Christmas Dinner

Wondering what to make on Christmas Eve or Christmas day?  I've compiled a list of a few of our very favorites--many that I'll be making this weekend as well.  I love the holidays and love getting in the kitchen and making our traditional meals and treats.  We always do ham on Christmas Eve and our favorite breakfast casserole on Christmas morning.  We also make sugar cookies to leave out for Santa with a big glass of milk.  So here are some of our tried and true holiday favorites.  Merry Christmas!
(Just click on the recipe names and it will take you right to the recipe)

SIDES

Bacon Wrapped Green Beans

Brown Sugar Carrots

Cheesy Potatoes 

Barbeque Green Beans

BREADS

Amazing Rolls!

Cinnamon Rolls (Christmas morning tradition)

Butterscotch Bundt Rolls

SALADS

7-up Salad

Spinach Salad

Berry Salad

APPETIZER/DRINK/SNACK 

Apple Brickle Dip

Creamy Crockpot Hot Chocolate

Candy Chex Mix

Cauliflower Soup

 DESSERT

Moist Orange Carrot Cake

Andes Peppermint Crunch Cookies

Divine Chocolate Mint Cookies

Gingersnaps

Not Pictured (but I just had to add them):

Sugar Cookies

Pumpkin Blondies

Oreo Truffles

Apple Spice Bars

Oatmeal Cake

Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Hawaiian Dip with Fruit Kebabs

What a week it's been.  It feels like I'm barely keeping my head above water right now.  Let me just state yet again--I hate having to sell a house right now. So as a good distraction, I wanted to post this fun recipe.  I made it for my little guy's birthday party.  I had spent way too much time making his birthday cake and so I decided to go more low key on the food.  We went the semi-homemade route and ordered in pizza and then I made some yummy breadsticks and tried this dip with kebabs.  I was not disappointed.  They were the perfect compliment to the pizza and breadsticks.  The dip was really light and refreshing.  I loved the combo of the vanilla flavor with the pineapple and coconut.  This would be a great, fun, different thing to serve up at some upcoming holiday parties. I know it's not the "traditional" kind of holiday dip, but I think it would be just a great way to shake it up and add something really delicious and new to your ensemble.

Hawaiian Dip with Fruit Kebabs from "The Pampered Chef; All the Best"

Dip:
3/4 C milk
1/2 C fat free sour cream
1 pkg (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding (fat free/sugar free for WW Points+)
1 can (8 oz) crushed pineapple in juice, undrained
1/2 C sweetened flaked coconut, toasted, divided
1 lime

Kebabs:
6-8 cups assorted fruits such as apples, bananas, and pineapple, cut into 1-inch chunks, cantaloupe and honeydew melon bals and whole strawberries and grapes

1. For dip, combine milk, sour cream and pudding mix; whisk until smooth.

2. Stir in pineapple with juice and 1/3 C of the coconut.  Zest lime to measure 1 tsp zest.  Juice lime to measure 1 tsp juice.  Stir lim zest and juice into dip.  Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

3. For kebabs, alternately threat fruit onto twenty-four 6-inch wooden skewers.  Spoon dip into serving bowl; sprinkle with remaining coconut.  Serve with kebabs

Tips: To toast coconut, preheat oven to 350F. Spread coconut onto pan.  Bake 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown; cool completely.

Dip: Serves 8; Weight Watchers Points+: 2

Brunch Rolls

I have been eyeing a cookbook at Costco for a few weeks now and I finally broke down and purchased it--solely because of this recipe. Well, I guess not solely. But as I flipped through it and saw this recipe, it pushed me over the edge in not being able to resist. I was helping to plan a shower for my sister-in-law's first baby girl and I thought this might be a fun variation on shower food. So my mom and I tried it out early to see if it was going to be as delicious as it sounds. It was really yummy and I loved that you could shake it up however you pleased to make your own brunch rolls. In the end we decided it might've been a little too much work to crank out a ton of them in the midst of all the the other last minute shower preparations before everyone arrived. But I do think this would be such a perfect, fun, and different thing to serve up to your guests--be it for a shower, holiday, or just for dinner. We made it exactly as the recipe described--but I'll note how we thought we would've altered it if we had made it for the shower.

Brunch Rolls from "Worldwide Ward Cookbook"

1 (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1/4 C. butter, softened
2 C. ham, chopped
1 1/2 C broccoli, chopped (I did them pretty fine
2 C. cheese, finely grated (Swiss, Cheddar, or American work great)
1 C. fresh parmesan cheese, finely grated
1 C. scallions, finely chopped

Make your favorite recipe for white rolls (using half wheat flour is okay). Roll the dough out as if you were making cinnamon rolls. Spread with cream cheese and butter. Top with ham, broccoli, cheese, Parmesan cheese, and scallions. Roll up and slice, let rise, and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. To make them extra pretty, brush with butter and sprinkle with sea salt, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds. (Use this general process to make pizza rolls, four-cheese rolls, and other varieties). These are especially great with a salad and fruit.

Tips: Here's how I might alter there recipe next time: 12 oz. of cream cheese, 2 1/2-3 C of ham (I would use chopped ham), 2 C broccoli, 3+ cups of cheese. I would also cook them for about 12-15 minutes and then check them--the bottoms were pretty overcooked at 20 minutes (and it could've been the pan I used, too).

Pineapple, Shrimp, and Chicken Fried Rice

My mother-in-law and I were able to go to some amazing cooking classes taught by a woman from our church who is from Vietnam and has married a Chinese man. They used to also own a Chinese restaurant a few years ago--so it was quite a treat to have her teach us how to make authentic, delicious Chinese food. I will be the first to admit (much to my husband's chagrin) that I am not always a huge fan of Chinese food. I'm rather picky about it and can't do the whole buffet or fast-food Chinese food genre. I only like it when it is fresh and high-quality (I know, I know...I'm probably crazy)--which usually translates to an expensive Chinese restaurant and so we don't do it very frequently. I also have to add the disclaimer that fried rice is probably my least favorite...

That being said--the food she taught us to make was amazing! I'll have to also post her homemade potstickers on here, too. They will blow you away! This rice is so, so, so good! And coming from me--that is saying a lot (as I just described). It doesn't have the overwhelming soy sauce and eggy taste that fried rice characteristically (at least to me) has. It has the perfect amount of sweet and salty with the pineapple and raisins and subtle Chinese flavors. I know it sounds really strange probably. But trust me when I say that it is awesome! I also loved the crunch of the cashews. The flavors meld together perfectly and make for one memorable fried rice. It was also surprisingly easy to put together--so don't be discouraged by the long list of ingredients.

Pineapple, Shrimp, Chicken Fried Rice from Na Chao

6 shelled shrimp (we omitted this...my daughter's allergic)

1 C chicken breast

2 C cooked rice

1/2 C fresh or canned pineapple pieces

1/4 C cashew nuts (we used more)

1 T chopped green onions

1/2 C frozen peas and carrots (we just used shredded carrots)

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 T raisins

*We also added about 3/4 C chopped celery

A.

1 T soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1/4 tsp sugar

dash of pepper

B.

1/4 tsp sugar

a dash of garlic salt powder

1/4 tsp sesame oil

C.

1/4 tsp chicken bouillon powder (I just broke apart a bouillon cube)

1 T soy sauce

dash of black pepper

D.
2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

dash of black pepper

Directions:

-Peel off the shrimp shell. Then devein the shrimp and rinse and drain. Mix and B and marinate for 1/2 hour before frying.

-Cut the chicken breast into small bite size pieces and mix with A.

-Heat 2 T oil and 1 tsp garlic then stir-fry the chicken until no longer pink. Then set aside.

-Heat 2 T oil and stir fry the shrimp until the color changes. Add rice, pineapple, green peas and carrots, and D. Stir fry until slightly solid. Then add C. Stir fry to mix. Serve.

Tips: We did 3 chicken breasts since we had omitted the shrimp and it tasted great. You could get creative and add other vegetables that you might like. But the combo of the vegetables she has in this recipe are fantastic.

A Twist on Salsa

What is my problem??? I just cannot get over the lazy, hazy days of summer and make myself actually blog (am I alone in this?). It might also have something to do with the fact that we're still living in limbo-land, too. Anyhow, let me share with you one of my all-time favorite appetizers/side dishes. I made this a couple of weeks ago for our family reunion and we seriously inhaled it. I doubled it and worried that I had made too much, but it was all gone within a day. It goes greats as a side for a BBQ cookout. It also adds a lot of color to any menu and has such amazing flavor. I am such a huge fan of chips and salsa and this really is such a delicious variation.

Yummy Salsa from Leslie M.

1 can black beans (drained)

1 can corn (drained)
½ bunch cilantro

2-4 green onions
5 medium tomatoes

1-2 avocadoes (sliced into cubes)
¾ C “Just 2 Good” Italian dressing

Combine and serve with tortilla chips.

Tips: I couldn't find the "Just 2 Good" brand for the first time (I usually don't have a problem finding it). So I substituted it for Kraft Light Zesty Italian and it tasted identical to how it usually does. Also, I like it when it's really fresh and so I usually make it an hour or so before I plan on serving it. It still tastes good on the second day--just not quite as fresh and it gets more juicy.

Southwest Egg Rolls

As mentioned in a previous post, we are in the process of selling our house and moving across the country. In fact, my husband is already in another state at his new job and I'm here selling the house. And so our menu at night mainly consists of McDs, Wendys, Chick-Fil-A, Burger King....you get the picture. I'm not proud to admit how much I haven't been cooking in the last six weeks. The extent of my "baking" has been making waffles and pancakes for dinner?!?

So I thought I'd post a recipe that I made awhile back that we really, really loved. I love the southwest egg rolls at Chili's and these were a very, very close rendition. The Chili's here is about thirty minutes away and so I was craving these one weekend and decided to check Allrecipes to see if they had a recipe close to it. These are REALLY close and so delicious. (And in all my craziness, the picture even comes from Allrecipes).

Southwest Egg Rolls from Allrecipes

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 skinless, boneless chicken breast half
2 tablespoons minced green onion
2 tablespoons minced red bell pepper
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
1/4 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tablespoons frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
2 tablespoons diced jalapeno peppers
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground cayenne pepper
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
5 (6 inch) flour tortillas
1 quart oil for deep frying

DIRECTIONS
1. Rub 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over chicken breast. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook chicken approximately 5 minutes per side, until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in green onion and red pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until tender.
3. Dice chicken and mix into the pan with onion and red pepper. Mix in corn, black beans, spinach, jalapeno peppers, parsley, cumin, chili powder, salt and cayenne pepper. Cook and stir 5 minutes, until well blended and tender. Remove from heat and stir in Monterey Jack cheese so that it melts.
4. Wrap tortillas with a clean, lightly moist cloth. Microwave on high approximately 1 minute, or until hot and pliable.
5. Spoon even amounts of the mixture into each tortilla. Fold ends of tortillas, then roll tightly around mixture. Secure with toothpicks. Arrange in a medium dish, cover with plastic, and place in the freezer. Freeze at least 4 hours.
6. In a large, deep skillet, heat oil for deep frying to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Deep fry frozen, stuffed tortillas 10 minutes each, or until dark golden brown. Drain on paper towels before serving.

Tips: To make a healthier version, I sprayed the tortillas generously with Pam spray and then browned them in a frying pan and then baked them at 450 for ten minutes. They were still really yummy!

Apple Brickle Dip

This dip is seriously SOOOOO fabulous that I could dip ANYTHING in it (I swear) and it would taste awesome. Even my shoe. Seriously. And my kids eat endless amounts of apples when we have this (always a huge plus). I just cannot say enough about how yummy, and sweet, and out-of-this-world it is!!! I took this to a baby shower for a fellow church friend when we first moved here and it became the talk among all the women at church on Sunday. By the end of that day I had the recipe memorized because I had to write it down for so many people. I swear that you'll be craving this one for weeks after you make it!

Apple Brickle Dip

1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese softened (I've used fat free and it's still just as good)
1/2 C packed brown sugar
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 pkg almond brickle chips (7 1/2 oz) or English toffee bits (10 oz)

Beat first four ingredients together with a hand mixer. Fold in toffee chips. Serve with apples and try to stop eating after you realize that you've just eaten 6 apples. Good luck because I can never stop eating this one. It's just THAT good!

12 Servings:  Calories: 191   Fat: 10   Protein: 1