You could have a big platter of fresh sliced cantaloupe and watermelon, heart-shaped cookies, sweet potato casserole or candied yams, cranberry congealed salad and of course, a birthday cake. This pineapple casserole is delicious with ham: Pineapple Cheese Casserole Yields: 12 servings "Pineapple chunks baked with Cheddar cheese, and topped with a buttery cracker crust." 3 (15 ounce) cans pineapple chunks 2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 8 tablespoons pineapple juice 8 tablespoons all-purpose flour 1 cup white sugar 30 buttery round crackers, crushed (Ritz crackers) 1/2 cup butter, sliced 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). 2. In a large bowl combine pineapple chunks, cheese, pineapple juice, flour and sugar. Spoon into a 9x13 inch baking dish. Top with crushed crackers and butter slices. 3. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.

Here are just a few of my gazillion favorite recipes! All are pepared ahead and heated at last minute. CLAMS CASINO Posted by tobygirl (My Page) on Sun, Dec 23, 07 at 6:31 Here's a very good one, which I have made many times. 2 cans minced claims with their liquid 2 Tbls. lemon juice 1 small onion chopped 2 cloves garlic minced 2 Tbls. fresh parsley chopped or 1 tsp. dried 1/4 c. butter 1/2 tsp. oregano 3/4 c. seasoned bread crumbs 2 drops hot sauce or to taste 1/2 c. cheddar or parmesan cheese grated Paprika Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Simmer clams with their liquid and lemon juice in a covered saucepan for 5 minutes. Set aside. Saute onion, garlic and parsley in butter for about 5 minutes; then add the oregano, bread crumbs, hot sauce and clams/lemon juice mixture. Spoon into a greased pie plate and bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with the grated cheese and paprika and return to oven just until cheese melts. Serve warm with crackers. Robust Onion Cheese Toast (posted by Caliloo) 1 cup mayonnaise 1 package cream cheese, softened 4 oz blue cheese, crumbled 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley 2 tablespoons minced onion ½ teaspoon minced garlic ½ teaspoon hot pepper sauce ½ teaspoon white pepper 1 loaf sliced cocktail rye bread Combine mayo, cream cheese, blue cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, pepper sauce and white pepper. Cover and chill for 2 hours to let flavors blend. Can be made up to 2 days in advance. Spread 2 teaspoons mixture on each slice of bread and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Cover with plastic and chill until ready to serve. To Serve: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Uncover baking sheet and bake 10 15 minutes until toasts are puffy and slightly brown. Dlynn's Ham & Asparagus Roll-ups 24 fresh asparagus spears 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (4 ounce) package crumbled blue cheese 2 tablespoons mayonnaise 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives 12 slices bread, crusts trimmed off 12 slices thinly sliced deli ham 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted paprika Garnishes green onions, curl red bell peppers Snap off tough ends of asparagus, and remove scales from stalks with a vegetable peeler, if desired. Arrange asparagus in a steamer basket over boiling water. Cover and steam 4 to 6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Remove from steamer, and cool on paper towels. Stir together cream cheese and next 3 ingredients. Roll each bread slice with a rolling pin to flatten. Spread 1 side of each slice with 2 tablespoons cream cheese mixture; top each with 1 ham slice. Place 2 asparagus spears, tips pointed toward opposite ends, on one end of each bread slice; roll up, and place, seam side down, on a greased baking sheet. Brush with butter; sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 400° for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately. Garnish, if desired. Note: Freeze unbaked rollups up to 1 month in an airtight container. Thaw in refrigerator, and bake as directed. Yield: 12 appetizer servings. Hot Beef Dip 4 oz dried beef, shredded 8 oz cream cheese, softened 8 oz sour cream small can of chopped chilis Bake at 350* until hot and bubbly.....about 20-25 minutes SUZIE'S PESTO CHEESECAKE CRUST 1 cup breadcrumbs 1/2 cup grated parmesean cheese 1/2 cup melted butter Mix all together and press into 9" springform pan. Bake 10 minutes. FILLING 4 (8 oz packages) cream cheese 4 eggs 1/2 cup heavy cream 2 cups pesto (from the refrigerator section of your grocer) Beat with electric mixer. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350* for 1 hour. Chill several hours or overnight. Remove from pan and decorate with a little chopped tomato or chopped sundried tomatoes. Slice into very thin slices and serve on small individual plates - or - cut into thirds and place 1/3 on serving plate and use to spread on crackers or baguettes. Be sure to decorate with a little chopped "red" tomato accent and maybe some green basil too. Looks beautiful! (If you cut into thirds, you can serve 1/3 and freeze the remaining for another time.) NEW MEXICAN CHILE DIP from the kitchen of Jim Myers Makes about 3 quarts 2-3 pounds ground beef 2 pounds Velveeta cheese cubed 2 large onions, chopped 1 - 28 ounce ounce can crushed tomatoes 4 cloves garlic chopped 2 - 4 ounce cans chopped green chiles 1 tablespoon chili powder 2 teaspoons cumin Brown ground beef with the onions and drain. Add remaining ingredients and simmer 20-30 minutes. Transfer to crock pot to keep warm. Use large corn chips for dippers.

I made this last night and it is really pretty and it tastes amazing! I did and would suggest people boil it longer closer to a soft boil, as mine still isn't too firm. Black Cherry Swirl Fudge 1-1/2 teaspoons plus 3/4 cup butter, divided 3 cups sugar 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream 1 package (10 to 12 ounces) vanilla or white chips 1 jar (7 ounces) marshmallow creme 2 envelopes unsweetened black cherry soft drink mix Directions Line a 13-in. x 9-in. pan with foil and grease the foil with 1-1/2 teaspoons butter; set aside. In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, cream and remaining butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla chips and marshmallow creme. Pour 1 cup into a bowl; set aside. Stir black cherry drink mix into the remaining marshmallow mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Spoon reserved marshmallow mixture over top; cut through mixture with a knife to swirl. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Using foil, lift fudge out of pan. Discard foil; cut into 1-in. squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Yield: about 3 pounds. Here is a link that might be useful: Black Cherry Swirl Fudge Recipe

This sounds good, but my DH wouldn't touch it with a 10 ft pole! BACON-WRAPPED SHRIMP 1 (16 oz.) pkg. bacon 40 shrimp 1 (10 oz.) bottle teriyaki sauce Cut bacon slices in half. Wrap bacon around shrimp. Secure with toothpicks. Place in 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour teriyaki sauce over shrimp. Cover and refrigerate 1 hour. Bake at 400 degrees, uncovered, 20-25 minutes or until bacon is crisp. This one I think he'd eat, so I may try it.... CRACKER SPREAD 2 (8 oz.) cream cheese 1 pkg. Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix Bacon bits Mix cheese and package of ranch dressing mix together. Shape into a ball and roll in bacon bits. This is a Paula Deen recipe and I haven't tried it either because of fussy DH but someday I will! LOL Sweet Chicken Bacon Wraps Recipe courtesy Paula Deen See this recipe on air Friday Dec. 22 at 1:00 PM ET/PT. Show: Paula's Home Cooking Episode: Sports Party 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless, chicken breasts (about 4 breasts) 1 (1-pound) package sliced bacon 2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons chili powder Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes. Cut each bacon slice into thirds. Wrap each chicken cube with bacon and secure with a wooden pick. Stir together brown sugar and chili powder. Dredge wrapped chicken in mixture. Coat a rack and broiler pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place chicken wrap on rack in broiler pan. Bake 350 for 30 to 35 minutes or until bacon is crisp.