. But then I had so many people come up to me afterwards and say how good it was, and I've already sent the recipe out to some. So here it is - I hope you give it a try! My mom always makes that "souffle" Christmas casserole with ham and bread and cream of mushroom soup (you know the one - everyone has a slightly different version). That's tradition and all, but honestly, I think I like this one better...

WAKE-UP CASSEROLE

8 frozen hash brown patties (instead I used about half a package of frozen hash browns - the cubed kind)

4 c shredded cheddar cheese (i only used 2 - i don't know how 4 would even fit and 4 is way too much)

1 lb cubed fully cooked ham/bacon/sausage (ham is best in my opinion)

7 eggs (i used 8 just because i bought medium sized eggs instead of large, and i wanted to be sure it was enough)

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground mustard

Place hash browns in a single layer in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Sprinkle with ham and cheese. In a bowl, beat eggs, milk, salt, and mustard. Pour over ham. Cover and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Uncover; bake 15 mins longer or until edges are golden brown and knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

(I actually baked it for 45 minutes at 400, then removed the foil and did that for another 15... but only because I didn't get it in quickly enough to be ready for the party. I actually think I liked it cooked at the higher temp. It was a little crispy on the sides.)

Enjoy!! And Merry Christmas, everyone. :)

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

(picture borrowed from here)

Alright girls...you MUST try these! Not only do they taste AMAZINGLY good, but the smell that fills your house when they are baking...oh...there is nothing better :) The cream cheese frosting is SOOO good with the added pumpkin pie spice. I promise you will not be disappointed! These are my most favorite pumpkin cookies ever!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 oz. cream cheese
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture by hand until just combined. Drop on prepared baking sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls; Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in a bowl of sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¾ inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking.
Bake in preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on wire rack. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost or drizzle with cream cheese frosting.
While the cookies are cooling make frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and pumpkin pie spice and beat until smooth and creamy.

This recipe is from www.sweetpeaskitchen.com